Win and you’re in: Clements on the brink of playoffs

Published 5:00 am Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Clements coach Michael Parker hadn’t talked to his players about the playoffs this season, but at Monday’s practice, he felt it was important for them to know the score as they prepare to host Colbert Heights Friday night in a Class 3A, Region 8 game.

“I told them ‘win and you’re in,’” Parker said. “That’s the first time I’ve told them anything about the playoffs. I felt like they needed to know where we sat, but I probably won’t approach it again. We’re going to approach it like it’s a region game and we’ve got to win it.”

Clements (4-3, 2-2) needs to win only one of its final two region games, either against Colbert Heights Friday or at Lexington next week, to punch its playoff ticket. A win in both games would give the Colts third place in the region with a chance to grab second if other results fall their way.

“Getting third would be very beneficial to us because I don’t think anybody wants to play (undefeated) Susan Moore in the first round,” Parker said.

The Colts defeated East Lawrence 26-13 on the road last Friday to put themselves in playoff position. They now take on a very disciplined Colbert Heights team that sits at 5-3 overall and 3-1 in region play. The Wildcats barely slipped past Lexington 21-20 last week thanks to a missed extra point, but they had an impressive 27-20 victory over Westminster Christian earlier this season.

“They are very patient with the offense they run,” Parker said. “They play ball control and keep it away from the opposing team. Our defense will have to make some stops, and our offense will have to capitalize on it. We’ll need to play well, execute well and tackle.”

Clements opened up its passing game in last week’s game, with quarterback Braden Tucker throwing two touchdown passes to Hunter Hall.

Parker said he hopes the passing game continues to be there for the Colts, to assist standout running back Jairrice Pryor and to prevent teams from just stacking defenders at the line of scrimmage.

“I feel like if we can throw the ball around a little bit, that will open up the run game,” Parker said. “Colbert Heights stays in a 4-3 cover shell (defensive) look, just like East Lawrence did,” he said. “East Lawrence did a good job of containing the run, but we were able to do some things passing-wise that hurt them. We’re in it to win. If Jairrice gets 100 yards or 400 yards, whatever it takes to win the game, we’ll do it.”