By Travis Zuellig
But the 12th-seeded Warriors responded as they have this entire postseason. Calhoun exceeded expectations. The Warriors rallied to close the gap to seven points twice in the second half, but could never quite catch up, even though they had a couple of chances to score deep in Bulldog territory late in the game. St. Teresa held on for a 34-20 win to earn a spot in the Class 1A state championship game.
“We played like we played all year — with a lot of heart,” Calhoun head coach Aaron Elmore said. “We got down early, but we showed what we are made of to come back and get into the game. Most teams would have folded up shop, but this is a team that doesn’t.”
Senior running back Wes Klocke led the way offensively for the Warriors, who ended the season with a 9-4 record. Klocke finished with 69 yards rushing on 18 carries, and four catches for 77 yards and one touchdown. The senior said he was proud of his teammates and the performance they turned in Saturday afternoon.
“We didn’t give up. We went to the very end and worked until the last minute. We did everything we could,” Klocke said. “I wouldn’t say it wasn’t our day. We did play hard and we did what we could do. We left it all out there on the field.”
St. Teresa (12-1) scored on its first three drives of the game and took a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter. The Calhoun offense struggled to move the ball, racking up 50 total yards in its opening two drives.
Calhoun finally got rolling with a 10-play 65-yard drive, which was capped by Ty Bick’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Easton Clark. That cut the deficit to 21-6 with just over a minute remaining in the half.
“It was mainly that we just got going. They just couldn’t stop us,” Bick said. “(Trailing early) didn’t faze me too much. I knew that we were going to keep playing and come back, which we did.”
At the end of the third quarter, the Warriors closed the gap to seven points when Bick completed a 50-yard touchdown pass to Klocke over the middle of the field. Klocke caught the pass over his shoulder 15 yards from the line of scrimmage, and the senior ran the rest of the way for the score. Cole Lammy scored on the 2-point conversion to make it 21-14.
It took St. Teresa just three plays to regain its two-touchdown lead. Jacardia Wright’s 43-yard touchdown run gave the Bulldogs some insurance at the end of the third quarter. Wright was a real problem for the Warrior defense as the sophomore finished the day with 25 carries for 153 yards and three touchdowns.
Calhoun answered with an 11-play drive that ended with a Bick incompletion in the red zone. But the Warriors defense stepped up and forced the Bulldogs to punt in a fourth-and-long situation. The punt went straight up in the air, and Calhoun had great field position. Seven plays later, Bick dove into the end zone from one yard out to cut St. Teresa’s lead to 28-20.
“They have a lot of heart,” Elmore said. “All year long they have shown that they refuse to lose. I knew that we would chip back into it, but it’s tough against a good team like that. We found a way to get back in it.”
Due to penalties on the missed two-point conversion, Calhoun’s Jacob Watters kicked off from St. Teresa’s 30-yard line, and the Warriors tried an onside kick. Garrett Hayn jumped on the ball, and the Warriors were in business just 19 yards from the end zone. But Calhoun netted minus-three yards in the next four plays and turned the ball over on downs. Luck turned again as the Bulldogs fumbled on their first play of the drive, and Calhoun had another chance at the St. Teresa 30.
But on fourth-and-10 from the 36-yard line with just over a minute remaining, Bick was forced to scramble, and his pass was intercepted by Stanley Rodgers, who ran it back 65 yards for the game-sealing touchdown.
“We worked hard for what we got and we played hard today,” Klocke said. “We kept up with one (great team). These guys are a good team and will probably win state.”
Bick finished the day 5-for-12 passing for 85 yards and two scores. The junior quarterback also ran for 52 yards on 13 rushes and one touchdown. Watters rushed 12 times for 36 yards and picked numerous key yards in fourth-down situations.
This was the Warriors’ second playoff appearance under Elmore and the first back-to-back appearance in the playoffs since the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Calhoun’s nine wins are the most the school has recorded since the 2006 season. It was also the Warriors’ deepest run in the playoffs since Calhoun won the Class 1A championship in 1994.
“It was great. These kids showed what they are made of,” Elmore said. “They worked hard in the offseason and they had the ‘never quit’ and ‘never give up’ attitude throughout the playoffs. Every week, we were supposed to lose and we advanced to the semifinals. It is a huge accomplishment for the seniors, and I think it is a huge building block for the future.”
Reach Travis Zuellig at telegraphsports@hotmail.com
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