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Cougars rout Clovers 55-0 for homecoming victory
By JOHNATHON GOODE
For the Banner Graphic
ROACHDALE It had been since 2005 that the Cloverdale Clovers football team won three straight games and they had the chance to do it Friday night. On the other side the North Putnam Cougars were coming home for the first time since that dreadful 50-0 loss to Monrovia last year in the sectional championship. They had since come off of a 3-and-1 road trip.
Both teams had high expectations and the Cougar crowd had been waiting all year to watch its team on the home field. They got what they had been waiting for and shutout the Clovers 55-0. Forty-one of those points came in the first half before a running clock was imposed in the second half.
The Cougar defense was stunning all night forcing the Clovers to a loss of 35 yards and only one first down that was gained off of a facemask penalty in the first half. They forced four Clover turnovers, which two of them were returned for touchdowns and a third one led to a touchdown.
Offensively, North Putnam had a good night. On 32 carries they gained 223 yards and Hayden Rudes was 7-of-9 passing for 83 yards.
After turning the ball over on downs on the first possession, Gage Bell started the scoring with 8:20 remaining in the first quarter on the first play after a Clover punt. Great blocking by the wide receivers on the right side helped him take a sweep 64 yards into the end zone.
With 7:27 remaining in the first quarter Ethan Christy intercepted Tyce Jackson and ran the ball back to the five-yard line. Three plays later after taking a holding penalty Max Haste caught a 10-yard pass from Rudes to put the Cougars up 14-0.
On the first play of the ensuing Clover possession, Haste stripped running back Jordan Berardi and scored from 22 yards out.
With 2:39 remaining in the first half the Clovers finally got a defensive stop. Junior linebacker Ethan Radford stripped Christy and recovered the ball in Cougar territory at the 36-yard line. Three plays later they had to punt.
Trey Henry had six punts for 171 yards on the night but could not get a seventh off because the snap went flying over his head.
He was hit by Haste trying to pick up the ball and instead junior lineman Dillon Binnion picked it up and ran it back to the 10-yard line where he was brought down. A facemask penalty was called that moved the ball to the five and with 55 seconds left Ethan Christy ran it in.
The Cougars put up 41 points in the first half and never looked back.
With the game getting out of hand and the threat of weather causing delays the running clock started right away in the second half. So did the Cougars.
Solomon Gross ran the ball in from five yards out on the first possession to give the Cougars the 48-0 lead.
Haste continued his big night with a 1:30 left in the third quarter when he stripped Henry and Justice Laffin picked the ball up from 22 yards out and ran it for a touchdown. The Cougars did not score in the fourth quarter after running down the clock with the junior varsity playing.
As mentioned, Haste was the star of the night. He had two forced fumbles, one of which he returned for a touchdown and he also had three catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.
Jackson played quarterback in place of injured Drew Boyette who has a broken thumb. He was 0-6 passing with two interceptions. He also had nine carries for a loss of 21 yards.
Part of the reason the Clovers could not gain yards on the night was because of the 10 tackles for loss the Cougars had just with their varsity. Gross had four big tackles that resulted in a combined 30 yards for loss.
Although the Clovers will have to wait at least a few more games to get the streak, they will have a good chance to get started when they host Brown County next Friday. The Cougars will travel to Northview. Both games are at 7 p.m.
Cloverdale 0 0 0 0 0
North Putnam 27 14 14 0 55
NP Gage Bell 64-yard run, (Gage Bell kick) 7-0
NP Hayden Rudes pass to Max Haste for 10 yards, (Bell kick) 14-0
NP Haste fumble return 22 yards (kick failed) 20-0
NP Ethan Christy 34-yard run, (Bell kick) 27-0
NP Rudes 1-yard run, (Bell kick) 34-0
NP Christy 5-yard run, (Bell kick) 41-0
NP Solomon Gross 5-yard run, (Bell kick) good 48-0
NP Justice Laffin fumble return 22 yards (Bell kick) 55-0
C NP
First downs 1 10
Rushes-yds 28-(-35) 32-223
Passing yards 0 83
Total offense -35 306
Passing 0-6-2 7-9-0
Penalties-yds 7-45 5-46
Punts-avg 6-28.3 0-0
Individual Statistics
Passing Cloverdale: Tyce Jackson 0-6-2. North Putnam: Hayden Rudes 7-9-0 83 TD.
Rushing Cloverdale 28-(-35): Winders 5-11, Allen 3-5, Smith 1-5, Johnson 1-1, Helterbrand 1-(-3), Maynard 1-(-3), Henry 2-(-8), Jackson 9-(-21), Berardi 4-(-22). North Putnam (32-223): Bell 3-63, Christy 5-45, Arnold 2-32, Gross 6-24, Rudes 5-20, Murray 1-17, Proctor 4-12, Haste 1-11, Judy 2-4, Davies 1-3, Baker 1(-2), M. Summers 1-(-6).
Receiving North Putnam (7-83): Haste 3-61, Christy 2-14, Bell 1-9.