BY NOAH PURCELL
Clarkston News Sports Writer
With a crowd of 4000-plus spilling out of the home stands and a newly crowned homecoming court waiting in the wings, Clarkston’s football team rolled to a 42-3 victory over Waterford Mott on Sept. 30.
With junior quarterback Eric Ogg making his second start of the season, the Wolves scored a touchdown on all five of their first half possessions and on their first drive of the second half to start a running clock and send the fans home early and happy.
I felt good, I still had a little jitters with it being my second start, but it’s all good,? said Ogg, who credited the play of Clarkston’s offensive line with much of the team’s success.
On the fourth play of Clarkston’s first drive of the game Ogg found Kittle on a screen pass in the flat ? a broken tackle and a Ryan Breen extra-point conversion later and the Wolves were up 7-0 with 7:43 left in first quarter.
Ogg took over at quarterback for the Wolves in a 41-7 victory on Sept. 23 over Troy Athens, because injuries to senior running backs Nick DeVault and Steve McIsaac forced Clarkston Coach Kurt Richardson to feature Kittle at tailback, a position he succeeded in during the 2004 season.
In Ogg’s first start, Clarkston did not attempt significant gains through the air until securing a 21-0 lead. Against Mott, the leash was off as Clarkston’s first play from scrimmage on their second drive of the ball game, after forcing a Mott punt, resulted in a 77-yard pass for a touchdown from Ogg to senior David Briceland, making the score 14-0 after another Breen conversion.
‘We trusted him last week, we just wanted him to get his feet wet a little bit before he came out there winging it. Now I feel confident anytime we throw the ball ? first play, last play whatever ? Eric is playing extremely well,? said Richardson.
After Clarkston’s defense stalled Mott’s next drive after four plays, a 20-yard punt return by Clarkston senior Tyler Sharette set up a 28-yard run by Ogg for Clarkston’s third score with 2:15 remaining in the first quarter.
‘I wanted to make sure we put them down hard at first. It was almost as if they didn’t expect how good (our defense) was,? said senior linebacker Steve Smiley, who had four tackles for a loss and assisted on three other stops.
While Clarkston’s defense did surrender a 30-yard field goal by Mott’s Jason Sweet, Clarkston’s offense continued to roll as senior Nick DeVault capped off a four-play drive with a 14-yard touchdown run with 8:17 remaining in the first half.
The Wolves defense also set up their next touchdown, as senior Kyle Cummings nabbed an interception and returned the ball 24-yards to Clarkston’s 48-yard-line; five plays later Ogg found Cummings for a 1-yard touchdown reception with 2:21 remaining in the game.
‘If someone’s scouting us right now, they are going to have a tough time getting ready. Offensively we are starting to click,? said Richardson.
The extended halftime, which included the presentation of CHS? Homecoming Court, did little to cool off the Wolves hot offense at the start of the second half. Kittle put his stamp on the Wolves drive to open the second half, rushing for 52-yards, finishing Clarkston’s scoring off with a 33-yard scamper. After Breen’s sixth successful conversion of the game, Clarkston had a 42-3 lead and a running clock.
Kittle led the Wolves in rushing with 70 yards on four carries to go with a pair of touchdowns. Ogg completed all four of his passing attempts for 100 yards and threw three scoring strikes to go with one rushing touchdown.
As a team Clarkston piled up 314 yards of offense and held Mott to 212 total yards for the game.
‘We love to play Clarkston, it is one of our rival games. We like to play Clarkston, I don’t understand why we didn’t have any effort tonight,? said Waterford Mott Coach Ken Schmidt. ‘Clarkston is a great team, they won’t lose a game the rest of the year.?
Richardson is not so sure his team is ready to run the table as tough games against Groves at home on Oct. 14 and a season final? at Lake Orion on Oct. 21.
‘We just have to make strides in all phases of the game and I’m still not 100 percent sure we are doing that,? said Richardson.
With a win next week at Rochester High School on Oct. 7, Clarkston can become playoff eligible with a record of 6-1. The Falcons are currently 1-5 on the season.