The Malcolm football team finished its regular season Oct. 23 with a district championship and the No. 8 seed in the Class C2 football playoffs.
Malcolm hosted Fillmore Central and defeated the Panthers 43-7, building a 28-0 lead in the first half.
“The good thing is we’ve been scoring points,” Coach Matt Coufal said. “We are playing well. We’re cutting down on our mistakes every week.”
Despite that, he said, the Clippers haven’t played their best yet.
Malcolm held the Panther offense to 139 passing yards and just 29 on the ground. Coufal said it was good to see the defense stop the FC rushing attack.
In contrast, the Clippers gained 186 yards passing and 147 rushing. Gavin Little completed 10 of 17 pass attempts for 183 yards and three touchdowns, including a 43-yard toss to Preston Kucera to start the scoring. Kucera caught three passes for 58 yards and two touchdowns in the game.
On the ground, freshman Gregg Smith led the way with 90 yards on eight carries. Cade Kobza paced the defense with five solo tackles and six assists. Gerrit DeWaard added three solo tackles and five assists.
Malcolm had senior lineman Kellen Ensrud back in the lineup, but Miles McGill played limited downs after getting banged up in practice, Coufal said.
As the No. 8 seed in the Class C2 playoffs, Malcolm (7-2) will host Bishop Neumann (7-2) Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. Coufal said the defending state champion will be a good opportunity for the Clippers.
Both teams lost to Yutan by one point, and both lost to undefeated Bergan. Neumann finished its regular season with a 47-23 win over Brownell-Talbot.
