Coach Quinn Shares On Final 7th-8th Grade Game And Thoughts On Undefeated Season (11/02/14)

(By Coach Jess Quinn)

On Wednesday, October 22nd, the Clarion Area Jr High 7th-8th grade team completed their football season. Coming into the game, The Bobcats had an unblemished record 7 wins and 0 losses.

Brookville had the ball first and moved the ball 9 1/2 yards on three plays. That brought up a 4th down and less than one yard to go for a first down. A fantastic play, made by Mikie Andrews stopped the Raider quarterback in the backfield for a one yard loss giving us the ball. A few nice runs by Logan and Sam Minich and Archer Mills set up the boys with a first down on the Raider 20 yard line. That is when Logan Minich tossed a beautiful ball to Archer Mills for the score. Kyle Katis then found Logan Minich in the end zone for the two point conversion and the Cats were ahead 8-0.

The Young Cat team was able to move the ball at will, but three costly turnovers kept us out of the end zone. Even a very nice interception by Drew Wrhen, that set us up on the Raider 30, proved fruitless. Then on a 4th and 5 play with 15 seconds left in the half, the Raiders struck! On a ‘fake’ reverse, the Raider runner went 67 yards for a touchdown. Our defense came up big and prevented the two point conversion. Going into the break, the Bobcats were up on the Raiders, 8-6.

Our boys got the ball in the second half and went right to work. With some minor adjustments, the boys on the line were dominant in the second half. With nice trap plays from Greg Kalinowski and blocking from Ethan Remmick, Tyler Schmader and Mike Andrews, the boys went straight down the field and scored. Archer Mills, on a nice rocket sweep, found the end zone and Logan Minich bowled his way in for the two point conversion and the Bobcat lead was now 16-6.

The defense was stout all game and the Raiders were forced to punt. On just a few plays, Sam Minich took the ball from Katis and with some fine blocks and some nifty running, found his way into the end zone. The two point conversion try from Isaac Kim failed and the lead was now 22-6.

Another stop and the Bobcats were back on offense. One play, Jake Burns took the ball on the same play that Sammy scored on and went 60 yards for the score! This time Kyle Katis hit Drew Whren in the corner of the end zone for the two point conversion. Now the Cats were up 30-6.

The Brookville Raider team would not go quietly as they used some time outs and an onside kick to pull within 8 points of the Bobcats. The starting team had gone into the locker room leaving the youngest Cats to hold down the fort. Well, they started to trickle out of the locker room when the score became close. The boys had worked so hard all year, they did not want their undefeated season to go by the wayside. They asked if they could go in on defense to prevent Brookville from scoring and protect their perfect season. That wish was granted and the first team shut down the Raiders on 4 straight plays. We took over the ball and won the game. The final score Clarion Area 30 – Brookville 22.

As their coach, I want the boys and their parents to know how much I appreciate their effort this year. I know that it seems at times I can lose my mind, constantly yelling from the sidelines. That I truly can’t help. I wear my heart on my shirt-sleeve. But, the boys are told almost on a daily basis that as a staff we genuinely care about them as football players, but even more importantly we care about the young men they are becoming. A perfect season is a great accomplishment, no doubt. However, it is more important that the boys know how much I respect them as young men and hope that they continue working hard in the classroom, and in whatever they choose to do the rest of this year. That is what truly matters.

I cannot tell you how proud I am of their effort all year, and how fortunate I feel to have the opportunity to be their coach!

To all of you who played this year… THANK YOU!

Sam and Logan Minich… WOW Boys, Thank you! Mikie Andrews… you are an animal- get in the weight room with me and next year… LOOK OUT! Kyle Katis, Drew Wrhen and Archer Mills – outstanding leadership! Bowman Hartley and Greg Kalinowski, you heard my voice a lot and didn’t let me down! Jake Burns- every time you touched the ball on offense, great things happened and you were constant on defense! I have never had so many 7th graders start and play for me. Ethan Remmick, Tyler Schmader, Nick Frederick, and Skylar Rhoads heard their names a lot from the sidelines! I am very proud of their play as well. I am very excited for the future of Bobcat Football!

(Thanks to Coach Quinn for this great article!! Congratulations to the team on the undefeated season!!!!)