Clarkston holds off Adams’ late rally

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

CLAKRSTON — Clarkston and Rochester Adams have played several close battles on the grid-iron since the inception of the Oakland Activities Association in 1994.

In typical fashion, Friday was no exception.

The Wolves scored a touchdown in each quarter and had to hold off a late rally by to post a 28-21 OAA crossover triumph over visiting Adams.

“It is typical of this game,” offered veteran coach Kurt Richardson, whose team dropped a 17-7 contest to Adams last season. “In most years, the games have been close. So I wasn’t surprised that this was close, too. I am disappointed that we let them back into the game.”

The two have played in 17 of the past 18 seasons dating back to the ’94 season — they did not play in 2007 — and have played 27 times total dating back to 1972. The Wolves lead the all-time series 16-11, including 10-7 as members of the OAA.

Eight of the previous 13 matchups between the two rivals have also been decided by 10 or fewer points and eight times in the past 17 meetings the game has been decided by seven or fewer points. This clash added to the rivalry’s legacy of barnburners.

Leading by seven late in the contest, Clarkston’s Chris Calvano picked up an interception to halt the Highlanders’ comeback and upset bid.

Clarkston, which won two games last season where the Wolves had to halt a late drive with an interception, is ranked amongst the top-10 Division 1 teams in the state. Adams is slated for a rebuilding year.

The Wolves (1-0) led 21-7 entering the fourth quarter and built a 28-7 lead before Adams staged a late-night comeback.

The Highlanders, who have five quarterbacks on varsity, shifted some players around and inserted Corey Clemons into the lineup at quarterback.

Clemons, who finished with 134 passing yards in his short period of work, connected with Andrew McBride with an 10-yard touchdown pass and Ben Hart was on the receiving end of an 82-yard heave by Clemons to bring his team back from a 21-point deficit to a seven-point hole with just under six minutes to play.

Clemons and Adams got the ball back one last time inside two minutes, but Calvano made the game-clinching grab near midfield to stave off the rally.

“I thought we made some nice plays on offense and defense, but we didn’t block that well,” admitted Richardson. “We have some things we have to work on, but at least we got the win.”

The two rivals traded off first-quarter touchdowns, with Ben Kaminsky scoring on a 13-yard run for Clarkston and Tony Annese on a 27-yard scamper for the Highlanders (0-1).

Travis Smith hailed in a 10-yard pass from Mitch Baenziger in the second quarter, Kaminsky added 13-yard run for another score in the third quarter and Kaminsky tacked on a 12-year run for the Wolves’ fourth touchdown, which proved to be the eventual game-winner.

Alex Barta nailed four extra points for Clarkston.

“You have to give Adams credit for battling back,” said Richardson. “We were fortunate enough to have someone step up and make (the interception).”

Ryan Cesiel connected on three PATs for Adams.

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Tags: Clarkston Football, High SchoolFootball, OAA football, prep football, Rochester Adams Football

Category: Clarkston, High School, High School (M-Z), Prep Wraps, Rochester Adams