Clovis defender Blake Wiley chases down Goddard quarterback David Vega in the second quarter of Friday's game at the Wool Bowl in Roswell. The Wildcats held Vega to minus-36 yards in a 35-21 victory.

Clovis assistant Chuck Jordan talks with Lance Lukkar about proper spacing in the second half of Friday's game.

Jared Burns just wasn’t ready to crank that.

After pulling Goddard quarterback David Vega down for a six-yard loss late in the fourth quarter of Clovis’ 35-14 win, teammates yelled, “Crank that, Burns,” goading him into slapping his helmet like he did after pulling down Ronnie Daniels.

Burns, who had two sacks on Vega, said Friday just didn’t feel right.

“It forced a big turnover against La Cueva that time,” the 6-foot-1, 230-pound senior said. His second sack of the night on Goddard, meanwhile, just meant 3rd and 7.

Other sackers included junior defensive end Matt Southard, senior defensive tackle Lance Lukkar, senior defensive end Morris Sharp and senior defensive tackle Michael Prestage.

A real thriller
“Hit that seam, Billie Jean.”

The words come from the mouth of junior linebacker Emery Sierra. They are directed towards senior running back James Howard, as he tries to find lanes in opposing defenses.

“Coach (Eric) Roanhaus gave it to him,” Sierra said. “He dances too much” behind the line of scrimmage.

Howard laughs at the name, but notes he has nothing else in common with Michael Jackson, or his 1983 hit song.

Stat of the night
All three Clovis running backs — Stefan Mills (20 carries, 179 yards), Howard (9-56) and Scott McMath (8-18) — equaled or topped the Rockets’ total rushing yardage for the night (24 carries, 18 yards).

Best offensive series
Clovis’ second offensive series. After Mills finished off a three-play opening drive with a 30-yard jaunt down the left sideline, the Rockets were focused on the run. Three plays into the next series, Mills delivered a halfback pass to Moses Bibbs for a 40-yard gain. Mills scored on an 8-yard run three plays later.

Quarterback Josh Potocki only completed two passes the rest of the night — a 21-yard screen to Bibbs and a 9-yard fade route touchdown to Josh Bryan — but Mills’ throw kept the Rocket defense honest the rest of the night.

Worst offensive series
With 3:19 left in the second quarter and Goddard fresh off its first score, the Wildcats needed a first down to run out the clock. They got a three-and-out, and Goddard used the remaining 1:45 to score one more time and cut the halftime deficit to 21-14.

Best defensive series
Four Goddard possessions ended with turnovers inside the Clovis 25 — fumble recoveries by Sharp and Arthur Jimenez and interceptions by Arthur Calbert and Bryan (his sixth of the season).

But the best series was a cerebral one. After a pair of sacks by Burns and Southard, the Rockets faced 4th and 18 from their own 48. A hail mary was heading right for Calbert near the 20, but he chose knocking the ball down over pick No. 2.

As Clovis took over nearly 30 yards downfield from Calbert’s coulda-been interception, Roanhaus wasted no time in finding Calbert to praise him for putting field position above personal stats.

Worst defensive series
Goddard’s second scoring drive. The Rockets moved the ball 58 yards in just five plays, and a pair of Clovis defenders had a chance to pull Vega down in the backfield before he escaped for his 9-yard scoring run.