ITALY GETS HOMECOMING WIN OVER CLIFTON, 19-7

ITALY – At the 5:34 mark of the second-quarter, the 3A Clifton Cubs finally struck the first blow against the 2A Italy Gladiators with a 4th-and-goal quick pitch to the left to go up 7-0. Clifton sophomore Jackson Ritz did the honors for Clifton’s backfield, but the men in old gold were not about to let anything spoil their Homecoming celebration.

After a 10-yard return by Italy freshman, Tripp Slovak, on the ensuing kickoff, senior quarterback, Gared Wood, rolled out right, then tucked the ball and ran 62 yards to the endzone, leaving Cub fur floating in his wake. And just like that, Italy had tied the contest 7-7 after junior, Rogelio Torres-Landeros, kicked through the point-after, with senior Austin Cate snapping and Slovak holding.

With a good 5 minute still to play in the first-half, Wood and the Gladiators were determined to make the most of every second. A three-and-out by Clifton’s offense resulted in Wood calling for a fair catch back at Italy’s own 36-yard line. Three straight carries by Wood moved Italy into Cub territory at the 45-yard line. Wood then connected on a 20-yard pass to senior receiver Corey “Lucky” Johnson on the visitor’s sideline, spotting the ball at Clifton’s 25.

Gladiator Nation was fired up, thanks to the added boost from visiting alumni, as everyone braced for the momentum swing that was about to happen. With Wood now wearing a red target on his back, and with the offensive now aided by a defensive face-masking penalty, Italy’s second-year Head Coach/AD Mike Loveless, a 1986 graduate of Italy High School himself, opted to handoff to senior tailback Eric Solis who rumbled straight up the gut of the Cub’s defense for a 14-yard lead changer.

Italy miscued on the point-after attempt, but the Gladiators were now on top of the Cubs by a score of 13-7 going into the break.

After forcing a Gladiator punt by Wood’s to start the third, Clifton drove to Italy’s 9-yard line but fumbled the ball away on the next play. Slovak jarred the ball loose and Italy’s junior defensive end, Andre Brown, dove on the gift. Old Gold was back in business at their own 15-yard line.

Relying on their workhorse, Solis bruised his way forward on four of the next five carries to Italy’s own 47-yard line. Junior Raul Acosta then burst left for a gain of nine into Cub territory, ending the fourth-quarter at the visitors 44-yard line.

The Old Gold offense could only manage 5 yards on their next few plays before Acosta followed a kick-out block, by pulling senior guard Maddox Dickerson, to sprint 28 yards down to Clifton’s 12-yard line. Wood did the heroics on the next play, benefiting from a seal block by sophomore left tackle Landon Johnson, that helped Wood’s exit the backfield and cross the goal line. The 11-play drive gave Italy a 19-7 lead with another miscue on the extra-point keeping Italy’s score total in the teens.

Ritz had a solid return to the Cub’s 45. Clifton’s senior QB Joaquin De La Hoya guided the green machine to Italy’s 15-yard line, but on 4th-and-8, had a pass attempt into the endzone knocked down by Italy’s sophomore defensive back, Kaelynn Cockran. Italy, however, was unable to get far and had to punt it back over to the Cubs who were sitting pretty at Italy’s 37-yard line after a short return.

Desperate to make a play on 4th down at Italy’s 33-yard line, Clifton’s De La Hoya scrambled around but was abruptly sacked by Italy’s senior defensive end, Treylan Fennell, for a 15-yard loss back to the 47 yard line. After some more back-and-forth, Italy finally capped off the night with a 32-yard pass completion from Wood’s to Johnson. Wood took a knee at Clifton’s 42-yard line to make Italy’s second consecutive win against a 3A school official, 19-7 the final.

Wood finished with 11 carries for 106 yards rushing, and completed 2-out-of-5 passes for 52 yards. Johnson made the two receptions to claim all 52 receiving yards for his very own. Solis finished with 11 carries for 53 yards, and Raul Acosta accumulated 30 yards on 7 carries. Italy totalled 236 yards of total offense to Clifton’s 191 yards of total offense.

Leading Italy’s defensive attack were linebacker Tristan Camacho who recorded 5 solo tackles, 11 assists, 2 tackles for loss and 2 hurries, and senior defensive tackle J.J. Acosta finished with 5 solo tackles and 3 assists. Brown, from his defensive end position, had 1 solo tackle, 3 assists, 1 fumble recovery, and 2 hurries, and Fennell, also at defensive end, finished with 3 assisted tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, and 1 sack. In the secondary, Cockran, Johnson, Acosta, and senior defensive back Terence Jones helped regulate Clifton’s passing total to just 67 yards. 

Italy (2-1) will travel to Cayuga (1-2) Friday for their last preseason game before district play begins. Italy defeated Cayuga last season so the Wildcats will be looking for some payback on their home field. Caugua managed to get their first win of the season thanks to a 42-22 win over Itasca Friday night. Kickoff at 7 p.m.