Cloverdale beats Greencastle for first time in 14 years

With the win, Cloverdale moved to 4-2 overall, while Greencastle fell to 2-5. 

The last time Cloverdale defeated Greencastle, there were members of both teams not born yet. 

The year was 2010.

All that has changed, as the Cloverdale Clovers defeated Greencastle, 26-21, Friday night behind a strong ground attack and a defense that answered the bell. 

"I think that we showed we are for real. I think a lot of people thought they are 3-2 because they played not so good teams. People weren't wrong for saying that, but I think we proved tonight we are a better team than what we've been in the past. I am really happy for the kids, who heard all week it's been 14 years since beating Greencastle and how it's their homecoming and all these things. I am happy for our team and all the fans in the stands. That was awesome," Cloverdale coach Tyler Lotz told GIANT fm WREB after the game. 

With the win, Cloverdale moved to 4-2 overall, while Greencastle fell to 2-5. 

"All the credit goes in the world goes to Coach Lotz and Cloverdale," Greencastle head coach Dave Stephens said. 

The game was Cloverdale's first in two weeks, as their contest with South Decatur was not played last week due to a variety of issues. Lotz admitted it was tough to bounce back after not playing. 

"It was one of those things where you hope your kids are ready, but it's been two weeks. The injury bug has hurt our kids this week and everything that could go wrong was hitting us. We showed up tonight, next man up and those things went great," Lotz said.

After trading possessions early in the contest, a 44-yard pass from Cloverdale quarterback Landon Duncan to Marcus Boyd set the Clovers up with beautiful field position and moments later, Jace Gardner was on the receiving end of a 9-yard touchdown pass from Duncan. The point-after-attempt gave Cloverdale a quick 7-0 lead. Greencastle would answer right back on its ensuing possession as Cayden Blodgett took a handoff and raced 59 yards to knot the game at 7-7. 

Cloverdale would take a 13-7 lead midway through the second quarter after an 81 yard touchdown by Tayt Jackson. The Clovers would look to pad their lead right before the half, but two passes towards the end zone were picked off, ending any scoring chance.  

The halftime break did little to slow the Clovers, who came out and took over six minutes off the clock in the third quarter before Jackson found the end zone on a second and goal situation from the Greencastle 16-yard line. 

Both Lotz and Stephens said that possession by Cloverdale was huge. 

"At halftime, we told them we didn't want to get into a shootout. We wanted to establish our running game and limit their offensive touches. We told the guys to be saddled up and ready to go. Kudos to our guys and the maturity of our guys. It was so crucial for us to run the ball and to do that in the second half was good. That first drive out of halftime set the tone for the second half," Lotz said. 

Stephens said the possession allowed the Clovers to dictate the tempo. 

"They did a great job of controlling tempo in that second half. They converted a couple third downs and were four out of five on fourth downs. They ended with 20 more snaps than us," Stephens said. 

Despite the deficit, Greencastle was able to claw right back in, as quarterback Cole Stephens connected with Trevin Long on a 52 yard touchdown play to cut the deficit to 20-14 with just under two minutes left in the third quarter. 

Following a fumble in the fourth quarter by Greencastle, Cloverdale would tack on its final touchdown, as Jackson went in from 21 yards out. Greencastle would score the final touchdown as Cole Stephens hit paydirt from two yards out. The Tiger Cubs would attempt an onside kick that would be recovered by Cloverdale, allowing the Clovers to take a knee twice to end the game. 

Lotz said the win validates the work his team, especially its seniors have put in. 

"I think it's huge. Cloverdale football has just had such a bad name. We lose kids for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes, we lose kids because Greencastle football is better or South Putnam football is better and they want to go to those places and play. I think this win shows these 14 seniors stayed the course. This is a huge win for our program and shows you can be a Clover, work your tail off and have success," Lotz said. .