Arellano intercepts for the win

It was a sight Cougar fans had not seen all year and a night to remember.  Coaches jumping and hugging each other. Players with huge smiles across their faces.  A no-huddle offense, a successful passing game, a solid defensive effort.  And at the end of the night, a homecoming victory as the Cougars held on to defeat the Stevens Falcons 24-21 for the first win of the season.

1st Half

The Cougars fortunes looked good early on as they recovered a fumbled kickoff by Stevens.  The Cougars couldn’t convert that to points however.  On the Cougars next possession, using a no-huddle offense, Chase Jones completed a 16 yd. pass to set up the Cougars on the Stevens 18 yd. line.  On the next play, a Jones to Branden Valle TD reception made it Stevens 0 – Clark 7 with 6:17 left in the 1st quarter.

Stevens scored at the end of the quarter on a QB keeper and a 4th and 1 to tie it up 7-7 with 1:52 let in the 1st.  The 2nd quarter started sharp for Clark, when Jones found Presley Miller for a 36 yd. TD, making it Stevens 7 – Clark 14 at the 11:52 mark.  Stevens came back again before the half, with the teams going to the locker rooms tied 14-14.

2nd Half

Clark’s Nick Gonsalves kicked a 40 yd. field goal at the 8:52 mark in the 3rd quarter to once again give the Cougars the lead, 14-17.  A Clark fumble lead to a 17 yd. Stevens TD and the Falcons lead Clark 21-17 with 2:40 in the 3rd qtr.  Clark came right back, driving the ball and finishing up with a Valle 21 yd. rushing TD to give the Cougars the go-ahead score, 21-24.  Stevens had one last chance to win but on 4th and 7 the Cougars’ Cristian Arellano intercepted the ball, guaranteeing the Clark victory.

Jones finished up the night 11 for 15 and 1 int.  Miller had 92 yds. receiving along with Trenton Ford’s 92 receiving yards.  Valle led the Cougars with 91 rushing yds.

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Valle rushes for a 1st down

Under the bright lights of a television broadcast, the Clark Cougar varsity football team lost to the Alamo Heights Mules, 28-10.

1st Quarter

The Cougars looked strong, beginning with Cristian Arellano’s opening kickoff return to midfield.  The Cougars then marched down to the redzone but could not convert a 4th and 1 on the one yard line.  On the next possession, the defense attacked as Sam Carter caused and recovered a fumble. The Mules, however, made up for their mistake on their next possession scoring, making it Mules 7, Cougars 0 with :58 to go until the 2nd qtr.

2nd Quarter

Using classic Clark ball control, mostly through the rushing of Brandon Valle, the Cougars took the kickoff and ran a 19 play drive, ending in a 6 yd. touchdown pass from Chase Jones to R’Mani Bettis.  With 5:32 left before halftime, the score was tied.  Following a Heights possession, the Cougars responded with a score.  With no timeouts left and the clock ticking down, Nick Gonsalves executed a perfect “fire drill” field goal attempt of 24 yds. as the buzzer sounded.  Going into the locker rooms at the half, Clark led 10 to 7.

3rd Qtr.

Alamo Heights passed. AH 21-Clark 10

4th Qtr.

Final Score: AH 28 – Cougars 10

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• Express News article/photos
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Devin Haley closes the door on Stevens.

Clark baseball had a scoreless game against Stevens through six innings on Friday with Chad Dullnig on the mound. Finally in the 7th inning, with two outs, Cole Bercher scored John Henderson with a single to left field.  Then with Stevens in their last at bat, behind by 1-0,  Clark left fielder, Chase Jones threw a bomb to catcher Devin Haley preventing a Falcons run.  Final score Clark 1-0!  Next game, Friday April 20 at 4:45 against Holmes.  The Cougars remain in second place in district with two games remaining and a playoff spot secured.

Go COOGS!!!

Clark baseball racked up four wins over spring break, outscoring their three district opponents 39-5 and beating Johnson 6-4  at the end of the week – just for fun. The highlight of the week was senior pitcher Chad Dullnig’s no-hitter against Stevens, which Clark won 10-0. Chase Jones ended the game with a three-run home run in the bottom of the 6th. Dullnig was also the winning pitcher in the Cougar’s 13-3 win over Jay to start the spring break run on March 9th and he had his own home run in the 16-2 victory over Warren. Cole Bercher was on the mound against the Warriors for that win. Pitcher John Henderson got the win in the game against Johnson.

Clark plays Holmes on Tuesday at 7:30 at Northside.

Clark softball upped its district record to 6-2 over spring break winning 2 out of 3 district games. The Cougars beat Holmes 7-4 with Liz Rodriguez on the mound and they won 10-0 against Stevens – Henessey Soto was the winning pitcher in that game. Their only loss came against O’Connor 3-1.

Next up is Taft on Tuesday at 7:00 at Northside.

GO COOGS!

Hunter runs for big gain

The Clark Cougar varsity season opener against the #8 Churchill Chargers didn’t go quite according to plan.  Despite some good things happening on the field, there were more that weren’t in the 38-14 Gucci Bowl loss.

Sr. QB Josh Kern’s 8 yd. pass to senior tight end Alex Hunter gave the Cougars hope, making the score 14-7 Churchill after two early miscues by the Cougars in the 1st quarter.  Manny Menezes followed the score up with a solid lick on the Churchill returner the kickoff return.  With Churchill driving, Brian Socha’s interception at the end of the quarter gave the Cougars another chance to score.  Churchill’s defense stiffened and Clark ended up without points.

Jr. QB Chase Jones entered the game in the 3rd quarter and orchestrated a drive midway through the 4th to give Clark it’s 2nd TD.

The Cougars get back to work this week and prepare for Alamo Heights next Friday at Orem Stadium.

• Express News article
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QB Josh Kern

With his first season as a starter behind him and a major college commitment in his pocket, Clark quarterback Josh Kern is ready to get the 2011 football season underway. Express News reporter Pat Turner files this profile on Kern.

PLEASE NOTE: Contrary to the report, Ryan Jones and Hunter Anderson are both graduating and will not be playing with Kern next season. Among others, Kern’s receivers will be Brandon Yates, Troy Ogletree, Chase Jones, Presley Miller and tight end Alex Hunter.

"TO" Troy Ogletree gets his

The Clark Cougars JV team gave Clark fans a little to cheer about with a 28-8 “slobberknocker” over the Churchill Chargers.  Sophomore QB Chase Jones accounted for three rushing touchdowns behind a strong o-line effort.  Dusty Wright had an interception and several stops for the defense in their outstanding effort.

The  JV 2nd team also beat the Chargers 20-8 in the early game.  The freshman A team  fell short but the freshman B team won their game against Churchill.

PHOTOS