Leaving the field after a 17-0 opening night loss Clarkston knew what being outplayed by an Adams team that played with a chip on its shoulder, felt like.
‘We didn’t play good football all the way around,? said Clarkston Coach Kurt Richardson.
The Wolves anemic offense managed 167 total yards and gained only seven first downs throughout the contest. The statistics which stung the most at the end of the game were six penalties amounting to sixty free yards for the Highlanders and a trio of second half turnovers.
In the first half, both team’s struggled to maintain a drive. Adams? quick defense overcame Clarkston’s size advantage at the line of scrimmage, limiting the Wolves to 73 total yards in the first half.
?(Adams) put 11 hats on the ball,? said Richardson.
Clarkston’s defense kept pace, allowing more yards than Adams, but making up for the increased mileage by forcing two turnovers. The first Highlander mistake came on a fumble forced by junior Bren Bergquist and recovered by senior David Briceland. The second occurred when senior Steve McIsaac drifted perfectly to the sideline to pick off a poorly conceived pass thrown on the run.
McIsaac had a stellar game on the defensive side of the ball, recording six solo tackles to go with the interception.
The landscape of the game quickly changed as a knuckleball of a kickoff stymied Clarkston, leading to an Adams recovery at Clarkston’s 20-yard-line. Four plays later, the Highlanders made the game 7-0 on a three yard touchdown run by John Stirzinger with 10:10 left in the third quarter.
‘We hear all this stuff about Division I athletes and the Top 25 and we never seem to be in there,? Adams Coach Tony Patritto said. ‘It’s kind of a motivation for us to go out there and play hard as a team, and be the better team.?
After getting the ball back again in the third quarter, Adams seemed destined to take a commanding two touchdown lead, driving to Clarkston’s 21-yard-line. Again, Clarkston’s defense proved oportunistic, as Brelinski, on third and five, ran a better route than the Highlander’s receiver and intercepted the ball in the endzone.
But despite the defense’s heroics Clarkston could not move the ball effectively and late in the game became prone to turnovers.
‘You are not going to beat an Adams when you turn the ball over,? said Richardson
An interception by Adams 4:37 left in the game, led to Bryan Kimball’s 27-yard field goal with 2:04 left, giving the Highlanders a 10-0 lead. Another interception with less than a minute to go was returned for a touchdown by the Highlander’s Jacob Wilson, adding window dressing to the 17-0 final score.
Clarkston plays under the less hallowed Thursday night lights this coming week due to the Labor Day holiday weekend. The Wolves game at West Bloomfield is another OAA Division I matchup and starts at 7 p.m.