By Steve Franklin

Sports Correspondent

SHERBURNE – Will Slentz's fourth-quarter touchdown scamper and a late goal line stand helped Sherburne-Earlville secure its first victory of the season Saturday night, as the Marauders topped Clinton 12-7 in a showdown between Section III rivals.

"For us, we grew as a team tonight," said S-E coach Mike Jasper, who picked up his first win as head coach of the Marauders' program. "It was real good to see the kids bounce back from a disappointing defensive performance last week, and step up and get a huge win. If we want to make the postseason, we've got to win in our own division, and we showed we can do that (tonight)."

For the second week in a row, an errant punt snap put the Marauders behind in the first half. The miscue set the Warriors up inside the S-E redzone, and Clinton capitalized with a 16-yard scoring strike from Joe Gaetano to Jeff Ostrander to take a 7-0 lead into the half.

But unlike a week ago, this time Sherburne-Earlville responded.

The Marauders opened the second half with an 11-play scoring march. During the drive, sophomore Cole Hodges hauled in an 18-yard pass from senior quarterback Greg Duvall on a key third down, and junior wideout Cody Williams helped extend the possession with a 22-yard run on a fourth-and-five from the Clinton 31-yard line. Two plays later, Chris Santiago put S-E on the scoreboard with a four-yard touchdown plunge. However, junior kicker Justin Coye's PAT attempt sailed wide right, enabling the Warriors to keep a 7-6 lead.

In the early stages of the fourth quarter, the Marauders were poised to go in for the go-ahead score, when Slentz bobbled a handoff from Duvall at the Clinton 2-yard line.

But an impressive defensive stand, highlighted by Randy Briggs' third-down pass breakup, forced Clinton to punt from its own end zone. Under heavy duress, punter Josh Leavitt managed to get off a punt that traveled just 12 yards.

One play later, Slentz put S-E in front with a 16-yard touchdown jaunt to give the Marauders a 12-7 lead after a failed two-point attempt.

After each team traded punts on their ensuing possessions, the Warriors took one final crack at the end zone. After starting out in Marauder territory, Clinton managed to penetrate down to the S-E 12-yard line thanks to a couple of long runs from senior Ryan Cobb. But with the defense on its heels, Jasper took a timeout to regroup in the final three minutes.

It was just what Sherburne-Earlville needed.

S-E stuffed Clinton on the next two plays, and on third-and-seven from the nine-yard line, Coye burst through the middle from his linebacker spot and sacked Warriors reserve quarterback Jason Gomez. On fourth down, Gaetano replaced Gomez at quarterback, but his desperation pass attempt to Ostrander floated harmlessly to the ground sealing the win for the Marauders.