Clyde fends off Port Clinton, 55-48

PORT CLINTON — It's the old cliché: it was a shame someone had to lose. But that was the case in the Clyde vs. Port Clinton game as the Fliers, who trailed three different times defeated Port Clinton 55-48 to get their first win of the season. Overall, there were seven ties and one lead change. The teams traded touchdowns in each of their first three possessions with Port Clinton leading 7-0, 14-7 and 20-14 at the end of the first quarter. The score was tied at 34 at halftime. But Clyde scored two straight touchdowns to go ahead, 27-20. The go-ahead score came when Clyde quarterback Jonathan Lantz scored on an 11-yard run on second-and-one with 9:03 left in the game. The Fliers (1-4) were able to fend off Port Clinton (3-2) on the ensuing possession before running the final 7:28 off the clock. On the final drive, Clyde drove 78 yards, converting a third down plus a fourth-and-one at the Redskin 15 with 2:30 to play as Lantz ran for three yards on a quarterback keeper to close it out. One of the key plays of the drive came when the Fliers, facing a second-and-18 at their own 14, saw Lantz throw an incomplete pass, which would've set Clyde up for a third-and-long. But, a facemask penalty on Port Clinton made it second-and-three and Linkin Mullins ran for seven yards on a sweep to the left. Clyde coach Ryan Carter talked about getting the win, which comes after the Fliers played against some pretty stout competition before getting into Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division play. "I'm not really sure what to say. We've had a tough start to the season and we were down our starting running back (Adam Young)," Carter said. "The kids bought in and fought hard. It's a tough game to keep your kids going. We got one stop (on defense) and were able to hang on. Port Clinton was so good offensively tonight. Any way you can get a win, especially on the road, we're going to take." Lantz threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more. He had a great deal of help, especially with the rushing attack from the likes of Mullins, Dekin Crockett, Mason Flewelling and Hector Garza, among others. The offensive line opened holes for the running backs throughout the night and were able to do just enough to will Clyde to victory. Mullins ran 21 times for 149 yards while Garza had 15 carries for 113 yards. "We have a multitude of weapons," Carter said. "Everybody contributed. We had to run a lot of guys at (Port Clinton). "I'm just super proud of these kids." Port Clinton trailed 48-41 late in the third quarter before going 62 yards in just three plays, scoring when Landon Leis hit Christian Miller on a beautiful throw from 25 yards out. Adam Fitt's extra point tied it up. With under three minutes remaining in the first half, Port Clinton running back Malakii Pinkelton, who was one of the best players on the field and had a gutsy performance, also had one of the best runs of the season, breaking two tackles that would've gone for a loss before racing down the right sideline and getting tackled at the Clyde 1 after a 51-yard gain. Leis kept the ball on the next play and scored easily and Fitt's kick tied the score at 34 with 2:11 to play in the first half. One of the big plays in the game came midway through the second quarter when, facing a fourth-and-10 at the Port Clinton 25, Lantz threw a pass up the right seam that was deflected high in the air before being caught by Flewelling at the 2. On the next play, out of the Wildcat formation, Garza ran it in for a touchdown around the left tackle, and the extra point gave the Fliers a 27-20 lead. But the Redskins answered, driving 66 yards in just four plays with the drive ending as Gavin Cornell caught a 19-yard touchdown pass in the right corner of the end zone. The extra point tied it up at 27. The possession lasted exactly one minute and ended with 3:25 to play in the first half. Clyde converted three fourth downs, including one that went for a touchdown when Lantz found Hunter Thomas on a skinny post from 23 yards out on fourth down-and-17 with 3:15 left to play in the first quarter. Clyde 14 20 14 7 — 55Port Clinton 20 14 14 0 — 48 PC — Christian Miller 85 kickoff return (Adam Fitt kick)C — Hector Garza 6 run (Mitch Newsome kick)PC — Malakii Pinkelton 75 kickoff return (Fitt kick)C — Jonathan Lantz 23 pass to Hunter Thomas (Newsome kick)PC — Landon Leis 56 pass to Gavin Cornell (kick blocked)C — Mason Flewelling 1 run (kick blocked)C — Garza 1 run (Newsome kick)PC — Leis to Cornell (Fitt kick)C — Linkin Mullins 40 run (Newsome kick)PC — Leis 1 run (Fitt kick)C — Lantz 1 run (Newsome kick)PC — Miller 5 pass from Gavin Cornell (Fitt kick)C — Lantz 29 pass to Dekin Crockett (Newsome kick)PC — Leis 25 pass to Miller (Fitt kick)C — Lantz 11 run (Newsome kick)