By Dan Truttschel
Sports correspondent
The Clinton football team raised more than a few eyebrows last year with a postseason run all the way to the WIAA Division 5 semifinals.
Apparently, the Cougars weren’t just a passing fancy.
Clinton continued on its early-season dominance Friday night with a 48-12 Rock Valley Conference victory over Big Foot. The loss dropped the Chiefs to 1-2, while Clinton, ranked third in the latest wissports.net poll, improved to 3-0.
Very little went right, especially early, Big Foot coach Greg Enz said.
“We were unable to have any continuity offensively,” he said. “From dropped passes to execution errors on both (offense and defense), Clinton was quickly able to jump out by three scores.
“We knew they were a good team, but we couldn’t do things to help them out (by making mistakes), and unfortunately, we did.”
Enz added he sees some differences in this year’s Clinton team from the 2016 squad, but expects the Cougars to put together another solid season.
“They are different,” he said. “(They’re) not as deep and not quite as fast. They are much improved at QB, and the power-run game is their calling card this year. They will be a formidable D5 team come playoffs.”
Clinton sprinted from the gates with an 18-point first quarter, followed by 22 more in the second to take a 40-0 halftime lead. Big Foot added a touchdown in both the third and fourth quarters, as the game ended with a running clock.
Big Foot’s Jack Hereley recovered a fumbled snap on a punt in the end zone for the Chiefs’ first score, followed by a 4-yard run by Dylan Johnson.
Relying on the run
The Cougars’ Zach Krause led the attack with 287 yards rushing and two touchdowns. As a team, Clinton piled up 529 yards on the ground on 53 carries, including 126 by Jackson Nelson and 90 by Tyler Halsted.
“It starts up front,” Enz said. “They have one of the better offensive line units I have seen in my career. (They’re) very athletic, yet physical for the power run game. Add a veteran QB and a big, fast tailback and the results speak for themselves.”
And it wasn’t just on offense where Clinton proved tough – as the Cougars bottled up the Chiefs’ offense as well.
Big Foot finished the night with 130 yards passing, as quarterback Jackson Enz completed 12-of-25 passes for 126, and just 69 yards rushing on 19 attempts. Enz had 14 carries for 25 yards, while Logan Eischeid had one carry for 28 and Dylan Robinson three for 19.
Four Chiefs caught passes, led by Aidan Greco with four for 36 yards. Hunter Sharpe caught three for 45 yards, Pedro Sierra had three for 32 and A.J. Courier had two for 17.
“We were unable to get the perimeter, but yet, not able to effectively run in the middle, either,” Enz said. “Our receivers dropped some passes, but also faced very tight and physical man-to-man defense. These things led to a lack of rhythm offensively, and consequently, the outcome reflected that.”
Defensive leaders for Big Foot included Enz with 14 tackles, Jack Gillingham with 11, Cole Vance with 10, Ethan Rowland with 10, Sierra with nine, Hereley with seven and Aaron Carpentar with six.
Lessons learned
Enz said his team can take some lessons from the loss as the Chiefs move forward from here.
“All 11 players on the field determine the outcome of any and all plays,” he said. “There is no such thing as ‘someone else will take care of it’ or ‘I hope my mistake won’t affect the play.’
“When you play a quality team, those things unfortunately cannot happen. We will continue to coach, and they will continue to improve. That is a reality of life. We will always look for the positives in a game or a play and then go out and get better as a team.”
The Chiefs face another unbeaten team this week when they travel to 3-0 Jefferson for a 7 p.m. matchup Friday. The Eagles beat Brodhead-Juda, 21-12, last week.
“They will use some similar concepts to Clinton, and we must improve quickly to handle their well-coached team,” Enz said. “The challenge is on us to accept and improve our fundamentals and techniques. If we can do those things, we will be able to play more toward our potential as a team.”
