By Troy Sparks
Correspondent
It wasn’t the greatest day for Whitewater to play a football game with rain lasting all night in their game against Clinton, a game in which the Whippets had a tough time adjusting to a muddy and slick field.
The undefeated Cougars were playing for home field through the first round of the playoffs and Whitewater was trying to survive and finish the season with the remaining healthy players they had.
“The kids gave it everything they had,” Whitewater coach Jim Pease said after the Oct. 13 game. “They played really hard.”
Whitewater had their best shot at scoring some points early in the first half. On their second possession, the Whippets relied on senior Tyler Sheffield to get them within scoring range.
The Whippets had good field position at their 40-yard line with 7:33 remaining in the first quarter. They marched down the field on the back of Sheffield, who was involved in every play. He had 16 rushing yards and 29 receiving yards during the 11-play drive.
With 2:56 left in the quarter on a fourth-and-8 at the Clinton 13, Sheffield attempted a 30-yard field goal. It was no good.
There was no score after the first quarter.
A punt by Whitewater seconds into the second quarter set up a first down by Clinton at their 34-yard line. Senior quarterback After a 52-yard pass to the Whitewater 14, Clinton ran it to the end zone on the next play for the touchdown, and the extra point made it 7-0 with 11:27 left in the first half. That drive took only two plays, 66 yards and 23 seconds.
On their next possession, the Cougars struck again. Sheffield was able to make a touchdown-saving tackle at the 10, but Clinton followed up on the next play with a pitchout that was untouched, leading to Clinton’s second TD of the first half. That 70-second scoring run with 6:53 left gave the Cougars a 14-0 advantage.
Clinton scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter. The ball slipped out of Whitewater senior quarterback Daniel Fuller’s hands while he was scrambling to the right and fell on the ground, and recovered by Clinton at the Whitewater 25.
Clinton jumped ahead 21-0 on a touchdown with 2:38 remaining in the half. Two plays after a 47-yard pass with 42.5 seconds left, the Cougars ran into the end zone again, giving them a 28-0 halftime lead.
With 9:07 left in the third quarter, Clinton scored their fifth touchdown of the game on a 26-yard run to make it 35-0 and start the running clock. With 2:41 left in the third, the Cougars extended the lead to 42-0.
Whitewater avoided the shutout and got on the scoreboard.
Facing an uphill battle after the Clinton special teams unit downed the ball at the Whitewater 1-yard line on a punt, the Whippets tried to run on the first two plays and got minimal yards.
Looking at a third-and-5 at their 6, Fuller saw senior receiver Jimmy DuVal in man coverage and threw the ball to him down the left sideline, with the two of them hooking up on a play on the field one last time in their football careers. The Clinton defender slipped. DuVal caught the ball and ran to the end zone for a 94-yard touchdown with 3:37 remaining in regulation.
Pease appreciated the seniors that stuck with the program through all the consecutive losses and some player defections before they finally broke through for a win three weeks ago.
“They were good leaders,” Pease said. “We didn’t have a big number (of seniors), but the ones we had were outstanding leaders and we talked about it all year. We want them to come back to this program and put it back where it belongs. We want them to come back and see (the progress) because they started it.”
For those who are coming back next year, the bar will be raised, beginning with the offseason.
“We know that we got a good group back,” Pease said. “Our younger players had a great year. We expect (the returning players) to be back and we expect big things from them. It starts in the weight room and getting ready for next season.”
With the 42-7 loss, the Whippets fell to 1-8 on the season.
Whitewater at Clinton, Oct. 13
Whitewater 0 0 0 7 – 7
Clinton 0 28 14 0 – 42
Scoring:
Second Quarter
CLIN – Tyler Halsted 14 run (Chandler Yurs kick), 7-0, 11:27. CLIN – Zach Krause 10 run (Chandler Yurs kick), 14-0, 6:53. CLIN – Jackson Nelson 25 run (Chandler Yurs kick), 21-0, 2:38. Tyler Halsted 3 run (Chandler Yurs kick), 28-0, 42 seconds.
Third Quarter
CLIN – Zach Krause 26 run (Chandler Yurs kick), 35-0, 9:07. CLIN – Jackson Nelson 2 run (Chandler Yurs kick), 42-0, 2:41.
Fourth Quarter
WW – Jimmy DuVal 94 pass from Daniel Fuller (Tyler Sheffield kick), 42-7, 3:37.
