By MICKEY ALVARADO
It was a bittersweet night for Clinton's varsity football team on Friday, Nov. 6, after falling 11-0 to Manchester in the Division 6 district final and finishing the season with only two losses.
What made the loss harder to accept for Clinton’s Redskins was it was the second time the rival Dutchmen beat them this season.
“Tonight is very bittersweet at this point to lose to them a second time,” said Clinton coach Scott McNitt. “But, at the same time, look what we've done: league champions, made it to the district final game. I couldn't be more proud of a group of kids; a group of coaches, and the community support tonight, the fans, fantastic. And this setting tonight, fantastic. That's what high school football is all about.”
Clinton's defense worked overtime in the contest with its offense sputtering on the field. The Flying Dutchmen were held to just six points in the first half and were denied a touchdown in the final two quarters. A safety in the third quarter gave Manchester another two points and after getting shut down near the end zone in the same quarter the 'Dutch had to settle for a field goal and three points to finish the game's scoring.
“Our defense was fantastic,” said McNitt. “They played way too much, obviously, because our offense was so poor. At the same time, Manchester's defense was the reason it happened.”
Manchester (10-1) barely edged Clinton in their season opener with a 20-14 double-overtime win. The Redskins finished the season at 9-2 overall and as the Tri-County Conference champions.
Clinton senior Andrew Porter (66) tried to make a hole for teammate Alex Karapas but Manchester budged very little. Photo By MICKEY ALVARADO
