Clifton Central scores 20 unanswered points to finish off 40-21 win over Marquette in 1st round
Mark Chen is a seasoned sports journalist with a degree from the University of Chicago and over 6 years of experience covering club sports and recreational activities in the Naperville area. Prior to joining Naperville Current, he wrote for the Naperville Sun, where he leveraged his strong relationships with coaches and athletes.
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Heading into Saturday’s Class 1A first-round playoff game with Marquette, it had been nearly a month since the Clifton Central football team got a full game from its starters.A forfeit win in Week 8 was followed by a blowout win in Week 9 in which the starters only played the first half. Then came a bye in the opening round of the playoffs last week. The Comets (9-1) had some rust to shake off Saturday, but once they did, they scored 20 unanswered points in the final 23 minutes of the game to finish off a 40-21 over the Crusaders (7-4). Everett Bailey ran for 196 yards and three touchdowns in the win, putting him at 1,023 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season.He said it was great to see how he and his teammates responded after a somewhat messy start. “It feels really good,” he said. “We were down at halftime, came back through that adversity and did what we needed to do.”He was also happy to reach a new milestone in the game.“Each time I set a goal and I try to break it each game,” he