CURWENSVILLE — Oft times, the true character of a team can be defined by how the athletes react to adversity, and only a season-opening victory would have made Coach Andy Evanko prouder of his Curwensville Area High School gridders following their 20-12 loss to highly-touted Allegheny Mountain League rival Coudersport at Riverside Stadium Friday night.
After starting his post-game interview by proclaiming the outcome would have been much different had the Golden Tide not stumbled out of the gate against the well-prepared Falcons — who lived up to their billing as the No. 6 Class A team in the Associated Press pre-season rankings by bolting to a 20-0 lead in the first 14-1/2 minutes — Evanko praised his squad\’s valiant second-half comeback.
\”I\’m as proud of these guys as any team I\’ve been associated with at any time,\” he proclaimed.\”They came out in the second half and played with resolve, resiliency, tenacity and outright character. I\’m really proud of the way we hit.\”
Led by All-State running back Nick Sipes, Curwensville fought back with its trademark ground attack and a rejuvenated defense that had three takeaways and held Coudersport to a pair of first downs in the final 30 minutes. Sipes churned for 108 of his 134 yards and both Golden Tide touchdowns as he became the fourth District 9 back to cross the 4,000-yard threshold. Even though he had only three full-contact practices a little over five months after serious knee surgery, the 210-pound senior carried 30 times in padding his career total to 4,110.
\”You\’ve got to congratulate him,\” Evanko said. \”4,000 is an awful lot of yards. He\’s an absolutely exceptional running back. He just refuses to go down.\”
Curwensville fans who sat through the constant drizzle and rain had little to cheer about as Coudersport, which defeated the Golden Tide in the AML championship game and the District 9 Class A semifinals last season, hit paydirt on its first three possessions, including a 99-yard touchdown pass from Boomer Wetzel to Logan Hathaway.
\”I\’ll take the blame for us not coming out ready to go,\” said Evanko, who was quick to give credit to the Falcons. \”They\’re just an exceptional team. It\’s a tough first game.\”
Coudersport appeared in mid-season form at the outset, marching 64 yards in 10 plays. Chris Cavallari scored the first of his two TDs from 10 yards out with 3:47 gone.
After stopping the Golden Tide\’s first drive near midfield, the Falcons struck quickly for a 12-0 lead. They weren\’t affected at all by the loss of two-way standout Sam Decker, who went to the sidelines with a sprained knee on second down. Cavallari stepped into the workhorse role and showed he\’s made a smooth transition from split end to running back by reeling off back-to-back runs of 20 and 27 yards, the second an untouched romp into the end zone with 43 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Falcons really jolted the Golden Tide early in the second quarter. Safety Corey Colton short-circuited a promising Curwensville drive with a falling interception of a Shawn Sopic pass, giving the visitors possession just outside their goal line. Longtime Coach Paul Simcoe decided to go for broke, and Hathaway hauled in Wetzel\’s perfectly-thrown aerial on the takeoff route with nothing but grass in his vision. Freshman Dirk Cowburn made a leaping grab of Wetzel\’s PAT pass to make it 20-0 with 9:30 left in the half.
Simcoe explained he is not afraid to take a chance in that situation. \”If we run the ball there and botch the handoff or fumble, we might give up a safety or maybe a touchdown,\” he said. \”Sometimes you have to gamble. I know they weren\’t expecting that, and even if they intercept the pass, it\’s as good as a punt. Our kid made a heck of a throw and the other kid made a heck of a catch. That really was the difference.\”
That, indeed, was the score the Golden Tide couldn\’t overcome.
Curwensville\’s frustration continued when an 11-play drive to open the second half was punctuated by a lost fumble at the Coudy 10. Their fortunes changed when Sipes made a diving interception at the Golden Tide 49. Sipes got the call five times and capped the eight-play drive by battling through Falcons for an 11-yard run to put the hosts on the board with 1:48 to go in the third quarter.
After failing to cash in on a blocked punt deep in Coudy territory on the first play of the final period, the Golden Tide regained possession when David Kalgren pounced on Cavallari\’s fumble at the Coudy 44. Seven plays later, Sipes bulled his way 16 yards to make it 20-12.
Curwensville did have one last gasp. Coudersport punter Kody Frederick, facing another heavy rush, appeared to be setting up to pass when the ball squirted loose, and the Golden Tide\’s Jesse Hoover recovered at the Coudy 31 with 3:41 left. However, Curwensville turned the ball over on downs, and the Falcons ran off the final 2:05.
EXTRA POINTS — Cavallari rushed for 159 yards on 21 carries and Wetzel, a junior whose passing burned Curwensville last year, accounted for 143 yards through the air with four completions, all in the first half… First downs favored Curwensville 16-9… Coudersport, with more big plays, had the upper hand in total yardage 348-238… The winners lost both of their fumbles, while Curwensville recovered three of its four fumbles… Brandon Hess had a pair of sacks for the Golden Tide, which will go on the road next Friday to play Elk County Catholic.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Coudersport 12 8 0 0 — 20
Curwensville 0 0 6 6 — 12
First Quarter
Cou — Cavallari 10 run (pass failed)
Cou — Cavallari 27 run (pass failed)
Second Quarter
Cou — Hathaway 99 pass from Wetzel (Cowburn pass from Wetzel)
Third Quarter
Cur — Sipes 11 run (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
Cur — Sipes 16 run (run failed)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Coudersport, Cavallari 21-159, Decker 5-17, Foust 2-7, Wetzel 3-minus 8, Frederick, 1-minus 13. Curwensville — Sipes 30-134, Hess 13-53, Sopic 13-3.
PASSING — Coudersport, Wetzel 4-10-1-143. Curwensville, Sopic 4-8-1-48.
RECEIVING — Coudersport, Hathaway 2-116, Cavallari 1-16, Heimel 1-11. Curwensville, Olson 2-32, McDonald 1-8, Hoover, 1-8.