Coming off a huge win like the 42-32 victory over Alter last week, there probably aren’t many teams Clinton-Massie could play that wouldn’t elicit a letdown by the Falcons.
Goshen is one of those teams.
The Warriors, still stinging from a 41-27 loss to Blanchester in the season opener, will visit Frank Irelan Field Friday night.
Massie is 14-1 since rejoining the SBAAC for the 2017 season. That “1” is a 33-31 win by Goshen. The Falcons are 7-0 against SBAAC rivals at Irelan Field since 2017.
Goshen is coached by former Falcon lineman Greg Miller.
“Greg, being a coach and player from Massie, there’s obviously a lot of things in common, both offensively and defensively,” CM head coach Dan McSurley said.
The Falcons began the year by defeating Archbishop Alter 42-32 in a thriller. Massie was up big, 28-6, then had to rally on both sides of the ball late in the game for the win.
“I felt we were really prepared, both offensively and defensively,” McSurley said. “Our kids fought through a lot of fatigue.”
After Alter took the lead late, McSurley said two plays stood out to help the Falcons with the win – Blake Ireland’s catch of a Kody Zantene pass and Cayden Clutter’s strip and recovery of an Alter fumble.
Clutter’s fumble recovery led to Ireland’s catch which led to a Carson Vanhoose touchdown that put Massie on top with 72 seconds to play in the game.
“Our kids … caught a break with the strip and recovery by Cayden Clutter,” McSurley said. “After that we got some emotion and finished it off. The pass and catch from Kody to Blake Ireland was amazing.”
While McSurley is certainly pleased with the win and its long-term ramifications, he was quick to note there is still plenty to work on before Massie can achieve its ultimate goals.
“We have a lot of things to improve on,” he said. “When you play a team like (Alter) it really shows areas of the game that can be corrected. There was a lot of teaching and learning Saturday morning (during film review).”
