A whole lot of running and a stingy defence.
That’s all it took for the Correlieu Clan to earn a convincing 21-0 win over the Prince George senior secondary Polars in their first-round playoff match, Friday at Massich Stadium.
Despite injuries to three key players, Cole Parker, Josh Calvert and Cam Herman, a lightening delay, the Clan ran the ball almost at will against the Polars defence.
Running back Greg Harasym had a great game for the Clan collecting two touchdowns.
“He ran unbelievably,” coach of the Clan, Jeff Morris said.
“He was the key to the win, he gave us all the ball control we needed.”
Harasym’s first touchdown came midway through the first quarter, following a fumble recovery by the Clan at about mid-field.
Harasym, in his third year with the Clan, scored on a 30-yard run that saw him cut through several tacklers before dashing the final 10 yards to the end zone. The kick for the point after was good and the Clan led 7-0 going into the second quarter.
The Clan defence came up with another big play in the second quarter, as they blocked a punt to take possession at about the Polar 35 yard line.
Quarterback Jared Roch handed Harasym the ball behind the line of scrimmage and he scooted around the right end, then cut left against the grain for a 35-yard scamper to give the Clan a 13-0 lead.
“The offensive line did some great blocking for me,” Harasym said.
James Olausen, a CSS track athlete, added to the Clan total when he took a wide out pass from Roch on the right sideline, then booted it downfield for a 60-yard touchdown.
The Clan were successful on their two-point conversion and lead the Polars 21-0 at halftime, much to the delight of parents and friends who made the trip from Quesnel.
“They were the twelfth man on the field for us,” Morris said of the Clan supporters huddled in the stands.
The third quarter saw more stellar work from the Clan defence, but the offence couldn’t capitalize.
The Clan’s Dan McDougall did run the ball for another touchdown late in the fourth quarter, but the play was called back on a block from behind.
Morris was also pleased with his defensive unit, who for the second-straight game kept their opponents off the scoreboard.
So dominating was the defensive line, they had the Polar offence in negative yardage for the first half, thanks in large part to Shawn Sadler.
Despite being triple-teamed at times, Sadler managed to crash through the offensive line to rush the quarterback and break up running plays.
“He was absolutely dominating out there,” Morris said.
The Polars adjusted their offensive and began running plays outside, but Daeton Nelson and Jake Lisk stepped up with some big tackles, Morris said.
Austin Honour, Bron Finkelstein, Tristan McCartney and Harasym also had strong games on the defensive side of the ball for the Clan.
Linebackers Mitch Kennedy and Cody Lavallee were strong behind the line, preventing long-yardage plays by the Polars.
Morris also pointed to reserve linemen, Joel Biller and Cory Hall who helped the Clan dominate the line of scrimmage.
“It was a complete team effort,” Morris said.
“They’re hardworking, decent kids that are easy to coach.”
The Clan now face the team from Duchess Park in the second round, Friday at Massich Stadium in Prince George. Kick off is 7 p.m.
The winner of the game moves on to the Prince George Bowl.