The finish was so much better than the start. After trailing 6-0 midway through the second quarter, Malcolm scored 42 unanswered points to run away from Mitchell, 42-12 on Nov. 1 in the opening round of the Class C2 football playoffs.
After the Clippers’ first drive stalled out just shy of the red zone, a Hunter Meyers 43-yard field goal attempt came up short.
Then Mitchell commenced playing keep away from No. 6 Malcolm. The Tigers went on a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive that consumed 8:42 off the clock before Jordan McCarty punched it in from the one-yard-line.
“We knew they would have some success running the ball,” Malcolm Coach Scott Amen said. “They have some size that helps, and they use a scheme that we don’t see a lot of.”
The Clippers wasted little time with their answer. Sparked by a 44-yard run by Carson Frank during a 10-play drive, Frank scored the first of two rushing touchdowns when he scored on a tush-push play from the one.
After a three-and-out, Malcolm went on a 50-yard drive to close out the half. Frank completed three passes on the drive including a 26-yard connection to Preston Kucera that helped set up a three-yard toss to Tristen Boehle that put the Clippers up 14-6 at the intermission.
“We told our guys not to panic if things didn’t go our way early on,” Amen said. “Their guys are big and athletic. But, they don’t take any plays off. We thought they might wear down a little if we just kept playing our game.”
Malcolm opened the second half with a 58-yard scoring drive that included a fourth-and-10 completion from Frank to Cole Tiedeman for a first down. A few plays later Frank found Brixon Meyer on a 20-yard TD pass.
The Clippers’ next three scoring drives took a combined total of three plays and 33 seconds. After Christopher Burbach blocked a punt, Frank ran it in on the next play from four yards out.
Then, a turnover on downs gave Malcolm possession at Mitchell’s 40-yard-line. On first down, Frank completed a pass to Logan McGreer that he took the distance.
The Clippers’ next possession started at the Mitchell 24-yard-line. On the first play, backup quarterback Gavin Little took a shotgun snap and tossed the ball to McGreer near the line of scrimmage. After changing directions and going east-to-west nearly the full width of the field, the speedy senior turned the corner and went 76 yards south for his second TD of the night.
This is the Clippers’ third consecutive season with a playoff win, the longest streak in school history.
Malcolm (8-2) heads to No. 4 Battle Creek (8-2) for Friday, Nov. 8’s quarterfinals.
“It should be a good matchup,” Amen said. “There are some similarities between our teams. I expect a close battle.”
