Published: October 13, 2008 10:23 am      

Despite loss to Pleasant Valley, River Kings still hoping for postseason berth

PLEASANT VALLEY — A disappointing loss to Pleasant Valley on Friday certainly didn't help Clinton's postseason football hopes. In all honesty, though, the River Kings don't really know what they have to do in their final two games to make the 32-team field in Class 4A.

They know what they want to do, though.

“We've got to win the last two, no doubt about it,” junior quarterback Jake Mangler said after the 37-7 loss. “The next two are big, and they are at home.”

The River Kings entertain Davenport Central (1-6) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Coan Field, then they complete the regular season there a week later against North Scott (6-1). If they win both, one of the 16 berths that go to teams from the eastern half of the state is a virtual certainty. A win and a loss might do it, too, but Clinton doesn’t want to look at things that way.

Clinton (3-4) has 255 playoff points, tied with Davenport Assumption and Dubuque Wahlert, both with 3-4 records, for the 14th, 15th and 16th spots. One other 3-4 team, Waterloo West, is sitting at 250 points. But point values improve for any win or loss against a team with five wins, so there could be some fluctuation in previous games because there are so many teams around the .500 mark.

“I came in and told the them everybody knows we've got to deal with things we can control,” coach Lee Camp said.

The River Kings would have made things easier on themselves had they beaten Pleasant Valley in a game that got away from them.

It appeared they would head to the locker room with a 3-0 deficit at halftime, but a controversial 43-yard punt return set up the Spartans at the Clinton 5-yard line, and they scored just before halftime for a 10-0 lead. They momentum only kept growing in the second half.

“The only thing we can do is focus on next week and get ready for Central,” said said running back Ty Hatheway, who filled in for injured David Johnson and rushed for close to 100 yards. “We've got to bounce back and keep our heads high.”