AMANDA — On a Friday night with weather that was anything but perfect, the Amanda-Clearcreek Aces put together a performance that was also anything but perfect against Adena.
In a game that was delayed for 35 minutes to start and another 30 minutes to begin the second quarter due to rain and lightning, the Aces were called for 11 penalties and turned the ball over three times — twice inside the Adena 10-yard line. However, the play of the defense as a unit and the offensive duo of Bodie Martin and Tommy Stai proved to be enough for the Aces to pull away for a 17-7 nonconference victory over the visiting Warriors.
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“It was very tough to play in the mud and the rain,” Stai said. “I’m not looking forward to my fumble runs (at practice) now, but I tried to work through it and we came home with the win and that’s what matters.”
Stai, a junior running back, led the Aces (2-1) with 170 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown run. His backfield mate, Bodie Martin, finished with 157 yards on 12 carries with another touchdown. The Aces found a lot of success with halfback toss plays on offense, which allowed the backs to run wide and find space to run through with the Aces' offensive line and receivers doing a great job of blocking downfield.
“Me and (Martin), in my opinion, we’re the best duo,” Stai said. “But it’s amazing because I can get a break, he can get a break, we can swap in and out.”
The Aces were the first to score on Friday, with a long 64-yard return of the game’s opening by Nick Holland setting up the Aces deep into Adena territory that turned into a 27-yard field goal by Hayden Dunn for a 3-0 lead.
Adena answered right back with an eight-play drive as it marched right through the Aces defense and capped off the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run by Nathan Dreitzler to put the Warriors on top 7-3 with 6:18 left to play in the first quarter.
For the remainder of the half, the Aces had four possessions each starting in Adena territory, yet the field position resulted in zero points. One Amanda-Clearcreek drive in the second quarter saw Stai appear to score a touchdown, only for it to be wiped out due to a holding penalty. Two possessions ended with Stai being stripped of the ball at the Adena 5-yard line and a high toss on the pitch to Stai that was also fumbled and recovered by the Warriors.
The mistakes sent the Aces to the locker room at halftime facing a 7-3 deficit in a game that statistically had been controlled by the home team.
“Coach (Chet Saum) really got on us at halftime,” Stai said. “That’s what locked me in because we know our potential and know what we’re capable of.”
The Aces' defense forced a three-and-out by Adena to start the second half, and then Stai gave the Aces a boost with a 38-yard touchdown run through the Warrior defense on the Aces' first play of the quarter.
“That play brought a lot of weight off our shoulders, especially mine,” Stai said.
From that point on, the Aces were in control. The defense pitched a second-half shutout and Martin scored a 68-yard touchdown with a tremendous run through the defense, sprinting down the left sideline before cutting back across the field to sail into the end zone down the middle of the field.
The Warriors were held to 109 total yards for the second half and 73 in the first half. This marks the second straight win over Adena in consecutive seasons, and the second straight year the Aces begin the season with a 2-1 record.
“It feels good to have a winning record,” Stai said. “I feel if we keep doing the good things we’re doing right and fix the mistakes, then we can really go far this season.”
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Getting it done: Amanda-Clearcreek football overcomes sloppy start to defeat Adena
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