The Clyde football team’s season came to an end last Friday night with a loss to Toledo Central Catholic in the regional semifinals, 35-25.
The loss also marked the end of the high school careers of the Fliers’ seniors, including Jake Jenne. Jenne didn’t want to end the season without expressing how much the coaches meant to the team, especially Coach Ryan Carter.
“I would just like to thank all the coaches that have been a part of this amazing journey over the years,” Jenne said. “Especially Coach Carter for taking the job three years ago. I believe he is the best coach out there and couldn’t imagine playing for anyone but him.”
Defending state champion Central Catholic got a quick start against the Fliers on Friday night when Tre’von Wade opened up the scoring with a three-yard touchdown run, within the first four minutes of the game.
The Fliers responded quickly though, with a drive capped off by Frank Sewell scoring on a 13-yard TD run. The Fliers missed the PAT, but had cut the early lead for the Irish to just one point, 7-6.
Central Catholic struck again in the second quarter when Torrin Campbell connected with Darion Greer for a 24-yard touchdown to increase the lead, 14-6.
In the second half, the Fliers defense responded by keeping the Irish off the scoreboard for the entire third quarter. The defensive effort allowed the offense to once again cut into Central Catholic’s lead when quarterback Lucas Nicely plunged into the end zone from one yard out.
Clyde attempted a two-point conversion, but the Irish stopped the run attempt that would have knotted the game at 14. The Fliers instead trailed, 14-12.
The Fliers took their first lead of the game early in the fourth quarter when Nicely connected with John Jackson for a 21-yard touchdown pass. The Fliers again tried for a two-point conversion and were again stopped on a running play by the Irish defense but found themselves in front, 19-14.
Central Catholic responded like a defending-state champion shortly afterward, though. The Irish put up three touchdowns in a seven-minute span to put the Fliers away for good.
Sewell did score one more touchdown for Clyde, on a seven-yard run, with a little over a minute left in the game, but the damage had already been done.
The Fliers finished with 357 yards of total offense, while the Irish finished with 415.
Nicely completed 10 of 17 passes for 203 yards. Sewell led the Fliers ground attack with 100 yard on a night where he averaged 4.2 yards per carry. Zach Rieman had 125 yards receiving on five receptions, with a long of 43 yards.
Despite the tough loss, Carter was pleased with the way his team played in the game.
“It was a great year,” he said. “The boys played very hard. We just came up short, but it was not from lack of effort. We asked our kids to not back down and they did not. It shows the way they have been raised and the pride in our towns and communities that they have.”
While the team will lose a number of seniors, Carter believes that those players that will return to the team next season will have an opportunity to do something special.
“We have a bunch of players coming back and that’s exciting,” Carter said.. “Our seniors showed great leadership and they are going to be missed.”
Jenne believes that the underclassmen have truly grown over the season and expects great things next season, as well.
“The underclassmen they really grew up this year and learned how to fly,” he said. “They have a bright future and if they keep working like they have, we can expect something great next year.”
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