SYCAMORE (Crawford County Now) — Big plays, including 3 in the span of under 3 and 1/2 minutes, gave Mohawk all the offense it needed in a 42-13 win over Wayne Trace in a Division VII Region 26 first round playoff game at Warrior Field Friday night.
The Warriors (10-1) built a 35-7 halftime lead to advance to the next round at North Baltimore (9-1).
“A good team win. We told them it doesn’t get any easier. Our previous 3 or 4 games kind of prepared us for this and our kids are battle-tested,” Mohawk head coach Eric Daniel said.
Kaden Bish blasted in from a yard out as the hosts controlled the line of scrimmage in the opening half.
Enter Andon Clouse and his talented band of wide receivers.
The first score was a 36-yard pass to Levi Tiell that put the Warriors up 14-0. After Wayne Trace answered with a 9-yard run by Dylan Hershberger, the proverbial flood gates opened.
Jagger Ekleberry got open on a 63-yard pass from Clouse at the 3:45 mark. After holding the Raiders on fourth and 2 at their own 38, Clouse struck again as the senior QB found Tiell for a nifty 20-yard strike.
A Chance Collene interception gave Mohawk the ball right back. Clouse promptly found Tiell from 31 yards out with 17.1 seconds before halftime.
“I wouldn’t trade 14 for anybody. He’s a dude. But credit to our offensive line that kept him upright tonight,” Daniel said. “Levi, Jagger and the rest of the guys were making big plays, running their routes hard. Even when they’re not getting the ball, they’re clearing guys out.”
The 4 TDs give Clouse a school-record 45 scoring passes. He hit on 6-of-9 attempts for 96 yards. Tiell had 3 catches for 87 yards and Ekleberry 3 for 109.
Tiell said the team’s balanced attack is what makes Mohawk difficult to defend.
“We came in and wanted to get our run game established. That opened up our passing game. Jagger got us started and I just finished the job,” he said.
Developing chemistry with this unit has been ongoing, Tiell said.
“It started last year for us. This summer we built it up through lots of practice and it just transferred to the games. We really work on being two-dimensional.
“On a night it could be either one that stands out, but tonight it was both. All of us attract so much attention.”
Bish added another 1-yard score after Kasey Coffman ended a Wayne Trace drive with a fumble recovery at the Mohawk 28-yard line.
Wayne Trace (6-5) has relied on running back Carter Baumle.
“They could run the ball. Their running back is all-conference player of the year. We did a good job of stopping their big plays,” Daniel said.
Baumle finished with 93 yards on 22 carries and a 4-yard touchdown run late in the game.
Raiders head coach Matt Holden acknowledged the weapons that Mohawk possesses.
“We wanted to try to take the run away. Obviously, that was our focus, but we knew they had some guys on the outside that could hurt us. We hoped we could hold up well enough in coverage if we got a pass rush, but in the second quarter we got down in a hurry,” he said.
“Our team’s not really built to come back from those.”
Daniel said the spurt before halftime gave his team a comfortable cushion.
“We dropped into a shell defense. We’ve got a freshman free safety (Collene) that is a really nice player, and he high pointed the ball. We thought they might get greedy, which I don’t blame them.
“That was probably the best pass I’ve seen Andon make all year,” Daniel said referring to the final touchdown before halftime. “It was a window about this big on a frozen rope. Not many kids can make that throw from the pocket and be poised. Every day he surprises you.”
Up next is a trip to No. 4 seed North Baltimore. The Tigers got a first-round bye.
“It takes a good football team to win 9 games. Our league is a pretty tough league. These guys shouldn’t want it easier and should embrace the hard,” Daniel said.
“These guys are fun to be around. They’re coachable and play for each other. I’d like to make it last as long as we can.”
The emergence of Clouse, a 6-2, 200-pound senior, has been a journey.
“He was a pup in junior high and thought about not playing as a freshman. So, thank God for a fatherly push. He’s started to see success.”
Clouse played tight end as a sophomore on a team that won the Northern 10 championship.
“It was the start of learning to be selfless and maybe playing a position that you didn’t sign up for initially. So that helped him grow up and then the game slowed down for him. His leadership has increased immensely,” Daniel said.
“We have a sense of player-led ownership here at Mohawk and it’s been very powerful for our kids and our program; and we want it to continue.”
Box score
Mohawk 42, Wayne Trace 13
Score by quarters
Wayne Trace 0 7 0 6 — 13
Mohawk 7 28 0 7 — 42
Scoring summary
First quarter
M — Kaden Bish 1 run (Aden Patrizi kick), 5:15.
Second quarter
M — Levi Tiell 36 pass from Andon Clouse (Patrizi kick), 11:52.
WT — Dylan Hershberger 9 pass from Reese Moorhead (Jensen Beining kick), 5:35.
M — Jagger Ekleberry 63 pass from Clouse (Patrizi kick), 3:45.
M — Tiell 20 pass from Clouse (Patrizi kick), :49.
M — Tiell 30 pass from Clouse (Patrizi kick), :17.1.
Fourth quarter
M — Bish 1 rum (Patrizi kick), 9:42.
WT — Carter Baumle 4 run (kick failed), 5:27.
Individual statistics
Passing
Wayne Trace: Reece Moorhead 4-6-1 35, Corbin Stoller 1-1-0 48; Mohawk: Andon Clouse 6-9-0 196.
Rushing
Wayne Trace: Carter Baumle 22-93, Reece Moorhead 11-40, Brayden Sinn 2-4, Dylan Hershberger 1-3; Mohawk: Kaden Bish 24-168, Andon Clouse 5-(-2), Liam Martinez 3-(-9).
Receiving
Wayne Trace: Carter Baumle 2-49, Jensen Beining 2-25, Dylan Hershberger 1-9; Mohawk: Jagger Ekleberry 3-109, Levi Tiell 3-87.
Team statistics
WT M
First downs 10 10
Rushing 36-140 32-157
Passes 5-7-1 6-9-0
Yards passing 83 196
Total yards 223 353
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-0
Punts 3-25.0 4-32.5
Penalties 5-31 1-0