Published: October 16, 2009 10:06 am      

Community rallies behind River Kings success

Bad weather? Check.

Needing a comeback? Check.

Long losing streaks? Check.

No matter what the Clinton High School football team has faced this year, its stood up, met the challenge, and moved on to the next week, without thinking twice about the previous week’s results.

The River Kings have trudged through mud, combated unseasonably cool weather and endured downpours en route to an undefeated season with one game remaining. The team has silenced critics by eliminating a 17-year losing streak against Bettendorf and orchestrated an improbable comeback against Davenport Assumption after netting a negative-1 passing yards.

This year has truly been a magical season for the River Kings that started with last year’s team that snapped a 12-year playoff drought. Most notably, it seemed like the River Kings became confident in a loss — a first-round exit to Bettendorf last year.

Credit this season’s team, but don’t forget about the foundation laid by the 2008 squad’s senior class. They helped establish the confidence needed to get over the hump against the perennial powerhouses of the MAC.

This year’s team doesn’t seem fazed by letdowns or circumstances they can’t control. Against Davenport Assumption, questionable calls and breaks could have derailed a comeback attempt. But the River Kings kept churning away, with virtually no threat of a passing game, and came out on top in overtime.

One of the most remarkable aspects of this season, though, has to be the support from the community. I was a little disappointed last year during the final regular season game against Davenport Central, with a playoff berth on the line, to see the stands almost half-empty. It was cold and a constant mist drizzled throughout the game, but that game marked something fans from this area hadn’t seen since 1996.

But my disappointment quickly vanished as this year’s support has been unwavering. Every game is a packed house — no matter where the River Kings play. When the team travels to Davenport, Clinton competes or exceeds the home team’s attendance, and I expect nothing different when they travel in the playoffs.

The success, combined with the community involvement, is why I love sports. No matter who you are, what you believe or what you know, people can gather and rally around a team. This is what sports, especially high school sports, is all about.

Sports help people forget about work, money and life’s daily surprises. Nothing can help a bad day get better than congregating with friends and heading out to watch a consistently good football team stride toward history.

Not many activities can arouse a large number of people to assemble in the cold, rainy atmosphere that October brings. But these River Kings have that appeal and everyone’s talking about their success.

If all goes well, we’ll see much more of Clinton in the playoffs at home in their redesigned stadium (timing couldn’t have been better with the renovations). But for now, do something we rarely do.

Sit back and enjoy what the team has accomplished this year in anticipation of the year’s final regular season game and prepare for an exciting playoff journey.



Scott Levine is the Associate Editor at the Clinton Herald. He can be reached at scottlevine@clintonherald.com.