Hester, Wyoming run all over Clinton-Massie to secure a spot in the regional final
There was a tough football game on Saturday night at Lakota West, but one team had C.J. Hester and the other didn't.
Wyoming's star running back turned a close game at intermission into a track meet with 372 rushing yards on 27 attempts with five touchdowns.
"C.J.’s a great football player, great kid, great teammate, great captain. He just does whatever he has to do to help his team be successful. Big players make plays in big games. This was a big game and he stepped up big time," Wyoming head coach Aaron Hancock said after the game.
At halftime, Wyoming led Clinton-Massie 13-7.
WATCH:Wyoming football takes it one game at a time
Two minutes into the third quarter, Wyoming was up 27-7 and cruised to a 40-7 win in a Division IV regional semifinal against a Clinton-Massie team that ended Wyoming's season last year on the way to winning the state championship.
Hester, accompanied by an ear-to-ear grin that was unfazed by the bitter cold or the light dusting snow that started late in the game, credited his offensive line for their work.
"They nasty. I love my line. They just wanna go get it. They tell me in the huddle, ‘C.J., hit this,’ I’m like ‘I got you,’ I love my line. They ready to go and ready to work. I don’t know no one else in the city that can work harder than them right now," Hester said.
Wyoming's defense had only allowed 28 points all season entering Saturday, but instead of panicking when the Falcons took the game's opening drive 73 yards to take a 7-0 lead, the Cowboys buckled down and held Clinton-Massie scoreless the rest of the way while Wyoming's offense scored 40 unanswered points.
Through 13 games, Wyoming's defense has allowed 35 points, never more than 14 in one game.
"I think our defense does a fantastic job each and every week in just being a selfless teammate, in preparing and doing what they gotta do to start that team that we’re playing that week," Hancock said. "It’s a really good group of guys led by a great defensive coordinator, Chad Seymour. He does a great job getting those guys locked in.
"The team we played tonight definitely presented some challenges. It’s unlike any offense that we’ve seen throughout the year and it’s very difficult to prepare for especially with the talent that they have."
Wyoming's defense got stronger as the game went on, propelled by how the offense was playing.
The Cowboys responded on their first drive by handing the ball to Hester who racked up 53 yards and a 5-yard touchdown run to tie the game, 7-7.
Both sides traded stops before the Falcons put another drive together into Wyoming's red zone when the Cowboys tightened up and got a stop. Clinton-Massie's field goal attempt was off the mark.
Two plays later, Hester hummed around the right side and 80 yards later, Wyoming had its first lead off the game. A missed extra point made it 13-7.
Clinton-Massie got the ball with 6:33 left in the first half and pieced together an efficient drive, chipping away at Wyoming's defense before the Cowboys got another stop in their own territory. The Falcons waited until there were seconds left on the clock to attempt a 41-yard field goal that was again off the mark.
On the first play of the second half, Hester went 86 yards around the left edge for what would be his first of three second-half touchdowns.
Wyoming advances to next week's regional final against Taft, a team the Cowboys defeated 20-0 in Week 2.
"It’s a blessing," Hester said on advancing. "I’m a senior. Just being with my teammates ... it just feels good to play with my brothers one more time."
Wyoming 40, Clinton-Massie 7
Clinton-Massie 7 0 0 0 — 7
Wyoming 7 6 20 7 — 40
CM‒Lamb 46 run (McGuinness kick)
W‒Hester 5 run (Rummer kick)
W‒Hester 80 run (kick failed)
W‒Hester 86 run (Rummer kick)
W‒Hancock 20 interception return (Rummer kick)
W‒Hester 19 run (kick failed)
W‒Hester 1 run (Rummer kick)
Records: W 13-0, CM 7-6
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Elite 8 bound: Hester, Wyoming run all over Clinton-Massie
