Humboldt interrupts Clear Lake district win streak

Humboldt erupted for 26 points in the second half on their way to a 26-10 victory over Clear Lake Friday night.  The win snapped the Lions’ 34 game district win streak and dropped the team to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in Class 3A, District 3.

Despite these second half scoring blitz which brought the Wildcats (2-3, 2-1) from a 7-0 halftime deficit to the win, Clear Lake Coach Fred Wieck said his teams’ play in the first half was the difference.

“We blew it in the first half.  We hurt ourselves with penalties and mistakes.  I thought the first half was the key,” said Wieck.

After a scoreless first quarter, during which the Lions blocked a punt but failed to capitalize, fumbled and had four penalties, Clear Lake finally got on track in the second quarter.  The teams traded a pair of possessions before the Lions got the ball in good field position.  A 52-yard drive was capped by a one-yard leap into the end zone by Cody Maulsby.  The PAT by Logan Kracht gave the Lions a 7-0 lead with :21 left in the first half.

Kracht booted a 22-yard field goal in the third quarter to put the Lions ahead 10-0 with 5:08 left in the quarter.  

But on the ensuing kickoff, Humboldt’s Jaxon Heinz raced 88 yards for a touchdown and the Wildcats began to believe a Homecoming win was in their reach.  The PAT was good and the score was 10-7.

Humboldt took a 13-10 midway through the fourth quarter on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Ben Jacobson to Brady Ross.

The Lions were poised to score midway through the final quarter when they had the ball at the Wildcat 33.  The Humboldt defense rose to the occasion and stymied the Lions.  Brock Adams’ pass to Gavin Sheakley was stripped away and the Wildcats took over at the Lion 19.  With momentum now clearly on their side, the Wildcats drove the ball in for a TD.  The successful PAT put the home team up, 20-10.  

With 1:36 left on the clock the Lions recovered Humboldt’s squib kick at the 30, but an Adams pass was picked off and run back all the way to the Lion three.  The Wildcats took the opportunity to widen the win margin and take full advantage of the victory.  The Iowa High School Athletic Association uses a 13-point tiebreaker to determine final standings; when a tie exists and head-to-head competition cannot determine the qualifier, the 13-point system is used by adding the plus and minus points of district games of each of the teams in the tie and then divide by the total number of district games. The team with the highest per-game point average will be the qualifier. 

The kick following the TD missed the mark, making the score 26-10.

The Lions had one last chance to narrow the scoring ago, but Adams’ second interception of - Read More Via e-Edition