Clinton led 13-6 at halftime and then quarterback Kanden Lafarge added a 43-yard touchdown run in the third to lead the Cardinals to a 20-6 win at Versailles on Friday night. The win ended a 5 game losing skid to begin the 2024 campaign.
The royal blue, red and white squad rolled up big yardage on the ground, assisted by the anticipated return of junior All-Conference center Cade Banks.
Markus Oliver led the ground attack with 120 yards on 18 carries while Lafarge finished with 110 yards on 11 rushing attempts with 2 TD's.
Not needing to throw the ball so much against the Tigers since he was finally playing with a lead, Lafarge completed 5 of 9 pass attempts for 50 yards and also completed a touchdown pass to Austin Petry.
Clinton racked up 273 yards of total offense with 50 of those coming through the air and the other 229 on the ground.
Grayson Gillis was a perfect 2 for 2 on his point after tries.
The Cardinals defense was led by Jack English, Will Golder and Austin Clifton who each had 7 tackles. Payton Goth and Landon Stamper finished the night with 6 tackles and Oliver and Brody Barnhart both had 5.
In holding Versailles to just 6 points, the Cardinals defense surrendered 14 passing yards and 156 yards on the ground for a total of 170.
Clinton (1-5) will host Harrisonville (3-3) this week for Homecoming 2024. The Wildcats have wins over Richmond (41-6), Center (55-14) and Cassville (13-7) with their losses coming from Bolivar (28-29), Warrensburg (25-56) and last week at Pleasant Hill (28-41).
The kickoff for the Cardinals week 7 contest will be at 7:00 PM.
The coronation ceremony will be held at halftime.
