Deja vu: Clear Fork stuns Lexington with another 2nd-half rally

LEXINGTON — There is something about miraculous comebacks against Lexington that pleases Clear Fork coach Dave Carroll.

But he hopes his Colts (2-1) don’t continue to make a habit of it.

For the second year in a row, Clear Fork spotted the Minutemen (1-2) a three-touchdown plus lead at the intermission, only to roar back for a stunning win in the non-league, backyard rivalry game.

Clear Fork trailed 28-6 on Friday night before rallying to shock the Minutemen, 35-28, in overtime, paced by four TD passes from junior quarterback Victor Skoog.

It was nearly a carbon copy of the 2020 game when the Colts came all the way back from a 24-0 halftime deficit to win 29-27 at the Colt Corral.

“It just shows you the resilience of these kids,” Carroll said. “I would rather do this rather than blow someone out. I’m old and my heart needs some rest right now, but this is a great lesson in life for our players.

“(At halftime) we were punched in the gut, we were down on the ground and they had their fingers around our throat. This (comeback) is more important than any football or sport on the face of the earth … that fight and that will to never give up,” Carroll said.

TOO MUCH SKOOG: The 5-foot-11, 163-pound Skoog said his veteran coach didn’t offer a fiery halftime speech after Lexington built the 22-point halftime advantage, largely on three TD runs by senior Karson Berry of 50, 19 and 38 yards.

Berry finished with 135 yards on 24 carries.

“He didn’t come into the locker room at halftime being negative or anything,” said Skoog, who finished the game by completing 17-of-26 passes for 222 yards.

“He came in calm, cool and collected. He made a few adjustments on the offensive line, where we were clearly struggling in the first half. We came out in the second half and those adjustments worked to perfection.”

Skoog started the spurt with a 16-yard TD pass to 6-3, 195-pound sophomore wide receiver Milo Burgholder, cutting the deficit to 28-12 with 9:55 left in the third period.

Junior running back Trystyn Robison scored on an 8-yard run with 4:35 showing in the quarter. Skoog connected with senior Larry Firmi on a two-point conversion pass to trim the margin to 28-20.

Skoog was at it again early in the fourth, completing a 14-yard TD pass to sophomore running back Luke Schlosser with 11:54 remaining. A PAT pass to freshman wide receiver Jay Jackson tied the game.

Skoog had connected on a 46-yard TD pass to Jackson in the first half. The 5-11, 150-pound freshman finished with six catches for 79 yards.

That’s the way the fourth quarter ended.

Clear Fork had the ball to start OT at the Lexington 20-yard line. After a two-yard completion on first down, Skoog said Carroll called him over. He wanted the same play, but told him to look for Burgholder deep on the left side.

“Milo just runs a go (on the play). Normally, that’s the run-off. We’ve never thrown it to him. Coach Carroll said to run the same play, but throw it to Milo. I pump faked (the short route) and threw it to Milo, who was wide open … touchdown.”

Lexington ran a similar play on its possession and senior wide receiver Caden Eichler appeared open when senior QB Cole Pauley fired it his way. But Clear Fork senior defensive back Chase McCune closed the gap quickly and knocked the ball away in the end zone. The Colts’ defense held and secured the win.

For the game, Pauley connected on 11-of-17 passes for 154 yards. Eichler topped Lexington with five catches for 57 yards.

TALE OF TWO HALVES: Lexington coach Taylor Gerhardt, back with the team this season after stepping away from the program for the past two years, said his team didn’t show up in the second half.

“We thought that there was enough of a cushion and we just went out and figured we just had to run around. We were like two different teams tonight and you can’t do that against Clear Fork,” Gerhardt said. “Dave Carroll does a heck of a job over there and his teams don’t ever quit.

“We have got to learn there were four quarters in a football game and we surely didn’t play like that tonight.”

He said he and his players needed to go home and look in the mirror.

“That guy in the mirror is the only one you can’t lie to. You have got to figure out if you’re going to come back and work and or if you want to feel sorry for yourself. That’s what we all have to do, myself included. I believe these kids are going to come back and work and we’re going to get better,” Gerhardt said.

UP NEXT: Clear Fork hosts Bellevue (2-1) next Friday night in another non-league game. The Redmen knocked off previously unbeaten Shelby 45-40 in week three. Lexington hosts Mount Vernon (1-2) in the first Ohio Cardinal Conference game of the season. The Yellow Jackets lost at Buckeye Valley, 29-21, on Friday night.

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