Ian Corbett Leads Bobcats In Victory Over Golden Knights, Team Clinches D9 Playoff Spot (10/12/14)

Ian Corbett ran for 269 yards on just 18 carries and scored 4 touchdowns to lead Clarion to a 47-12 win over homestanding Union, at Vidunas Stadium in Rimersburg, on Saturday (October 11) night. He now has 1075 yards on the season and 2735 for his career.

The win secured another District Nine Playoff spot for the Cats and moved Coach Larry Wiser into a tie with former Smethport Coach Carl Defillippi for third place All-Time in Coaching victories, in District Nine.

(Photos by Tina Buchanan)
Bobcats and Knights setting up for a play

Clarion’s rushing attack accounted for 439 of the Bobcats’ 516 total yards, in a game that featured a contrast in offensive styles, with 369 of the Golden Knights’ 387 yards coming through the air.

After receiving the opening kickoff, the Cats set up at their own 44. On the first play from scrimmage, Corbett ran down the right sideline on a sweep for an apparent 56 yard touchdown. But a penalty against the Cats’ nullified the play. But on the next play, facing a first and thirteen, Jacob Troutman went 41 yards, on a draw, followed by three straight runs by Corbett.

The final run went 11 yards for a touchdown, with Corbett following good blocking down the right sideline. Ty Burford kicked the extra point and Clarion led 7-0, at the 9:51 mark.

Union came right back, as quarterback Lane Cicciarelli hit Cole Morris for a 16 yard touchdown on a third down play, cutting the Cats’ lead to 7-6. Cicciarelli and Morris hooked up two previous times in the drive.

That was all the scoring that would take place in the entire first half as defense ruled the rest of half: Clarion went three and out on their second possession, then Ethan Straffin ended Union’s next one, with a fourth down sack. Morris ended Clarion’s third possession with a fumble recovery.

An incomplete pass on fourth down stopped Union. Then an interception ended Clarion’s next possession.  But after driving well into Clarion territory, Union turned the ball over on downs, as Straffin had another sack on fourth down. And so it went the rest of the way through the rest of the half.

Bobcat Cheerleaders showing their team spirit and support for fight on Breast Cancer

Another half, another story, as the Bobcat offense, which seemed for a lack of a better word, lethargic in the first half, decided,  “Hey, it’s time to be who we are.” The Cats began to take control of the line of scrimmage and imposed their will, as they put up 40 points in the second half.

After Josh Kriebel intercepted a pass, Clarion set up at the Union 36. After a hard fought run by Corbett, Clarion quarterback Taylor Smith hit Straffin with a 25 yard scoring strike and with Burford successful again,the Cats led 14-6.

Clarion’s next possession saw Corbett, Troutman and Thomas Plummer grind it out on the ground, with Corbett scoring on a first and goal from the five. Tyler Wiser blocked the PAT and the Cats led 20-6 at 2:52.

Corbett scored again with a 60 yard run, as he followed some great blocking, on a sweep and went untouched into the endzone, at the 1:11 mark. The two-point conversion failed and Clarion carried a 26-0 lead into the final stanza.

The Bobcats went up 33-6, when Corbett, benefiting from some great blocking, and a great cutback move of his own, went 70 yards for a score 11:38. Burford again connected for the PAT.

Union closed the gap, to 33-12 at the 10:13 mark, as Cicciarelli connected with Wiser on a 49 yard touchdown pass.

Clarion set up at their own 40 yard line following the kickoff and on the first play from scrimmage, Colton Rapp followed his blocking on a fine 60 yard touchdown run. The PAT was good and Clarion led 40-12 at 10:01.

Matt Wagner ended Union’s next possession, with an interception that set up the Cats’ final score.

And after a Miller to Plummer hookup gave the Bobcats a first and goal, Rapp ran in for the touchdown. The PAT was good and the final was set at 47-12.

It was a fine win for the Bobcats. But the Knights put up a good fight. The score isn’t indicative of how hard hitting the game was.

What was it that sparked the Cats’ in the second half? Well, we’ll leave the answer to that for the Cat Quotes.

Clarion will host St. Marys at Veterans’ Memorial Stadium on Friday (October 17) at 7:00PM.

Some notable Clarion stats:
Corbett – 269 yards rushing, on 18 carries, 4 touchdowns; Troutman – 88 yards rushing on 10 carries, 1 catch for 16 yards, 104 yards total, 1 sack; Straffin – 1 touchdown reception for 25 yards, 9 tackles, 4 sacks; Rapp – 79 yards on five carries, 2 touchdowns, 6 tackles, .5 sack; Smith 3 completions in 7 attempts for 77 yards and a touchdown; Plummer – 1 reception for 36 yards.

Luke Nellis – 9 tackles, .5 sack; Josh Kriebel – 8 tackles, 1 interception; Matt Wagner – 7 tackles, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery; Spencer Miller – 8 tackles.

Some notable stats for Union: Cicciarelli – 26 completions on 42 attempts for 341 yards, 2 touchdowns; Morris – 15 receptions for 194 yards, 1 touchdown, 14 tackles; Chet Carmichael – 10 catches for 113 yards; Wiser – 2 catches for 62 yards, 1 touchdown, 11 tackles.

Cat Quotes
Ethan Straffin: (On how it feels getting three sacks in the game, two fourth down sacks in the first half) “It’s awesome. Our team just came together. We just put all our effort in (as) one and came out with the best results possible. It was great.”

(On how it feels playing in probably the coldest game in a long time) “It’s not too bad. We’re used to the cold. We live in Clarion. You know, all those terrible winters. You just get used to that after a while.”

Jacob Troutman: (On his nice runs) “It was pretty awesome. The line blocked pretty well tonight, I felt like.”

(On defensive play) “We were moving pretty well on the line, I thought. A few off sides penalties but that happens. You just got to keep moving forward.”

Ian Corbett: “I’ve got to hand the game to Ethan Straffin. As you can see, during the first half, we weren’t playing as a team. Then at halftime, in the locker room, he gave a real emotional speech and it got the whole team together and made us play really well. I kind of think it was all Ethan.”

(Thanks to Matt Buchanan for spotting and taking notes for this article and helping with player interviews and to his wife Tina for the photos and to Ray Burkhart and Union’s stat person for MaxPreps stats used. Congratulations to the Cats for reaching D9 Playoffs again!!!!)