By ANN THARP
Special to The Leader
The Carlisle Bison held on for an exciting 35-34 homecoming victory over the Clarendon Lions (3-6, 3-4) on Friday night at Fred C. Hardke Field. Carlisle (6-3, 5-2) trailed at the half by two touchdowns, but the defense had three interceptions and a defensive stand late in
the fourth quarter to aid in the victory.
“It was a big win right there for us,” said Carlisle coach Mark Uhiren. “I think Clarendon deserves a lot of credit. They played hard, and they played physical. There were a couple of players on their team that would not quit, would not stop what they were doing. And most of what they were doing was working. We were very, very fortunate to get out of this one. We keep finding ways to win. We don’t quit. We’ve had to prove ourselves several times already.”
Carlisle scored on its first drive of the game with a completion from quarterback Carson Cunningham to Houston Garrich for 26 yards,w a big factor. Jasean Harper had a run of 10 yards, and Devon Kendrick carried the ball the final nine yards for the touchdown. Kendrick also added the extra point for the 7-0 lead with 9:14 remaining in the opening quarter.
Clarendon answered with a nine-play 80-yard drive of its own, with quarterback Jama Cross scoring from one yard out. The Lions went for the two-point conversion and were successful to take an 8-7 edge.
Braiden Jenkins returned the ensuing kick off to the 49-yard line, and Kendrick picked up a first down, but the Bison fumbled the ball away on fourth down and eight.
It only took Clarendon one play to take advantage as Cross took the ball 59 yards for a touchdown and the 14-7 lead. The two-point conversion was no good.
The Bison bounced right back to tie as Kendrick had a run of 23 yards, and Harper ran the ball in from 15 yards away. Kendrick added the point after for the 14-14 score with 11:07 to go in the second quarter.
The Lions scored twice more in the quarter, once on the next possession to lead 20-14, and then after recovering another Carlisle fumble, took a 28-14 lead with 0:10 in the half. Marvin Horns scored both touchdowns.
The teams exchanged punts to start the third quarter, but the Bison moved 79 yards to score and cut into the lead with 3:43 remaining. Harper had a run of 39 yards and Kendrick found the end zone from one yard away. Kendrick also added the extra point and the score was 28-21.
Then, the Bison defense had Cross under duress, and Tristan Seidenswartz picked off his pass for a pick six to pull Carlisle to within one. The Bison went for the two-point conversion and it was good by Kendrick to take the lead at 29-28.
Clarendon had moved to the Bison 19-yard line and was threatening, but Cross was again intercepted, this time by Jenkins.
Carlisle took advantage of the turnover to score again as Ian Seidenswartz had runs of 17 and 33, and Harper finished the drive with a 25-yard touchdown scamper. The Bison went for two and it was no good, so the score was 35-28 with 6:20 remaining in the contest.
Clarendon answered and scored with 3:45 to go in the game, and the lead was cut to 35-34. The Lions went for the two-point conversion and the lead, but the pass by Cross was intercepted by Harper to maintain the lead for the Bison.
Carlisle then fumbled, and Clarendon recovered on the Bison 45-yard line. Horns got loose for 31 yards, but then the Carlisle defense held firm and on fourth and seven from the 13-yard line, Dylan Nichols led on a tackle for loss, the Lions had turned the ball over on downs, and the final score was set at 35-34 Bison.
Carlisle finished with 338 yards of offense, while the Lions had 515 yards. Kendrick led the Bison with 24 carries for 117 yards, two touchdowns, one two-point conversion, and three one-point conversions.
