BELLVILLE — Aaron Brokaw liked what he saw in his players’ eyes this week in practice.
Coming off back-to-back losses to start the season against two powerhouse opponents, it would have been easy to see doubt creep into the minds of his young Clear Fork Colts.
In his second year at the helm of his alma mater, Brokaw saw the opposite on a rainy evening down in the valley.
“You could see the hunger in their eyes,” he said after a convincing 28-3 win at home Friday night over cross-county rival Lexington (0-3) at the Colt Corral.
“I think sometimes with a young group, they’re not really sure what they’re supposed to expect. They’re so green that they get out there on a Friday night and when things don’t go their way, they don’t know any different. They just keep playing football,” Brokaw said.
“It’s a great group of kids because even though the first two weeks didn’t go the way we wanted it to, they had a ton of energy at practice,” he said.
“They were resilient. They weren’t ready to quit.”
Home cooking led to a satisfying meal
It was the home opener for Clear Fork after road losses to Sandusky Perkins and Granville, two teams that are a combined 6-0, outscoring their opponents, 265-38.
“I don’t want to speak for all the experts out there on high school football. But I think you’d be hard pressed to see a team with a tougher non-league schedule than what we saw this year,” Brokaw said.
photo gallery with 60-plus images from the clear fork-lexington game
Clear Fork overcame a slow start that saw them turn the ball over twice in the first quarter. The Colts’ defense held the line against Lexington and limited the Minutemen to just a 32-yard field goal by senior JayByx Mack.
It was the start of a dominant night for the Clear Fork defense that limited Lexington to just 117 yards of total offense — 34 on the ground and 83 through the air.
“Coming into tonight, it looks like defensively we’ve struggled this year because we gave up a lot of points. But the first couple of weeks, we put our defense in some bad situations. We gave up some special teams touchdowns the last two weeks,” Brokaw said.
“So the scoreboard is a little bit deceiving as to the way the defense has been playing. They have been lights out. I don’t think we’ve given up 100 yards rushing so far on the season. We’re flying around, we’re having fun on defense and we’re starting to get a little bit of energy on offense right now, too,” he said.
Clear Fork offense was singing in the rain
That offense showed that energy on the ground and in the air as the Colts rushed for 207 yards and two TDs and had 68 through the air. That total included an electrifying 62-yard TD catch-and-run by senior Jay Jackson from QB Marcus Hoeflich that gave Clear Fork a 7-3 edge early in the second quarter.
Senior running back Nick Appleman rushed for 121 yards and a TD on 23 carries. Fellow senior Mason Sansom had 60 yards on nine attempts and another score.
Senior linebacker Blake Schlosser had Clear Fork’s other score, blocking a punt, scooping it up and racing 23 yards into the end zone.
“I’m just one of those old Neanderthals that I think in high school football, you have got to be able to run the football to be successful long-term. We’ve got three good running backs because of Mason, Nick and Porter Schmidt back there.
“We can keep them fresh and the offensive line did a good job tonight of getting a hat on a hat and it opened up some seams. We preach all the time that these runs might not be home runs in the first half, but they are body blows that will pay off in the second,” Brokaw said.
Lexington looking for answers on offense
Lexington coach Andrew Saris, in his third year, said his team has work to do with an offense that has scored just three TDs in three games.
It was an effort made more difficult Friday night when junior wide receiver Seven Allen, who has all three of those scores, went out midway through the first quarter with an injury and didn’t return.
Junior QB Joe Caudill completed 11-of-24 passes for 83 yards and led Lexington on the ground with just nine yards on 15 carries. Senior Gage Powell had four catches for 32 yards.
“Losing Seven … an integral part of both our offense and defense … it put us a bit in a bind,” Saris said. “It was tough. However, we still have got to be able to move the ball whether or not he’s in there.
“It has to be the ‘next-man-up’ mentality,” Saris said.
“For the most part, we did a decent job stopping their running game. But again, we’ve got to get something going on offense,” he said.
“We are going to bury the game ball from tonight and get ready for a Week Four opponent in Akron North.
“It’s going to be self-reflection this week. What can you do to make the team, the team, the team better?” Saris said.
Up next:
— Clear Fork hosts Galion (3-0) in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game next Friday night at the Colt Corral. The Tigers defeated Upper Sandusky, 42-0, in week three.
— Lexington hosts Akron North (0-3) in a non-league game next Friday night. The Vikings lost to Akron Hoover in Week Three, 40-6.
Clear Fork 28, Lexington 3
Scoring summary
1st quarter
Lexington — JayByx Mack 32-yard field goal, 3-0
2nd quarter
Clear Fork — Jay Jackson 62-yard pass from Marcus Hoeflich (PAT Ethan Beck kick), 3-7
Clear Fork — Blake Schlosser 23-yard return of blocked punt (PAT Beck kick), 3-14
3rd quarter
Clear Fork — Mason Sansom 43-yard run (PAT Beck kick), 3-21
4th quarter
Clear Fork — Nick Appleman 8-yard run (PAT Beck kick), 3-28
