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Battle-tested Bisons anxious for District 9 title game
Thursday, November 12, 2009
By Rich Murawski Assistant Sports Editor
DUBOIS - If there's one thing Clearfield is, going into Friday night's District 9 Class AAA title game with Punxsutawney, it's battle-tested.
Following a Week 6 loss to Bald Eagle Area, the Bisons have been in adverse, must-win situations week-in and week-out just to qualify for the playoffs.
"We certainly haven't backed into the playoffs," Clearfield head coach Tim Janocko said. "We had to go down to Penns Valley on a Monday night because of a snowstorm, then turn around and travel to Central that Saturday. And we went in and beat an undefeated team.
"Then we had the big overtime win against Huntingdon and had to go to a 6-3 St. Marys team on their Senior Night. We've definitely earned our way in."
Punxsutawney also needed to win its way into the postseason. The Chucks lost their first two games to Karns City (20-13) and DuBois (25-8), before running off eight straight wins to end the regular season 8-2. But because of a schedule with five Class A teams, Punxsutawney still needed a Bradford loss last week to make the title game.
"They had to win some games to get to the playoffs, too," Janocko said. "And they are a well-coached team. I coached against Alan (Nichol) when he was at Curwensville. He knows the game."
Punxsutawney's wins have come over Moniteau (42-15), Clarion (20-6), A-C Valley (40-0), Clarion-Limestone (26-20), Redbank Valley (6-0), Union (20-6), Keystone (26-10) and Brookville (29-12).
The Chucks feature a balanced offensive attack. They rolled up nearly 1,600 yards on the ground and passed for 1,342.
"I think we're two evenly matched teams," Janocko said. "They're a lot like us. They have a good quarterback, two good receivers and a real good back."
Chuck quarterback Logan Weaver is 66-for-122 on the season for 1,246 yards and 14 touchdown passes. He's only been intercepted three times. He also has 268 yards and two scores on 39 carries.
Weaver's favorite targets are Braedon Pennington and Zak Dickey. Pennington has 29 receptions for 620 yards and four touchdowns. Dickey has caught 23 passes for 304 yards and five scores. On the ground, the Chucks rely heavily on Brennan Niver who has amassed 763 yards and 11 touchdowns on 141 carries.
"They run out of a power set at least half the time," Janocko said. "And the quarterback is under center most of the time."
The key for the Bisons to stop Punxsutawney's offense is its defensive line.
"Andre Buck, David Hoover and Dustin Kemp ... those three guys are the key to the defense," Janocko said. "They set the tone for each game. Those three have been the stalwarts. We're depending on them to help us get a district championship."
On offense, Janocko believes quarterback Curtis Frye needs to continue playing like he has over the last four games.
"I feel good about how Curtis has evolved," he said. "He has come along quite well and deserves a lot of credit. It's not easy playing quarterback at Clearfield. He's withstood a lot of coaching."
Along with Frye, backfield mate Derek Morgan has really come on when the Bisons needed him to.
"We had him playing both ways early in the season, and he had a nagging groin injury that just wouldn't heal," Janocko said. "So we relegated him to mostly offense and special teams and he has gotten healthy. The last couple weeks are the hardest I've ever seen him run.
"He's a nice complement to Curtis. And you add Trey (Campman) and our receivers to the mix and I think we're pretty hard to defend."
This is the 11th time in the last 12 years that the Bisons are playing for a District 9 championship. Clearfield has six titles in that span. By contrast, Punxsutawney has only played for a D-9 title once since 1996. That was in 2002 when the Bisons defeated the Chucks, 40-7.
Punxsutawney did have a run in the early 90s, making three out of five Quad-A title games between 1991-1995. The Chucks only D-9 football title came in 1991 when in topped DuBois, 28-7.
"I'm sure Punxsutawney is hungry, but I don't think they're any hungrier than our kids," Janocko said. "This group of kids wants to bring home a district title."
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday night at Mansell Stadium.
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