The Wolves’ blood is up in their pursuit of a state championship, knocking aside Davison in first round playoff action, 41-0.
“They made a lot of mistakes that helped out,” said Kurt Richardson, long-time head coach for the Clarkston Varsity Football team. “They made some fumbles. I was a little concerned because they were moving the ball in between the tackles on us and I wasn’t happy with that at all.”
The Wolves take on Grand Blanc this Friday for the district crown. The Bobcats beat Carman-Ainsworth last Friday, 30-26.
“They are a very good football team,” said Richardson. “Their passing game is very good. They have a lot of skilled athletes.”
The Wolves’ strength continues to be their running game and they will have to control the ball to win, he said.
“So far our ball control has been pretty good,” Richardson said. “I would like to see a few more drives like the Lake Orion drive.
Last Friday, the Cardinals opened the game with possession on the 25-yard but the Wolves’ defense wouldn’t let them gain ground. On their third down, senior linebacker Nathan Yeloushan pushed them back six yards forcing them to punt on their next try.
The Wolves took over on the 41-yard line in their territory with 9:56 to go in the first quarter.
The boys eased closer to the endzone. Senior widereceiver Chris Calvano’s 37-yard drive brought them closer and put them on the 14-yard line.
Junior running back Ian Eriksen carried the ball two times before making it third times the charm on a 2-yard run into the endzone with 7:09 on the clock.
Clarkston struck again before the quarter finished to put the score 14-0. This time sophomore quarterback D.J. Zezula went to pass the ball. Finding no players open and the Cardinals quickly closing in, he took off down the field to score on a 5-yard run.
“Offensively we were very good again,” said Richardson. “We have some things to work on. It was a nice win.”
Zezula struck again in the next quarter with a 1-yard run and with a 53-yard touchdown pass to senior Alex Dicea as the clock ran out to put the score, 28-0.
Eriksen scored two more times in the second half off a 6-yard run and a 16-yard run. He finished as leading rusher with 102 yards on 19 carries.
“He was very good tonight,” Richardson added. “D.J. threw some nice balls.”
Zezula connect 4-of-7 passes for 149 yards and one touchdown. Junior kicker Shane Hynes was 6-for-7 in PAT attempts.
Yeloushan led defense with seven tackles for the night. Senior Ben Kaminsky had six tackles, one sack and a fumble recovery.
Richardson added Dicea had a good game on defense.
“He was outstanding,” he said. “He came up on the edge and made some nice tackles. He broke up a couple of big passes.
The Wolves host the Bobcats on Friday, 7 p.m.