One-by-one the Gridiron gang stepped out of the locker room and into the brisk fall air.
A few smiled and exclaimed, “now this is football weather,” as they made their way to practice on Monday.
The Clarkston Boys Varsity Football team had spent the weekend celebrating their win on Friday night in Pontiac, 20-7.
Now it was time to get back to work and get ready for week six in the season.
Reflecting back on the win, long-time Wolves Head Coach Kurt Richardson remembered the plays helping the team and elements that hurt the game.
“Defensively we played pretty well,” he said. “Except for one series. We have to eliminate that one series that keeps costing us that one touchdown.”
The touchdown happened eight minutes into the second half on a 3-yard run by Pontiac’s Anthony Adams.
“We didn’t tackle good on the series,” said Richardson.
Offensively Clarkston scored on two touchdowns and two field goals during the game.
“We weren’t sufficient enough in the red zone,” said Richardson. “We are making strides in some areas but we have to make bigger strides in other areas.”
But he saw a lot of good things happening out on the field including moments leading to scoring opportunities.
“We created some turnovers,” he added. “We had a couple of interceptions, fumble recoveries and we hung onto the ball very well. We aren’t turning the ball over ourselves.”
An interception made by Zach Collins in the second quarter started the Wolves drive for their first touchdown.
A pass to Chris Canada in the endzone from quarterback Nick Demattia put Clarkston at 10-0 with 19.6 seconds left in the first half.
“Collins had a great game,” said Richardson. “Canada had a good game on both sides of the ball.”
Another touchdown pass from Demattia to Joey Goss put the boys at 17-0 in the third quarter.
Alex Barta finished the night with a 30-yard field goal with 9:19 left in the game.
The Wolves host Rochester (4-1, 3-1 OAA Red) on Friday night.
“They are a good football team,” said Richardson. “We have to play better than we have. They are going to come in here on a roll. They believe in themselves. They are going to be sky high for us.”
Kick-off is at 6:55 p.m.
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The freshman and JV teams also triumphed over their Phoenix foes.
The freshman team scored 42 points during their second home game and defense kept Pontiac to six points. The JV team won 41-28, adding their fifth win to their undefeated record. Both teams travel to Rochester on Thursday night.