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Coldwater's Derek Dues (23) grabs hold of Clinton Massie's Ty Martin during Friday's non-conference game at Cavalier Stadium. The Falcons won 14-7 to hand the Cavaliers their first home loss since 2023.
COLDWATER - After scoring 49 points in its opening week win, Coldwater could not get the offense going against a tough Clinton Massie team.
Kaden Zantene's one-yard touchdown run with 1:56 to play in regulation gave the Falcons a 14-7 win over the Cavaliers at Cavalier Stadium, the first home loss since 2023.
After a slow start by both teams, the first quarter ended scoreless as some of the crowd was still making its way into Cavalier Stadium. The highlight of the quarter was a Clinton Massie pass by running back Tristen Trampler. The pass fell incomplete but a late pass interference call triggered the Cavalier faithful in the stands and gave Clinton Massie a first down, although no points came of it.
After dealing with the Falcons rushing attack for most of the half, Coldwater found some momentum via a Nolan Mescher interception on a fourth and six. The Cavaliers could not get a first down on their possession, and gave the ball back to Clinton Massie on the 38 yard-line of Coldwater.
The Falcons took control of the ball, and finally found the end-zone with just under 10 seconds left. An improbable catch by Clinton Massie receiver Andrew Smith gave the visitors the lead 6-0 after a missed extra point. The fans were calling for a false start, but to no avail. The Cavaliers took it to the half down 6-0 and searching for some offense.
Coldwater's Braxton Taylor (29) is tackled by Clinton Massie's Ryan Anderson.
After both teams failed to score to open the second half, the Cavalier offense got the ball on its own 44 yard-line. A 13-yard run by Braxton Taylor put Coldwater in opposing territory. A couple plays later, Karsyn Homan converted a big third down through the air to Taylor to set up a potential scoring opportunity.
The Cavaliers took advantage of that opportunity as Homan found his tight end Bennett Spriggs on a beautifully executed screen pass from 12 yards out. Spriggs found the end-zone and with the extra point put through by Bryce Couchot, Coldwater jumped out in front 7-6.
The scoreline stayed the same going into the fourth quarter, as Clinton Massie ran out the remaining three minutes of clock. The Falcons continued running, and running, and running some more to start the final quarter. After 17 plays, all but one coming on the ground, Clinton Massie was facing a first-and-goal situation from the six yard-line.
Another run put the ball at the two, but a false start pushed it back to the seven. Two more runs followed, and it was fourth and goal from the two. Clinton Massie lined up for a field goal, and chaos ensued. While it seemed as though the kick missed, the Falcon kicker was missing a mouthpiece and the referees called the play dead right as the snap happened. Given another chance, Clinton Massie went for it, but could not find the end zone, keeping the score at 7-6 Coldwater.
Coldwater's Griffin Lefeld (50) wraps up Clinton Massie's Kaden Zantene for a sack.
After two plays that went nowhere, Homan's pass was intercepted at the 40 yard line to give the ball back to the Falcons with just over two minutes to go. A 27-yard run by Falcon running back Ty Martin forced Coldwater to burn timeouts, with Clinton Massie in range to take the lead. They did just that on Zantene's quarterback sneak from a yard out. The Falcons went for two and Bret Gray ran it in to make it 14-7.
Coldwater needed something big to happen, but a hook-and-ladder lateral was muffed on the ensuing possession, and the Falcons flew to the ball to end the game.
"It looked like it might have been there, but I don't know if he got hit in the back or what happened," Coldwater coach Chip Otten said.
It was a momentous win for Clinton Massie head coach Dan McSurley, who got his 300th career win.
"I've had the opportunity to coach some really outstanding young men," McSurley said. "It's an achievement, but we can't be done."
For the Cavaliers, the loss hurt in more ways than one. Clinton Massie ran 64 plays to Coldwater's 30, and the Falcons outran the Cavaliers by nearly 200 yards.
"The defense did a great job eventually stopping (Clinton Massie), but the offense just had a series of mistakes," Otten said. "Everything that could go wrong, a couple holding calls, snaps over heads early. We couldn't sustain anything."
Coldwater will look to bounce back as the Cavaliers open Midwest Athletic Conference play next Friday at Cavalier Stadium against Fort Recovery.
