High school football: Early injury to QB Zach Shackelford costs Keystone in loss to Cloverleaf

Shaun Bennett The Gazette LAGRANGE — Coach Justin Vorhies won't deny his Cloverleaf football team gained an edge when Keystone junior quarterback Zach Shackelford suffered a game-ending injury on the Wildcats' sixth play. Vorhies then used his own quarterback switch to help Cloverleaf shake off a sluggish first half and rally for a 17-7 non-conference victory Friday night. "It was a little bit of a different dynamic," Vorhies said of Keystone's offense after Shackelford was sidelined. "We knew they were going to do the same things because that's what they've done ever since (Keystone coach Don Griswold's) been here, but it definitely helped us because he's a great player. "We saw him on film, and we knew what we had to deal with with him." Shackelford scored five touchdowns — three rushing, a punt return and a pick-six — in Keystone's 41-0 rout of Northwestern in Week 1. Griswold said his quarterback suffered a high ankle sprain while being tackled from behind on a long run, will have a precautionary X-ray today and be day-to-day going forward. With Shackelford standing on crutches on the sideline, Keystone's offense sputtered and the Colts took full advantage. Cloverleaf (1-1) had a trio of interceptions against backup Paul Horten — senior linebacker Hayden Jarvis returned the second one 33 yards for a touchdown — and the Colts shut out the Wildcats in the second half. "Our defense played well all night," Vorhies said. "We gave them a short field and they got a touchdown, but other than that the defense shut them down. The whole game the defense made it difficult for them." Keystone (1-1) held a 7-3 lead at the half after Griffin Petrocci connected on a 25-yard field goal in the first quarter and the Wildcats came up with their biggest defensive play. Linebacker Grady Whitacre intercepted Austin Brooks' pass at the Keystone 46-yard line and returned it to the Cloverleaf 4. The Wildcats scored two plays later. That's when Vorhies decided to put in junior Jordan Letner, who is more of a running threat. The move paid off when Letner sprinted around the left side for a 24-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to give Cloverleaf a 10-7 lead. "We just felt like we needed a spark," Vorhies said. "We were shut out the first half other than that three points, and we said, 'Let's change it up and see what happens.' "Jordan's a tough, downhill runner, and that's kind of what we needed on a night like tonight (with a rain-soaked, sloppy field). We needed that downhill physical runner, and he ripped off a nice run for us. He was pretty consistent for it being his first time playing varsity quarterback." Jarvis' pick-six came 11 seconds after Letner's score and the Colts had fully gained all the momentum they'd need to grind out the victory. Griswold lamented the loss to the Colts and the potential multi-game loss of his biggest offensive weapon. "I mean, (Shackelford) just means so much to us from a leadership position and obviously with his production," Griswold said. "The kid's an All-Ohio talent, so losing him really makes you hamstrung offensively. We just made too many mistakes in the second half to win." Contact Shaun Bennett at (440) 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @ShaunBennettct on X. Cloverleaf 17, Keystone 7 CLOVERLEAF&emsp;&emsp;3 0 14 0 — 17 KEYSTONE&emsp;&emsp;0 7 0 0 — 7 First C — Griffin Petrocci 25 field goal, 6:30. Second K — Lucas Hurley 4 run (Landen Whitacre kick), 3:08. Third C — Jordan Letner 24 run (Petrocci kick), 1:07. C — Hayden Jarvis 33 interception return (Petrocci kick), :56. C K First downs 13 7 Rushing 47/242 22/55 Rushing average 5.1 2.5 Passing 6/10 7/16 Passing yards 77 80 Total offense 57/319 38/135 Punting 0/0.0 5/24.8 Penalties 6/35 3/18 Fumbles 3/2 2/1 RUSHING: Cloverleaf — Clay Combs 12-81, Ethan Gray 7-68, Letner 11-46, Tristan Craddock 9-32, Petrocci 7-23, Austin Brooks 1-(-8). Keystone — Paul Horten 11-47, Zach Shackelford 1-11, Wyatt McKee 1-2, Hurley 2-1, Kadin Stivason 7-(-6). PASSING: Cloverleaf — Brooks 5-9-66-1, Letner 1-1-11-0. Keystone — Shackelford 2-3-42-0, Horten 5-13-38-3. RECEIVING: Cloverleaf — Petrocci 3-53, Emmanuel Medina 2-16, Gray 1-8. Keystone — Grady Whitacre 4-61, Landen Whitacre 1-13, McKee 1-6, Hurley 1-0.