DUBOIS: A rowdy crowd at E.J. Mansell Stadium saw the Clearfield Bisons and the DuBois Beavers continue their gridiron rivalry.
The fans were not disappointed as the Beavers made a goal line stand at the end of the game to secure a 35-28 victory. Running back Garrett Malmgren rushed for 244 yards and four touchdowns in the victory.
DuBois head coach Jason Shilala was proud of the entire team, and gave a lot of credit to the offensive line, which he considered the Achilles heel of the team the last two seasons.
“We knew coming into this year up front we were going to be pretty good,” says Shilala, “It showed tonight.”
Clearfield quarterback Jarrin Campman spread the ball well against DuBois, completing 20 of 41 passes for 238 yards with two interceptions, while rushing for two touchdowns. Isiah Morgan and Josh Rippey accounted for one touchdown each.
Clearfield head coach Tim Janocko says the team expected the speed from DuBois, but says the team played hard and showed a lot of character.
“They didn’t leave anything out there…it’s a tough loss,” says Janocko.
The game remained close throughout the first two quarters, with the first half ending with a 14-14 tie.
The Beavers seemingly broke the game wide open in the third quarter. After a one-yard touchdown run by Campman gave Clearfield a 21-14 lead, DuBois marched down the field on a 6-play, 85 yard drive, with five plays being runs, capped off by Malmgren’s 7-yard touchdown run, his third of the game.
The ensuing drive saw Campman throw his second interception of the game to Kyle Bish. The next play from scrimmage saw Malmgren run 90 yards to the end zone, giving the lead back to the Beavers at 28-21.
The Beavers next possession saw Les Miller score on a 37-yard run, which would prove to be an important insurance score for DuBois.
Late in the fourth quarter, Clearfield regained momentum after recovering a fumble on the DuBois 32-yard line. Seven plays later, Josh Rippey scored from five yards out, bringing the Bisons within a touchdown, 35-28.
After forcing a punt, Clearfield had one last opportunity – starting from their own 13 with only a few minutes left on the clock and no timeouts left at their disposal.
Led by passes from Campman to Derek Danver and Curtis Frye, Clearfield marched within a yard of scoring, but that was as close as they got as the Beavers secured the win with a heartbreaking four play goalline stand.
“This is credited to a group of kids who worked real hard in the off-season for this night,” says Shilala.
Both Clearfield (0-1) and DuBois (1-0) will be competing on the road next week, as the Bisons travel to Philipsburg to face the Mounties while DuBois heads to Punxutawney to take on the Chucks.