MOHAWK 39, CALVERT 6
By Kyle Holsinger
SYCAMORE — Mohawk scored on their opening drive, and never relinquished their lead in a dominating 39-6 home victory over Calvert Thursday night to open the 2025 season.
The Warriors coach, Eric Daniel, referenced a moment from the Calvert game three years ago that was a turning point for the Mohawk program.
“We made it a point of emphasis three years ago,” Coach Daniel said. “We were at Calvert, and we promised our guys that we would never allow them to be the first to blink. That was our goal.”
Even though Daniel states it doesn’t always equate to wins and losses, he’s never felt like they’ve been outplayed physically since.
“We just wanted to focus on stacking good practices, being really intense and purposeful when we’re practicing,” Daniel continued. “Coaching these guys really hard, and they have responded exactly how we wanted them to…we’re very encouraged.”
After forcing Calvert to punt to start the game, Mohawk found themselves with the ball at their own 42. A 15-yard keeper from Warrior junior quarterback Andon Clouse moved his team across midfield into Seneca territory.
Two plays later, Clouse kept it again; first running left then cutting right across the field on his way to a 39-yard touchdown run. A botched snap by Mohawk kept them from converting the point-after-touchdown, leaving the Warriors with a 6-0 lead with just a little over four minutes off of the game clock.
On the ensuing drive, Mohawk linebacker Kaden Bish sacked Calvert’s Charlie Palm, forcing Palm to fumble. Warrior senior defensive lineman Eli Chevalier recovered the ball at the Calvert 18 to give the Red & Black great field position.
However, the Seneca’s defense held firm, forcing Mohawk to attempt a 27-yard field goal on fourth-and-two. A poor snap gave the Warriors no time to try the kick or move the ball much further for a turnover-on-downs for Calvert.
On second-and-nine, Palm darted a pass over the middle that was intercepted by Clouse, who also plays linebacker for Mohawk. Clouse returned the ball 19 yards for a touchdown. A failed run on the PAT made it a 12-0 contest in favor of the Warriors with 3:39 left in the first quarter.
Mohawk’s defense forced a three-and-out. Then, a couple holding penalties on the Warriors left them with a first-and-17 scenario. Bish took a handoff to the left and scampered for 16 yards to get his team out of the hole they’d dug for themselves—and into Seneca territory again. A Clouse keeper for three yards on the next play moved the chains for Mohawk.
Three plays later, the Red & Black were backed into a third-and-six position when Clouse hit senior wideout Owen Patrizi on a play action pass for a 17-yard gain to get into the red zone.
Clouse and the Warriors were able to get Calvert to jump on a hard count to move the ball to the Seneca 10.
Two plays later, Clouse called his own number for five yards to set up a first-and-goal from the four yard line. Patrizi then took a pitch left and crossed the goal line for a touchdown. Mohawk senior tight end Carter Walton caught the two-point conversion to give the Warriors a 20-0 lead with 8:35 remaining in the first half.
Walton would later leave the game with what appeared to be a knee injury. We hope that Carter gets well soon.
The next drive, a Warrior gang tackle-for-loss on first down, and a Chevalier sack on Palm forced another three-and-out for Calvert.
With great field position at the Calvert 42, Mohawk moved the chains once before turning the ball over on downs when they elected to go for it on fourth-and-10 from the Calvert 30.
The Royal Blue & White showed some life when Palm threw a short pass left to senior wideout Logan DeMoss for eight yards and a first down.
Three plays later, Tucker Coleman went 13 yards on an inside counter run to advance Calvert’s offense the furthest it had reached to that point in the contest.
On third-and-nine, Palm passed to wideout Cameron Lucius for a seven-yard reception. On fourth-and-two though, Seneca running back Nolan Lee took a handoff on a counter play and was stopped by sophomore DL Bryce Rathburn and an entire tribe of Warriors for another turnover-on-downs.
Mohawk went into halftime with a 20-0 lead.
The two teams traded punts to open the second half. That’s when the Warriors went on a six-play, 70-yard TD drive that lasted 2:06.
After a six-yard carry by Clouse, he threw a deep pass to the right to sophomore wideout Levi Tiell for a 30-yard pickup. A holding penalty pushed Mohawk back to a second-and-21 situation.
Clouse then kept it on a draw play to the right, stutter-stepping to freeze the defense while he toted the rock for 17 yards. The next play, Bish ran it right up the middle for a 28-yard touchdown. A run failed to convert the PAT, keeping the score at Mohawk 26, Calvert 0 with 3:43 to go in the third quarter.
Another three-and-out performance by the Warrior defense saw their offense starting at their own 34. Mohawk was able to make the Senecas jump on a hard count again on third-and-one to move the sticks. After that, a six-yard TFL by Calvert’s Luke VanDette, stalled out the Warriors’ drive—resulting in a punt.
Calvert threw four straight incompletions to begin the fourth quarter. The turnover-on-downs gave Mohawk the ball at their opponents’ 31-yard line.
Two plays later, Clouse connected with Tiell again, this time on a fade route down the right sideline. Tiell was able to drag a foot in-bounds before stepping out at the Calvert 6-yard line for a 26-yard completion.
Bish ran the ball for five yards, and then was handed the pigskin again to score from a yard out with 10:06 left in the game. A bad snap prevented any PAT conversion: Mohawk 32, Calvert 0.
A running clock began at this point in the game, but that didn’t deter the Senecas.
A 21-yard pass down the middle from Palm to VanDette got Calvert into Warrior land. Two plays later, Palm rolled left then turned and threw a deep ball to the right side of the end zone for DeMoss, who caught it for a 45-yard TD.
Even though the two-point conversion failed, it stopped the running clock at 7:48 in the fourth quarter.
Mohawk then recovered a Seneca onside kick to give themselves possession at midfield. A six-yard rush by Liam Pursell was just enough to keep the drive going on third-and-six. The next play, Pursell ran it again for 12 yards to get down to the Calvert 27.
Three plays later, Clouse threw a deep fade route to senior receiver Brant Kirian for a 23-yard TD. Aden Patrizi then kicked the only PAT through the uprights in the game to cap off the scoring at 39-6 with roughly three minutes to go in the game.
“You know, our coaching staff, we’re the first ones to take accountability on this one,” Calvert coach Mike Lento said. “Our guys definitely didn’t give up. Our guys definitely played hard. Our guys definitely kept their heads, but when you play in week one—a team’s going to go 1-0, and a team’s going to go 0-1.”
Mohawk’s Clouse was 7-of-11 for 109 yards, one passing TD, 99 rushing yards, and a defensive pick-six.
Calvert’s Palm was 11-of-22 for 114 yards, one TD, and one INT.
FIRST DOWNS: Mohawk 13, Calvert 6.
TOTAL YARDS - Mohawk 321, Calvert 162.
PASSING - Calvert 114 (Palm 11-22, 114 yards, TD, 1 INT); Mohawk 109 (Clouse 7-11, 109 yards, TD).
RUSHING - Mohawk 40-212 (Clouse 14-99, TD; Bish 12-64, TD; Pursell 5-25; O. Patrizi 9-24, TD); Calvert 22-48 (N. Lee 15-29; T. Coleman 1-13; L. VanDette 1-6; Lo. DeMoss 1-2; Palm 4-(-2)).
RECEIVING - Calvert 11-114 (Lo. DeMoss 2-53, TD; T. Coleman 4-29; L. VanDette 2-25; Lucius 1-7; B. Coleman 1-1, Griffin 1-(-1)); Mohawk 7-109 (Tiell 2-56; O. Patrizi 3-25; B. Kirian 2-28, TD).
