Wildcats Down Gremlins To Win Third Straight D9 – 2A Football Title
Photos Courtesy of Cheryl Marshall – (Above) 2024 District Nine Class 2A Champion Wildcats
The Central Clarion Wildcats downed the Karns City Gremlins 37-20, in the District Nine Class 2A Football Championship Game at the Brookville High School Stadium, on Friday, November 1st. The championship is the third straight for the Wildcats.
Neither team scored during the opening quarter.
Karns City opened the scoring in the second quarter, with Hunter Scherer taking the ball through the middle from two yards out. Braden Slater was good on the point after and the Gremlins led 7-0 at 2:27.
The Wildcats answered on their next possession, as quarterback Jase Ferguson, on a second and five, with about half a minute to go before halftime, from the Gremlins’ 9 yard line, took a couple steps to the right and reversed field, hitting Mason Burford just inside the pylon at the left front of the endzone.
Thomas Uckert, in his first action back from an injury, was successful on the point after, knotting the score at 7-all. Uckert was good on all five of his attempts on the evening.
The Wildcats received the second half kickoff and started their drive at the their own thirty-seven. On the first play from scrimmage, Ferguson lined up in a shotgun, and after a great run fake by Charlie Hepful crossing to the right, he stepped up and hit Burford who was just beyond the defender at about the twenty-five. Taking the ball in stride, Burford cut to the left and took it the rest of the way in.
Uckert’s kick made it 14-7, Central.
The defense came through for the Wildcats next points, as Brant Parker had a sack in the end zone for a safety and Central Clarion’s lead was now 16-7 at 9:48 of the third.
After the free kick, Clarion took the ball down the field and capped it off with Ferguson following some great blocking, scored untouched up the middle from twelve yards out. The point after made it 23-7 at 9:38.
On the Gremlins’ next possession, quarterback Cole Johnston took the ball through the right side, turned on the jets and outran everyone for an eighty-six yard touchdown with 5:39 left in the third. The two-point conversion failed and Central now led by ten, 23-13.
Ferguson scored on a seven yard run, just inside the pylon on the right front of the endzone, on their next possession, with Uckert’s kick moving the score to 30-13, with 2:03 left in the quarter. The key play in the drive was a forty-one yard pass from Ferguson to Burford. Noah Harrison contributed two nice runs on the drive.
With 9:47 left in the game, Ferguson connected with Burford for a thirty-seven yard score, just as Burford was about to cross the goal line at the right pylon. The kick moved the Wildcats’ lead to 37-13.
The last score came from Karns City. The Gremlins completed a pass that was fumbled into the endzone which Shane Peters recovered. With Slater’s Kick the final was set at 37-20, Wildcats.
The team stats were fairly close. Central Clarion had an 18-14 edge in first downs. The Wildcats had 380 total yards (262 passing, 118 rushing) to Karns City’s 255 (52 passing, 203 rushing).
Key individual stats for the Wildcats
Ferguson completed 11-of-21 passes for 262 yards and 3 touchdowns, with no interceptions, ran 15 times for 91 yards and intercepted a pass. Burford caught 5 passes for 164 yards and had an interception.
Jesse Siwiecki caught 3 passes for sixty-six yards. Harrison carried the ball 7 times for 30 yards and Ethan Rex had two runs for 19 yards, and 2 receptions for twenty yards. Parker had the sack for a safety.
For Karns City
Johnston ran the ball 13 times for 106 yards and was 5-of-16 passing for 52 yards, while Sherer ran the ball 16 times for fifty-five yards.
Central Clarion head coach Davey Eggleton had this to say, “I am proud of this group accomplishing such a rare feat of winning in three district titles in a row. It is a true testament to the dedication they have had to our program.
“We knew Karns City was going to come out and play a physical game. They really controlled the game the first half.
“Our guys came out and responded in a big way to start the second half.
“It was great have Thomas back tonight. His contributions in the field position battle are invaluable. It was huge for him and the team being on the field.
“We are excited to continue this playoff push.”
(Congratulations, Wildcats!!!! Thanks to Cheryl Marshall for her photographs, to EYT/Explore Clarion for use of their broadcast for descriptions of plays used in the article and to Steve Smail for his official game stats!!)