The Malcolm football team had been rolling. Over its last seven games, the Clippers averaged 51 points per game with no team coming within 17 points of them.
While No. 4 Malcolm knew the Nov. 5 road game – 150 miles away – at No. 12 Hartington Cedar Catholic would be different, just how different came as quite a shock. The Trojans ended the Clippers’ dream season with a 10-9 overtime win.
The C2 quarterfinal matchup was a defensive struggle throughout, with trips into the red zone a rarity. The Trojans got on the board first when Grant Arens converted a 22-yard field goal midway through the second quarter. It was the only score of a first half in which Malcolm struggled to get the Cedar Catholic offense off the field.
“They were quick and physical up front,” Malcolm head coach Scott Amen said. “They gave us trouble with their first two or three steps, and we had a hard time catching up to them.”
After the Clippers’ opening drive of the second half ended with a punt deep into Cedar Catholic territory, the Trojans began an exhausting game of keep away. While they failed to score, the home team maintained possession of the football until there were just over eight minutes to play in regulation.
“We couldn’t get them off the field,” Amen said. “They were getting three or four yards at a time and just eating up clock.”
Cedar Catholic ran 77 plays on offense during the game, picking up 20 first downs. In contrast, the Clippers had 46 plays from scrimmage and earned just 10 first downs.
After a hard-fought drive of its own, Malcolm stalled out at the Trojans’ seven-yard line and settled for a game-tying Cody Sykes field goal that sent the game to overtime.
Malcolm had the ball first in the extra period and continued its struggles moving the ball. On a fourth-and-goal play from the five-yard line, Hayden Frank found his way into the end zone as he stretched toward the pylon to take a 9-3 lead.
Amen made the call to go for two rather than kicking the extra point.
“I told the kids Wednesday or Thursday that if we’re in that situation, we’re going for it,” Amen said. “We scouted them and felt good about our chances getting it in. It was a gut feeling. If you make it, you can’t lose in that overtime period.”
With Frank in as the holder, the Clippers set up for a kick. The senior signal-caller took the snap and ran up the middle. One Trojan defender disrupted his path and Frank was tackled just inches from the goal line.
With a six-point lead, the Clippers thought they had escaped with a win when a fourth-and-goal pass from the seven-yard line fell incomplete. But Malcolm was called for pass interference and the Trojans lived to see another play. Braeden Reifenrath connected with Carson Arens at the pylon to tie the game, 9-9.
“If Maddox (Meyer) has two or three more inches of reach, he knocks that pass down,” Amen said. “It was that close.”
Grant Arens put the extra point through the uprights to end the Clippers’ undefeated run and move the Trojans on to the Class C2 semifinals.
For Frank – a would-be all-stater with over 1,600 passing yards, more than 1,300 rushing yards and the school record holder in career pass interceptions – it was a special season.
“The hard work and dedication of this team is what drove us,” the Concordia basketball commit said. “Guys showed up every day, not just to practice, but to learn and get better.
“I’m going to miss putting on the Malcolm jersey and playing in front of our fans. The stands were almost always full. That was special.”
Malcolm finished the season with a 10-1 record. The 10 wins in a season tie the 1999 team for the most in school history.
