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Clearfield holds off St. Marys
Saturday, November 07, 2009
By Rich Murawski Assistant Sports Editor
ST. MARYS - Who needs ball control?
The Clearfield football team ran 37 less plays than St. Marys and was more than doubled in time of possession by the Flying Dutch on Friday night at a frigid Dutch Country Stadium.
But the Bisons did more than enough with the plays they ran, getting three touchdowns from Derek Morgan and two from Trey Campman to hold off St. Marys, 32-27.
"These were two evenly matched teams," Clearfield head coach Tim Janocko said. "St. Marys played hard right up until the end, and we did, too."
With the win, Clearfield claimed one of two District 9 Class AAA playoff spots. The Bisons have been in a must-win situation since a Week 6 loss to Bald Eagle Area had them at 3-3 and in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in 14 years.
But four straight wins put the Bisons back in the D-9 title game.
"I can't say enough about our kids and the effort they've put in over the last few weeks," Janocko said. "They're a little tired right now."
Clearfield started the scoring, getting a touchdown at 10:30 of the first quarter without running an offensive play.
The Bison defense forced the Flying Dutch to a three-and-out on the opening series of the game.
On fourth down from the St. Marys 28-yard line, punter Greg Simchick lined up to punt. But the snap sailed over his head, and after the ball got kicked around a bit, Morgan fell on it in the end zone. Chad Zurat's kick gave Clearfield a 7-0 lead.
St. Marys started its next drive on the 28 and proceeded to move to the Bison 20-yard line, running 16 plays and taking almost nine minutes off the game clock. But the Dutch came up empty when Simchick's fourth-down pass missed its mark in the end zone.
The Bisons ran their first play from scrimmage with 1:47 left in the first quarter, getting a 21-yard Curtis Frye-to-Zurat completion. But Zurat coughed up the ball fighting for extra yardage and the Dutch were back in business at the Clearfield 45.
Three plays later, Zurat made up for the miscue. He stepped in front of a Dutch receiver and picked off a Simchick pass to give the Clearfield offense the ball back at its own 46-yard line.
After two Morgan runs netted 11 yards, Frye hooked up with Campman on a 43-yard touchdown pass to give Clearfield a 14-0 lead with 11:35 to go in the second quarter.
Campman looked to be well covered by St. Marys' Justin Quiggle, but the Dutch defensive back gambled on the pass and went for the interception. He missed, and Campman caught the ball, spun to his left and scampered to paydirt.
But St. Marys answered with an 18-play, 87-yard drive that culminated with a Kevin Hoy 17-yard touchdown run. The series took over 10 more minutes off the game clock, leaving the Bisons with a little more than a minute before the half.
That was more than enough time for the quick-strike Bison offense to move 69 yards for a score. Frye completed three straight passes before Morgan runs of eight and 22 yards moved the Bisons to the Dutch 13-yard line.
Frye was 4-for-4 for 39 yards on the drive and ended the game completing 10 of his 12 pass attempts for 165 yards and three scores. He hit his first eight passes before misfiring on two straight attempts in the third quarter.
"He doesn't playing like a sophomore," Janocko said of Frye. "He made some big-time throws on the scoring drive before the half.
Facing an all-out blitz from the Dutch, Clearfield called a screen pass and the Bisons sold it to perfection. Frye dumped the ball over a ferocious oncoming pass rush into the arms of a wide-open Morgan, who easily scored on the play. The conversion failed due to a bad snap, and Clearfield took a 20-7 lead into the break.
"I thought that was a real big score at the end of the first half," Janocko said. "St. Marys had some momentum after their score, so it was important for us to answer."
Clearfield held the 13-point advantage despite a monumental deficit in time of possession. St. Marys ran 41 plays and held the ball for 21:31, while Clearfield took just 11 offensive snaps totaling 2:29.
The Bisons padded their lead on the first drive of the second half, going 69 yards in seven plays. Morgan finished off the drive, busting through a gaping hole up the middle and galloping 48 yards for Clearfield's fourth touchdown. Morgan gained 102 yards on 12 carries to lead the Bison rushing attack.
The extra point was blocked, but the Bisons held what looked like a comfortable 26-7 lead with 7:20 to play in the third quarter.
The lead was anything but comfortable, however, as Hoy and the Dutch ground game began to assert itself.
It took them just five plays to respond to the Bison score, getting a 44-yard run from Hoy to cut the deficit to 26-13 with 4:56 to go in the third.
After a Bison three-and-out, St. Marys turned to Hoy once again. The 210-pound junior accounted for 53 of the Dutch's 61 yards on a 10-play drive that ended with his 4-yard touchdown run and got St. Marys to within six of the lead, 26-20, with 11:22 left in regulation.
Hoy rushed for 226 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries to pace the 307-yard Dutch ground attack.
"He's been doing that all year," Janocko said of Hoy. "He's a great back."
Clearfield got a nice return from Brandon Hogue on the ensuing kickoff as he set up the Bison offense at the 42-yard line.
Frye and Morgan alternated rushes, and Frye found Campman on a 19-yard pass play as the Bisons moved to the Dutch 16-yard line.
After Campman was dropped for a two-yard loss on a sweep, Janocko called a timeout after seeing something in the St. Marys defensive set.
On the next snap, Frye hit Campman for an 18-yard touchdown on a skinny post to give Clearfield a 32-20 lead with 7:21 to play.
Campman caught four balls for 95 yards and two scores.
"Trey makes a lot of big plays for us, but what gives him those opportunities is when we can run the ball," Janocko said. "And Derek Morgan had some big runs for us, too."
St. Marys responded with a 65-yard drive that ended with Kyle Schneider crashing in from three yards out with 1:53 on the clock. Schneider topped the century mark, carrying the ball 21 times for 103 yards.
Dutch quarterback Simchick hit Brian Samick for a 45-yard gain on the first play of the drive. It was the only completed pass the Dutch had on the night.
The Dutch tried an onside kick after the Schneider score, but the ball only traveled seven yards, giving Clearfield the ball. The Bisons only needed to run three plays from there to run out the clock.
Clearfield (7-3) faces Punxsutawney in the District 9 Class AAA title game at a date, site and time to be determined. The Chucks got into the playoff game with their win over Brookville, combined with Bradford's loss to Corry. Clearfield 32
St. Marys 27 Score By Quarters
Clearfield 7 13 6 6-32
St. Marys 0 7 6 14-27 First Quarter
CL-Morgan recovered bad punt snap in end zone, (Zurat kick), 10:30.
Second Quarter
CL-Campman 43 pass from Frye, (Zurat kick), 11:35.
SM-Hoy 17 run, (Barber kick), 1:24.
CL-Morgan 13 pass from Frye, (conversion failed), 0:11.
Third Quarter
CL-Morgan 48 run, (kick blocked), 7:20.
SM-Hoy 44 run, (kick failed), 4:56.
Fourth Quarter
SM-Hoy 4 run, (Barber kick), 11:22.
CL-Campman 18 pass from Frye, (pass failed), 7:21.
SM-Schneider 3 run, (Barber kick), 1:53.
TEAM STATISTICS
CL SM
Total First Downs 13 20
Rushes-Yards 22-122 6 4-307
Comp-Att-Int 10-12-0 1-7-1
Passing Yards 162 45
Total Plays-Yards 34-284 71-352
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-0
Punts-Avg 2-33 0-0
Penalties-Yards 5-55 6-52
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Clearfield-Morgan 12-102, Frye 8-18, Campman 2-2.
St. Marys-Hoy 36-226, Schneider 21-103, Samick 3-9, Quiggle 2-(-2), Team 2-(-29).
Passing
Clearfield-Frye 10-of-12, 162 yds., 3 TD.
St. Marys-Simchick 1-of-7, 45 yds., 1 Int.
Receiving
Clearfield-Campman 4-92, Danver 4-36, Zurat 1-21, Morgan 1-13.
St. Marys-Samick 1-45.
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