TOWN AND COUNTRY – Jeremiah McClellan did not think he would play very much on Saturday.
Neither did CBC coach Scott Pingel.
The senior wide receiver and Ohio State commit, who had missed the previous three games with a broken right foot, received clearance to play after an X-ray revealed a substantial amount of healing.
McClellan participated in a light workout Thursday, practiced for 45 minutes Friday, and entered the Class 6 state semifinal unsure of how much he could contribute.
“I wasn’t expecting to play that much, I was just hoping to do what I needed to do to win,” McClellan said.
Pingel added, “I think the adrenaline kicked in.”
McClellan caught 10 passes for 181 yards and scored three touchdowns, including the game-winner on fourth down in the final minute, as CBC defeated De Smet 31-28 Saturday in a thrilling Class 6 semifinal at W. Michael Ross Stadium on the campus of CBC.
CBC (11-2), the two-time defending Class 6 champion, will face Liberty North (12-1) for the state title at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2 at Faurot Field on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia.
It will be the third consecutive season the two teams have met in the postseason, including a 35-28 victory by CBC in the Class 6 state title game in 2021.
De Smet (10-2) led 28-24 after quarterback Dillon Duff connected with Mason Skornia on a 14-yard touchdown strike with 2 minutes 24 seconds remaining.
That is when McClellan changed the status of his performance from incredible to legendary.
First, he took two direct snaps and churned up 11 and 8-yard gains.
“I wasn’t planning on using him as much as I did at quarterback because he was coming off the injury, but he kept saying, ‘Coach, give it me. Let’s see if we can win this game,’” Pingel said.
Then, McClellan took another direct snap, ran along the line of scrimmage and launched a 35-yard strike to Corey Simms to set up the Cadets at the De Smet 27-yard line.
“I threw it too short or he would have scored,” McClellan said regretfully. “I’m going to work on it in practice.”
Pingel dialed up that same play earlier this season against Chaminade and McClellan threw a 46-yard touchdown pass.
“We figured they were going to bite up on that because he’s pretty electric,” Pingel said. “I told him, ‘Just complete it,’ and it worked out for us.”
Finally, facing fourth-and-5 from the 21-yard line, McClellan stood in his regular wide receiver position and asked for the game to be placed in his hands.
“I saw one-on-one coverage, so I was like, ‘Let me go make a play for the team,’” he said.
McClellan rose above the cornerback and oncoming safety and snatched the game-winning touchdown in the front left corner of the end zone with 51 seconds remaining.
It was the same corner where earlier in the fourth quarter, and on another fourth down, McClellan made a stunning one-handed grab over a defender for a 20-yard touchdown.
On the final drive for De Smet, CBC sophomore defensive lineman Dorian McGruder executed a lightning-quick spin move and sacked Duff for an 11-yard loss.
“I’ve been working on that (spin move). I knew that we needed it, and I wasn’t trying to go home early,” McGruder said. “I’m glad I could do my part so we can play for one more week.”
The final pass attempt from Duff was batted away by junior Austin Tillman, who also made a diving pass break-up on the opening play of the final drive.
“I just wanted to keep everything in front and let the play come to me,” Tillman said.
For Tillman, the performance of McClellan, who could be seen limping back to the huddle at times and elevating his foot on a table on the sideline, deserved high praise.
“A lot of us call him a ‘dawg.’ A dawg is someone who knows what needs done and gets it done in that moment, and that’s exactly what he did – twice.” Tillman said.
McClellan began the game as a decoy. On his first touch, he received the snap, ran left and flipped the ball to Doreon Dubose who scooted around right end for a 19-yard touchdown to open the scoring.
A short punt offered De Smet excellent field position, and the Spartans completed a 10-play, 40-yard drive when Bryant Pool scored from two yards away to tie the game at 7.
Then, the McClellan show began. A quick screen from Cole McKey to McClellan went for 14 yards. A deep out to Corey Simms picked up 22, and then McKey looked deep down the right sideline where McClellan outdueled defenders for a 26-yard touchdown to put CBC ahead 14-7 at halftime.
“We were trying some shot plays because we knew that 15-play drives were going to be hard against this team, so we took some calculated chances, and throwing to him is a pretty good choice,” Pingel said.
But the way De Smet started the second half was not in the CBC calculations.
On the second play from scrimmage, De Smet junior Josiah Houston sniffed out a quick screen to McClellan, stepped in front of it and raced 17 yards for a pick-6.
On the next CBC offensive play, a jarring hit after a Simms reception popped the ball into the awaiting arms of Trevon Collard, who darted 33 yards to give De Smet two touchdowns in 13 seconds and a 21-14 lead less than one minute into the second half.
“That was like, ‘What the heck just happened,” Pingel said.
Late in the third quarter, CBC mounted a 13-play drive that involved a heavy dose of McClellan. Receptions of 20 and nine yards were mixed in with a few rushing attempts. Then, on fourth-and-2, he reached out with one hand and snagged an amazing, game-tying touchdown catch.
“It was a hitch and I told coach (Pingel) to give me a chance and let me run a go (route),” McClellan said. “Big time players make big time plays.”
After a 27-yard field goal by Simon Kacich gave CBC a 24-21 advantage with 6 minutes remaining, De Smet mounted its most impressive drive of the game, led by the scrambling ability of Duff.
First, he snuck past the CBC pass rush for a 25-yard gain. Then he scrambled, bought time and found Nathan Hatcher three times for gains of 10, 25, and 15 yards.
Hatcher led the Spartans with nine receptions for 126 yards.
“Our defense pulled through for us and gave us a chance, and we started picking it up in the pass game in the second half,” said Duff, who threw for 191 yards.
The final strike from Duff to Skornia gave De Smet a 28-24 lead with 2:24 remaining, but CBC still had time – and McClellan.
“You can either say it was a good play or it was a good player. I think I’ll go with a good player,” Pingel said. “He’s pretty special.”