Clarkson/Leigh falls at Hartington-Newcastle in 1st round of playoffs

The Clarkson/Leigh Football Team lost 62-34 at Hartington-Newcastle in the first round of the playoffs Thursday night in action heard on 107.9 the Bull.

The Patriots led 14-12 after one before the Wildcats outscored them 30-14 in the second quarter to go up 42-28 at halftime.

Hartington-Newcastle outscored Clarkson/Leigh 20-0 in the 3rd quarter to lead 62-28 at the end of three.

The Patriots won the 4th quarter 6-0.

Tommy McEvoy had 233 yards rushing on 32 carries, including 4 touchdowns. Lance Paprocki added 74 yards rushing on 21 carries.

McEvoy led the way with 9 tackles.

Clarkson/Leigh had 385 yards of total offense, including 377 rushing.

The defense surrendered 444 yards of total offense, 246 coming on the ground.

I would say the lack of a passing game and the inability to come up with stops is what cost the Patriots Thursday night.

Clarkson/Leigh's season ends at 5-4.

McEvoy led the way in rushing this season with 1708 yards and 30 touchdowns.

He also led the team in tackles with 78.

McEvoy is a very special player, and I'm excited to see what he can do over the course of the next two years.

The Patriots say goodbye to Travis Stanley, Douglas Pocasangre, Raoul Heillman, Cort Pokorney, and John Langhorst.

Key returners include Paprocki, Logan Schroeder, Isaak Wiese, Austin Sayers, Layne Krutz, and of course McEvoy.

This team has a chance to be really good next year, in my opinion.

I think how Clarkson/Leigh ended the season has to motivate them heading into next year.

The Patriots did a lot of nice things this year, but lost their first and last two games of the season.

I'm sure Clarkson/Leigh will look to start and finish better next season.

"Finish" has to be the Patriots' motto heading into next year.

Clarkson/Leigh has some unfinished business to attend to next year, and has to come ready to work hard every single day this offseason.

I look for McEvoy to be a beast next year once again, and dominate.

The Patriots have to lift hard, run hard, and play hard this offseason.

Clarkson/Leigh needs to have a good basketball season and spring sports season too, but be ready for Football once that all ends and perhaps even before.

I look for the Patriots to have a good offseason and be ready to go when next season comes around.

I think Clarkson/Leigh probably has a sour taste in their mouth given the playoff loss, but I look for that to only fuel and motivate the Patriots heading into next season.

The sooner the Patriots get after it, the better off they will be for next year.