Chris Caporale, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Lee Pulaski Shawano Community High School running back Kien Moorman runs for the Hawks’ second touchdown in the first quarter of Shawano’s 28-18 loss Friday to Clintonville in Shawano.
Leader Photo by Lee Pulaski Shawano Community High School wide receiver Adam Bartz prepares for a hit from a Clintonville defender Friday during the first quarter of Shawano’s 28-18 loss to Clintonville in Shawano.
Todd Taylor Jr. took the opening kickoff to the house and Clintonville continued putting pressure on the host Hawks en route to a 28-18 victory in both teams’ season-opening nonconference football game Friday.
Offensive fireworks dominated the first quarter as Shawano outscored Clintonville 18-7.
Dylan Sumnicht, Kien Moorman and Adam Bartz accounted for three unanswered touchdowns as the Hawks extended their lead to 18-7.
Bartz recorded 129 receiving yards for the Hawks while Kien Moorman accounted for 132 yards on the ground.
“I think that shows what we are capable of when we do our assignments and we play fast football,” SCHS head coach Alan Tomow said. “We show that we can be explosive and we can get the big plays. We showed what we were capable of in the first quarter.”
Taylor, however, answered with a 56-yard touchdown reception with four minutes remaining in the opening stanza to cut the lead to four.
Taylor racked up 162 receiving yards in the game for the Truckers.
The five combined touchdowns in the opening quarter all came on plays over 35 yards.
The second quarter took the game in the opposite direction, with neither team finding the end zone and both defenses making big stops.
“These guys had so many butterflies in their stomach coming in,” Clintonville head coach Scott Werfal said. “We just had some mental errors early. We stayed true as a coaching staff. We let the kids play after coaching them all week and once they calmed down, we played football.”
On a punt return for Shawano with two minutes remaining the half, Nathan White injured his neck and was on the SCHS grass for 15 minutes before getting placed into an ambulance.
“Nate is a big part of our football team, and I hope he is OK, and I expect him to be a big part of it. We just have to be able to handle those situations,” Tomow said. “I’m confident in our guys, but tonight showed we have a lot of work to do.”
Clintonville had an opportunity to cut the halftime lead to one point, but hit a field goal attempt off the upright from 41 yards away.
Injuries continued throughout the rest of the game, with many players cramping up from the humidity.
Tomow said several players were forced to play offense and defense when they were not anticipating to do so, which caused some of the cramps.
The Truckers continued the pressure and controlled the ball for the majority of the second half, extending drives that led to two touchdown runs by quarterback Damon Lorge.
“The lesson is that we don’t want to feel like this any more,” Tomow said. “This is a game where we have to turn the corner. We found out that teams are not going to lay down for Shawano, no matter how fast we start.”
Clintonville 28, Shawano 18
Clintonville 14 0 7 7
Shawano 18 0 0 0
Scoring summary:
FIRST QUARTER
C: Taylor Jr. 85-yard kick return (PAT good) 7-0 (11:47).
S: Sumnicht 48-yard reception (PAT missed) 7-6 (10:21). Moorman 37-yard run (PAT missed) 7-12 (6:43). Bartz 58-yard reception (conversion missed) 7-18 (4:13). Taylor Jr. 56-yard reception (PAT good) 14-18 (3:55).
SECOND QUARTER
No scoring.
THIRD QUARTER
C: Lorge 1-yard run (PAT good) 21-18 (4:05).
FOURTH QUARTER
C: Lorge 9-yard run (PAT good) 28-18 (9:33).