When the gridiron heroes walked onto the field on Saturday afternoon it was a different scene then when they left Friday night during the thunderstorm.
It was sunny and the weather was clear – perfect weather for a football game and for the Wolves to defeat Bloomfield Hills in their first OAA Red matchup in the season, 38-7.
A bonus to the day for Clarkston Varsity Football was being able to get players from the bench into the game.
‘It was nice,? smiled Kurt Richardson, long-time head coach. ‘For me that was a highlight. Those kids bust their butt, too, and they don’t get any time. They will work harder in practice for us. They will be a little happier and their spirits will be up. It helps everybody.?
Senior Jack McKillop added it was a great win especially getting everyone playing in the game.
‘It was kind of weird to be on a Saturday,? he admitted. ‘But I had a lot of fun. Defense played well and offense executed.?
The scoring started in the first quarter, less than five minutes in on a 27-yard pass play from senior quarterback DJ Zezula to senior wide receiver Merrick Canada. A PAT made from junior Alex Kessman put the score at 7-0.
On the Blackhawks next possession, Wolves? defense including Canada, Austin Egler, Bryce Witherspoon, Alex Snyder, Will Scarlet, Ross Manssur slowed them – forcing them to punt on the fourth down at 2:04.
Defensiveback senior Joe Popp caught the punt kick and ran 14 yards to the 30-yard line before he was stopped. Popp was up again as he caught a pass from Zezula and the Wolves gained 49 yards on a pass play.
Three plays later the Wolves landed in the endzone on a 10-yard run made by junior running back Nolan Eriksen with 27.6 seconds left in the first quarter.
The scoring continued in the second quarter, starting when McKillop intercepted Bloomfield Hills? pass on the 11-yard line in the Blackhawks? turf 18 seconds into the second quarter.
‘I was pretty happy,? McKillop reflected. ‘I knew they were going to run a screen so I tried to get over there really quick.?
Eight seconds later Zezula handed the ball to senior running back Centrus Williams, Jr. who ran around the right end and into the endzone to put the score, 21-0.
The Wolfpack attacked again with 6:53 left in the half when Zezula connected a pass to Egler. The 74-yard touchdown pass play ended the 95 yard journey in six plays.
With 73 seconds remaining Williams, Jr. guaranteed the second half would start with a running clock when he scored a touchdown on his 2-yard run.
Kessman was 5-for-5 on PATs and finished the scoring for the night with a 34-yard field goal.
Clarkston defense kept the Blackhawks from scoring for the first 39 minutes of the game. Bloomfield Hills scored on a touchdown from Nick Schneider and a PAT from James Montgomery.
Richardson noted there still things the boys need to work on.
‘We made a lot of mistakes,? he added. ‘We weren’t very sharp.?
The Wolves host West Bloomfield on Friday in their next league game.
‘They are very good,? Richardson said. ‘They have a very talented quarterback. They smoked Troy. They are going to come in gunning for us.?
‘They have a nice squad,? McKillop added. ‘We will have to prepare for them pretty hard this week and be ready to go.?
Kick off is at 7 p.m. at the high school.