The Wolves thrashed Utica Eisenhower, 44-18, in their first Division 1 playoff game Friday night.
“We came out and played fired up football. We didn’t go through the motions for two quarters,” said coach Kurt Richardson.
Clarkston’s lead came quickly. In the first 45 seconds of the first quarter, Jimmy Popp ran towards Eisenhower’s end zone gaining 40 yards in the process.
Dakota Bender followed with a touchdown a minute and a half into the game. The extra point from kicker Erik Thompson made it 7-0.
With 6:22 left in the first quarter, Nick Shamoun pitched to Bender for a halfback pass to Julius Porter, giving the Wolves a 50 yard gain to the one-yard line.
With 5:44 left in the quarter, Bender scored again. Another sucessful kick from Thompson and the Wolves were up, 14-0.
Eisenhower put three points on the scoreboard after Ethan Dalach kicked a field goal from Clarkston’s 28-yard line with three minutes to go in the quarter.
At 1:38, Thompson ran for 59 yards before being stopped by Bobby Burns at the eight-yard line.
With less than 30 seconds left, Chad Blackstone ran nine yards into the end zone, giving Clarkston its third touchdown. Thompson kicked for the extra point, ending the first quarter, 21-3.
The second quarter began as quickly as the first. Only seven seconds in, Shamoun passed the ball to Thompson, leading to their fourth touchdown in the game. Thompson’s PAT was good and Clarkston led the Eagles 28-3.
At 9:15, Eisenhower grabbed possession of the ball and tried to get through Clarkston’s defense with a throw to the end zone. With eight minutes to go, the ball was intercepted by Brandon Hughes at the 10-yard line.
Eisenhower’s Harrison Williams made another try for the Eagles, but was intercepted by Popp at the four-yard line.
At 6:35, the Eagle’s Brett Kauten scored the first touchdown for his team. Ethan Dalach made the extra point with the kick, bringing the score, 28-10, at the end of the first half.
As rain marked the beginning of the third quarter, the Wolves showed no effect as they scored another touchdown at 9:43.
At 8:28, Thompson intercepted the ball and ran 67 yards to Eisenhower’s 10-yard line. After gaining five more yards, Thompson kicked a field goal, adding three points to the score, Clarkston leading, 38-10.
The Wolves continued to dominate the fourth quarter. Eisenhower made their way towards the Wolves end zone, but Clarkston again intercepted at the 33-yard line.
With the clock ticking down to 5:33, Adam Zurwitz made the touchdown with a run from the five-yard line. Kamil Dechnik kicked for the extra point, bringing the score, 44-10.
With eight seconds left in the game, Eisenhower’s Stephen Jozefiak scored a touchdown. The Eagles succeeded with an attempt at a two-point conversion, to make the final score, 44-18.
“They were definitely more physical and a lot quicker than we were,” said Eisenhower’s Coach Bob Lantzy after the game. “A fine job by their coaching staff, too. We have been able to come back in the past. We made a run at it. They were too much. They were just too good for us.”
“(This win) after losing to Harrison gets us back on track and confidence back,” said Richardson.
“Dakota Bender stepped in for Jimmy Popp and did an outstanding job. The ground games revolve so much around Chad Blackstone, lead blocker and outstanding.”
The Wolves next round in the playoffs will be this Friday against Lake Orion. The game will be at home with kickoff at 7 p.m.