HYDE – With summer drills and two scrimmages complete, the 2008 Clearfield Bison football squad is hungry to begin a new season under head coach Tim Janocko. Coming off of a 7-4 season in 2007 that saw the Bisons win their final five regular season games only to lose in the first round of the District 9 playoffs, Janocko feels his squad can equal or improve on that record.
“I think we had a good, solid season last year. A lot of kids matured and stepped up to allow us to win the last five games,” says Janocko.
Among the players Janocko credits in those wins included wide receivers Drew Hipps and David Ryan for making big plays when they needed them. Janocko also says the defense deserved a lot of credit in those wins because of their ability to maintain the momentum the offense created.
Janocko is very optimistic about his team based on the two scrimmages against Punxsutawney and Bellwood-Antis, but also knows that the team has a difficult schedule to follow, and the team will be tested early and often.
“It’s going to be a tough schedule. The first four or five games will be real tough for us,” says Janocko. “We start out facing an AAAA school (DuBois), and we also have to face Tyrone, Bald Eagle, and Huntingdon. It’s going to be tough, but the team believes they can win.”
The team believes they can win because of how they have come together in the off-season. Among the players he expects to have a good season are running back Derek Morgan, quarterback Brandon Sass, and Trey Campman at wide receiver. Among the returning players, Janocko is glad to see three lineman back on the team in Nick Redden, Andre Buck and Cruise Kerr, giving experience to the line to protect the quarterback and create holes for the backfield.
With the talent that Janocko feels is on the team, he and the team believe that they can achieve their main goals for the season..
“Our goal each year is to have a winning season,” says Janocko. “We want to win the MAC championship, but we first must have a winning season.”
The season starts Friday, August 29, as the Bisons travel to DuBois to take on the Beavers. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The Bisons will be on the road again the following week taking on the Philipsburg-Osceola Mounties. Clearfield will open their home season September 12 against Indian Valley, and the Tyrone Eagles come to Clearfield the following week in another tough game for the Bisons.
Janocko and his squad must then travel to Lewistown (9/26) and Bald Eagle Area (10/3) before coming back home to face Penns Valley on October 10 followed, by the Central Scarlet Dragons on October 17. The final away game of the season is on October 24 against Huntingdon, and the Bisons close out the season on Halloween night against Saint Marys.