Clinton Prairie defeated Clinton Central 28-26 in the Corn Bowl on Friday, Sep. 6.
The Gophers started the game with a bang when Nick Ewing returned the opening kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown.
Clinton Central marched down the field on the ensuing possession and Creed Mennen fired a touchdown pass to Klayton Stevens.
After an unsuccessful fake punt for Clinton Prairie, the Bulldogs were set up with excellent field position, and Klayton Stevens marched in for his second touchdown.
On the next possession, Gaige Kuzmicz rolled to his right and fired a pass that was intercepted by Luke Shelley. Shelley has forced a turnover in each of the team’s three games.
With momentum firmly on their side, the Bulldogs worked their way down the field and Klayton Stevens found an open Creed Mennen downfield for the touchdown. Stevens had a touchdown reception, touchdown run and touchdown pass in the first half.
On the last play of the first half, Clinton Prairie threw another interception, this time to Collin Washburn.
Clinton Central came out of the break and went right back to work. In less than four minutes, the Bulldogs marched it to the three-yard line, setting up Amrin Barrett for the touchdown run to give the Bulldogs a 26-8 lead.
Down 18, the Gophers put together a drive. Hunter Cooper had a pair of strong runs and Elijah Edwards came up with a leaping grab to complete a 30-yard gain. Braiden Jarboe worked his way past defenders for an eight-yard score and the Gophers trailed 26-16.
After forcing a quick punt, Clinton Prairie completed another deep pass, this time to Jarboe, which set up a short touchdown run for Hunter Cooper making the score 26-22.
After marching it across midfield on the next possession, the Bulldogs faced a third and long. Quarterback Klayton Stevens tried a deep ball of his own but was intercepted by Braiden Jarboe.
The Gophers got the ball and worked their way across the 50. After a couple of short runs and a penalty, Clinton Prairie faced a 4th and 13 from the Bulldog 42-yard line. Gaige Kuzmicz delivered a downfield strike to Alex King setting up Clinton Prairie at the one-yard line. Hunter Cooper scored on the next play and gave the Gophers the lead.
Clinton Central’s final drive stalled out just past midfield and the Gophers took over on downs to win the game.
Gaige Kuzmicz and Brady Allen were both named as The Farmers Bank players of the game. Kuzmicz’s late strike to Alex King was named the Solidarity Community Federal Credit Union play of the game.
The game was dubbed the Corn Bowl beginning in 2021 and Clinton Prairie has won all four matchups since then.
Clinton Central drops to 2-1 with the loss and will return home to play Sheridan this week
The Gophers improve to 2-1 and will go on the road to take on Tri-Central.
If you missed the game or want to relive the action, you can find it archived on Hoosierlandtv.com.
Tune in to the Hoosierland TV Game of the Week on Friday as the crew moves from corn to bacon and watches Carroll take on Delphi in the Bacon Bowl.
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