Clovers fall to Patriots at home, 35-8

CLOVERDALE -- It didn't take long for the Cloverdale football team to see Friday was not its night. The visiting Owen Valley Patriots took the opening play from scrimmage 77 yards for a touchdown with only 17 seconds gone in the contest.

Although no more plays were nearly that large, much of the remainder of the night was the same, as the Clovers fell to the Patriots, 35-8.

The opening score was a screen pass from Justin Mosier to Brandt Warner. The duo would hook up for a total of three touchdowns on the night.

After the touchdown, Craig Roberts missed the PAT, to keep the score 6-0.

The Clovers went three-and-out in their ensuing series, and the Patriots went back to work.

Another Mosier-to-Warner touchdown capped a seven-play 73-yard drive. A missed conversion made it 12-0.

On their third drive, the Patriots scored again, this time on a 42-yard field goal from Roberts.

The score was 15-0 after the first quarter.

The Clovers continued to struggle in the second quarter. The offense managed only 45 yards in the first half.

The defense began to show life on the opening drive of the second, getting its first stop when it forced the Patriots to turn the ball over on downs.

However, the Patriots came back on the next drive with another touchdown pass.

The score was 22-0 at the half.

The Clovers opened the second half with new life, coming out to march down the field on the Owen Valley defense.

"The difference was enthusiasm," Clover coach Kyle Winkler said. "We talked them up at halftime and said, 'Hey, we're going to do this.'"

It worked for the Clovers, who went 70 yards in 11 plays for the touchdown. Senior Keith Morgan, who was running on an injured ankle, picked up a key third-and-seven, and later picked up the seven-yard touchdown to put the Clovers on the board.

Keith Morgan rounds the corner on a seven-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

"We had a key run from Keith Morgan. He just busted right up the middle the same way he did it in practice, and he was running on one leg," Winkler said. "That's the kind of heart we need out of every single Cloverdale player is what he demonstrated on senior night. I just need 10 more guys doing that all night long, just like him."

Morgan finished with 40 yards on just five carries. Fellow senior Aaron Dayhuff had 40 yards on three carries.

Levi Boller ran in the two-point conversion to make it 22-8.

The Clovers got even more motivation when the defense force Owen Valley to punt.

The third play into the next drive, though, Clover quarterback Jordan Hayden threw an interception that killed the momentum.

"We got the motivation out of the kids once we started moving the ball," Winkler said. "We got it rolling, and then we tried to throw a long pass. The quarterback throws it across the field and that's not good."

Although the Patriots had to punt again, the Clover offense failed to get in gear again.

The Patriots added two more touchdowns, including one unnecessary score when the could have allowed the clock to run out by kneeling.

Winkler plans to have his team move forward and continue practicing hard for the regular season finale and section.

"We're not cashing in yet," he said. "Nobody's getting ready for basketball practice. Nobody's getting ready for wrestling practice. If so, we'll put in some kid who wants to play. I think they all need to know that I'm not going to have in loser limps out here next week. We're going to go full speed."

The Clovers (3-4, 1-4 WCC) travel to North Putnam at 7 p.m. next Friday.

At Cloverdale

Owen Valley 15 7 0 13 -- 35

Cloverdale 0 0 8 0 -- 8

1st Quarter

OV -- Warner 77 pass from Ju. Mosier (Roberts kick failed) 11:43

OV -- Warner 26 pass from Ju. Mosier (run failed) 7:25

OV -- Roberts 42 FG 2:00

2nd Quarter

OV -- N. Mosier 13 pass from Ju. Mosier (Roberts kick good) 1:07

3rd Quarter

CHS -- Morgan 7 run (Boller run good) 6:50

4th Quarter

OV -- Warner 7 pass from Ju. Mosier (Roberts kick good) 5:00

OV -- J. Hershberger 3 run (Roberts kick failed) :29

TEAM STATISTICS

First Downs -- OV 15, CHS 7

Fumbles-Lost -- OV 4-0, CHS 1-1

Turnovers -- OV 0, CHS 5

Penalties-Yards -- OV 4-40, CHS 6-42

INDIVIDUAL STATISITCS

Owen Valley (4-4, 2-3 WIC):

Rushing -- (44 carries, 197 yards) -- A. Herschberger 30-145, J. Herschberger 4-29, Je. Mosier 3-6, Hamilton 2-13, Turley 2-10, Drescher 2-4, Ju. Mosier 1-0

Passing -- (10-20-4-0, 184 yards) -- Ju. Mosier 10-20-4-0, 184 yards

Receiving -- (10 catches, 184 yards) -- Warner 5-141, N. Mosier 4-30, Wilson 1-13

Cloverdale (3-5, 1-4 WCC):

Rushing -- (25 carries, 105 yards) -- Gray 8-9, Morgan 5-40, Boller 5-16, Dayhuff 3-40, Spinks 2-4, Cummings 2-(-5)

Passing -- (5-15-0-4, 29 yards) -- Hayden 5-15-0-4, 29 yards

Receiving -- (5 catches, 29 yards) -- Cummings 2-16, Young 1-6, McCallie 1-6, Dayhuff 1-1

Next game -- The Clovers conclude the regular season at 7 p.m. next Friday at North Putnam.