The Falcons struggled out of the gates this year with four straight road losses to tough opponents, including close losses to Bountiful and Fremont. Their first four opponents ended the year with a combined 34 wins. “We started playing real good teams,” coach Randy Johnson said. “We had a hard time getting settled. Our defense was not playing well. We had costly turnovers.”
The Falcons rallied to go 4-2 to end the season. That included a huge comeback overtime win against their rival Northridge.
The Falcons came from a 14-point deficit at the half to score two touchdowns in the ending minutes to force that overtime win.
The key to the season’s turnaround was thanks to a defensive regrouping and the decision of Coach Johnson to play key players on both sides of the ball.
Senior Nick Garcia saw lineman duty on both offense and defense. Clearfield routed Weber to enter the 5-A playoffs on a run as the Falcons finished with a 4-2 region record and into a tie for second place.
This forced a rematch against Hunter in the first round of the 5-A playoffs. The Falcon’s defense played big in the first half by forcing two turnovers in the red zone.
But Hunter returned with an offensive strike and tough defensive play. This time Clearfield was shut out in a 28-0 loss in the freezing rain to end a harsh season.
Now Coach Johnson looks back at the expectations he had for 2005 and how they just missed the mark.
“Truthfully, I was a little disappointed,” Johnson said. “I thought we could have battled for the region title. I thought we could have been the dominant team in the region.”
The Falcons now have to deal with some key senior losses.
Both offensive and defensive lines will see a hit, especially with the losses of Garcia and Mike Pendergast.
They also lose fullback Jessie Kearsley who played well down the stretch. The rest of the defense sees a return of three defensive backs and linebackers Jessie Smith and Joe Mirelli in uniform next year.
The biggest notable return will be quarterback Casey Hill. Coach Johnson now looks for leadership coming into the 2006 season.
“The kids are already talking about next year, and they seem really excited,” said Johnson. “I would really like to see the seniors become stronger leaders than we have had in the past.”
Now that Clearfield has been eliminated from the playoffs, the remaining members hope to build on that excitement and motivation and carry it into summer where the Falcons look to contend for the region title once again.
One thing is for sure, they won’t mind if they don’t face the Wolverines anytime soon.
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