Clemens keeps playoff hopes alive in wild win over Pieper

Clemens won its fourth District 28-6A game in a row and kept its playoff hopes alive by winning a 52-49 shootout over Pieper on Friday at Warrior Stadium.

Devin Morgan scored the game winning touchdown for Clemens on a 1-yard run with just over two minutes remaining and the Buffaloes came up with two defensive stops in the final minute and a half, including an interception by Zarion Jordan.

With the win, Clemens (7-2 overall, 4-2 District 28-6A) moved into a three-way tie for second with Pieper (5-4, 4-2) and Judson (4-4, 4-2) with one week left in the regular season.

For Clemens to make its first playoff appearance in seven years, it needs to beat their rival Steele (6-1-1, 5-0), which has already clinched the district championship, Thursday at 7 p.m. at Lehnhoff Stadium. If the Buffaloes lose, they will need some outside help.

Pieper finishes the regular season against Wagner (2-6, 1-5) next Friday at Rutledge Stadium and could clinch a playoff berth with a win.

The Clemens winning streak started after losing their first two district games to Judson (51-41) and East Central (47-20).

After his team’s thrilling win over Pieper, Clemens coach Alan Hill wasn’t focused on the scenarios for the Buffaloes making the playoffs. Hill was taking in the moment after getting a Gatorade bath from his team after the win.

“It was huge,” Hill said. “It has been a while. We clinched the first winning season last week (against Wagner) since 2019. That was huge. Obviously, we lost the wrong games early in district play so we still got some work to do or help (to get into playoffs) and we know that. It was a huge win, not just for our program and community, but just how hard our kids have been working, fighting and staying together.

“I mean it says a lot about the character of the kids to climb out of an 0-2 hole in district play and reel off four in a row and not quit on their teammates and just go back to work and fight,” Hill added.

Clemens was led by sophomore running back Daniel Gray, who bullied his way through the Pieper defense for 90 yards rushing and three touchdowns, and by quarterback Carter Menchke, who threw two scoring passes.

“We needed this one,” Gray said. “Our playoff chances have gone up like a rocket.”

Gray said has confidence in his squad as they take on Steele next.

 “It’s not impossible,” Gray said. “I know some guys over there, they look pretty good but it’s not impossible. We just proved that we can go toe-to-toe with any team including even if they are ranked higher than us.”

The Buffaloes were able to overcome the performance of Pieper quarterback Lance Reid, who went 21-of-31 for 246 yards and four touchdowns, and Pieper receiver Cade Diamond, who finished with 98 yards receiving and three scoring receptions.

Carson LaCombe started the game off for Pieper by returning the opening kickoff 80 yards to the Clemens 14. Five plays later, Carson Echt scored on an 8-yard running to put the Warriors up 7-0.

Clemens got a long kickoff return of its own, setting up a 19-yard touchdown pass from Mencke to Jackson Steindorf to tie the game, 7-7.

After stopping Clemens on downs, Pieper got the ball back and regained the lead on a 1-yard scoring run by LaCombe out of the Wildcat formation, with LaCombe setting up his own score with a diving 39-yard reception at the Clemens 10.

Clemens answered as Gray scored on a 37-yard run to tie the game again at 14-14 with 17 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Pieper took a 28-24 lead at halftime as Reid threw scoring passes of 11 yards to Austin Tennell and 30 yards to Cade Diamond, the latter with 2:36 left in the second quarter. Clemens’ second quarter scores came on a Gray 13-yard touchdown run and on a 36-yard field goal from Sean Gonzalez as time expired in the first half.

Clemens took its first lead of the game on the first possession of the second half, on a 21-yard scoring toss from Mencke to a wide open Luis Santiago with 9:13 in the third quarter. The teams would trade the lead six times before Morgan settled it with is game winning score.

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This article originally published at Clemens keeps playoff hopes alive in wild win over Pieper.