Friday night with their playoff hopes very much still alive the Bisons are set to host perennial state power Huntingdon. The Bearcats defeated the Bisons last season by a score of 33-7 and have won three of the last four against Clearfield.
Huntingdon is led this season by senior quarterback Nathan Betts and senior halfback Scott Minor. In last year’s contest Betts scored on two short rushing touchdowns while Minor chipped in with over 100 yards and a score. With last year’s two key offensive players returning the Bisons could be in for a long night.
Much like Central, who the Bisons defeated 27-13 last week, the Bearcats rely heavily on their defense. Huntingdon has only allowed a team to score over 15 points once this season and this is due much in part to their large defensive line. The Bearcats have seven players on their varsity roster weighing in at over 240 pounds.
Huntingdon also has a luxury many high school football teams lack on special teams. The Bearcat punter Andrew Cerrett has already been offered a football scholarship to kick for the Temple Owls in the fall of next year. Cerrett has pinned 12 punts inside the 20 yardline this season causing field position problems for opponents.
The Bisons will look to build on their success from Saturday night when they knocked off previously unbeaten and state ranked Central for a playoff building win. Clearfield will once again look to solid defensive play by junior linebackers Jack Mellgard, Andrew Redden and senior defensive lineman Andre Buck. In the secondary the Bisons will look to senior Chad Zurat to cover the speedy Huntingdon receivers.
Offensively the Bisons will look to get the air attack going again as it has been lacking the last two contests. Sophomore quarterback Curtis Frye has only attempted 23 passes over the last two contests but has completed 18 of them. Frye has also taken on a much larger rushing role by carrying the ball 32 times in the last two games.
The Bisons are starting to move senior wideout Trey Campman into various roles on the offense lining him up as an inside receiver, running back, and lining him up in shotgun formation for the popular “Wildcat” formation.
Friday night’s contest will also serve as the last time the Clearfield Bisons seniors will take their home field donning the red and black with senior night scheduled prior to the game.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 PM.
