Bobcats Down St. Marys, Play Redbank Next For KSAC Small School Crown (10/19/14)
The Clarion Area Football Team downed St. Marys, 41-0, at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Friday (October 17) to move to 7-1 on the season. And now next Friday (October 24) they will travel to New Bethlehem, to face the 7-0 Redbank Valley Bulldogs, in a showdown for all the Championship of the KSAC Small School Division.
(All photos by G. Chad Thomas) D-Line tough all night
With the victory, Coach Larry Wiser’s 187th, he takes over sole possession of third place in All-Time Career Wins, in District Nine.
The Bobcats first score came rather early. St. Marys received the opening kickoff, but on the first play from scrimmage from the Flying Dutchmen’s 25, Ian Corbett forced a fumble and Alexander Burkhart recovered at the 21. Several plays later Corbett ran the ball up the middle, following his blocking and breaking several tackles for the touchdown, giving the Cats a 6-0 lead at 10:18 of the first quarter.
On the Cats’ next possession, facing a second and seventeen, from their own 41, Taylor Smith unleashed a long throw down the left hash mark, to a streaking Corbett for a 59 yard touchdown. Smith hit Adrian Weber over the middle for the two-point conversion and the Bobcats led 14-0 at the 8:07 mark.
Matt Wagner running back interception
Thomas Plummer recovered a fumble at the Clarion 22 yard line to end the Dutch’s next possession. Several plays later Colton Rapp found a nice hole in the line and advanced the ball 33 yards. Then Thomas Plummer ran to the left and made a good cut back and took the ball 36 yards and into the end zone. Ty Burford’s kick was good and the Cats led 21-0 with 3:55 left in the first.
Late in the second, with the score still the same, Matt Wagner intercepted a pass and returned it to the Dutch thirty-seven. And at 5:09 Corbett scored on a screen play. Rapp scored on the two point conversion and the Bobcats were on top, 29-0. Clarion would carry the score into halftime.
The Bobcats received the second half kickoff. Setting up shop at their own 35, Clarion used their running game to chew up yards and the clock. But on a 4th and 1 play from the St. Marys’ 19, Dutchman, Mike Rearick intercepted a pass in the endzone. Though the Cats didn’t score, they did consume 5 minutes and 41 seconds.
The Cats held the Dutch on their next possession and Josh Kreible blocked the punt, giving Clarion great field position, at the St. Marys 16. Plummer ran the ball in several plays later, giving the Cats a 35-0 lead with 2:50 left in the third.
Josh Kreibel blocking a punt
The Bobcats last score would come at 10:54, in the final stanza, when Corbett recovered a fumble and returned it 15 yards to the Dutch endzone, setting the final at 41-0.
As is always the case when the Cats and Dutchmen tangle, no matter the score, you can plan on hard hitting from both sides and that is exactly what was seen in this contest. This was probably the main reason that the Cats had their second lowest rushing and total yardage totals this season, 212 and 326 respectively. (Note, see Destin Strauser’s comments in Cat Quotes.)
The hard knock style of play was probably a major factor in the C-93 announcers naming the Clarion Offensive and Defensive Lines collectively as the Bobcats’ Player(s) of the Game and the Dutch’s Center and Nose Guard, D. J. Salinas as their Player of the Game. Big night for the HOGS!
Key Clarion Stats:
Ian Corbett – 21 carries for 101 yards, 1 touchdown, 3 catches 100 yards, 2 touchdowns, a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown, 7 tackles, 1.5 sacks; Taylor Smith – 4 of 8 passing for 114 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions; Thomas Plummer – 5 carries, 74 yards; Colton Rapp – 6 carries, 47 yards, 10 tackles; Jacob Troutman – 10 tackles, .5 sacks; Destin Strauser – 9 tackles; Luke Nellis – 8 tackles; Matt Wagner – 2 interceptions; Spencer Miller – 1 interception; Zach Sintobin – 1 sack; Thomas Wurster – 1 sack; Alexander Burkhart – 1 fumble recovery.
Wolf’s Auto Outlet, Community First Bank, JanneyClarion.com, Burford & Henry Real Estate, Luton’s Plumbing, Heating, AC, Computer Support, The Carpet Barn, Jizzy Jam Boutique
Ian Corbett with a sack
Cat Quotes
Thomas Plummer (on his touchdown run), “It was a counter trey and we just had really good blocking. There was one guy I had to juke and it was pretty much open for the rest of the way.”
Thomas who has dual duties, running and receiving said, “I like running the ball, but I like catching the ball way more. But I’m getting used to it.”
(On the line) “They just did a great job blocking. A couple of times, they (St. Marys) switched up on what we did in practice, on the defensive line. So at halftime we made some changes and we got it right back.”
Matt Wagner: (On his two interceptions) “The first one, I was trailing the guy pretty badly and I caught up to him and got to the ball and tried making a play after that. The second one, I just pretty much caught it and the receiver he was just right there to get me. I tried making a good move but he wasn’t having it.”
(About the game) “I think we just had a great team effort. I think everyone stuck together and we did good.”
Destin Strauser: (On returning from injury) “It felt pretty good. I don’t think I’m hurt anymore. I’m just a little bit tender. But it’s really nice not missing any more of my senior year.”
(On the play of the defense) “The defense did really well. We came together and really put a hurting on them, in the first half. I don’t think they had much positive yardage, other than the penalties that they had. A shout out to the line, pushing them back and getting them all mixed up. But we did our job; read our assignments and did a heck of a job.”
(On St. Marys hitting) “They’re always a good hitting team. Just like last year, I remember it was one of the favorite games (St. Marys) and Brookville. It’s always ground and pound, coming right at you.” (And to his coach) “And I’m doing a shout out to Coach Wiser for breaking another record. One of the best coaches ever. So enjoy it.”
(More praise of St. Marys’ and Brookville’s hard nose brand of football) “I just like playing St. Marys and Brookville. I’m just glad we didn’t play at St. Marys, all muddy and stuff. But I always give props. They always have good hard running backs. Last year it was Feldbauer and this year, I don’t know his name, but 24, (Kyle Glatt) he’s a heck of a runner too. A big shout out to them.”
Offensive Coordinator, Todd Smith: “I’m proud of the way our guys played tonight. We changed up a few things on offense. We had the other team messed up a little bit and we were able to get a couple scores early. So credit goes to our guys for being able to execute the couple of new ideas that we were trying to do this week.
“Really the only thing that stopped us was a couple of turnovers. And we had two touchdowns called back on penalties. And we ended up not scoring on those drives. But I’m just proud of the kids, being able to stick together and execute the plays that we asked them to do.
“We’re trying to spread the ball around a bit. Even though everyone knows Ian is our big threat, I thought Plummer ran the ball pretty well tonight. We were having a little bit of trouble inside, running our trap, but we threw the ball pretty well. We just have to keep trying to get better every game. We’ve got a big one coming up next week, with Redbank.”
(Thanks to Matt Buchanan for spotting and taking notes for this article. Thanks to G. Chad Thomas for the great Pics.)