Miscues send McClain to 2nd consecutive loss
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — Over 300 rushing yards weren't enough for the McClain Tigers to overcome multiple miscues and a tough East Clinton passing game, as the Tigers lost, 27-21, for their second loss of the season.
McClain fumbled the ball four times, losing possession three times, which led to good field position and points for the visiting Astros, who move to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the South Central Ohio League.
The Tigers drop of 0-2 in the SCOL and 3-2 overall.
"It was a rough night," MHS head coach Randy Closson said. "We didn't play with consistency. The offensive line of East Clinton did a nice job where we couldn't pressure them all night.
"We just couldn't disrupt their rhythm."
The score that eventually won the game came with 10:20 left in the fourth as the Astros broke a 21-21 tie with a 20-yard touchdown reception by Eric Moore, as he broke a couple tackles and ran down the EC sideline for the score. The drive went 43 yards as EC gained possession after holding the Tigers to negative yards on a fourth-and-3 attempt from the 50-yard line.
Moore had five receptions for 46 yards.
"We felt the team who got into rhythm could do something," East Clinton head coach Bill Hrabak said. "Our no-huddle disrupted their (MHS) rhythm, especially in the first half.
"The no-huddle worked well for us."
The Astros' offense finished with 256 yards, including 197 yards passing from quarterback Dalton Floyd, who was 19-of-34 with four touchdown passes. Clyde Snow totaled nine receptions to lead EC with 97 yards receiving. He also scored two touchdowns. Overall, EC had 59 yards rushing.
The night started off bad for the Tigers, as they lost the opening kickoff on their first fumble of the game. MHS did force a punt, and the offense was forced all the way back to their own 8-yard line.
MHS put together their best drive of the game with a 92-yard drive that ended with Alex Hollar catching a 21-yard pass from Thomas Schrader for a touchdown with 6:23 left in the opening quarter.
McClain finished with 381 yards of offense, as the Tigers had 51 rushes for 336 yards. Schrader led MHS with 145 yards on 16 rushes, while Ryan Faulconer followed with 115 yards on 24 rushes. Dillon Hunick had eight carries for 63 yards.
EC rallied in the first to take the lead as they put together a seven-play, 35-yard drive, ending with a 10-yard reception by Snow with 1:43 left in the first. EC scored on a two-point conversion with Snow racing into the end zone off a pitch from Floyd.
The Tigers took a 13-8 lead in the second quarter on a four-play, 66-yard drive that was capped off on a 10-yard run by Schrader. The big play of the drive was another run by Schrader that went for 43 yards. The two-point conversion attempt was no good.
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McClain's defense then forced a punt, but the Tigers mishandled the return, fumbling the ball, and EC's Jarrett Huff landed on the ball to regain possession of the Astros.
That miscue for the Tigers eventually turned into a 10-play, 56-yard drive in which Snow caught a 14-yard pass from Floyd for six points and the lead at 14-13 with 6:25 remaining on the clock.
Later, EC took a 21-13 advantage with Zac Hrabak catching a 20-yard pass from Floyd with 2:13 left in the first half for a touchdown. The PAT by Tyler Sweet put EC ahead by eight points.
"This week, we didn't shoot ourselves in the foot like we have at times this season," Hrabak said. "(Friday) when we got into the red zone, we took advantage of it.
"We executed in two halves. The kids understand what we want to do."
A note about that drive was MHS fumbled on a punt return on EC's fourth down that was recovered by Dusty Howard of EC.
McClain tied the score with 7:55 left in the third quarter when Faulconer raced 1 yard into the end zone. Hunick scored on the two-point conversion for the 21-21 tied score.
MHS lost the ball for the third time on a punt return attempt with 6:47 left in the third. MHS answered with Schrader intercepting the ball with 5:13 left in the third but were unable to score.
From there, MHS ended the game with consecutive turnovers on downs.
MHS will travel to face the Chillicothe Cavaliers next Friday, who defeated the Washington Blue Lions, 56-6 Friday. CHS stands at 2-0 in the SCOL and 5-0 overall.
McClain fumbled the ball four times, losing possession three times, which led to good field position and points for the visiting Astros, who move to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the South Central Ohio League.
The Tigers drop of 0-2 in the SCOL and 3-2 overall.
"It was a rough night," MHS head coach Randy Closson said. "We didn't play with consistency. The offensive line of East Clinton did a nice job where we couldn't pressure them all night.
"We just couldn't disrupt their rhythm."
The score that eventually won the game came with 10:20 left in the fourth as the Astros broke a 21-21 tie with a 20-yard touchdown reception by Eric Moore, as he broke a couple tackles and ran down the EC sideline for the score. The drive went 43 yards as EC gained possession after holding the Tigers to negative yards on a fourth-and-3 attempt from the 50-yard line.
Moore had five receptions for 46 yards.
"We felt the team who got into rhythm could do something," East Clinton head coach Bill Hrabak said. "Our no-huddle disrupted their (MHS) rhythm, especially in the first half.
"The no-huddle worked well for us."
The Astros' offense finished with 256 yards, including 197 yards passing from quarterback Dalton Floyd, who was 19-of-34 with four touchdown passes. Clyde Snow totaled nine receptions to lead EC with 97 yards receiving. He also scored two touchdowns. Overall, EC had 59 yards rushing.
The night started off bad for the Tigers, as they lost the opening kickoff on their first fumble of the game. MHS did force a punt, and the offense was forced all the way back to their own 8-yard line.
MHS put together their best drive of the game with a 92-yard drive that ended with Alex Hollar catching a 21-yard pass from Thomas Schrader for a touchdown with 6:23 left in the opening quarter.
McClain finished with 381 yards of offense, as the Tigers had 51 rushes for 336 yards. Schrader led MHS with 145 yards on 16 rushes, while Ryan Faulconer followed with 115 yards on 24 rushes. Dillon Hunick had eight carries for 63 yards.
EC rallied in the first to take the lead as they put together a seven-play, 35-yard drive, ending with a 10-yard reception by Snow with 1:43 left in the first. EC scored on a two-point conversion with Snow racing into the end zone off a pitch from Floyd.
The Tigers took a 13-8 lead in the second quarter on a four-play, 66-yard drive that was capped off on a 10-yard run by Schrader. The big play of the drive was another run by Schrader that went for 43 yards. The two-point conversion attempt was no good.
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McClain's defense then forced a punt, but the Tigers mishandled the return, fumbling the ball, and EC's Jarrett Huff landed on the ball to regain possession of the Astros.
That miscue for the Tigers eventually turned into a 10-play, 56-yard drive in which Snow caught a 14-yard pass from Floyd for six points and the lead at 14-13 with 6:25 remaining on the clock.
Later, EC took a 21-13 advantage with Zac Hrabak catching a 20-yard pass from Floyd with 2:13 left in the first half for a touchdown. The PAT by Tyler Sweet put EC ahead by eight points.
"This week, we didn't shoot ourselves in the foot like we have at times this season," Hrabak said. "(Friday) when we got into the red zone, we took advantage of it.
"We executed in two halves. The kids understand what we want to do."
A note about that drive was MHS fumbled on a punt return on EC's fourth down that was recovered by Dusty Howard of EC.
McClain tied the score with 7:55 left in the third quarter when Faulconer raced 1 yard into the end zone. Hunick scored on the two-point conversion for the 21-21 tied score.
MHS lost the ball for the third time on a punt return attempt with 6:47 left in the third. MHS answered with Schrader intercepting the ball with 5:13 left in the third but were unable to score.
From there, MHS ended the game with consecutive turnovers on downs.
MHS will travel to face the Chillicothe Cavaliers next Friday, who defeated the Washington Blue Lions, 56-6 Friday. CHS stands at 2-0 in the SCOL and 5-0 overall.