Tigers lose heartbreaker to Northwest in OT

The McClain Tigers suffered a disappointing and heartbreaking 19-13 overtime loss to McDermott Northwest on Friday night at McClain Field in Greenfield.

It was a game that looked like after the Mohawks’ first offensive drive, McClain might get blown out. but their defense really let it down and played well the rest of the game.

Northwest took the kickoff and marched down the field, going 65 yards in nine plays to score a touchdown on a 6-yard run by Carter Runyon with 7:33 left in the first quarter. After that drive, McClain’s defense folded several times but didn’t break as it held Northwest scoreless until a controversial touchdown call in the end zone with just 13 seconds left in regulation on a pass play.

“I’m very proud of the way our defense played,” McClain head coach Keith Penwell said. “We played a lot of kids on defense tonight and they played hard and grit.

“I don’t like to blame the officials, but we had some crucial calls that didn’t go our way. That was a tough call at the end of the fourth quarter on the catch that they said marked the kid, but I’m not so sure.”

McClain had taken a 10-7 lead on a 29-yard field goal by Zane Adams and a 47-yard pick-6 by senior Owen Sykes, both coming in the second period.

Penalties and injuries were also painful for the second week in a row for the Tigers, especially at inopportune times.

After a scoreless third period, the Tigers extended their lead to 13-7 in the fourth on another 27-yard Adams field goal with 10:13 left in regulation.

McClain’s defense made big play after big play, stopping several Mohawk scoring chances, twice recovering fumbles on potential scoring drives. Defensive leaders were Andrew Roeder (eight tackles), Kamden Penwell (five tackles), Noah Sponcil (four and a half tackles), Jordan Bell (four tackles) and Riley Cummins (four tackles).

McClain’s stubborn defense appeared to save the game after sacking the Northwest quarterback on a fourth-and-eight play from the Tigers’ 30-yard line with just 4:44 left in the contest. But McClain couldn’t finish the play and ran out the clock and had to punt the ball back to the Mohawks with just over a minute left.

Northwest, just like on the game’s opening possession, moved the ball 65 yards in seven plays and tied the game on the aforementioned controversial touchdown catch. The extra point attempt was missed when he hit right, and the game was tied 13-13.

McClain had a great kickoff return by Dalton Rowland when he returned the ball to the Mohawks’ 31-yard line with four seconds left on the game clock, but the game went into overtime when a long Adams field goal. in short.

Northwest got the ball first in OT, and on its first play, Runyon zigzagged through the Tigers’ defense and scored, putting the Mohawks up 19-13. The PAT failed, setting up the Tigers’ first offensive possession of overtime.

McClain was able to move the ball to the Northwestern 9-yard line after a first down and catch from the Cohen Six to Adams, but the game ended on the next play. Northwest’s Austin Smith intercepted a pass at the goal line on a play that looked like the Mohawk quarterback went over the back of receiver McClain, but there was no penalty.

“I thought my kids played hard tonight and I’m really proud of them,” Penwell said. “They left everything on the field.

“There were 20 kids in the box all night and it seemed like everyone was getting together. Our defense really stepped up and shut them down for most of the game after the first touchdown.

“We need to be more consistent in terms of running the offense and throwing the football,” Penwell continued. “We have a lot of new faces there. It’s a fast-paced game on a Friday night, and some of our younger guys haven’t adjusted to that yet. But we will continue to work.”

The Mohawks rushed for a whopping 244 yards on 52 carries, compared to just 14 rushing yards for McClain on 22 carries.

The Tigers fall to 0-2 on the season and will host Paint Valley on Friday, Sept. 6 in the Battle of the 41 with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.

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