The Clinton Prairie Gophers defeated the Carroll Cougars 28-12 in round one of Sectional 42.
It’s the first win for the Clinton Prairie against Carroll since 2021, snapping a six-game losing streak.
“We still have our pads, we didn’t have to put them away this morning,” Clinton Prairie football coach Kurt Schlicher said. “When you get into games like this, I always tell the kids, ‘you’re playing for your pads’, and ours are still hanging in our lockers ready to go on Monday.”
After losing to Carroll 21-6 in the regular season just two weeks ago, Clinton Prairie came out aggressive and quickly marched down the field to score on a 28-yard pass from Gaige Kuzmicz to Trendan Kaser.
“It was important to us to get off to a good start and build a little confidence,” Schlicher said. “I definitely think that it was to our advantage to have played there a couple of weeks ago.”
Carroll’s opening possession stalled near midfield, and the Cougars couldn’t convert on fourth down, turning it back to Clinton Prairie.
After a short drive by the Gophers, Carroll’s offense found some rhythm. Sophomore quarterback Reid Hayden found Landon Hammond for a key third-down conversion before Jon Carey escaped for a 23-yard touchdown run, knotting the game at seven.
Midway through the second quarter, the Gophers punted back to Carroll, and the Cougars got their first chance to take the lead.
An explosive run play looked like it would set up Carroll in the red zone, but a holding penalty wiped off the yardage and forced Carroll into a third-and-long.
“That was a big change in the game when we did have a big play, and they called it back on holding,” Carroll coach Blake Betzner said. “It went down to the 15-yard line; if we score there, we go up 14-7.”
After failing to convert, Carroll lined up to punt, but the snap went over the head of the punter and was recovered at the Carroll five-yard line by Clinton Prairie.
Two plays later, Kuzmicz rushed for a touchdown and gave the Gophers a 14-7 lead.
“It’s always a game of big plays,” Schlicher said. “In the first game, their punt return was a massive play in that game. So we talked a lot about how one play on special teams can make a difference.”
Carroll looked to even the game late in the first half, but couldn’t find a groove offensively. A strong punt by Riley Duff pinned Clinton Prairie at their own 11 with 1:40 remaining in the first half.
After being backed up on a penalty, Kuzmicz attempted to throw away a pass, but was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, which resulted in a safety.
With less than 90 seconds remaining in the half, Carroll put together a two-minute drill to get into field goal range for Duff, who connected from 26 yards away to cut the deficit to 14-12 at the half.
“We did a lot of really good things on that drive,” Betzner said. “I was very proud of the guys for doing something that we don’t usually do, and they did it pretty well.
The Cougars got the ball to start the second half, but again their drive stalled out, and they were forced to punt.
Clinton Prairie went backwards on their first two plays and faced a third-and-13 from their own 17-yard line. Gaige Kuzmicz connected with Jackson Price on a downfield strike, and Price evaded a defender for an 83-yard touchdown.
“You give Gaige time in the pocket, and he absolutely can deliver the ball,” Schlicher said. “Jackson Price, my goodness, what concentration to make that catch in the open field.”
Leading 21-12, the Gophers got the ball back early in the fourth quarter, but Carroll’s Brody Ray intercepted a pass from Kuzmicz and gave the Cougars new life.
Carroll had another fourth-and-short from midfield that they weren’t able to convert, and another rushing score by Kuzmicz sealed the victory for Clinton Prairie.
Kuzmicz finished with 196 yards and two touchdowns through the air, adding 25 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Braylen Hillman and Alex King were everywhere defensively for the Gophers, finishing with 25 total tackles between them.
Clinton Prairie advances to play North White in the Sectional 42 semifinal.
The game will be available to listen to on WILO.
Listen to the full interview with Kurt Schlicher and Blake Betzner on this week’s episode of Inside the Huddle.
Coverage of the Clinton Prairie vs. Carroll game was brought to you by:
Davis Comfort Solutions
Wampler’s Services, Inc
Flowers and Friends
Collisions Unlimited
Tier One Meat Co.