BELLVILLE — One tough plus one tough equaled one easier for Clear Fork on Friday night in a 38-7 win against backyard rival Lexington.
After opening with a narrow win at Lucas and a narrow loss at Granville, the Colts exhaled a collective sigh of relief by blowing this game open early against the Minutemen.
Afterward, veteran head coach Dave Carroll pointed to the 21-20 win over the Cubs (2-1) and the loss to the Blue Aces (3-0) in prepping his team for the non-league home opener at the Colt Corral.
“Lucas, excellent football program. Granville, excellent football program. I think those two games got us to this,” he said.
“We had to play four quarters and play hard in the fourth quarter to come back and beat Lucas. We darn near did the same thing against Granville.
“Our big thing was that we can’t give people points. We can’t turn the football over and we can’t have stupid penalties. I have got to watch the game film, but I’m pretty sure we checked all those boxes,” Carroll said.
“Our kickoff team didn’t give up a touchdown like they did the first two weeks in a row. I don’t believe we had a turnover. We had some pass interference penalties, but I love those. It shows our kids were playing aggressive against some really good receivers,” he said.
Clear Fork’s offense simply overpowered Lexington in the first half, rolling to a 38-0 lead at the break and sparking a running clock for the final 24 minutes.
The Colts rolled up 438 yards in offense, including 289 yards rushing and 149 passing, while limiting the Minutemen (0-3) to 222, including just 77 on the ground.
Leading the way for Clear Fork were senior running back Pawie Ault (16 carries, 124 yards), senior quarterback Victor Skoog (six of 12 for 149 yards and 3 TDs) and senior running back Trystyn Robison (two rushes for 71 yards and three catches for 44 yards, scoring three TDs).
Clear Fork redid its locker rooms during the off-season, work done with community contributions. The team invited donors to come into those refurbished areas before the game.
“We had a nice crowd in there,” Carroll said. “It’s just the valley, man. They love their kids. They support their kids. When they know something is needed, they come and support them. There is nothing like it.”
He said his team appreciated a packed home stands after three weeks on the road, including a preview scrimmage at Wooster Triway.
“We always tell our kids, “Look up in the stands. You’ll never forget this the rest of your life. Nobody’s gonna come and do this again for you after you are done playing football. So enjoy it, take it in, get it in that memory bank … it’s a special place to play,’ ” Carroll said.
Lexington first-year head coach Andrew Saris told his team afterward to look to each other during tough times after losses to three teams with a combined 7-2 record.
“I told them all we got is each other. I always say that’s a lot. We gotta get back to the workshop. We have got to get back to the grind, but we can’t be happy with this feeling.
“We can’t be comfortable with this feeling. It’s important that we work through it. And we understand that to be a winning football team these are not feelings we should use to, excited with or comfortable with,” Saris said.
Lexington was led by senior quarterback A.J. Young, who completed 12-of-28 passes for 145 yards and also rushed for 82 yards on eight carries, including a 46-yard TD run in the third quarter.
Freshman wide receiver Brayden Fogle had three catches for 57 yards.
Saris credited Clear Fork for doing what the Colts do best.
“I thought they came in tonight running a lot of different, multiple sets, running their under-center, unbalanced wing T set, being able to go in the empty look.
“They just did a nice job up front at the line of scrimmage. And then I thought they did a nice job of sneaking those backs out and running some misdirection when we didn’t see it coming,” Saris said.
Up next: Clear Fork opens its Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference schedule at home against River Valley (2-1) next Friday night. The Vikings, who opened the season with two wins, were hammered by Tiffin Columbian in week three, 64-28.
Lexington launches its Ohio Cardinal Conference slate next Friday at home against Mount Vernon (1-2). The Yellow Jackets fell to Delaware Hayes, 45-10, in week three.
Scoring summary
First quarter
Clear Fork — Adam Vanausdle 23-yard field goal
Clear Fork — Trystyn Robison 23-yard run (PAT Vanausdle kick)
Second quarter
Clear Fork — Robison 48-yard run (Vanausdle kick)
Clear Fork — Milo Burgholder 60-yard pass from Victor Skoog (Vanausdle kick)
Clear Fork — Robison 25-yard pass from Skoog (Vanausdle kick)
Clear Fork — Logan Anderson 38-yard pass from Skoog (Vanausdle kick)
Third quarter
Lexington — A.J. Young 46-yard run (Young kick)
