They knew it would be a battle. Never mind the fact that Malcolm was unbeaten and Centennial was a win shy of evening up its record, when the Clippers meet the Broncos on the gridiron – especially in Utica – the game is never easy.
While Malcolm pulled away late and prevailed with a 49-20 victory, they walked off the field knowing it was a test.
“They did some things early on that frustrated us,” Malcolm head coach Scott Amen said. “They had a good plan for keeping the game close.”
“Malcolm is a really good football team,” CHS Coach Evan Klanecky said. “I don’t know if the final score reflects the game.”
The No. 4 Clippers wasted no time getting on the board. After receiving the opening kickoff, Hayden Frank engineered a three-play drive that started with the senior signal-caller rumbling 43 yards. Two plays later, Frank scored from six yards out.
Then, Centennial went to work playing keep away as Maj Nisly guided the Broncos down the field with a mix of runs and throws. The Broncos’ methodical drive was capped off by a 29-yard connection from Nisly to Shawn Rathjen.
“We couldn’t get our defense off the field,” Amen said. “They weren’t getting many big chunks of yards. But, they were getting what they needed on third down. Nisly is a load. He’s tough to bring down and he sees the field well.”
Malcolm struck fast again on its next possession, needing eight plays to score its second touchdown. Frank found Dalton Amen on a 30-yard strike to put the Clippers up 14-6.
“Offensively, we had things rolling pretty well,” Amen said. “We were scoring almost too fast as we didn’t give our defense a lot of time to work on adjustments.”
Nisly led the Broncos back down the field on a second quarter drive that chewed up several minutes before the senior quarterback finished it off with a 7-yard touchdown run.
“It was probably good for our kids to get pushed around a little,” Amen said. “They had to face some adversity and figure out how to handle it. I was proud of how they eventually responded.”
A Malcolm timeout during the CHS drive bought the Clippers just enough time to get the ball with a chance for one more score before the end of the half. Frank got in the end zone on a 1-yard sneak with seven seconds left in the half to take a 21-13 lead into the break.
“We knew we’d get the kick to open the second half,” Amen said. “We thought if we could go up a touchdown before the half and then score again to open the third quarter, we’d have them playing catch up.”
The coach was right. After Amen returned the kickoff to the 36-yard line, the Clippers marched down the field on six-play drive highlighted by a 31-yard Frank run and a 33-yard completion to Amen to set up Frank’s third touchdown run, this time from one yard out.
Halftime adjustments made a difference for the MHS defense. From his safety position, Frank swatted a fourth down Nisly pass to give the Clippers a short field.
On the third play of the drive, Frank got loose for a 35-yard run to score his fourth rushing touchdown of the night.
Lucas Christensen had the Clippers next score when the senior tailback carried it in from the seven-yard line. Frank and Amen connected early in the fourth quarter on a 55-yard pass play to make it a 49-13 game.
The Clippers had 446 yards of total offense, averaging over 10 yards per play.
“We prepared for more than they did,” Klanecky said. “I thought we did a good job controlling the first half. In the third, they hit some splash plays. They will do what they do and do it well.”
He was pleased with how the Broncos controlled the tempo and the field in the first half.
Centennial had 285 total yards. Nisly ran for 52 yards while completing 14 passes for 176 yards. The Malcolm defense held the Broncos to 4.3 yards per play.
Klanecky said Shawn Rathjen had a good game on both offense and defense, and Paul Fehlhafer, a sophomore lineman, had his best game of the season.
Centennial’s scout team player of the week is Jordan Wager, a sophomore wide receiver/defensive end.
The win extends the Clippers’ record to 8-0 and locks up the district championship.
Malcolm closes out the regular season at home against Wilber-Clatonia (5-3) Friday, Oct. 21.
Centennial (3-5) will travel to Tri County for the final game of its season.
