The Clintonville Truckers got into the win column for the first time this season Friday night by defeating the Berlin Indians, 27-12. Behind a very aggressive defensive attack, under the direction of defensive coaches Mark “Tank” Westphal and John Dunlavy, the Truckers gave up only 85 rush yards and 93 passing yards in shutting down the Indian’s offense. The first series saw Clintonville force Berlin to punt after three downs. The Truckers then proceeded to march down the field with Joe Hauser ripping off a 41-yard run for Clintonville’s first score. The extra point was missed and Clintonville led 6-0.
Clintonville continued it’s dominance by scoring again in the first quarter. This time Hauser ran 55 yards for a score. The extra point kick by Hauser was good and the Truckers led 13-0. Berlin responded with a drive of their own, finally scoring on a fumble into the end zone and falling on it. Their extra point try was no good. The first half ended 13-6.
Neither team put any points on the board in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter Clintonville scored twice more to put the game out of reach. Colin Moon scampered one yard to score. Hauser’s kick was good to make it 20-6. Then on a fourth and five play from the Berlin 25 yard line, Cody Zuehl ran a sweep for a score. The kick by Hauser was good and Clintonville led 27-6. With little time remaining, Berlin moved down the field to put one more score on the board. A one yard pass was the last score of the game for the Indians. The kick failed resulting in a 27-12 win for the Truckers.
The Clintonville defense was led by John Maas who had five unassisted tackles and 2.5 sacks. Jamen Pettit also recorded a sack. Jared Henschel, playing middle linebacker, had an interception. The offense was led by Joe Hauser with 181 yards rushing on 22 carries; Cody Zuehl had 89 yards on 14 carries; and Colin Moon had 26 yards on nine carries. Ben Klein was 3-5 for 43 yards passing. Zuehl had two catches for 32 yards; and Mike Hogen had one catch for 11 yards. The offense totaled 336 total yards. The Truckers are now 1-2 in the Eastern Valley Conference and 1-3 overall. The Truckers will travel to Fox Valley Lutheran in Appleton on Friday night, Sept. 24. Game time is 7 p.m.