Published: November 03, 2009 12:51 pm      

A comeback fit for the Kings

CHS to play at home after rally tops Cedar Falls

CLINTON — After Clinton’s dramatic comeback victory Monday night, coach Lee Camp had his seniors place their helmets on the goal line, line up at the north end of Coan Field and take one last trip down the field together, thinking it was their last game on their homefield.

“It was kind of an emotional moment,” senior quarterback Jake Mangler said. “We’ve been through a lot on this field together — ups and downs. Just to walk down it one more time to get the feel was special.”

First, an emotional, 37-23 victory against Cedar Falls in the Iowa Class 4A playoffs first round; then a huddle in which Camp told his players that he had misinformed them about their next game and how it would be played in Cedar Rapids, not Clinton; then the emotional walk downfield.

Seems they wasted a little sentimentality.

After the players had all filed out of the Yourd Gymnasium locker room and the fans had all gone home, Clinton officials learned that Camp’s original interpretation of the playoff rules was correct. Because Cedar Rapids Xavier had played two games in the Cedar Rapids metro area, they had played two “home games” just like Clinton, so Xavier would have to travel to Clinton on Friday night for the quarterfinals on the higher-seeded team’s homefield.



Camp still was in the dark, though.

“Unbelievable,” he said when informed of the news. “That’s great. It’s great news for the kids.”

After the way the River Kings came back in the second half, Camp knew full-well how important a home game can be.

“It’s the crowd,” he said. “It’s loud on the sidelines, and it’s tremendous. That’s part of the kids buying in and believing. It builds momentum.”

How much credit the fans deserve certainly is debatable. What isn’t is the fact that the River Kings (11-0) certainly needed something to change the course of Monday’s game.

“We just came together,” Mangler said. “We realized this could be it and came together and fought through it.”

Although they held a 186-137 advantage in total yards at the half, the River Kings were pushed around much of the time and trailed 16-14 at halftime.

It appeared it would be more of the same in the second half when Barkley Hill (30 carries, 175 yards) made the Clinton side of Coan Field sound like the 18th hole at Augusta National on a key putt when he took an option pitch to the right, cut through an opening in the defense and had nothing but open space ahead of him for a 70-yard touchdown run just 19 seconds into the second half.

It could have been the backbreaker, a play that sent all the momentum to Cedar Falls. But it wasn’t.

“I think it was an eye-opener, actually,” Mangler said. “When he cut it up there was nobody there because we were in a defense where we didn’t have anybody back. We all sort of looked at each other and said: ‘Not now. We’re going to start putting points on the board. We’re going to stop them.’



“Having that quick thing happen to us made us realize we have to go now, and it helped us in the long run.”

The Tigers didn’t score again. The River Kings did — on their next three possessions.

“They took that first run and went down the field, and I thought our kids responded great,” Camp said.

Mangler was the center of the comeback, playing probably his best game ever as a River King.

“I had to do whatever I had to do to get my team to win,” he said. “We came out a little sluggish and really needed someone to step up. I felt I could be the guy to do that. Then we all came together.”

He finished with 87 yards rushing on 18 carries and completed 10 of 18 passes for 241 yards. He did much of the damage running draws in the middle of the defense when Clinton sent five receivers wide .

Mangler said: “Coach saw that when we spread it out, they went out with them. As long as we can get one guy on that middle linebacker there’s a lot of room to run. That’s what we were able to do, and it helped us a lot to get momentum.”

First, Mangler directed a five-play, 54-yard drive, hitting David Johnson (four catches, 144 yards) for a 5-yard touchdown pass that cut the deficit to 23-21.

Clinton’s defense held the Tigers to 2 yards on their next possession.

“They threw a lot of different looks at us with the pulls and counters, and we made adjustments in the second half,” senior defensive tackle Austin Krick said.

Clinton took over at Cedar Falls’ 40, and when the drive bogged down at the 3 seven plays later, senior Ben Parker came in and kicked a 21-yard field goal from the right hash mark, putting Clinton ahead to stay, 24-23, with 5:34 left.

“I think that’s huge because most of the year we’ve played with the lead,” Mangler said. “Once we got that, everything seemed to flow more.”

Parker said: “I felt it was a big turning point of the game, and it felt good that coach trusted me to make that kick. I’ve struggled from the hashes. I was kind of nervous about the right hash and was glad it went through and knew the team could get confidence from that.”

The confidence grew, and again the defense forced a three-and-out. And again, the offense struck quickly. Mangler finished off a five-play, 52-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. In less than eight minutes, Clinton had turned a 23-21 deficit into a 31-23 lead.

Johnson put the final touches on the win midway through the fourth quarter when he intercepted a tipped pass, avoided a couple of tackle attempts in front of the Clinton bench and then raced all the way across the field and down the sideline for a 62-yard interception return.

“It felt great that we scored again,” he said. “I had a good block from Justin Porth (who had ended a Cedar Falls drive earlier in the quarter with an interception) that let me get in the end zone, and I had a lot of open room to run.”

It was an unforgettable play on an unforgettable night.



CLINTON 37, CEDAR FALLS 23

Cedar Falls 6 10 7 0 — 23

Clinton 0 14 17 6 — 37

First quarter

CF — Stratton Steffy recovered fumble in end zone (kick blocked), 7:50

Second quarter

CF — FG Drew Gienau 32, 11:10

C — Jake Mangler 5 run (Ben Parker kick), 9:44

CF — James Harrington 62 pass from Jake Farley (Gienau kick), 5:14

C — David Johnson 56 pass from Mangler (Parker kick), 4:11

Third quarter

CF — Barkley Hill 70 run (Gienau kick), 11:41

C — Johnson 5 pass from Mangler (Parker kick), 9:49

C — FG Parker 21, 5:34

C — Mangler 1 run (Parker kick), 1:54

Fourth quarter

C— Johnson 62 interception return (kick failed), 7:08

CF Clinton

First downs 14 19

Rushes-yards 43-168 34-170

Passing yards 140 241

Comp.-att.-int. 7-18-2 10-18-0

Punts-avg. 4-30.0 4-16.8

Fumbles-lost 2-0 1-1

Penalties-yards 2-20 5-57

Time of possession 25:06 22:54

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Cedar Falls, Barkley Hill 30-175, Jake Farley 12-minus-6, Alex Crow 1-minus-1. Clinton, Jake Mangler 18-87, Ty Hatheway 6-45, David Johnson 9-44, Mo Walker 1-minus-6.

PASSING — Cedar Falls, Farley 7-18-2, 140 yards. Clinton, Mangler 10-18-0, 241 yards.

RECEIVING — Cedar Falls, James Harrington 5-112, Jesse Alexander 1-18, Bobby Brummel 1-10. Clinton, Johnson 4-144, Colin Sullivan 3-31, Hatheway 1-32, Evan Kenney 1-20, Ryan Cassidy 1-14.

MISSED FIELD GOAL — Clinton, Mangler 42 (short), :02 2Q.

TACKLE LEADERS — Cedar Falls, Nick Hullermann 6, Farley 5, Michael Beckman 5, Ben Challgren 5, Joe Schwickerath 4. Clinton, Adam Young 9, Blake Pennock 7, Austin Krick 7, Aaron Brown 5, Cassidy 5.