Senior Ty Foltz caught the football with 25.2 seconds to go in the game on the three yard line.
Clarkston players and fans cheered – Foltz had intercepted West Bloomfield’s throw to the endzone.
The Wolves took over and Quarterback Nick Demattia took a knee letting the clock run as the boys won their first game, 10-3.
“They fought tough and got themselves a win,” said Kurt Richardson, long-time Wolves Varsity Football Head Coach. “We won ugly, but we won.”
The bulk of Clarkston’s success came from the defensive line especially when the Lakers only score on the board came from a field goal made in the second quarter.
The Lakers only crossed the 50-yard line on a few occasions to get into Clarkston’s territory. They found getting past Zach Collins, Travis Smith, Matt Dellinger, Chris Canada and Foltz a difficult task.
“We were giving pretty good pressure on them,” said Richardson. “Our linebackers stepped up and made them run a little bit. Their quarterback is a good quarterback and pressure always helps. Sometimes you have to win those games on defense.”
The Wolves put themselves on the board in the second quarter with seven points.
After three failed attempts at gaining ten yards the Lakers set up to punt the ball with 10:25 remaining in the half.
The kick sent the ball up and back down in West Bloomfield’s territory near the 20-yard line.
The Wolves moved forward to recover the ball and a Lakers player kicked it into the endzone. The referees threw a flag on the field.
The decision was a 15-yard penalty against West Bloomfield, starting the Wolves at first and goal on the 5-yard line.
Quarterback Mitch Baenziger handed the ball to runningback Joey Goss for the boys first attempt. The Wolves set up the line again after a stop from West Bloomfield.
Baenziger received the snap and threw a 4-yard pass to Canada waiting in the endzone for the lone touchdown.
Alex Barta scored the PAT for the Wolves. He lent his kick ability again in the third quarter, scoring a field goal on a 31-yard kick with 2:25 left in the third quarter.
Richardson saw weaknesses in the offense throughout the game.
“We have to get better,” he said. “We made too many mistakes. You can’t fumble the ball on the 4-yard line. You can’t get bad snaps. We should have had 21, 28 points on the board. We self-destructed and it just can’t happen.”
The win gave Clarkston an advantage in the OAA Red as West Bloomfield fell 0-1 in the league.
“I was impressed with my team’s effort,” said Ron Bellamy, head coach for the Lakers. “Anytime you come and play a good program like Clarkston you play in a hostile environment. We are a young team with a new coach, but this is a game we prepared for. A year or two we will be winning these games and be top team in the OAA.”
Clarkston will be ready for the challenge – and will use their next league game on Friday as preparation.
They head to Troy-Athens, 4333 John R Rd., for their first away game, 7 p.m.
The freshman and JV teams host their home openers on Thursday. The freshman team begins at 4:30 p.m. at Clarkston Junior High School stadium.
JV plays at 7 p.m. at the Clarkston High School stadium.