KANE – On a windy, cold and rainy night, the Alleghany Mountain League Southern Division title was up for grabs. On this night, it was the Kane Wolves, who used old-school power football, who dominated the field and defeated the Curwensville Golden Tide, 14-0. With the victory, and the loss by Elk County Catholic against Johnsonburg, Kane has secured the Southern Division title and the right to face Cameron County next week for the overall league title.
Despite the heartbreaking loss, head coach Andy Evanko praised the effort by the team on the night.
“I am just so proud of these kids and what they have shown me this season,” says Evanko shortly after the game. “They’ve worked so hard this year and deserve all the credit.”
The Tide worked hard on a night when yards were tough to come by. The Wolves defense held the Golden Tide to 105 total yards of offense, while the Wolves’ squad went for 365, while consuming nearly 30 minutes of the game.
Quarterback David Kalgren was 9 for 16 for only 55 yards including two interceptions, while Kane’s Kenny Kane only went 6 for 17 for 45 yards and one interception. However, Kane’s running attack made up for the low passing numbers as both Ross Nicholson and Shane Todd eclipsed 100 yards rushing and accounted for both scores.
“Kane has a good team…they won the battle up front tonight,” said Evanko.
Kane took their opening possession down to the Golden Tide 14 after Todd broke a 57 yard run into the Curwensville secondary, but a holding penalty two plays later put them in a third-and-long scenario, and David Kalgren took advantage intercepting Kane’s pass. Curwensville could not take advantage of the turnover, and was forced to punt.
The first quarter came to a close with both teams exchanging possessions and no points on the board, but that changed on Kane’s first possession of the second quarter. After Nicholson broke a 55 yard run down the sidelines, he scored the first points on the night on a 12 yard run. The ensuing point after gave Kane a 7-0 lead with 9:47 left in the first half. Both teams exchanged punts on their ensuing possessions, but it was Kalgren who made the next mistake in the game, as he was intercepted on a 2nd and 3 pass by Arie Paup. Unfortunately for Kane, they could not take the turnover and score as they were forced to turn the ball over on downs, and Curwensville ran out the rest of the time.
After halftime, both teams failed to gain momentum as each was forced to punt twice, but Curwensville again gave Kane an opportunity to add to the lead as Kalgren was intercepted for the second time in the game. The ensuing possession gave Kane a short field to work on, and it took only three plays to extend the lead as Todd got his touchdown with 10:43 left in the game. The point after gave the Wolves the 14-0 lead.
Curwensville was forced to punt on the next possession after going three-and-out. On the ensuing possession, Kane drove the ball down the field again to the Golden Tide 13, only to have the ball stripped away and recovered by Curwensville.
The ensuing possession for Curwensville led to another three-and-out, giving the ball back to Kane. On Kane’s final possession, Curwensville got worried, as on a tackle out of bounds, Jesse Hoover, their leading receiver, appeared to have injured his ankle and had to be carried off the field by his teammates.
“You hate to see anyone get hurt, especially someone such as Jesse,” says Evanko.
The Wolves (7-2) will play next week against the Cameron County Red Raiders for the Alleghany Mountain League championship. Curwensville (7-2) will have a week off before competing in the District 9 playoffs.
GAME STATS
CURWENSVILLE KANE
FIRST DOWNS 6 16
RUSHING YARDS 50 320
PASSING YARDS 55 45
TOTAL YARDS 105 365
COMP/ATT/TD/INT 9/16/0/2 6/17/0/1
FUMBLES/LOST 0/0 1/1
PENALTIES/YARDS 6/50 7/45
TIME OF POSSESSION 18:41 29:19
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: CURWENSVILLE: McGary-11 carries, 16 yards; Greslick-8 carries, 15 yards; Kalgren-6 carries, 13 yards. KANE: Todd-14 carries, 126 yards, TD; Nicholson-13 carries, 114 yards, TD; Ross-5 carries, 23 yards; Paup-3 carries, 25 yards.
PASSING: CURWENSVILLE: Kalgren-9 for 16, 55 yards, 2 INT. KANE: Kane-6 for 17, 45 yards, INT.
RECEIVING: CURWENSVILLE: Hoover- 5 catches, 37 yards; Greslick-3 catches, 9 yards; Starr-1 catch, 9 yards. KANE: Smith-2 catches, 18 yards; Nicholson-2 catches, 14 yards; Leonard-1 catch, 8 yards; Paup-1 catch, 5 yards.
BOX SCORE
2nd Quarter
WOLVES-12 yard run by Nicholson (PAT Good)
4th Quarter
WOLVES-4 yard run by Todd (PAT Good)