MARENGO — In football parlance, the abbreviation RPO stands for Run Pass Option.
In the Clear Fork Valley, RPO means Run Pawie Often.
Clear Fork running back Pawie Ault rumbled for 144 yards and three touchdowns on just 15 carries as the Colts claimed the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championship with a resounding 42-7 win over Highland at Covrette Stadium.
“The offensive line did a great job blocking up front,” said Ault, who moved with his family to Clear Fork from Bay Village over the summer. “That’s why I was able to run the ball well.”
The Colts dominated the line of scrimmage, piling up 286 yards on the ground and scoring six rushing touchdowns. Trystyn Robison carried the ball just three times, but scored a pair of TDs and had 51 yards as the Colts (9-1, 7-0) won their third MOAC title and first since going back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.
“We just had a running clock in the MOAC championship game. There’s no better feeling than that,” two-way lineman and college prospect Kaden Riddle said. “I think we are playing our best football right now.”
Robison got the party started with a 21-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter. Ault scored on a 17-yard run on the first play of the second quarter added a 20-yarder with 2:33 remaining in the first half to give the Colts a 21-0 lead.
Clear Fork blocked a Highland field goal attempt on the final play of the first half, then recovered a fumble at the Highland 9-yard line on the Scots’ first snap of the second half. Two player later, Ault scored from 3 yards away for a 28-0 lead.
Quarterback Victor Skoog scored on a 2-yard keeper with 5:02 remaining in the third quarter to trigger the running clock. Robison added an 18-yard run early in the fourth to give the Colts a 42-7 lead.
As good as Clear Fork’s offense was, the defense was even better. The Colts limited Highland running back Dane Nauman to 77 yards on 20 carries. Nauman came in with 2,199 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns through the first nine weeks of the season.
“I’m just proud of the kids,” Clear Fork coach Dave Carroll said. “That’s amazing, to hold them to that yardage and to hold (Nauman) back. He’s special.”
The Scots played without quarterback Kolton Stover, who suffered a serious arm injury last week. Freshman Zachary Church took over for Stover and threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Toombs. Church completed 2-of 7-passes for 58 yards.
Skoog completed 3-of-4 passes, all to Luke Schlosser, for 43 yards and rushed for 38 yards and a score on 10 carries.
Next up for Clear Fork is a home playoff game in the opening round of the Division IV, Region 14 tournament. Unofficially, the Colts finished fifth in the final regional rankings and will host Upper Sandusky.
“We worked for this all season long,” Ault said. “It feels great.”
