Red Devils mix up Falcons

Red Devils mix up Falcons
By Andy Dygert

Clarkson	Freeman
64	6

    CLARKSON- The Freeman football team came out looking for a bigger; more physical Clarkson team to run the football.
    So the Falcons started the game by stacking their defensive line with six of their eight players on the field.  They were ready to hold the line at all costs.
    Unfortunately for them, Red Devils quarterback Eric Brabec saw them crowding up front and called an audible, switching the play to a pass to Brandon Dinslage which went for a 65-yard touchdown, a 6-0 lead, and opened the floodgates.
    Now that Freeman had to watch for both runs and passes from the Red Devils, its defense crumbled, allowing Clarkson to storm over the Falcons for a 64-6 romp Thursday night in the first round of the Class D-1 playoffs.
    Brabec complimented his team for pulling off the play after he called the audible.
    "I saw them crowding the line, so I audibled," Brabec said.  "The guys pulled it off.  We've got a great line, and  we had a great week of practice coming in, and it paid off."
    Clarkson head coach Jim Clarkson said he thought his quarterback's heads-up play was big for the team.
    "Brabec did a great job with play calling and audibles," Clarkson said.  "The guys up front did a great job as well."
    Nothing the Falcons attempted seemed to be enough to stop Clarkson, and that was true on the offensive side of the ball.  Though Freeman found an occasional lane to the outside, any attempt to run the ball between the tackles was met immediately, usually for a big loss, by a tough Devil defense.
    The line was dominated by Clarkson all night, and it pushed the smaller team around with physical, hard-nosed play.
    The second score of the game was also a pass from Brabec, this time a 27-yard attempt to Corbin Hammernick (Hamernik).  The two-point conversion attempt was good this time, giving Clarkson a 14-0 advantage.
    Freeman coach Theron Troxel said his team came in looking to stop the run and were out-matched when the passing game came into play.
    "We knew that if we couldn't stop the run it'd be a long day for us," Troxel said.  "We didn't want them to get 10 yards a pop on us.  It's better to let them try to throw the long ball.  They had some great catches on those first two touchdowns."
    After that, Clarkson changed styles again, proving it could move the ball on the ground as well.  The Devils began two more swift touchdown drives as they launched their backs into the welling holes created by the line for 5-10 yards an attempt.  The drives were capped by 29-yard and 19-yard touchdown runs by Brabec and Michael Konicek, respectively.  This boosted the score to 26-0 Clarkson after two failed conversion attempts.
    And that was just the score of the first quarter.
    "We just came out with a lot of emotion, and that really got us going," Clarkson said.  "We also out-muscled them a little bit.  I was proud of our guys for that."
    The Devils packed on 16 more in the second quarter to take a 42-0 lead into the half.  Clarkson's first play of the second quarter went 48 yards for a Konicek score.  Konicek added a 21-yard touchdown run before the half.
    The Clarkson starters only played one series in the second half, but that was enough for another score.  It didn't take long either.  Dinslage took the ball from Brabec, faked inside, and scampered the other way, beating the safety to the sideline before outracing the defenders all the way into the end zone for a 49-yard touchdown.
    Then it was up to the Devils' second team, who was ready for its task.  Backup quarterback Brian Steffensmeier found Tim Prokopec for a 17-yard score, and Jordan Gall took the ball 8 yards for the final score of the game.
    In between the Devils' scores, however, Freeman finally made it onto the scoreboard.  The Falcons put together a 44-yard drive, helped along by a key Devil penalty, finishing with a three-yard scoring run from quarterback Ryan Busboom.  The Falcons' conversion attempt failed.
    Following its victory Thursday, Clarkson will face Bruning-Davenport at home Wednesday. 
    "We've got to get ready with another good week of practice," Brabec said.  "It's up to us to keep going."
   
Freeman     0      0   0     6   -   6
Clarkson   26   16   6   16   -   64

• SCORING SUMMARY:  C- Brandon Dinslage 65-yard pass from Eric Brabec (run failed); C- Corbin Hammernick (Hamernik) 27-yard pass from Brabec (Dinslage run); C- Brabec 29-yard run (run failed); C- Michael Konicek 19-yard run (run failed); C- Konicek 48-yard run (Hammernick (Hamernik) pass from Brabec); C- Konicek 21-yard run (Dinslage run); C- Dinslage 49-yard run (pass failed; C- Tim Prokopec 17-yard pass from Brian Steffensmeier (Mark Vrbicky pass from Steffensmeier); F- Ryan Busboom 3-yard run (run failed); C- Jordan Gall 8-yard run (Gall run).