CLIPPERS HOLD OFF BULLDOGS

CORTLAND, OH- Even though both teams in this Friday night game have been eliminated or opted out of the playoffs for this year, there was still intensity played on both sides of the ball. The Columbiana Clippers were able to pull out a win on the road in the rain against the Lakeview Bulldogs 16-10. 

After the first play of the game concluded, the referees called the game briefly for a rain delay that lasted about 17 minutes. On the second possession of the game for the Clippers, Anthony Kocanjer connected a deep pass to Xathon Cross for a 54-yard touchdown. A few plays later in the first quarter, Xathon Cross got his second touchdown on the night on the defensive side of the ball from a 70-yard pick-six off of Lakeview quarterback Jake Wilms. However, the extra point was blocked and resulted in a 13-0 score at the end of the first quarter. 

During the second quarter, Columbiana began to work a drive down the field when they fumbled the ball on their own 29-yard line which Lakeview recovered. On the Bulldogs’ first play of the drive, a 29-yard pass was thrown by Nate Fox to Gavin Mauger on a jet sweep-like play to give Lakeview their first score of the night. The Bulldogs’ next possession ended in a 47-yard field goal by Brandon Kilpatrick. The Clippers responded with a field goal of their own from 32 yards by Colin Schick after he caught a 38-yard pass from Kocanjer. After Lakeview received the kickoff, they took a knee and ended the half with the Clippers up 16 to 10. 

In the second half, there was no scoring on either side of the ball and both teams had great defensive stops on the ball. Two interceptions were made by Columbiana. The first one was made in the middle of the 3rd quarter by Trevor Dearing. The second interception by Anthony Kocanjer sealed the game for the Clippers with 32 seconds left in the game. Before the interception, the Bulldogs had one last chance at getting a score down the field when the Clippers made a big defensive stop. 

Lakeview falls to 1-8 as Columbiana advances to 4-5 for the season. 

*Contributed by YSN’s Dom O’Brien