Clarkson off to Lincoln

HUMPHREY -- Two Cornhusker Conference teams ... One previous game this season decided by two points ... A trip to the Class D-1 State Championship game at Memorial Stadium on the line ...

You had the feeling this was going to be a great game, and it didn’t disappoint as Clarkson defeated Class D-1, No. 10 Humphrey St. Francis by a score of 22-20 in overtime Saturday at Humphrey.

Following a Red Devil touchdown by Eric Brabec and a two-point conversion by Michael Konicek on the first possession of overtime, the Flyers found the end zone on a tipped pass reeled in by Steve Wemhoff. There was one more thing St. Francis had to do before sending the game on to a second overtime -- it had to tack on the conversion. Clarkson’s defense stuffed St. Francis quarterback Randy Foltz as he drove down to the 1-yard line, sending it on to face No. 3 Elgin Pope John in the championship game at 7 p.m. Thursday.

“We knew we had to stop him from getting into the end zone,” said Brabec, of the Red Devil defensive stand on the Flyers two-point attempt. “We’re sick of losing by two, or not by much, so this was kind of revenge.”

The Devils had fallen 30-28 to St. Francis Oct. 12.

Clarkson head coach Jim Clarkson said he was having difficulty even thinking about the state championship game.

“It’s crazy -- it was the goal of these guys all year to make it to the championship game and now they’ve done it -- I’m so proud of them,” Clarkson said. “But we have to approach it just like any other game.”

The Red Devils were in charge of the game after scoring two second-half touchdowns and a two-point conversion to lead 14-0 with 5:29 to go in the game. Clarkson scored its touchdowns on runs by Konicek. Things looked bleak for the Flyers, especially when, on the following drive, Foltz had to leave the game with an injury.

Junior Derek Classen ran out onto the field, however, bringing along a spark and St. Francis put together its best drive of the night, going 65 yards fueled by Classen passes of 23 and 24 yards to Miles Korus and Jameson Werner.

“We were down and I had to try and help bring the team back,” Classen said. “It was exciting. The guys were telling me to (go out there) and fight.”

Jacob McPhillips punched the ball up the middle for a four-yard score to cap the drive. The conversion failed and the Flyers still trailed Clarkson 14-6 with 4:22 to go.

The Red Devils attempted to pound the ball and run out the clock on their next drive, but were stopped by an energized Flyer defense. Then, on a fourth and four from its own 32, Clarkson opted not to punt and ran to the right -- a play that was snuffed out quickly by St. Francis. The turnover on downs gave the Flyers the ball at the Red Devil 32 with two minutes left on the clock.

“I made a very stupid call on fourth down,” Clarkson said. “I wasn’t worried at the time because our defense is so tough. I’m pretty pleased that we came back to win after that.”

St. Francis’ offense responded by scoring in three plays, with the touchdown coming on a 14-yard pass to Matt Korus from Classen. Classen then sniffed out the end zone on a blown pass play, splitting the defense with his feet and diving in for the two-point conversion to tie the game with 1:29 to go.

Clarkson attempted to put together an answering drive in regulation, but couldn’t manage to bust into Flyer territory as the game entered overtime.

At the beginning of the game, both teams were determined to come out firing, but neither could get much going as the defenses stepped up, setting the tone for the half. There were seven punts combined in the first half. The only time either team threatened to score against the seemingly indomitable defenses was on the last play of the first half, when Clarkson quarterback Eric Brabec lofted a deep pass toward the end zone, which fell from the hands of his receiver at the goal line.

St. Francis coach Eric Kessler was happy with the effort his team gave in defeat and the season they’ve had.

“It’s been a great season,” Kessler said. “I don’t think people thought we would get this far after that 50-20 loss (to High Plains) earlier this year. Our guys played really well. They had no quit in them tonight or at any other time.”

The Red Devils and their fans celebrated out at midfield for a long time following the game as they looked forward to the prospect of going to Lincoln.

“It’s awesome,” Konicek said. “No matter how it goes (Thursday), we’re coming full force.”

Clarkson (10-2) 0 0 14 0 8 -- 22

St. Francis (10-2) 0 0 0 14 6 -- 20

n SCORING SUMMARY: C -- Michael Konicek 34-yard run (run failed); C -- Konicek 25-yard run (Konicek run); HSF -- Jacob McPhillips 4-yard run (run failed); HSF -- Matt Korus 13-yard pass from Derek Classen (Classen run); C -- Eric Brabec 10-yard run (Konicek run); HSF -- Steve Wemhoff 2-yard pass from Randy Foltz (run failed).

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

n RUSHING: C -- Konicek 23-163, Brabec 21-92; HSF -- Korus 13-36.

n PASSING: C -- Brabec 0-10-1-0; HSF -- Classen 4-5-0-75, Foltz 3-11-2-17.

n RECEIVING: C -- N/A; HSF -- Cole Classen 2-20, Jameson Werner 1-24, Miles Korus 1-23.