An explosive first half wasn’t enough to rescue the Clovis North football team from a loss against the Edison Tigers. The Broncos put up 28 points in the first half, then went scoreless in the second half, losing 37-28 against Edison at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Friday, Sept. 7.
“We played hard the whole entire time” Clovis North head coach Benny Martinez said. “We just made some mistakes. They capitalized. That’s the whole ball game.”
Edison running back McKinley Lee III took advantage of the Broncos’ mistakes on defense, finishing with 248 yards and three touchdowns.
“Sometimes we don’t take on blocks the right way. We miss a tackle here and there, can’t do those things against the teams we play,” Martinez said. “We were out of position a few times.”
The Broncos (1-2) have lost two consecutive games, but Martinez said he is confident that the team is learning from its mistakes.
“Every game is a lesson. The boys learned from last week and we got better at those things we did wrong last week,” Martinez said. “We did some things wrong this week. We’ll go to practice and learn from those things.”
The Broncos fell behind quickly, allowing the Tigers to march down the field on the opening possession for a drive capped by Lee’s first touchdown. Clovis North immediately responded, with senior DJ Frampton finding John Shook for a touchdown.
The seesaw continued throughout the first half, the Broncos finding an answer for every huge Edison play.
Frampton, a junior lefty, finished the night completing 16 of 29 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns, one to Trey Patton and two to Shook.
“I love our passion. Our boys played hard,” Martinez said. “We just have to be more consistent with things. It’s the time of the year where coaches stop yelling and the players take over.”
A safety call late in the game gave the Tigers a 37-28 lead and put a dagger in the Broncos’ chances. The safety was called because Frampton threw the ball away from the endzone without receivers in the area.
“I wasn’t sure what the call was at first, but I was a little confused when they called safety,” Frampton said. “That never happened to me before.”
“Every mistake, I treat it as a big mistake,” Frampton added. “I just need to work on that and make less mistakes.”