MASON CITY – Mason City and Clear Lake High Schools met on the football field for the first time in decades Friday night, August 24, 2012.
A big, enthusiastic crowd was on hand. The north bleachers were packed with Clear Lake fans.
The game ball was run all the way from Clear Lake to Mason City by the Mohawk cross country team.
The score was tied 0-0 at the half, after a defensive struggle and plenty of interceptions but no fumbles.
Clear Lake started to find the end zone after the half, taking a 7-0 lead and then 14-0 lead before Mason City cut the lead to 14-7.
Clear Lake added more insurance touchdowns and won 34-7.
In the freshman game, Clear Lake won 44-0.
Watch some video highlights of pre-game up until half-time:
httpv://youtu.be/SRLOF1HFdpo
Clear Lake be one of the most cheating team in the state of Iowa. That all they know how to do it. And playing dirty.
Clear Lake CHEATED??? How did that come about?, especially since the game was played in MC? Did CL use kids who were 20 years old or something? Must have paid the refs off, right? I suppose Harlan, West Delaware, and Sioux City East all cheat, too. They played dirty?? How many personal fouls were called on MC during the game and how many times did the refs have to talk to them during the game about their behavior? Sounds to me the one of the teams lost their cool… and the one that didn’t won the ball game.
In Mason City we never loose, we just run out of time
sore losser!!!!
What’s a sore losser??
I don’t have kids in school, they are grown, but I would say they were average athletes. What gets me are these traveling teams.
We have kids traveling 100 or 200 miles to play in a weekend tourney? They are 10, 12, 14, that is the stupidest thing I ever heard of. And to top it off are those team stickers on the cars, with players number etc. They are just kids and sounds like if you travel that far parents and coaches expect wins, wins, and more wins.
Mohawk Boys Golf…these student-athletes are having a great season…
Who cares?? If all kids had country club memberships, private golf lessons and a stay at home Dad, your kid might not have made the team.
Who cares?? The kids care…they put in a ton of time..a ton of practice…and they make the team based on their scores…nothing else..and Im not a stay at home dad..
This article is about football. Go promote your golfing somewhere else. Maybe the school will have a pep rally for golf! They created golf so middle aged fat guys can say they play a sport!
Hey Super HD! Have you ever played golf? Is it too hard for you to play? Is that why you rule it off as a “a sport so fat middle aged men can say they are in a sport?” Obviously it isn’t just a sport for “fat, middle aged men,” because high school students play it. Congrats with the golf team, John!
Thank you “A sports a sport”. On top of them currently in the running to win conference, last year, they had the highest GPA as a team in the conference. True Student-Athletes. The article may have started out as football related…all I was trying to do was point out some positives. There are plenty if a person is willing to look around.
Lee ruined the program? Really? I thought he took MCHS to the playoffs his first two years?
Did Rood ruin the baseball program? 2011 MCHS was like 35-5, This year 10-20? Did he ruin the program? Or do you think talent has anything to do with it?
Bob Horner won a state title, went undefeated!! The next year 0-18. Did he ruin the program?
You have to have a lot of talent, not just a few players.
How many good kids and familys have left Mason City because we have NO JOBS here?
How many kids open enroll to Clear Lake, as our best wrestler just did? How many go to Central Springs, yes, West Fork in Rockwell? And yes Newman?
The whole city of Mason City has a black cloud hanging over it. Yes, it filters down to the school system and yes the athletic field. Right now, how many people are proud to be in Mason City?
I would have to agree that John Lee played a major roll in the demise of Mohawk Football. He had 2 good years out of 10. The rest of those years were some of the worst football this city has seen. His offense was not much different then Penner’s. Option game slamming the fullback up the middle and getting no yards and then continuing to run the same play over and over again even though it is not working. MC has had some great talent over the years but the players haven’t been used the correct way.
Many issues compile the result we seen Friday night.
1). It starts young…rec and middle school programs.
2). It takes knowledge..MC coaches lack this.
3). It takes a winner, Salz, Krieger, former players.
4). Hockey has also hurt this program at MCHS.
5). Javen Swann is a talent.
6). It takes updated facilities. Barry torn down the
old weight room walls to build new.
7). It takes a towns support.
We need a fire from a knowledgable coaching staff.We have simply filled a position, Showalter from Central of Fenton should have been appointed before Lee ruined this program.
Sorry folks, the best coaches in the world can not make a silk purse out of a sows ear.
The talent level at MCHS is not all that good.
Just because you are a 4A school, does not guarentee you are going to beat anybody?
Many smaller programs in the area, have a system, and have a tradition of winning. CLHS expected to win.
Look at Valley, Dowling, Cedar Falls, etc. How many people starting for MCHS would start in these elite programs? And these elite teams have enough kids that they may only have to play 1 way. Most of MCHS play both ways. Maybe thats why they lose the second half.
Penner has been a winner, I am SURE he knows how to win. Maybe the culture around him brings the team down. Maybe kids and coaches a like have not totally bought in to his system. Just sayn
MC competed for one half of football with both Clear Lake and Ames. They are able to play with these teams and MC does have some good football players. IMO they are not being put into position to play their best football. MC’s offensive line is a weak point for the team, so why do you run time and time again straight up the middle?? MC ran a pitch to the outside once and it went for like 8 yds. They threw a pass to their best wr in one on one coverage and he caught it for 20 yds. IF you are going to stand a chance you have to figure out a way to get your playmakers out in the open with the ball. Running it up the middle 25 times a game is probably not going to work. Just wait until MC faces the defensive lines of teams like Valley or Ankeny. They make Clear Lake’s line look like Pee Wee football.
Mason City has played two games and they have gotten hammered both times in the 2nd half. IMO the sign of a good coaching staff is the ability to make changes on the fly or at the half. There were no adjustments made at halftime. MC’s first possession in the 3rd quarter was more of the same (QB keepers up the middle for 2 yards). What we have seen is the opposing team making necessary adjustments throughout the game and MC not adjusting. The result is lopsided losses. If you have a 6’3″ wr that can jump like no other and he is being defended one on one by a kid 5’8″, throw the ball out there to him. It doesn’t even have to be a good throw and he can go get it. MC did it once and it worked for 20yds. I’m just not sure have faith in this coaching staff.
I was at the game, and there were folks complaining to a police officer. They were sitting behind the student section on the west side. They said the kids “shouldn’t be standing, we can’t see the game. They are ruining it for us.” The kids were just standing there, watching the game having a good time. Honestly I was disgusted by these people and their apparent jealousy of some good kids trying to enjoy their high school experience. There were plenty of other places to sit, as well.
As a former Mohawk football player back from an era when there was pride and success in the program I have some comments:
A football game should be primarily about football, the band is a side note. In most sports oriented communities, our band couldn’t mean less.
Excellence in sports should be as much a priority as it is in other activities. Sports are a metaphor for life and things kids learn on the field apply to life.
Effort should be rewarded…participation is not the same as effort. A’s should be rewarded and F’s severely punished.
Mason City routinely beat up on the Des Moines Area schools in the 70’s and 80’s, so yes, we can beat them despite our size just like clear lake beat us.
Mom’s and Administrators have ruined football in Mason City. Last year, my sons football team stopped doing contact drills in practice because some moms didn’t think the kids should hit each other….Uhhh, ITS FOOTBALL!!!!
Mason City had coaches that actually played college football at all levels in the 70’s & 80’s including Barry Alvarez…you remember, rose bowler coach and Athletic Director at U of Wisconsin. We had players go to the pros as well has several division 1 players.
The program at the 7th & 8th grade level is pathetic…too many kids, not enough coaches. In my day, each of the 3 middle school teams had 3 coaches…in 7th grade last year, we had 2 ½ for over 60 kids? Surprise, we got beat by Rockwell with 15 kids on their roster for crying out load.
It’s sad!!!!
The clear lake game the other night was about coaching…the clear lake staff was actually almost double MC’s from what I could see and the kids were well coached. Our defense was good, but couldn’t adjust. Our offensive line does not look like they have had no coaching…Their technique was poor and they were very slow off the ball, signs of bad coaching…not the kids fault.
Pride comes not from wins, but from effort…we are failing our kids due to lack of effort and providing them the tools they need for the job. In this case, its not equipment, is coaching, work ether and mental toughness…things you use in life every day.
Finally someone who sees it likes some of us do!!! Another thing that I see is the kids cannot even have school spirit like we used to. They have 3 adults and cops standing with their arms crossed at the games staring at the kids so they don’t do anything wrong, including cheering a certain way. The middle schoolers have to sit in the other corner and are constatnly told to sit down. They get in trouble for doing some of the same things the small schools do, which are only pumping up their team. They don’t make posters and make each game a big deal during school. All of these things get the students excited for games (not only football but basketball, wrestling, etc). That gets the atheletes pumped up too. It still takes a lot of good coaching, but all of those things help. Oh, and by the way, sometimes it is not always the mom’s who ruin the sport (I am a mom and I don’t feel they should be easy on them) but some dads as well 🙂
Um, excuse me? Our band could mean less? Have you even heard our Symphonic Band? Have you heard of Band Fest? A festival souley dedicated to marching bands? Our bad is superb and it has been a long, ongoing tradition that the band play at our football games.
I don’t disagree with a lot of what you’ve said, but in the 70’s and early 80’s MC was the 4th biggest school in the state, now they are somewhere around #30. Take away all the tough working class kids of Lehigh and Deckers and you get what you’ve got.
I agree with Matt. We should be a 3A school. None of our sports (except for maybe Dance Team and Swimming) can compete with Valley or Waukee. They have so many kids with a lot of talent. And with our dwindling enrollment numbers, its no surprise that we are not doing as well as we use to.
Lol no one is there for the band. It’s the best time to take a pee break and get some food. Not watch kids march around.
I have heard it all now. Dance isn’t even a sport. It is a total joke….what an embarrassment. MC isn’t even close to 3A numbers. They would have to lose nearly 100 kids in each grade to be considered 3A.
I’ve had one son go all through MC football program and another is about half way. The coaching from 7th grade through varsity is pathetic. Most of the coaches haven’t a clue about football.
It’s time for wholesale change. Not just at the top, we need people that are football coaches first and we should pay them accordingly. Heck, if we can afford $65 million to paint and put new windows in the high school and John Adams, surely we can afford a few hundred thousand to hire competent coaches.
By the way, if you include the scores of Freshmen through Varsity, Clear Lake wins 110-19.
Where did all of the coaches go they had last year? There were several coaches on the sidelines last night I have never seen before.
Krieger (easily the best coach we had) isn’t coaching. I’ve heard that he is working in Minneapolis.
Don’t know about the others.
A few hundred thousand for coaches? Wow! raise my taxes please! I agree with Ben that you can’t always blame the coaches. kids are different now. There is a lot more out there to distract them. And it is also about the parents who whine and scream and curse the coaches for screwing up their kid’s life, who are driving all the good coaches out. Do you realize how little they get paid for the work they put in and the abuse they and their families take when things aren’t going the way they would prefer them to go? Do you think a coach wants his/her team to lose? Do think the players play to lose? If they do, then they will. And they will lose if they don’t have the skill and the heart the other team has. No matter what their parents say.
“Commitment to Excellence” only exists in MC on the trapshooting team. You should check out the pathetic coaching and elitism on the baseball team.
Wow, kid not play much?
A lot of negativity here! I am a Mohawk parent and I would just like to say that we have only played two games, lets not throw in the towel yet. These boys and coaches have worked very hard all summer long. I think they deserve some respect from the community. And I would like to say to all of you fans that did go to the game Friday night and left before the end of the game…SHAME ON YOU!! You need to stay to the end and support our team…WIN OR LOSE!
The rekindling of this rivalry is great. However… sometimes, just as in other sports, it is a losing proposition when Mason City competes with Clear Lake or Newman. The 4A team should win, but sometimes doesn’t. When they win, they were supposed to, when they lose… they should have won because they are bigger. That’s basically what everyone is saying here. They are not so much crediting the Clear Lake football team, which certainly deserves credit. Most seem to be badmouthing the Mason City team and coaches.
from what I seen, BOTH teams did a great job. Clear Lake had a better game plan & they implemented it better than Mason City did. it was a great game to see & everyone should be proud of they way BOTH teams played.
Yes. Clear Lake was much better-coached; they players were more or less even. Take some of Micich’s pay and hire some good coaches and build a program here.
Hire good coaches? Some of you complaining are the same ones who complain about the money the school district uses and asks for. Now you want them to hire good coaches? Do you know anything about the MC coach? I don’t, but if he is a good teacher, then MC should keep him. If he isn’t a good teacher – in the classroom – then they shouldn’t. And any money they spend on coaches? The school should make sure that he/she can teach. Coaching is secondary. Athletics is secondary stuff.
BOTH teams did a great job??? Come on…. you are living in the “Everyone gets a ribbon for particiapting” world. Were you AT the game? Did you see the stats in the paper?? I think Mason City has like 12 yards rushing in 60 carries through the first 2 games. That is not a great job. That is an F in the classroom and the last time I checked F stands for fail.
I couldn’t disagree more with Bodacious. Having an awful football team demonstrates the inability of Mason City schools to effectively teach. One wonders if the coaches/teachers can’t teach a kid to block, can they teach them to read?
Proud!? Ashamed would be more appropriate for the Mohawks. They were beaten, badly, on their home field by a school that has a student poplulation less than 1/2 that of MCHS. Proud indeed.
You are equating teaching football to learning math? Give me a break. There are many great teachers out there who wouldn’t have a clue about coaching football. If you want a football coach, hire a football coach. Leave the classroom teaching to someone who wants to be in a classroom, not on a football field.
Nothing against the kids as I’m sure they worked hard out there, but I can definitely see that nothing has changed since I went to school there. Ahh, the good ol’ days… getting all psyched about the homecoming game only to have our team get creamed on the field.
Hey, do you Mason City “Fans” want some cheese with your whine? You actually are not fans at all, just a bunch of spoiled complainers. Support your athletic department and the kids. You lost to a better team last night. Buck it up and take it and stop complaining.
Nope…but I will have some cheese with my crackers!!! I don’t see anyone whining on here – nobody is talking bad about the kids – everyone knows they work hard and we will all continue to support them! We are proud of our kids win or lose! People should be able to express their opinions without people thinking we are crying about everything. Doesn’t matter if we won or lost to Clear Lake – either way we would have been bashed!! But, I do have to say, Clear Lake does have a great football program!!
@Anonymous, I agree that Clear Lake has a good program. I didn’t say this in my first post above but I am from Mason City and have kid in school. Anybody else notice that they won this game and their head coach wasn’t there? Maybe since we are sharing Supers with Clear Lake, we could start sharing coaches as well. Fred is retired, we could shave some time from him to share some ideas.
I have said it before and I will say it again, it is not the kids that create these loses, it is the coaches and the politic’s in the Mason City School system. I firmly believe that our kids are every bit as good athletes as in any other town and I believe they are just as dedicated. When you have a high school team that loses year after year while the smallet towns all around win year after year you have got to believe it is not the kids. I have heard it said that some of the better athletes won’t play because of politic’s and losing and I believe that.
I agree completely. And if you see what the CL coach said, they went in at half time and made some changes and came out and won. We make no changes…just keep doing the same thing. I stand behind the kids 100%. They have worked their hearts out this summer and try, but can only do what they are told to do and when they are told to play….
You are crazy if you think we have the same number of quality athletes as the Valleys, Waukees, and Iowa City Highs of the world.
No, but we do have bigger numbers than Marshalltown and they’re contenders with our former coach.
Some of the parents in MC live through their kids because they wern’t good at sports.Just go to Rec sports on Saturdays at rec dept. and watch some parents yell at their young kids to do good.It’s a game come on lighten up.
I can see why no kids go out for sports in MC, all any of you do is bitch how bad they are, how about a little support for the ones that do go out and at least try huh???? I am sure all bitching where all stars in every sport they tried right? If you were on that team and read all of the negative shit all over would you stay on the team or say F*&k it no one cares anyway?
Kids not going out for sports has nothing to do with blogs. Times have changed….for the worse. More and more if a kid isn’t the starter then they quit. Many kids are just flat out lazy and don’t want to put the time in to get better….yet when they get their butt kicked it is someone else’s fault. We are a society that blames others for their shortcomings instead of looking in the mirror for the answer.
Proud of the football players-they did great the first half! It was a fun game to watch, the stands were full of excited fans supporting our youth. And how ’bout that band-they sounded great!
now that’s more like it–Mason City is a wonderful town with a great bunch of young people you can be proud of. Enjoy your victory Clear Lake–the worm will change again someday and we will be gracious in victory
As long as the band sounds good who cares about the score!!
being from Clear Lake I really got a kick out of the outcome–Clear lake supports it’s football but at the same time this site is so negative about Mason City as a whole(hole) I hope the Mason City fans will stand up and support their kids that go out and try
Mohawks will not win a game all year.MCHS is not a football school.only thing their desent in is baseball.
The Mohawk Trapshooting Team were state champs in 2012- So, I beg to differ that Mason City is only good in baseball. The trapshooting team has many state championships over the past 10 years. The trapshooting team will welcome new shooters and everyone gets to participate, as there are no benchwarmers in trapshooting.
I forgot to add, there are Clear Lake kids, as well as Mason City kids on the Mohawk Trapshooting team and it works out real well for both schools.
Trapshooting team,are you kidding me? what the hell is a trapshooting team?Boy i bet there are alot of schlorships given out because you were good on the trapshooting team! Is there a pep band that plays at these trapshooting matches? Are you getting my point yet? Make sure you let us know when the pep bus is leaving for the next trapshooting match okay?
Trapshooting is about as much of a sport as cheerleading or dance!!!!!
Something I heard in the stands tonight. The MC coach, who both him and his wife work for MC schools are sending their kids to Newman???? Something is not right with this picture 🙁
What’s wrong with that? Their property tax dollars still go to the MC Community School District. What do you think of Superintendent Micich (sp?) getting the lion’s share of her salary from MC and then living in Clear Lake? Do some thinking.
What everyone is thinking is he doesn’t have enough belief in the schools that he and his wife are working for or the sports programs to keep his own kids here. Just saying what I heard…
Ya ever stop to think their kids go to Newman because they are possibly Catholic?? Even if they aren’t, maybe they just want their kids in that type of atmosphere. Pretty sure they have that right. If I’m wrong, correct me.
The “coach” the people in the stands were talking about who is thinking about sending his kids to Mason City might be former head coach John Lee. He now coaches for Newman and still works at MCHS….and WENT to Newman in high school.
If it is true that we have a former coach still teaching at MC schools while sending their own kid(s) to another school, something has to change. He/they should do the honorable thing and resign their position immediately.
How do you lose to the Clear Lake Kittens? Mohawks season is over already. Just pathetic