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Friday, Oct. 30, 2009

No running allowed: Santa Fe Bowl XL -- Atwater at Merced

Return of Clevenger gives Atwater defense a boost

ATWATER -- He looked the part of an injured football star, forced to watch from a safe distance.

Dark sweater, hood pulled tightly over his head, hiding his eyes.

Matching sweats, blowing like plastic bags in the howling wind.

Tennis shoes. No cleats.

Large bag of ice draped loosely over his right shoulder. It shifts and moves with each step, forcing him to fidget and adjust it every few minutes.

Meanwhile, this mid-week practice rolls along without him.

Don't be alarmed, Atwater senior Jake Clevenger said, there's nothing physically wrong with the oft-injured middle linebacker.

"The ice is just a precaution," he said after Wednesday's practice.

With a smile as big as the threads on a football, Clevenger is happy to report that his troublesome right shoulder won't affect his status for Santa Fe Bowl XL tonight at Merced College.

However, the brace he used to protect it in last week's 42-14 victory over Pitman probably won't make an appearance.

Clevenger tackled a Pitman receiver with such ferocity and force late in the fourth quarter that he tore a strap from the brace, effectively breaking it.

It required a doctor's visit, stitches and eventually a replacement.

"The coaches were busting up," said Clevenger, who returned from a five-game absence and recorded four tackles in the win. "They were rolling."

Atwater earned the right to giggle after turning a midseason showdown with once-undefeated Pitman into a virtual laugher.

Atwater put the clamps on Pitman's multi-pronged run attack in a 42-14 victory.

"Our guys were aggressive," Atwater coach Bob Valladao said. "Our goal was to be more physical than them and attack them before they got into open spaces.

"It was a boost having (Clevenger) there on Friday," he later added. "Not just with him playing, but being out there with his teammates, suited up."

The score rippled throughout Merced County, cropping up in circles at Stadium '76 following Merced's victory over Golden Valley in the Mayor's Cup.

"They did a great job," Merced coach Rob Scheidt said. "Pitman didn't have an answer for what they did on defense."

Atwater's reward is more of a challenge: Can the defense do it again? Can it slow down surging Merced and record-setting running back Eric DeAnda?

"I believe we can," Clevenger said, his tone changing from loose to serious. "I know we can."

Merced has rushed for more than 200 yards in five of its last six games, and is averaging nearly 330 on the ground in three Central California Conference games.

DeAnda (96 rushes, 833 yards, 11 touchdowns) has been the fall's biggest surprise. He started the season as a backup to Andrew Mendoza, but has since supplanted the senior.

He rushed for a school record 307 yards in a victory over Buhach Colony, and then followed it up with 194 yards and five touchdowns against Golden Valley.

And he was sick, limited to less than three quarters of playing time.

Everyone is healthy for tonight's showdown between title contenders and bitter county neighbors.

Merced is 3-0 and alone atop the standings -- its four-game losing streak to start the season a distant memory. Atwater is 2-1 and in third place, percentage points behind Los Banos (3-1).

Merced owns a 26-13 advantage in the all-time series.

"It's been a big rivalry for so many years. We feel like it's a big game again," Clevenger said. "Merced is tough. They're the champions.

"This is what the Santa Fe Bowl is all about. Big hits and execution."

Clevenger has provided some of the defense's biggest hits in the past two seasons. However, he's also been its most fragile player.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior missed most of last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

After emerging as one of the team's vocal leaders in the offseason, Clevenger quickly found himself on the sideline with a series of shoulder injuries.

First, he separated his right shoulder in a Week 2 loss to Fresno Bullard.

He suffered a labral tear in the same shoulder one week later against Johansen.

"It was motivation to come back," Clevenger said. "This is my senior year. I didn't want to miss another season. I'm thankful to be playing right now. Every play is a gift."

"My shoulder was good enough, strong enough to stop Pitman, and they've got a great fullback (Markus Sanders)," he later added.

"I'm ready to make some big hits."

James Burns is sports editor of the Sun-Star. He can be reached at jburns@mercedsun-star.com.