by Lorain, OH – It was all Wildcats at Tom Hoch as Napolean shutout Clearview 49-0 in Division 4, region 14 action.
On their second drive of the game, Napolean turned to their running back George Eggers, who ran the ball 4 times for 40 yards, including a 13-yard run that gave Napolean a 6-0 lead.
The Wildcats would not look back. Clearview QB Cy Christianson had a night he would like to forget. Christianson threw his first two interceptions on the next Clearview possession to Napolean’s Trey Rubenstein. The senior then caught a touchdown pass from his quarterback, fellow senior Owen Espinoza, from 33 yards out, which gave Napolean a 12-0 lead.
Following a Clearview punt, the Wildcats yet again got on the attack. Espinoza went 5 for 5 through the air, as he found junior Quinten Maynard for 11 yards, Garret Hull for 29 yards, senior Parker Woods for 18 yards, sophomore Hayden Groll for 4 yards, and capped it off when he found Trey Rubenstein from 9 yards out, which gave Napolean a 19-0 lead.
On Clearview’s next possession, Christianson threw his second interception of the game. Napolean’s Parker Woods ran the interception back about 70 yards to the end zone and extended the Wildcats’ lead to 26-0.
Following a turnover on downs by the Clippers, it only took the Wildcats two plays to find the end zone again. Espinoza threw a 23-yard pass to Eggers, then capped off the drive when he threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Woods, making it 33-0 in Napolean’s favor.
Espinoza was not done yet in the first half. Following a Kameron Williams fumble, the Wildcats got the ball again and got to work. Hayden Groll started the drive out as he ran the ball twice for a combined 13 yards. Following an incomplete pass, Espinoza found a familiar face in Rubenstein 51 yards away for a touchdown, giving the Wildcats a 40-0 lead, which they took to halftime.
Clearview got the ball to begin the second half, and unfortunately for the Clippers, they started with the worst field position they would begin with all night. The Clippers only netted 4 yards in the drive. On the punt, the ball flew over their punter’s head, through the back of the end zone, which gave the Wildcats 2 more points and the ball.
The Wildcats got the ball at the Clearview 35-yard line, and it only took them four plays to get back in the end zone. Espinoza found tight end Brayden Black from 7 yards out to give Napolean a 49-0 lead, which is how the game would finish.
With the win, the Wildcats advance to the second round of the playoffs as they will drive further east to play the fifth-seed Bay Rockets, who defeated Cloverleaf 41-14.
Player of the Game: Napolean’s Owen Espinosa. The senior QB made football look easy. He completed 12 of 18 passes for 245 yards and threw five touchdown passes.
It’s “Napoleon”