NEW MARTINSVILLE – Magnolia running back Landon Streets bulled in from the 2-yard line with 6:37 remaining Friday night to secure a wild 14-12 victory over Clay-Battelle, at Alumni Field.
The loss eliminated the Cee-Bees (5-5) from Class A playoff contention. Clay-Battelle entered the game ranked No. 16, the final spot for the playoffs.
“I wish I had more time with these guys, especially the seniors,” said C-B head coach Aaron LaPoe, who just completed his first season as the Cee-Bees’ head coach. “These seniors had a new coach and a different coaching staff come in for their final year, and they bought in and did all the things you’d want them to do. They did things the right way. I’m grateful for that, but they also helped lay a great foundation for the good things to come for this program.”
The game, itself, had several storylines, including key injuries, missed opportunities and trick plays.
C-B held a 12-0 lead until midway through the third quarter, with 3-yard touchdown runs coming from both Maverick Gum and Caleb Snodgrass. LaPoe, having seen Magnolia on film doing well on blocking kicks, elected to go for two-point conversions after each score. Both attempts came up short.
The Cee-Bees first missed an opportunity in the second quarter. After Magnolia (4-6) downed a punt at the 1-yard line, C-B ate up a bunch of clock in going on a 98-yard drive. It was the last yard that was the most difficult.
“We went into our power sets and tried to get it in there, but they shut us down and we ended up turning the ball over on downs after going 98 yards,” LaPoe said. “To go 98 yards and not score, especially in a physical game like this, that hurts. That could have been a three-score difference right there.”
Adversity also hit the Cee-Bees. In the third quarter, starting quarterback Corey Coen went down with an injury. He was having himself a night, too, completing his first six passes of the game. He finished 9 of 15 for 111 yards. He was replaced by Braden Ponceroff, who began the season as the starting quarterback.
Magnolia didn’t score until midway in the third quarter, and that touchdown came on a halfback pass when Finn Loy hooked up with Carson Wade on fourth down.
“We had been shutting down their run and so they hit us with the trick play,” LaPoe said. “That really put a lot of momentum on their side.”
A two-point conversion made it 12-8, and then Streets scored the game-winner in the fourth, which capped off a 12-play, 75-yard drive. Streets finished with 112 yards on 20 attempts and added 42 yards receiving.
Clay-Battelle tried to come up with its own game-winning drive, using Ponceroff on roll-out plays with four receivers to choose from. C-B drove all the way to the Magnolia 5, but then the Blue Eagles came up with a key quarterback sack. That set up a fourth-down throw that fell incomplete.
“I thought we were the more physical team,” LaPoe said. “I think (Magnolia) had the advantage with depth. They had a little more left in the tank than we did.”
Freshman Caleb Hall rushed for 136 yards to lead the Cee-Bees. While playing receiver, Ponceroff had four catches for 78 yards, including a one-handed catch along the Magnolia sideline.
“Their coach told me after the game that was the greatest catch that he had seen right in front of him,” LaPoe said. “It really was special, something that should wind up on ESPN or something like that.”
LaPoe said both Gum and Kooper Statler were standouts on defense, both finishing with more than 10 tackles, as was defensive end Josh Wilson, who shut down Magnolia’s counter plays all game.
“We’re going to take a break and then get back out there,” LaPoe said of next season’s team. “I think having a true offseason with these guys will be important. There’s definitely momentum building here. There’s a lot of good things coming our way in the future.”
