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Wildcats Top Warriors For First Road Victory In Team History (Posted 09/28/20)

The Central Clarion Wildcats traveled to West Sunbury to take on Moniteau on Friday (September, 25th) coming away with the first road victory in program history, defeating the Warriors 46-14.

There were several other program firsts during the game. Wildcat Cal German became the first quarterback to throw for 400 or more yards in a game, recording 430 yards, as well as becoming the first to throw for five touchdowns. He finished the contest with 17 completions on 34 attempts, with no interceptions. His favorite target Ethan Burford became the first Wildcat receiver to eclipse the single game 200 yard mark, with 219 yards on 6 receptions.

The Cats struck first, with 8:58 left in the opening quarter. With the ball at the Moniteau 15, German rolled right and hit Burford cutting across the field at the two. Burford took it in from there. Beau Verdill’s kick was good, giving Central a 7-0 lead.

The Wildcat defense held Moniteau to just six yards on a three and out on their first possession.

After the punt, the Cats set up shop at their own fifteen. And on the first play from scrimmage, German hit Burford with a swing pass along the left side. Burford caught the corner and raced 85 yards for the touchdown, outdistancing the nearest defender by about ten yards, when he crossed the goal line. The two point conversion failed. Central now led 13-0, at 7:36.

The Warriors cut into the lead, when JD Dessicinco ran it in through the middle, from thirteen yards out, at the 3:27 mark of the second quarter. David Stamm’s point after kick was good and Clarion led 13-7.

The Wildcats scored once more in the half. German dropped back and hit Cutter Boggess who was crossing the field from right to left at the five, in front of the defender. Boggess kept angling to the left side and into the endzone, for a twenty-five yard touchdown, with 1:09 left. The two-point conversion failed and the Cats led 19-7 at the half.

German and Burford hooked up on their third touchdown on the night, from sixty yards out, at  9:02 in the third. German dropped back and hit Burford in the middle of the field, at the twenty-seven. Burford, who was a step or two beyond the defenders, took it in from there. Verdill’s kick was good, giving the Cats a 26-7 lead.

Moniteau answered with 2:39 left in the quarter, when Mason Mershimer ran around left end for an eight yard touchdown and with Stamm’s kick Central’s lead was cut to twelve points, 26-14.

The Wildcats next drive started at their own thirty-five, with 2:31 on the third quarter clock. They drove the rest of the way, with Boggess capping the drive by bouncing off the Warriors defense, to the right side for a one yard touchdown, at 11:38 of the final stanza. Verdill’s kick was good and the Cats now led 33-14.  That would be the first of three fourth quarter scores.

With 4:51 left, German rolled to the left sideline and fire the ball over the defender into the arms of Hunter Craddock at the goal line for a thirty-seven yard touchdown. The point after failed and Central’s lead stood at 39-14.

The Cats closed out the scoring at 2:16, when Boggess took the ball up the middle, broke a tackle, cut left and took it in for a thirty-five yard touchdown. Verdill’s kick was good, setting the final at 46-14, Central Clarion.

Some other key Central Clarion Stats:

Craddock had two catches for 77 yards and the one touchdown and 10 tackles on defense; Boggess had 141 yards of total offense, 4 carries for 45 yards and 2 touchdowns, 6 catches for 96 yards and one score, and 13 tackles; Kaoz Baker had 16 tackles; Cooper Shall had 15 tackles; Luca Cherico had 10 tackles; Jason George had 7 tackles and an interception; Burford had 5 tackles and an interception.

German is the current passing yardage leader on Pennsylvania Football News’ listings for all classifications with 962 yards. He also went over 3500 career passing yards on Friday night, standing at 3534.

Burford, likewise, is on top of a PFN leaderboard, with 441 receiving yards. He currently has 1909 career yards.

CAT QUOTES:

Cal German:

“Coming off a bounce back game Friday night feels good for myself and the guys over the weekend. I thought we had a great week of preparation leading up to Moniteau and it showed in our offensive and defensive performance. I thought our offense did a pretty good job through most of the game and give our defense credit. They got a ton of stops that helped us come down and score the ball on them.

“It feels great to get back to 2-1 and we have a big week ahead of us preparing for DuBois. The line helped me get the time to throw the ball down field on Friday and our skills guys had a great night.

“Coach Wiser was a bit shocked at how much we threw the ball, haha. But that’s what they were giving us and we took advantage of it and hopefully will continue to do so.

“It feels good to be commemorated by the coaching staff for my performance, but all the credit goes to the team and the line first and foremost. I am hoping to close in on the all-time passing yards record for Clarion area and am excited to get back to work this Monday for a big game against DuBois.

“We will continue to take it week by week.” 

Ethan Burford:

“Being the first Wildcat receiver to achieve over 200 yards in one game is something I will take pride in forever. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my best friend, Calvin German. He threw some great passes to me on Friday, to help me achieve this milestone. I also couldn’t have done it without my receiver coach, Camron Kirkland; he taught me what it takes to be a great wide receiver.

“Calvin and I have been working since we were in elementary school to accomplish the things we have in our varsity career. Our chemistry only gets better every year and we won’t stop working to improve our game. This 200 yard game means a lot to me because since I was little, I would always go to Clarion’s games on Friday nights and wish I could be there someday doing the things those guys were doing. It’s crazy to me that I am playing in those games now and setting records. It’s an amazing feeling and I will treasure these days forever.”

Assistant Coach Dave Louder:

Coach Louder saw several things that he felt the Wildcats need to work on, including:

“We’ve got to work on our run defense.” He also mentioned the difficulty in running against the 3-5. But when one thing is taken away, it can open up something else. He added, “We knew we could open up the pass on them. We did have a couple of missed opportunities, we should have had some more yardage there. Hopefully we’ll improve as we get ready for DuBois.”

Coach Wiser:

Coach Wiser was happy with the players bouncing back from their loss against Brookville. “The thing that I was most excited about other than winning the game was how players responded this week, by working hard to correct mistakes we made last week. I saw a number of players step up and play their best game. 

“Very satisfying to watch this TEAM respond this past week. Now it is time to take that same approach going into next week. It is important that each week we get better as a football staff, team and individuals.”

The Wildcats will host DuBois on Friday (October 2nd), at Clarion University Memorial Stadium, for Clarion Area’s Homecoming Game. Kickoff is set for 7:00PM.

(Way to go, Wildcats!!!!)