Week 5 Rewind: Clear Creek Amana Offensive Line Steps Up in Win Over Oskaloosa
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
TIFFIN – Jackson Stevens stole the show on Friday night with an all-time performance that lifted Clear Creek Amana to its first win of the season.
There was no doubt Stevens was the star of the show for the Clippers on Friday.
The unsung hero for Clear Creek Amana was a re-shuffled offensive line that came up with its best performance of the season.
Playing without several starters up front Clear Creek Amana rolled up a season-high 371 rushing yards while improving to 1-4 on the season and 1-0, in Class 4A, District 3 play.
“It’s a new season and we knew coming into this game we are 0-0 and we just have to try to build off this,” Clear Creek Amana senior offensive lineman Carson Nash said. “We have to finish off these last four games.”
Nash was part of the offensive line shuffle that started when junior starters Brody Clubb and Cole Smith were forced to miss the game with injuries.
A starter at center the first few games, Nash moved to guard while sophomore Carson Bromwell and junior Kevin Howe stepped into the lineup.
Bromwell started at left tackle and Howe at center.
“We had some guys really step up,” Clear Creek Amana coach Matt Haddy said. “We had four starters out tonight and three of them are two-way guys so that’s a huge deal and we had a lot of guys get thrust into new spots but we were really good up front.”
Behind the huge game from Stevens the Clippers and 74 yards on 10 carries from 205-pound senior Sam Pettinger the Clippers averaged 8.2 yards per carry while rolling up 371 yards on the ground.
The 371 rushing yards were the most for Clear Creek Amana since the Clippers ran for 377 in a win over Central DeWitt in the 2016 season finale.
“We knew we had to do our jobs,” Nash said. “It was fundamental football we just had to make some holes.”
Of the 371 rushing yards for Clear Creek Amana, 296 came after halftime as Stevens scored on touchdown runs of 73 and 68 yards in the second half.
Pettinger had 72 yards on nine carries in the second half.
“I thought our offensive line did a really nice job,” Haddy said. “There was a stretch there in the second half where everybody here knew we were going to run the football and we still ran the football.”
News and Notes
Strong District Starts: Your Prep Sports area teams remained unbeaten in district play last week with Solon and Clear Creek Amana posting wins in their district openers.
Clear Creek Amana (1-4) downed Oskaloosa 28-21 in its 4A, District 3 opener and Solon (4-1) defeated Grinnell 40-7 to open Class 3A, District 5 play.
West Branch (3-2) and Regina (5-0) both improved to 2-0 in Class 1A, District 5 action with wins on Friday.
Bell’s Big Game: The more Solon junior quarterback Tyler Bell plays, the better he gets and Bell had his best game yet on Friday.
Bell completed 14-of-20 passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns in a 40-7 road win at Grinnell.
Bell tossed scoring strikes to four different players on Friday including 43 yard touchdown passes to Eddie Johnson and Brett White.
Koller Keeps Rolling: Another game, another big outing for versatile Liberty High junior running back Sutton Koller.
Koller had 13 carries for 46 yards and caught a team-high 12 passes for 135 yards in a 38-30 loss at Cedar Rapids Prairie.
On the season Koller leads Class 5A with 49 receptions, ranks second in 5A in receiving yards with 594 and is tied with teammate Dallas Miller for second in 5A with six receiving touchdowns.
Players of the Week
Offensive player of the week: Clear Creek Amana senior Jackson Stevens rushed for a career-high 276 yards and three touchdowns and caught a pass for 12 yards to help the Clippers to a 28-21 win over Oskaloosa.
Defensive player of the week: Regina senior defensive lineman Jack Clark had three sacks among his 3.5 tackles in a 49-14 win over Cascade.
Special teams player of the week: Regina senior Jackson Naeve returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown in a 49-41 win over Cascade and also had 81 receiving yards and a touchdown, rushed for 21 yards and had three tackles and an interception.
Helmet Stickers
Offense: Liberty High junior receiver Dallas Miller caught nine passes for 111 yards and a touchdown in a 38-30 loss to Cedar Rapids Prairie.
Defense: City High senior defensive back Jake Mitchell had 13 tackles including 11 solos, two tackles for loss and a sack in a 61-34 loss to Cedar Rapids Kennedy.
Defense: West High sophomore Adrian DeWaard had seven tackles including five solo stops and an interception in a 48-21 loss to Ankeny.
Special teams: West High junior Evan Anderson converted all three of his PAT attempts and averaged 33.8 yards per punt on four punts.
Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating.
