SCIOTA – It’s hard for Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio football coach Scott Payne to explain exactly what happened in the second quarter in the 58-14 victory Saturday, Sept. 7 over West Prairie in Sciota when the Clippers gave up 14 points.

However, he can explain the fast start in the first and the clean-up job in the second half.

“In the first quarter, we came out, played well, and executed everything. In the second quarter, I don’t know what happened. We couldn’t do anything right,” Payne said. “We went into halftime, talked to the kids, and made some adjustments. In the second half, we played very good football.

“I think in the second quarter, the kids got a little lackadaisical. They thought it was just going to be an easy win. West Prairie did a great job of coming back and cutting it to 12 points. We missed some key blocks up front offensively and we were out of position a couple of times defensively and gave up two long touchdown runs.”

The Clippers took a 26-14 lead into halftime.

In the second half, West Prairie didn’t find the end zone, while Amboy piled on another 32.

Payne credits the defense and the offensive line for making the biggest adjustments and setting in during the second half of play.

“I’m really happy with the progression of our offensive line in guards Dillion Merriman and Trevor Stenzel, center Caleb Sugars, and tight ends Caleb Yanos and Rylan McNinch,” Payne said. “We got a sophomore starting at guard in Trevor Stenzel, so it’s going to be him getting better every week. Rylan McNinch is a junior and he’s going to get a lot of playing time and he’ll get better each each.

“We’re just going to improve week to week. When you have some young guys up front, it’s just going to take a little bit longer than normal.”

Behind the line, the rushing attack of the Clippers was able keep the gas pedal to the floor even without senior Quinn Leffelman, who is going to miss 1-2 weeks with a high ankle sprain.

Senior Brayden Klein moved to fullback and seniors Josh McKendry and Ed Fry took all the tailback handoffs.

Klein finished with 125 yards on nine attempts, McKendry scored three touchdowns (for the second straight week) and had 132 yards on 17 carries, Fry scored a touchdown and ran for 97 yards on eight rushes.

Senior quarterback Eddie Jones and junior wide receiver Cody Winn also had a rushing score each.

“Klein had a great game at fullback. To my knowledge, this is the first time he has played fullback and he did a great job blocking and running the inside trap plays we like to run with our fullback,” Payne said. “When you’re able to move a kid from tailback to fullback and he doesn’t miss a step and plays a great football game, that says a lot about Brayden.

“Klein, McKendry, and Fry did a great job of picking up for Quinn being out. It’s nice to have as many options as we do on the offensive side of the ball. We can put a number of kids in there and we have all the confidence in the word that they’re going to make something happen. It’s really nice to have that. Plus, it complements our play-action pass with Eddie Jones.”

Besides his rushing TD, Jones was 5-of-7 in the air with 144 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.

The passing touchdowns were caught by Yanos, who had two receptions for 71 yards, and Klein, one reception for a 67 yards touchdown.

Payne hopes to keep the momentum rolling into Week 3 as the Clippers have their first Homecoming game in two years when they host Illinois 8-Man Football Association West Conference foe Galva at 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 13.

“The kids are really excited to play a Homecoming football game,” Payne said. “We have Galva coming to town. We’ve never played them before, so we have a first-time opponent. The kids are excited to have an actual game instead of a scrimmage like we had last year.

“Galva has a big kid at quarterback, junior Blake Stahl, who is 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, and can throw the ball well. He also likes to run. They have a big 200-pound fullback, also. Those two players are going to be our main points of emphasis at practice this week.”