By Sam Parsons
The Oskaloosa Indians hosted the Clear Creek Amana on Friday night in a game that doubled as their homecoming game and their district opener. Emotional stakes were high for the Indians, who were 1-3 at the conclusion of their non-district slate; Clear Creek Amana had been 2-2.
The Clippers got the ball to start the game and promptly marched down the field to score on their opening drive; going 60 yards in 6 plays, the drive was capped off by a 1-yard QB sneak by Clipper quarterback Conlan Poynton, as Clear Creek Amana took the early lead 7-0. The inauspicious start for Oskaloosa bled into their own first offensive drive, where they went 3-and-out, but fortunately, the Indians’ defense bounced back and forced a punt on the next possession.
On their second offensive drive, Oskaloosa began to put it together. Showing a diverse aerial attack, the Indians were led down the field by junior QB Kayne Boender, who connected with junior Trey Parks for a 22 yard play on the first play of the drive, and then with sophomore Tyler Edgar on back-to-back chunk passes that got the Indians down inside the Clipper 10 yard line. Junior RB AJ Walker took the Indians over the finish line from 7 yards out, and the game was tied at 7-7.
After forcing another punt, Osky went right back to work in the 2nd quarter. This time, it was junior Heavon Knox that was heavily featured in the passing attack, as he hauled in gains of 38 and 34 yards from Boender to put the Indians on the doorstep; and then Boender and Knox finished the deal from 5 yards out with yet another hookup to put the Indians on top for the first time of the night. Kicker Arabsho Davlatshoev missed the PAT, but a few minutes into the 2nd quarter, Osky led 13-7.
The Clippers, however, were quick to answer. The following drive featured a 33 yard run from RB Noah Collis, which was foundational to Clear Creek scaling 56 yards in 8 plays. Poynton would find paydirt with another QB sneak, and after a successful PAT, the Clippers were up by one. The score would hold steady going into halftime, where the Indians, who entered the game as underdogs, were only down 14-13.
The success of Oskaloosa’s passing game had kept them in the contest, but if they were to stay in it, they needed to generate some positive plays on the ground. Unfortunately, the defensive line of the Clippers, led by Brody Clubb and Vinnie Keller, was swallowing up run plays all night long. Whether it was AJ Walker, who finished the night with an uncharacteristically low 16 rushing yards on 9 carries, or Jalin Woodard, who returned from an injury to have 6 carries for -13 yards, the Indians’ run game was unable to get started at any point. This, together with the Indians’ passing game being unable to recapture the lightning in a bottle they found in the first half, led to Osky’s offense flatlining in the second half.
The Clippers took advantage: the QB run game, which was the bedrock of CCA’s offense entering the game, kept the Clippers on schedule, and they scored on 3 of their first 4 drives in the second half. Two of the scores were QB sneaks from Poynton, who finished the night with 4 rushing TDs and over 100 rushing yards on 29 carries. The other was a 3-yard pass from Poynton to Cale Berry. These scores gave Clear Creek Amana all the cushion they needed while they continued to shut down Osky’s offense, and the Indians were never able to re-enter the game from a competitive standpoint. The game ended with a 32-13 final score in favor of Clear Creek Amana.
Oskaloosa (1-4) will look for their first district win of the season at Clinton on Friday. That game will be broadcast on KBOE 104.9 FM and kboeradio.com starting at 7pm.
