GFW comes up one touchdown short against Cleveland.

WINTHROP — Despite a solid defensive effort to hold back the pass-heavy Cleveland Clippers football team, the Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Thunderbirds committed one too many turnovers and fell just one big play short by the end of Thursday night’s game.

The Clippers mounted a strong defensive stand at GFW Football Field, securing a 17-10 victory in a Mid Southeast District, West Subdistrict matchup. The Thunderbirds fumbled four times during the loss, with the last two leading directly to Cleveland scores. GFW’s third fumble occurred near midfield and led to a 20-yard field goal by Caleb Possin. The fourth fumble followed a bouncing kickoff that Cleveland recovered at the GFW 3-yard line, resulting in a 3-yard touchdown pass from Carson Lyons to Brennan Kortuem, extending Cleveland’s lead to 17-8 late in the third quarter.

Despite the turnovers, GFW head coach Pat Hentges didn’t attribute the loss solely to them. “Yeah, those fumbles happen, but I’m more disappointed in my playcalling at times,” he said. “We had chances to throw the ball, and I didn’t take them. But the fumbles didn’t lose us the game—there were a lot of other factors. We need to clean that up, but I loved how our guys competed. I can’t wait to see them continue to do that in the upcoming games.”

Owen Swenson led GFW’s rushing attack with 18 carries for 83 yards, followed by Garrett Stegeman with 17 carries for 75 yards, and Regie Mattes with 15 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Cole Jacobson completed 3 of 5 passes, including a 32-yard completion to Stegeman in the second half.

It was also Senior Night, with Dominic Krumwiede leading the defense with four tackles. Junior Luke Bastian added four tackles, two for a loss, while sophomore Matthew Lee made a crucial tackle for a safety in the fourth quarter, narrowing the score to 17-10 with 7:40 left.

Cleveland’s quarterback Carson Lyons finished with 12 completions on 23 attempts for 123 yards and two touchdowns. His first TD, a 14-yard pass to Bode Bartell, gave Cleveland a 7-0 lead in the second quarter. GFW responded with a 2-yard TD run by Mattes and a 2-point conversion by Swenson, putting them ahead 8-7 just before halftime.

GFW had a chance late in the game after Lee’s safety, but penalties and pressure forced a turnover on downs. Despite falling short, the Thunderbirds’ defense held Cleveland to just 161 total yards compared to GFW’s 229, and limited them to 2 of 10 on third-down conversions.

Looking ahead, GFW (2-5) will face Norwood Young America in their regular-season finale on Wednesday, while Cleveland (4-3) hosts Lester Prairie.