The Clarkston Wolves (4-0) brought an all out ‘Wolf attack? defeating the Oak Park Knights (2-2) 20-0 in Friday night’s game.
The Wolves’ Brandon Hughes got a 22- yard interception return off Oak Park’s first drive. However, the Knights defense was able to hold the wolves to a fourth down on the five-yard line.
The Wolves put six on the scoreboard with 10:32 remaining in the first quarter after a fake field goal and five-yard pass from Erik Thomson to Chad Blackstone.
‘We saw it on film where they were crashing hard to try and block it,? said Clarkston coach Kurt Richardson. ‘So we just ran it.?
Even though the Wolves were able to force and recover three fumbles in the first half, they still only walked away 6-0 at halftime.
Richardson told his team they were getting the ball and needed to take advantage of it ? they needed to create field position and not let Oak Park gain momentum.
‘We didn’t come to play,? said Oak Parks coach Tim Hopkins. ‘We played Lake Orion, Troy, and now Clarkston. We should have been more amped up for the game ? for whatever reasons, we weren’t.?
The Wolves defense only allowed 63 yards in the second half.
‘Hats off to our defense,? said Richardson.
The Wolves capitalized in the end zone two more times, when Nick Shamoun gave a four-yard pass to Thompson with 11.2 seconds left in the third quarter, bringing the Wolves to 12-0 after failing their first two conversions. Later in the fourth quarter, Julius Porter got a 41-yard return after a pass interception, bringing the Wolves to the Knights 20-yard line. The game was closed out after a seven-yard rushing touchdown by Chad Blackstone and a two-point conversion pass from Shamoun to Blackstone.
‘We’re going to go back home and get back on the drawing board,? said Hopkins. ‘We look forward to seeing you (Clarkston) in the playoffs. I think we are going to meet again, but it will be a different story next time we meet though.?
Blackstone walked away with 11 carries for 88 yards and Jimmy Popp gained 74 yards with 25 carries.
Over the next week Richardson said he plans to work on offense.
‘We just got to keep getting better,? he said. ‘Our goal obviously is to win, we want to get better and better every week. I think we made some strides in that direction tonight.?
Clarkston travels to Pontiac Northern next week for a battle on the gridiron against the Huskies. Kickoff is set for 6:55 p.m.