Offense headlined friday night’s game between Clemens and MacArthur at Lehnhoff stadium. The game ended with Clemens escaping with a 45-42 win over Mac.
The two teams had scored a combined 106 points in week 1 wins, and neither missed a step as the first play of the game was a Tyler Vitt to Bobby Lepovitz 75 yard touchdown pass for MacArthur. The Brahmas forte in their potent offense is their big play ability from anywhere on the field.
Clemens was equally as efficient but at a slower pace. A pace that took a toll on the Brahmas defense over the course of 48 minutes. Their offense repeatedly embarked on drives that took over four minutes and usually ended in a score, further deflating the Brahmas.
The experience gained by the team far outweighs the final score. MacArthur’s three other non district games are against Marshall(W), South San, and Clark, who are a combined 0-6 (W-L), not exactly top tier competition. This game proved to be their first, and perhaps only, real test before they face Madison.
Both defenses did a respectable job keeping their teams in striking distance. The only real difference between the teams was the turnover battle which was won by Clemens 3-1. Running back Daijon Williams had another dynamic game both out of the backfield and on the ground accumulating 196 total yards, however three costly fumbles overshadowed his performance.
Head coach Benjamin Cook understands that the mistakes hurt the team, but they will be better for it in the end.
“As a football team we grew up today, we needed this. We had three turnovers and still had a chance to win it, we’re going to learn from this and it’ll make us better. This is a mature football team,” Cook said.
Similar to Frank Harris of Clemens, Lee, Roosevelt, and Reagan all carry mobile quarterbacks that can run by design or scramble for yardage. This style of offense is difficult to contain and is challenging to simulate in practice against your own quarterback. Coach Cook understands how lethal dual threat quarterbacks are and that the defense must be disciplined at all times.
“They’re scary,” Cook said. “You have to play assignment football and you have to do everything exactly right. We were a little undisciplined early then we settled down.”
