Pride fall to Wildcats, 17-6
DUBUQUE, Iowa – Despite holding one of the top offenses in the Heart of America in check for most of the game, Clarke suffered a 17-6 loss to the No. 19-ranked Culver-Stockton Wildcats on Saturday.
The Pride (0-8, 0-2 North) opened play in strong fashion thanks to the leg of kicker Anthony Gomez (FR/Santa Ana, Calif.), who connected on field goals of 41 and 45 yards in the first quarter, and in part due to a stingy Clarke defense that only allowed 28 yards in the first quarter on 16 plays. But Clarke struggled to keep momentum going at home, eventually surrendering the six-point lead early in the second quarter after Culver-Stockton's Cody Thorne connected on a 66-yard touchdown pass to Connor Perrine.
Michael Velasco hit a 31-yard field goal for the Wildcats (6-2, 2-0) with 5:50 left in the second quarter to extend the lead to four. On the ensuing Culver-Stockton drive, Clarke defensive back Steven Thomas (SO/Montgomery, Ala.) picked off Thorne, returning the pick 30 yards to the Wildcat 41-yard line.
The Pride were unable to turn the Wildcat turnover into points, as Gomez's field goal attempt from 22 yards out was blocked. With less than a minute left in the half, Culver-Stockton opted to run out the clock to lead it 10-6 at the break.
The Pride's defense did all it could to limit the Culver-Stockton offense, as the unit forced three second half turnovers, including a fumble on the Wildcats' first possession of the second half that was forced by Kenneth Spaight (JR/Rodeo, Calif.) as Perrine was about to score a touchdown. The fumble ended up bouncing through the end zone, resulting in a touchback and giving the ball back to the Clarke offense, which failed to score after turning the ball over on downs on the ensuing possession.
CSC's Thorne threw his second interception of the game on the next drive, as Johel Gonzalez (SO/Norco, Calif.) undercut a route and returned the pick 27 yards to the Culver-Stockton 36-yard line. Thorne would later throw a third interception when Chase Hartweg (SR/Hamilton, Ill.) picked one off over the middle and returned it 17 yards to the Wildcat 27-yard line.
Despite the turnovers, Culver-Stockton's offense was able to score on a 22-yard rush from Jordan Grant deep into the third quarter to push the lead to 11, where it would eventually end at.
A bright spot for Clarke's offense was running back Craig Elmore (SO/Chicago, Ill.), who finished the game with 106 yards on 25 carries before suffering an injury early in the fourth quarter, which forced the sophomore out for the remainder of the game.
Clarke quarterback Kenyon Williams completed 12 of 28 passes for 52 yards. Max Steffen (JR/Peosta, Iowa) led all Clarke receivers with 29 yards on three catches.
Bryan Valdes (FR/Florida City, Fla.) and Spaight led the Pride's defense with 12 total tackles. Valdes and Griffin Mulcahy (SO/Pecatonica, Ill.) each notched two tackles for loss.
Up next for the Pride is a trip to Lamoni, Iowa, to face Graceland University on Saturday, Oct. 30. Kickoff is set to 1 p.m.