Clarke football opens season with a win

Coming off of a season with no wins, the Clarke Indians began this season with a 42-14 win at home over Colfax-Mingo. Friday’s game was also the annual Hero’s Game, where local heroes, including law enforcement, fire department and EMS workers, were recognized before the game.

With Clarke set to receive the ball, Javier Munoz fielded the kick across midfield to start the first drive of the night; a flag on the play backed the Indians up to the 47. Urijah Fry carried the ball down to the 11, where a series of flags had the Indians trying for a field goal kick by Rafael Avalos at the 25-yard line that went just left of the uprights. Colfax-Mingo took over, with both teams trading false starts until Colfax-Mingo’s Chase Trotter gained enough yards for a first down. Down at the Indians’ 13-yard line, a double-fake by Colfax-Mingo quarterback Camden Cunningham to Wyatt Carpenter in the endzone put the first six points on the board, followed by two from Trotter.

Back in possession of the ball, Clarke was unable to gain a first down, forced to punt on fourth-and-9 at their 19. Colfax-Mingo took back over at their own 35-yard line, and made it to just over the 50-yard line as the first quarter ended.

The Indians scored their first touchdown of the night near the beginning of the second quarter, as a deep pass from Ryan Diehl to Munoz had him in for a 65-yard pass. On a touchback, Colfax-Mingo started at their own 20, unable to find any forward momentum before punting away on fourth down. Fry returned the punt back to Colfax-Mingo’s 29. On a third-and-2, Diehl tucked and ran the ball in for a 9-yard touchdown.

A touchback by Avalos found the Warhawks starting downfield, with Cunningham able to connect with Alex Teed just across midfield. A deep pass to Carpenter had Colfax-Mingo in for 6, with a failed two-point conversion tying the game at 14-14. A deep pass from Diehl to Ethan Danley was caught near the Colfax-Mingo’s 49-yard line and a subsequent handoff fumble was recovered by Colfax-Mingo to turn the side back over. As Colfax-Mingo made their way back, a fumbled snap was recovered by Clarke’s Jared Perdomo Sanchez. Slowly making their way back towards the goal, passes to Danley and Peyton Lynn brought the Indians within scoring range. A final pass to Lynn in the endzone brought another 6 points. A kick by Avalos after brought the score to 21-14 in Clarke’s favor going into halftime.

An onside kick to start the second half of the game was recovered by the Tigerhawks. On their first play, a keeper by Cunningham was stripped by Fry, who ran away for a 50-yard touchdown.

A tackle for loss on Colfax-Mingo resulted in fumble that they recovered, however they struggled to get a start to the third quarter with false starts and overthrown passes. A pass intended for Colfax-Mingo’s Wyatt Thornton was intercepted by Munoz for another turnover. Inside the 10, Fry found a hole up the middle for another touchdown.

Colfax-Mingo continued to try to find a way to reset their offense, with a long touchdown run by Kyle Wood called back on a flag. Punting on a fourth down, Clarke took back over at their own 22-yard line. One first-and-10, a handoff to Fry had him running through and skirting the Tigerhawk defense for a 78-yard touchdown and the final score of the game. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter.

Clarke travels to Saydel (0-1) tomorrow. They last faced the Eagles in 2022, in a game the Indians won 71-0.

Game stats

Clarke 42, Colfax-Mingo 14

Clarke 0 21 21 0

Colfax Mingo 8 6 0 0

Rushing: Cl – Urijah Fry 8-117(2), Javier Munoz 8-28, Ryan Diehl 7-36(1), John Sanga 3-14, Lincoln Hill 1-4, Jared Perdomo Sanchez 1-1. CM – Chase Trotter 13-80, Fisher Grove 5-21, Camden Cunningham 4-10, Wyatt Carpenter 3-9.

Passing: Cl – Diehl 7-8-151(2). CM – Cunningham 4-12-107(2).

Receiving: Cl – Ethan Danley 3-46, Peyton Lynn 3-40(1), Munoz 1-65 (1). CM – Carpenter 2-57-2, Kyle Wood 1-11, Alex Teed 1-39.

Tackles (total-solos): Cl – Bowen Page 6-4, Hill 4-3, Fry 2 ½-2, Tate Shriver 2 ½-1, Kohen Poore 2-1, Perdomo Sanchez 1 ½-1, Luke McAtee 1 ½-1, Gavin Page 1-1, Munoz 1-1, Kaleb Short 1-1, Mandela Sila 1-1, Azahel Herrera 1-0, Kayden Hammack ½-0, Rafael Avalos 0 ½-0. CM – Izaiah Lewis 0.5-0, Trotter 4-4, Grove 6 ½-6, Wood 5 ½-5, Cunningham 5-5, Teed 3-3, Lawrence Solasberry 3 ½-3, Leo Van Hauen 2 ½-2, Allan Bregar 1-1, Wyatt Jay 2 ½-2.

Sacks: Cl – Hill 3, Avalos ½. CM – Jay 1.

Interceptions: Cl – Munoz 1. CM – 0.

Fumble recoveries: Cl – Fry 1, Perdomo Sanchez 1. CM – Lewis 1.

Punting: Cl – Diehl 1-42, Avalos 2-68. CM – Trotter 3-100, Cunningham 3-83.