Size, penalties plague Red Oak FB

The Red Oak Tigers fell 40-0 in their home opener against Clarinda on Friday, Sept. 6, falling to a 0-2 start to the season.
“It would have been really easy to just shut down and fold up and get after teammates,” Red Oak head coach Ryan Gelber said. “And we did a great job of the team staying collective and calm in a really adverse situation. We were really pleased with our guys as a group of sticking together and fighting until the end.”
Neither team scored in the first quarter as both teams’ defense made big stops and broke up passes. But the Cardinals began to connect early in the second quarter and Cardinal Michael Shull ran in for a TD. The PAT failed and Clarinda took a 6-0 lead with 10 minutes remaining until the half.
The Tigers and Cardinals exchanged downs until Shull had an interception, giving Clarinda a huge momentum shift. The Cardinals used eight drives to move the ball down the field and ended with a Nathan Barnes field goal and a 9-0 advantage.
Red Oak kept fighting, but two penalties on the following drive, kept them from scoring and Clarinda took over possession with less than two minutes remaining in the half.
The Cardinals used two long passes to get closer to the end zone, and on the third play of the drive, Shull scrambled for an eight-yard TD. The Cardinals could not convert and the teams headed into the break with the Cardinals up 16-0.
The Tigers could not get anything going in the second half, but the Cardinals continued to roll, adding back to back TDs from Connor Brown in the third quarter, with a conversion and a PAT to extend the lead to 3-0.
The Tigers lost possession on downs and the Cardinals were able to score one more time in the quarter on a Brandon Stogdill three-yard run and a successful PAT by Barnes.
The Cardinals began the fourth quarter with a safety, adding the final two points of the game.
With just over seven minutes left to play in the game, Red Oak’s Dawson Bond grabbed an interception, but the Tigers could not get past the Cardinal defense, and Clarinda took over for one final drive.
Jacob Athen completed two of seven passes for seven yards, and threw one interception. He had three solo tackles.
Carter Maynes led the Tigers with 22 yards rushing, followed by Justin McCunn with 17.
Maynes and Austin Johnson were the two receivers for the Tigers.
“Clarinda has a very good offense, and they have a big, physical line. They had a great game plan and executed well,” Gelber said. “But, our defense was able to make the best of the switch and with personnel. We lost two linemen in the first half, and it wasn’t ideal, but we made adjustments as needed.”
Nick Fouts had a monster night with 11 tackles, all solo, followed by McCunn with nine total tackles.
A. Johnson had 5.5 tackles; Maynes five; Bond, Fernando Lepe, and Breckin Weston two each; Ryan Johnson and Zach Guerra 1.5 each; and Aiden Bruce, Logan Conn, Sam Fields, Bruce Lukehart, Andrew Shipley, and Luke Sperling one each.
Kyndal Kells had two kick offs totalling 82 yards.
Athen had one punt for 37 yards and Guerra had seven punts for 185 yards.
Bond returned two kick offs for 33 yards and A. Johnson returned one for 16 yards.
The Tigers (0-2) host Clarke (1-1) Friday, Sept. 13.
“We are going to use this week to do everything with the mentality that this is going to make me better for the next game,” Gelber said. “Clarke has put up some big numbers. They run the option where you have to play assignment sound. So any time you make a decision this week, do it with the mentality that what you are doing is in preparation to set yourself apart from your opponent.”