Bellevue turns back Clyde in overtime

BELLEVUE — Ike Brown got the stop Bellevue needed. Billy Sberna put the finishing touches on one of the best Clyde-versus-Bellevue Route 20 rivalry classics. Brown's interception gave the ball back to the Redmen and that led to Sberna scoring a game-winning walk-off six-yard touchdown, lifting Bellevue to a 12-6 overtime win in a Division IV Region 14 playoffs opener Friday at Bellevue Athletic Field. "I had faith," Sberna said. "I knew our guys up front were going to do their job. They had a lot of adrenaline. We knew what we had to do. I wasn't going to let myself fall short." With the win, the fifth-seeded Redmen improved to 8-3 and will travel to fourth-seeded Lima Bath (8-2) next week in a regional quarterfinal. "He's a senior and he works his butt off all year long," said Bellevue coach Alex Shepherd of Sberna. "He never misses a practice. He never misses a weight lifting session. He's a good kid and he cares a lot. I wanted to put it in the hands of a senior who I knew was going to give everything he had." Clyde (4-7) had possession of the ball first in overtime. A penalty put the Fliers behind the sticks before a seven-yard pass from Jonathan Lantz to Dekin Crockett. A negative play on a pass put Clyde in a tough spot. From there, Lantz went to the end zone on a pass, but Brown was there for the interception. "They have a really good field goal kicker, so that's always an option for them," Shepherd said. "Ike just makes plays. He's a great kid and he does things like that every week that gives us a chance to win. We're proud of him." With an opportunity to win with any score, the Redmen got a first down on a pass from Brown to Owen Hancock. Later facing third-and-goal at the 6, Sberna took just his second carry of the night and went through a couple tackles to score. "There's not really anything you can say," Clyde coach Ryan Carter said. "I told them I was proud of them. We came over and had a great battle. I thought we played our tails off. We didn't make enough plays or the right plays. I didn't make the right calls. You have to give them some credit too. They did some things well." Clyde got into overtime on the strength of a 40-yard field goal by Mitch Newsome. The Fliers took over with 2:47 to play down 6-3. They converted fourth-and-one at the Bellevue 44 when Lantz kept it for three yards. A personal foul penalty against Bellevue pushed Clyde to the 23. A short run and two incomplete passes brought up Newsome's try. He had just enough leg as it bounced off the sidebar and through the uprights to tie the game with 31 seconds left. "I talked to my kicking coach and he said he had that range," Carter said. "We got fortunate to get it to overtime." Neither team was pleasant offensively, combining for one first down in the first four drives of the game. Clyde picked up its first first down on its third offensive series before later facing fourth-and-two at its own 47. The Fliers initially lined up offensively, then switched to punt formation. Eventually, it was a fake as Karcen Garner gained seven yards for a first down. Clyde guzzled clock away as it slowly moved down the field in the second quarter. The drive eventually reached over 12 minutes before the Fliers had fourth-and-goal at the 1. Clyde was whistled for a penalty and settled for a 23-yard field goal from Newsome. "It was tough at that point in time," Carter said. "That's part of the game. They did a good job of stopping us." The drive took 12:18 off the clock and was 21 plays, but it was a win in Bellevue's book. "We were struggling on offense early and were keeping our defense on the field," Shepherd said. "We started to get wore down, but we got tough on the goal line and kept them out of the end zone. That ended up being the difference in the game." The 3-0 lead remained into the third quarter. Bellevue picked up three first downs on its first drive of the second half, but Reid Claus' 32-yard field goal was wide, leaving Clyde up 3-0. The Fliers couldn't add on and punted. Bellevue answered with a time-consuming drive of its own in response. The Redmen went just 53 yards, but it took 16 plays and 7:34 off the clock. Bellevue converted on fourth down twice and Nolan Hartman scored on a one-yard run. Claus missed the extra point, but Bellevue was up 6-3 with 10:52 left in the fourth quarter. Bellevue also defeated Clyde 33-23 back in Week 1. "It's a familiar opponent," Shepherd said. "Our kids know them and they know us. It's a rivalry game, so you don't have to do a ton to get our kids excited about it. They're right down the road. We played them once, so we kind of knew what to expect a little bit." Adam Young ran 22 times for 67 yards for Clyde while Lantz was 12 of 18 passing for 55 yards. "They fought all season," said Carter of his team that started 0-4 before rallying for a playoff spot. "They did everything we asked them to do. They kept bouncing back and they were very resilient. Super proud of them. Tough way to go out, but it doesn't change how proud I am of them." Brown completed 11 of 19 passes for 107 yards while running 14 times for 47 yards. "It's really hard to beat a team twice in the same year, especially a team like Clyde," Shepherd said. "That's a good football team over there. We knew they were going to come out and give us a test and they did. We faced a lot of adversity in that game and overcame in. "I'm super proud of our kids getting that done." Clyde 0 3 0 3 0 — 6Bellevue 0 0 0 6 6 — 12 C — Mitch Newsome 23 field goalB — Nolan Hartman 1 run (kick failed)C — Newsome 40 field goalB — Billy Sberna 6 run (no kick)