CLEAR CREEK WILDCATS

Outcome — Clear Creek (3-3 overall, 2-0 district) took a huge step toward a playoff berth by defeating the Clear Lake Falcons (5-1 overall, 1-1), 35-32, Friday night at District Stadium.

Play Of The Game — Trey Mason scored on an 11-yard pass from Neal Warden with 27 seconds left in the first half to give the Wildcats a 21-19 halftime lead. More importantly, the touchdown drive, which took only 49 seconds, answered a Clear Lake touchdown that had given the Falcons a 19-14 lead with 1:16 left in the first half.

What Went Right — Clear Creek coach Darrell Warden’s spread offense proved its versatility. With Clear Lake playing a three-man defensive front, Clear Creek ran the ball early, with Nathan Baggs scoring on a 66-yard touchdown run on the second Wildcat play from scrimmage. The balanced Creek attack racked up 384 yards on the game — 187 on the ground and 197 through the air.

What Went Wrong — Too many turnovers at the worst possible times almost derailed the Wildcat upset bid. Creek lost three of four fumbles. Up 35-25 and driving in Clear Lake territory with 4:07 left in the game, the Wildcats coughed up the ball, allowing the Falcons to score and pull within three points with 1:33 left in the game.

Team Stars — Neal Warden threw three touchdown passes and racked up 197 passing yards. Wide receiver Taylor Echols caught four passes for 77 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown with 9:44 left in the third quarter that gave the Wildcats a 35-19 lead.

Sidelines — Clear Creek didn’t throw its first pass until the 10-minute mark of the second quarter. The first — and only — Wildcat punt of the game occurred with a little over four minutes left in the third quarter.

Quotable — “The thing we’ve talked about as a team is how we handle it when bad things happen. Tonight some bad things happened, but we stayed with it and came out on top.” — Darrell Warden.

What’s Next — The Wildcats take on Brazoswood at home Friday night at 7 p.m.