Giving the ball away to good teams is no recipe for success.
On the road against undefeated Fillmore Central in a Nov. 3 quarterfinal game, seven turnovers did in No. 5 Malcolm. The Clippers’ season ended with a 30-20 loss to the No. 7 Panthers.
After jumping out to a 14-0 lead, the Clippers got overly generous with the ball as three fumbles and four interceptions proved to be their undoing.
Logan McGreer set up Malcolm’s first score with a big first quarter punt return. Dalton Amen scored a few plays later on a nine-yard run.
Two possessions later, Maddox Meyer connected with McGreer on a 55-yard scoring strike to put Fillmore Central behind by two scores for the first time this season.
“We wanted to start fast,” Malcolm coach Scott Amen said. “We were moving the ball down the field and playing with confidence.”
A key injury late in the first quarter changed Malcolm’s fortunes. An already depleted line lost Mason Wisnieski when a knee injury ended his night.
“That was a big momentum change,” Amen said. “We were already missing Josh (Cantrell). Mason is such a key piece of what we do. We had to move guys around and bring in less experienced and smaller replacements.”
The immediate impact was felt as Meyer started feeling more pressure in the pocket and had less time to read the defense before throwing down field. The senior signal caller’s second interception of the night came on a third-and-27 play that ended up in the hands of speedy Jarin Tweedy who returned it to the Malcolm three-yard-line. One play later, the Malcolm lead was cut in half when Luke Kimbrough took the ball across the goal line.
“Maddox was trying to make a play,” Amen said. “The throw came up short, and their guy went up and got it.”
The final Malcolm score came in the third quarter when Meyer found McGreer in the back of the end zone on a six-yard strike. McGreer finished with 184 yards on eight catches.
The Panthers took advantage of four second half turnovers to score 23 unanswered points and advance to the Class C2 semifinals.
The Clippers out gained Fillmore Central 298 yards to 262. The key differences were a minus-five turnover margin and a 71-yard differential in penalty yards.
“We made too many mistakes to expect to beat a team of that caliber,” Amen said. “I think some of the mistakes were a result of guys in positions they don’t always play getting kind of amped up to make a play. At the end of the day, though, you have to take care of the ball.”
Amen’s 17th season at the helm at Malcolm ends with a 9-2 record.
“We went 19-3 over the past two years,” Amen said. “Back-to-back district champs for the first time in school history. We have great kids. Smart kids that listen. I have some amazing assistants. These past two years have been extra special.
“After the season we had last year with Hayden (Frank) leading the way, we came into this season with some question marks. Those questions were answered with exclamation points.”
