LAKEPORT >> The Clear Lake Cardinals ran for a lot of yards on Friday while posting a 16-8 homecoming victory over the Cloverdale Eagles in the North Central League I opener for both of these junior varsity football teams.
If you think head coach Derek Butcher was pleased with the performances of his running backs, you”d be correct. But it was the offensive line Butcher heaped more than just a little praise on following the win over the Eagles, a victory that keeps Clear Lake undefeated on the season at 4-0.
“The offensive line did one heck of a job ? we averaged 7.7 yards a carry,” Butcher said. “Our tackles Aireon Banuet (left side) and Shane Taffi (strong side) had an especially good night. I was really proud of the entire line.”
Clear Lake”s defense also came up big, including a Jake Jackson interception at the Clear Lake 5-yard line that stalled a Cloverdale drive just before halftime.
The second of Cameron Borg”s two touchdown runs, a 20-yarder in the fourth quarter, snapped an 8-8 tie as Alex Adams ran in the conversion to make it 16-8. Borg also scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter as Clear Lake went ahead 8-0. Borg ran in the conversion as well.
Four running backs had a productive night for the Cardinals. Tanner Cole led the team with 73 yards, Borg added 65, Brandon Orozco had 51 and Jackson finished with 48.
Several players on defense finished with three or four tackles, according to Butcher.
“It was truly a team defensive effort,” he said.
Clear Lake plays Friday in Willits at 5:30 p.m.
