SHEFFIELD TWP., Ohio — Instead of simply watching film Saturday morning and catching the junior varsity game, Clearview’s football team got up earlier than normal for a walkthrough.
The Clippers just won at Black River the previous night and had three days of preparation for Keystone, which they had planned to face in Week 4 of the high school football season until threats of violence at Clearview forced an initial cancellation. Both schools wanted to play, so they agreed on making up their Lorain County League game early in the final week of the regular season.
After all, they needed to settle who would win their league’s title.
For that, Clearview coach Mike Collier asked his players to show up before the JV game at Tom Hoch Field to suit up for their walkthrough that would normally happen two days later.
“They were excited to come in Saturday because they knew what was ahead,” Collier said.
Neither Collier nor Keystone coach Don Griswold had their teams practice Sunday. They gave them their normal day off.
If anything, Collier stressed lighter practices in the final two weeks.
“I talked with our trainer on how to properly get us right,” Collier said, “and we kind of scaled back on the physicality of practices the past couple of weeks. We haven’t been hitting this past week because of the physicality of Friday, Tuesday, Friday.”
If players on both sides had been waiting to hit, it showed Tuesday night in Keystone’s 7-6 victory. The Wildcats (8-1, 6-0) clinched the LCL crown with their win at Clearview (7-2, 4-2) with one more regular-season game for both on Friday. Keystone is at Oberlin (0-9), while Clearview heads to Brookside (3-6).
Columbia (7-2, 5-1), which could have earned a share of a three-way split with a Clearview victory on Tuesday, will be home to Black River. The possibility of a share is now moot because Keystone has wins over both of their league’s top contenders.
“I wouldn’t do it with any other group, but this group,” Griswold said. “This group can handle it. It’s deep. It’s full of character. They’re tough. They love to work. They love to play football, and it’s a pretty awesome combination.”
Griswold’s players had their normal film session Saturday after beating Wellington, then returned for practice on Monday. They had a normal practice, which senior quarterback Zach Shackelford said took about 75 minutes.
“Then we’re here,” he said.
Once the Wildcats arrived at Clearview, slated for a 5:30 p.m. kickoff, Shackelford immediately noticed the mellow atmosphere. No bands had arrived yet. Spectators were sparse.
Clearview caught them off guard with an onsides kick, which the Clippers recovered before their 11-play opening drive. Clearview failed to score only because senior defensive back Tyler Ohl stepped in front of a Cy Christensen pass to the end zone. The play proved to be crucial, as Clearview scored on its next possession for the only points of the first half.
“We had no energy,” Shackelford said. “When we got here, it was silent. Never been at a Friday night game where it’s been silent. That was a big difference.”
Added Ohl, “It was halftime, and the sun was still out. I was like, ‘What the heck?’”
The Wildcats also sacrificed field position with how they approached Clearview on fourth-down plays. The Clippers use Christensen, their quarterback, as the punter. He does not initially drop back like a punter, giving the threat to pass.
So Keystone played each one as if the Clippers planned to go for the first down, opting not to send a returner back to field any punts.
“We weren’t able to do our full special teams prep,” Griswold said. “There’s no doubt about that. You got to pick and choose on a quick turnaround like that.”
Keystone failed to make much of its long drives, except for one midway through the third quarter. The Wildcats took nine plays, all runs, to move the football 81 yards and take a 7-6 lead with sophomore Wyatt McKee’s 7-yard touchdown right around 7 p.m. —the normal start time for a football game.
That’s when Keystone’s defense settled in.
The Wildcats gave up just 58 yards in the second half. Almost half of that came on the final play, a Hail Mary pass by Christensen that he completed inside the 10-yard line before a series of laterals. Clearview figured to have a speed advantage, but Keystone kept up for a stalemate.
“They love contact,” Griswold said. “They love getting after people. We showed a lot of looks, blitzes, adjustments. We threw a lot at them.”
They have kept five opponents to single digits, including Clearview, with two shutouts. Their only loss came by seven points on the road to Cloverleaf in Week 2.
“Our defense is just building,” junior outside linebacker Shane Ohl said. “Every week our offense is getting stronger, and not letting them score in the second half is a big part of it.”
Against Clearview, their field position disadvantage led to three trips by the Clippers inside the 10-yard line during the first half. They got inside the 30 once in the third quarter because of an interception — one of three turnovers — and reached the 19 once in the fourth before a sack by linebacker Lucas Hurley and defensive end Macin Padin.
Then, after a bad snap on a punt, Keystone’s defense needed keep Clearview out of the end zone with a start at the 11-yard line.
Padin again came up with a big stop, tackling J.G. Hill a yard short of the marker on fourth down.
“When we get thrown into our own end zone and we’re pushed against the wall, we don’t get scared and try to cover up,” Whitacre said. “We push off the wall, and we fight back.”
Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on X (@mgoul), Threads (@mgoul) or email ([email protected]).