PLAYOFF BOUND

Clay Central-Everly quarterback Wes Christensen turns up field after breaking into the open for a 75-yard touchdown run against Rockwell City-Lytton Friday, October 17, 2008 in Royal. The Mavericks beat the Wildcats 22-0, clinching their first playoff berth since 2001. (Photos by Michael Fischer)

Sports Editor

Clay Central-Everly is headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2001.

The Mavericks used a suffocating defense and a dominating rushing effort to overwhelm Rockwell City-Lytton Friday, pitching their third shutout of the season in a 22-0 victory in Royal.

"It was such a pretty game to watch tonight," said Clay Central-Everly head coach Kevin Fahnlander. "We were in the right spots and we were tackling well all game long. The effort was there, and so was the mental part of it."

The win locks up the third seed in Class A District 2. Clay Central-Everly's last playoff appearance ended with a runner-up finish.

"It's satisfying. These guys have worked really hard, and I don't think too many people gave us a real chance of getting to this point," Fahnlander said. "Tonight they showed how hard and how well they can play when they really want to do it."

Friday was a game of numbers for the Mavericks. And, a few certainly stood out.

Clay Central-Everly rushed for more than 250 yards for the sixth time this year, rolling up 325 yards on the ground. The Mavericks held Rockwell City-Lytton to 84 total yards.

The Wildcats had just seven possessions all game, running only 32 plays. Rockwell City-Lytton ran 14 plays on four first-half drives; they ran 18 plays in three drives in the second half. The Wildcats' offense never cross the 50-yard line until the second half.

Clay Central-Everly ran 71 total plays -- 64 on the ground alone.

"You never expect that, but once our kids started gaining some confidence it just became contagious to everybody of what we could do," Fahnlander said, referring to his team's total control of Friday's game.

Rockwell City-Lytton's Kanne Kraft is gang tackled Friday, October 17, 2008 by a swarming Clay Central-Everly defense, including linebacker Lance Englert (30).

After a scoreless first quarter, Clay Central-Everly took the opening drive of the second quarter 66 yards in nine plays, taking a lead the Mavericks would never relinquish.

A 27-yard pass to Austin Klett kick-started the drive, setting up CC-E at the Wildcats' 38. Eight running plays later, Lance Englert bulled his way into the end zone from 6 yards out. Quarterback Wes Christensen scored the 2-point conversion to make it 8-0.

"The offensive line absolutely got off the ball and moved people. They kept at it all night long," Fahnlander commented. "The biggest thing we wanted to do was control the time of possession, and we definitely did that."

On the ensuing kick, Clay Central-Everly came up big, recovering an onside kick at the Rockwell City-Lytton 49. Seven plays later, the Mavericks were on the board again.

Christensen fired a 13-yard scoring strike to Klett, capping the drive with 4:56 left in the half and putting CC-E up 14-0.

"(The onside kick) really kind of broke their back. It kept their defense on the field basically the entire second quarter," Fahnlander said.

Christensen put the exclamation point on the victory and announced Clay Central-Everly's arrival into the postseason on the second-to-last play of the third quarter, taking an option keeper 75 yards for a touchdown. Kasey Kunzmann ran in the 2-point try.

"The kids are happy, but we can't be content to be satisfied with what we've accomplished. We have to see how far this ride takes us," Fahnlander added.

Clay Central-Everly totaled 365 yards. Christensen was 2-of-7 passing for 40 yards. He added 126 rushing yards on 15 carries. Englert carried 36 times for 143 yards; Kunzmann had 53 yards on 10 carries.

Englert added 9 tackles, Kunzmann had 8 and Roger Stephas added 7. Aaron Berberich recorded an interception -- the only turnover of the game.

Clay Central-Everly (5-3, 3-2) closes out the regular season against North Iowa.