7th and 8th Grade Football Teams Move To 3-0, With Recent Wins (09/19/14)

The 7th and 8th Grade Football Team won two more games recently. Coach Jesse Quinn shares summaries of both games.

Clarion 26 – Ridgway 12

On Thursday, September 11th the Clarion Area 7th and 8th grade football team upped its record to 2-0 with a 26-6 victory over the Ridgway Elkers. Sam Minich opened the scoring with a 45 yard run on some nice blocking by the interior line and a great pulling block by Eathan Remmick. Our two point conversion was no good. Ridgway came right back and scored on a nice drive and tied the score at 6.

Our boys rose to the challenge as Logan Minich scored on a nice run. This time the 2 point conversion was good! The Bobcats were ahead 14-6. The defense came up big and got the ball right back for the offense. The cats wasted no time in scoring as Logan Minich hit Archer Mills for a long touchdown pass. The Bobcats pushed their lead to 20-6. One last run by Logan Minich ended the scoring as the Cats now were ahead 26-6.

Some players to note: Jacob Burns had some great runs right up the gut and put us in position to score on a few occasions! He also has done a nice job on defense for our team. Skylar Rhoads has also stepped up big on “D” for the cats this season. Our Offensive and Defensive lines have dominated the line of scrimmage making it easy to call plays! Mikie Andrews has done a great job as our center and nose tackle. He has wreaked havoc in the backfield of our opponents all year long. We have asked some younger players Nate Datko and Nick Frederick to step in and give some guys a rest on a few plays and they have been up to the challenge. Ethan Remmick and Sam Goodman have been a great duo on the line. Bowman Hartley has done a fabulous job for us as the tight-end on offense and defensive end on defense.

As their coaches, both Randy Cathcart and myself are very excited about this season and the future of Clarion Area Bobcat Football!

 

Clarion 18 – Clarion-Limestone 12

On Wednesday, September 17th, The Clarion Area boys took their 2-0 record to Strattannville to take on the 2-0 Lions. What a game! The Lions received the ball and were shut down by our defense. When we got the ball, CL gave us everything we could handle setting up a 4th and 3yards to go for a first down. Logan Minich sent a spiraling pass through the air into the hands of Archer Mills who galloped into the end zone for the first score of the game.

From there, it was a back and forth game until CL broke a long run on a nice counter play and went 70 yards for a score. Both 2-point conversions failed and the score was tied 6-6. With under a minute left in the first half CL blocked a punt and set up offense on our 3 yard line. On the very next play the Lions scored taking a six point lead 12-6 going into the half.

Defensive coach Randy Cathcart reenforced the mindset of the defense that if they read their keys, we will be in perfect position to make plays. He told the line-backers to read keys and stay at home! Well, it worked! The boys read their keys and held CL to only 2 first downs the entire second half! Great job defense!

Also during the halftime break the coaching staff realized that two players for the Lions were causing us all kinds of trouble and were limiting our runs in the first half. Number 22, Himes and number 79 Coleman were constantly in our backfield and were very disruptive! So in the second half we made some adjustments and were able to move the ball. With our first possession, the cats ran right down the field using the same play from scrimmage and Logan Minich punched the ball in the end zone for the score! This tied the score at 12-12 in the third quarter. With the defense playing so well, we got the ball back and again put a long drive together and scored! Again it was Logan Minich. This ended the scoring.

It looked over as CL on a 4th and 5 were stopped short! The Cats took over and looked to salt this one away… NOT TO BE! On the second play from scrimmage,we fumbled and the Lions got the ball with just over 2 minutes left in the game. They were sitting on our 30 yard line poised to score. Our defense came up HUGE! Mikie Andrews caused a fumble and recovered it in the backfield! The Cats were able to get one first down and run out the clock to stay perfect on the year! Once again we had several different backs carry the ball for us. Jacob Burns had one of the most important runs in the game. On the last play of the third quarter he broke a nice trap play right up the middle, advancing the ball to the five yard line! GREAT RUN JAKE!! That play was set up by a very nice job by the “0” line! Greg Kalinowski had a great trap block to spring Jacob who almost scored!

Again credit is due to players like Nate Datko, Skylar Rhoads and Nick Frederick. These boys stepped up and played big when they were asked to go into the game, if only for a few plays. Other 7th graders to play big for us are Ethan Remmick and Tyler Schmader. These boys are asked to perform week after week on the line. They are big kids, but they are often pitted against bigger, older kids and so far they have been up to the task!

Two comments: First, the younger boys who didn’t get playing time on the field this week were promised time in the future. They have worked very hard and deserve that time! I apologized to the boys for not getting them in. When that was said, those boys were excited about future playing time. However, those same boys were just as excited that we were victorious. That is the true sense of “TEAM”. I know that every boy on that sideline was itching to get in against the Lions. But they were almost as satisfied with the win. I thank them for their support and positive attitudes!

Second, as a former CL Lion myself, it is nice to see some bright spots coming to light for them. That was a very good football team we played last night! The best we’ve played this year. I know their future is bright and there will be good things to come for the Lions if they keep heads up and keep working hard!

Our next contest will be next Wednesday, September 24th when the 7-8th grade team will take on the Brockway Rovers. The game is set for 5 pm. The boys and I hope to see you all there!

(Thanks to Coach Quinn for this article. Keep up the good work guys!!!! – Note: Junior High parents, please submit game photos as attachments to davemcclaine@yahoo.com)