FRANKLIN FURNACE — This was the football version of the movie “Rocky.”
In that movie, Rocky was a heavy underdog against Apollo Creed. But the two had a brutal battle and there were many fans who came away thinking Rocky was the winner despite the decision going to Creed.
Ironton was the underdog to the Clarkson Football North Chargers, a national team that has players not only from Ontario but throughout Canada.
The game came down to a two-point conversion attempt by Ironton with 1:08 to play that fell short and the Chargers escaped with a 28-27 win.
Clarkson North (4-1) paid close attention to Missouri commit Shaun Terry, but Mr. Electric supplied three — well, electrifying plays— that helped put Ironton in a position to win the game.
Trailing 14-7 at the half, Terry returned a punt 47 yards in the third quarter for a touchdown as he broke three tackles and ran out of the grasp of another potential tackle to score with 4:41 on the clock. David Fields’ conversion kick tied the score.
Ironton (5-1) forced a punt and went on a 64-yard, 10-play drive that spilled over into the fourth quarter and ended on a 10-yard run by quarterback Braden Schreck with 9:56 to play.
The drive was highlighted by a big 18-yard run by Schreck on a third-and-8 play and then a 16-yard pass to Nick Sites that got the ball to the 14. Schreck scored two plays later and Fields’ conversion kick put Ironton ahead 21-14.
But the Chargers answered just three plays later as backup quarterback Jacob Mueller hit Mazin Cukic in stride on a 54-yard scoring pass and the game was tied at 21-all with 7:46 to go.
Schreck — who was under heavy pressure much of the game — was picked off by Joel Fahey at the Ironton 23 and Clarkson needed eight plays to score as Lucas Shannon ran 2 yards on fourth down for a 28-21 lead.
Terry came to the rescue once again as he returned the kickoff 46 yards to the Chargers’ 47 and then broke off a 39-yard run to the 8-yard line. Schreck hit Williams with a scoring pass on the next play to get Ironton within one point.
But on the conversion play, the rush by the defensive end forced Williams a little out of his route and then some additional pressure caused Schreck to reverse his field and scramble as he looked for a receiver and then tried to thread the needle on the run and the pass was a little too high for wide receiver Tyler Roach.
The Fighting Tigers took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 16-yard pass from Schreck to Williams who made a nice catch and spin move to cap an 87-yard, 12-play drive.
Clarkson scored twice in the second quarter when quarterback Winston Chapman hit Lucas Weir on a 13-yard scoring pass and then ran 4 yards for a touchdown to finish off a 86-yard, 10-play drive keyed by a 57-yard run by Nolan Garrow.
Ironton had 220 total yards with 142 on the ground as Terry ran four times for 56 yards and Schreck 13 times for 53 yards and a score.
Schreck was 10-0f-18 passing for 78 yards and two touchdowns.
The Chargers ran for 280 yards behind an offensive line that averaged 6-foot-4, 294 pounds. Shannon ran 31 times for 93 yards and a touchdown and Garrow three times for 56 yards.
Campbell was 11-of-15 passing for 91 yards and the Chargers had 145 yards passing overall to give them 425 total yards.
The game was played at Green High School after the strong winds and heavy rains damaged Tanks Memorial Stadium’s roof and flooded the locker rooms.
The Fighting Tigers travel to Pikeville, Ky., next Friday.
Clarkson N. 0 14 0 14 = 28
Ironton 7 0 7 13 = 27
First Quarter
Irn — Zayne Williams 16 pass from Braden Schreck (David Fields kick) 1:02
Second Quarter
CN — Lucas Weir 13 pass from Winston Chapman (Mazin Cukic kick) 4:43
CN — Winston Chapman 4 run (Mazin Cukic kick) 2:11
Third Quarter
Irn — Shaun Terry 47 punt return (David Fields kick) 4:41
Fourth Quarter
Irn — Braden Schreck 10 run (David Fields kick) 9:56
CN — Mazin Cukic 54 pass from Jacob Mueller (Mazin Cukic kick) 7:46
CN — Lucas Shannon 2 run (Mazin Cukic kick) 2:00
Irn — Zayne Williams 8 pass from Braden Schreck (pass failed) 1:08
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CN Irn
First downs 11 12
Rushes-yards 41-280 24-142
Passing yards 145 78
Total yards 425 220
Cmp-Att-Int 12-16-0 10-18-1
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 10-65 2-32
Punts-average 3032.3 4-43.0
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Individual Leaders
RUSHING–Clarkson North: Lucas Shannon 31-93 TD, Nolan Garrow 3-56, Zion Grant 2-25, Winston Campbell 3-11 TD, Team 2-minus 5; Ironton: Shaun Terry 4-56, Braden Schreck 13-53 TD, Zayne Williams 6-33, Kayden Edwards 1-0.
PASSING–Clarkson North: Winston Campbell 11-15-0 91 TD, Jacob Mueller 1-1-0 54 TD; Ironton: Braden Schreck 10-18-1 78 2-TD.
RECEIVING–Clarkson North: Carson Huzij 1-17, Lucas Weir 4-36 TD, Mazin Cukic 6-92 TD; Ironton: Shaun Terry 3-8, Zayne 4-32 2-TD, Jesse Copas. 1-5, Kayden Edwards 1-17, Nick Sites 1-16.
MISSED FIELD GOALS–None.
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