Cloverdale falls in heartbreaker

The tears streaming down the faces of numerous Cloverdale football players told the story. 

After falling 39-14 to Riverton Parke in the final game of the 2023 season, the Clovers walked away Friday night with thoughts of what could have been after Riverton Parke escaped with a 34-33 win in a thriller. 

"We talked about how more games are lost than won. We did enough things to lose it. We let them block a punt, let them return a kick for a touchdown, try to go on two on 3rd and 8 and we jump. We did a lot of things that were good, but a lot of things to improve on. I am happy with our guy's effort tonight. We played hard, but we had too many mistakes to come out on top tonight," Cloverdale coach Tyler Lotz told The Putnam County Post. 

Despite the setback, Lotz got emotional talking about what the contest meant for the long range growth of his program, reflecting on how the loss stung his players.

"It's good to see. Cloverdale football hasn't really meant a lot to a lot of people. I get emotional thinking about it. These kids, it matters so much and they care so much. It is good to see. Cloverdale football is headed in the right direction, and the kids care about it. It's huge. We can always get better, but if they care, we have a shot," Lotz said. 

Riverton Parke wasted little time establishing itself, as quarterback Collett Sanders hit Kyle Price for a 46-yard touchdown pass. The two point conversion was successful, and the Panthers held a quick 8-0 lead. Cloverdale would answer right back behind the play of newly minted quarterback Jordan Duncan, who opened the drive 3-of-4 for 32 yards. Duncan's arm would set up a 32 yard burst from Tayt Jackson, as Cloverdale trimmed the lead to 8-7. 

The score remained 8-7 until the early moments of the second quarter when special teams proved to be detrimental to the Clovers. Facing a fourth down, Cloverdale's punt attempt was blocked and recovered by Derek Collum in the end zone, pushing the Panthers ahead 14-7. The two teams would play even the rest of the half, with Riverton Parke ahead 14-7 at the half.

Then the excitement set in, as the two teams lit up the scoreboard in the second half. 

Cloverdale would knot the game at 14-14 early in the third quarter after Duncan hit sophomore tight end Jace Gardner for a 13-yard touchdown. 

The Clovers would find themselves ahead midway through the third quarter, as Duncan hit Jackson for a 22-yard pitch and catch to push Cloverdale ahead 21-14. The lead would be short lived, as Riverton Parke's Sean Vester would take the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown and a positive two point conversion would give the Panthers a 22-21 advantage. 

Moments later, Duncan and Jackson would connect again for a 16-yard touchdown to put the Clovers ahead 27-22. However, again, the lead would be short lived as Price took a handoff on third down and rumbled 42 yards to give the Panthers a 28-27 lead going into the fourth quarter. 

Much like the third quarter, the scoring would continue in the fourth, as Jackson found a seam and went in from nine yards to open the frame, pushing the Clovers ahead 33-28. 

Riverton Parke would take the final lead of the night, as Sanders and Price connected on a 41 yard strike on 3rd and 22. Despite the deficit, Cloverdale had one final chance to go ahead in the closing minutes. A 31-yard pass from Duncan to Gardner started a promising drive that would bog down inside the Riverton Parke 20-yard line when Duncan was sacked on fourth down. 

Duncan was 13-of-22 for 203 yards. He added 46 yards on the ground. Gardner reeled in four passes for 77 yards. The combination of the two allowed Lotz to smile after the game. 

"Landon Duncan makes us way better. He is so smart with decisions, runs outside like he's going to take off and then dumps it downfield. That kind of stuff and the stuff he sees, he's just natural back there. I am really proud of how he played. That was the first time he had been hit in a long time and he bounced right up every time and showed some toughness. I am not surprised with Jace Gardner. He is one of the hardest working kids on our team. He is only a sophomore and is arguably the strongest kid on our team. He's a great kid and I am really happy with how he played. It is two guys that make us better," Lotz said. 

Jackson added six receptions for 82 yards and 72 yards on six carries, while Levi Johnson rushed for 70 yards. 

Going into next week's contest at Edinburgh, Lotz said his team needed to get better in special teams and cleaning up a few things on defense. 

"Offensively, I thought we did a good job up front, but there's always little things we can get better at," Lotz said.