BELLVILLE — Clear Fork gave itself a chance Friday night.
Trailing Orrville (7-4) 35-14 with under 11 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, the Colts attempted to overcome a 21-point deficit.
They nearly did it.
Clear Fork junior quarterback Marcus Hoeflich found fellow junior Nash Evans for an 18-yard score with just under seven minutes to play. After a defensive stop, senior Ben Campbell ran 4 yards for a TD, trimming the Red Rider’s lead to seven with 3:01 left on the clock.
The Colts’ defense stood tall again on the ensuing Orrville drive. Clear Fork took over on offense with about 2:30 to play, a timeout in its pocket.
But Orrville wanted to play another week, ultimately stopping the Colts’ comeback bid short and escaping with a 35-28 win. The Red Riders will travel to Shelby next week to take on the top-seeded Whippets. Clear Fork ends its season with a 6-5 record.
“There’s really nothing that you can say in a moment like this,” said Clear Fork coach Aaron Brokaw. “We’ve got a great senior class that’s been through a lot over the past three years.”
The Colts’ 2025 campaign began about as exciting as it could have — a 17-14 upset over Division IV’s reigning state runner-up Sandusky Perkins. What followed was a 39-0 shutout of Zanesville and a thrilling 31-28 loss to Lexington, a top seed in the Division III Region 10 playoff bracket.
The rest of the season went back and forth, but Clear Fork ultimately found itself in the postseason.
“Wins and losses aside, they responded to everything that was thrown at them with class and attacked every day,” Brokaw said of his seniors. “I’m proud of those guys and disappointed for them.
“Just seeing how close those guys are, not only with themselves but with the staff, this is why we do what we do.”
Orrville to travel to Shelby next week
The Red Riders are riding into the second round of the playoffs.
“I’m happy to get the win and I’m sure it was a great game for the fans,” said Orrville coach Brent Besancon. “We pulled it out in the end and that’s a credit to the kids and the staff.”
After falling behind 7-0 early into the first quarter, the Red Riders rattled off 28 unanswered points to take a four-score lead. Three of those four touchdowns were fueled by Orrville’s senior QB Cameron Kraft.
Kraft threw two TD’s in the second quarter to standout senior receiver Breylon McDuffie — one for 14 yards and the other went 41. The senior QB called his own number on a 2-yard rushing TD early into the second half. He added another rushing score in the fourth to account for four total TDs Friday night.
Besancon said Kraft and McDuffie have a strong chemistry on the field.
“We have mixed around the ball and when they (opposing defenses) throw a lot of coverages Breylon’s way, other kids have been able to step up. But obviously the chemistry between those two (Kraft and McDuffie) is very good,” he said.
What’s waiting for Orrville next Friday is a matchup with the Whippets (10-0), who earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs. Shelby is not a stranger to Besancon, who led the Madison Rams football program last season.
He said familiarity with the Whippets is helpful for him and his staff, but it doesn’t mean it will make next week’s challenge any easier.
“It’s going to take a complete game and mistake-free football game to even compete (next week),” Besancon said.
Below are more photos from Friday night’s game between Clear Fork and Orrville. Credit: Amy Sesco
