CLEARFIELD — If working the spread offense can mean success, the 2009 Clearfield Bisons had a lot throughout the season. Heading into the 2010 season, head coach Tim Janocko has a squad that can duplicate that success.
Last year, the Bisons ended the year with a 7-4 record, with the season ending on a 38-34 loss against Punxsutawney in the District 9 AAA championship game. But that was not on the minds of the 2010 squad as summer practices began, and the new team began looking ahead to their new campaign.
The heart of the Bison game is their spread offense, and the team returns many starters that helped the 2009 squad in achieving their winning record.
The brains of that offense is quarterback Curtis Frye. Last year, Frye threw for 1799 yards, completing nearly 54 percent of his passes, and tossing 14 touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions.
In the final preseason scrimmage against Bellwood-Antis, Janocko saw much improvement in his junior quarterback compared to their first simulated game against Punxsutawney.
“Curtis improved from last week and that’s what we were looking at. We saw some good things and he continued to improve,” Janocko said.
Unfortunately for Janocko, he lost his top receiver in 2009, Trey Campman. Campman accounted for 992 of those yards and nine touchdowns. That’s not to say this year’s team doesn’t have players willing to show they can be the top receiver for Frye. The No. 2 and No. 3 receivers from last year both return in Derek Morgan and Derek Danver. The two combined for 651 yards and five touchdowns.
Janocko also says that Morgan is going to be very big this year in the run game. If 2009 was any indication, that is a prediction worth banking on.
Although the Bison offense is mainly about the passing game, Morgan had an extremely good year as he rushed for 772 yards and 10 touchdowns. He led the team in yards, however Frye would be the one with the most rushing touchdowns last season with 12. That will create a strong balance on the offense, which could create chaos for the opposing defense.
Defensively, Janocko is glad to have lineman David Hoover back, as he led the team last year in sacks with 6.5. During the scrimmage on Friday night, Hoover again showed he is hard to keep away from the opposing quarterback as he got three sacks.
The biggest hole that the Bisons have to fill this year on the defense is the secondary. With the loss of Campman and Chad Zurat, the secondary is being rebuilt. The two combined for ten interceptions last year.
The last scrimmage proved that there was some work still needing to be done as the Bisons gave up many deep passes on the outside, especially on third down.
Janocko is confident in his defense, as that was the only major flaw he said came out of his defense. He also credited Bellwood-Antis for how hard they played them, even though no score was kept.
“Bellwood (Antis) has a great program. They have a lot of speed and a lot of talent, and they are a great scrimmage for us,” Janocko said. “They test us really well, and I’m sure they feel the same way about us.”
Now, there’s no more scrimmages, and the summer workouts have come to an end. This week, the 2010 season for the Bisons begin with one of the toughest teams in central Pennsylvania, the Central Dragons.
“Central has a very good program. They showed that a few years ago, so they are going to be tough,” Janocko said.
One thing is guaranteed, this season the Clearfield Bisons will be primed and ready for battle, and will dig their cleats in deep every Friday night. The Bison Sports Complex will be loud and proud for the next two months, and expect a lot of celebrating when the clock hits zero at the end of every fourth quarter.
2010 Clearfield Bison Football Roster
NUMBER NAME POSITIONS CLASS HEIGHT WEIGHT
3 Woomer, Tyler QB/DB Sophomore 6′ 2″ 183
4 Lezzer, Christian WR/DB Freshman 6′ 0″ 202
7 Redden, Andrew TE/LB Senior 6′ 0″ 188
8 Hogue, Ryan RB/LB Junior 5′ 8″ 148
10 Harper, Shane WR/LB Senior 6′ 0″ 168
11 Frye, Curtis QB/DB Junior 6′ 0″ 168
12 Rowles, Macayah WR/DB Junior 5′ 10″ 143
14 Longoria, Jose RB/LB Sophomore 5′ 8″ 139
15 Mellgard, John RB/DB Senior 6′ 0″ 191
16 Fannin, Zachary K Senior 5′ 7″ 157
19 Swales, Beau RB/LB Junior 5′ 11″ 187
21 Morgan, Derek RB/DB Senior 5′ 11″ 178
22 Smith, Khorey RB/DB Senior 5′ 7″ 173
23 Trude, Michael RB/DB Sophomore 5′ 8″ 148
24 Danver, Derek WR/DB Senior 5′ 10″ 178
28 Hogue, Brandon WR/LB Senior 5′ 10″ 168
29 McCreadie, Jonathan RB/LB Sophomore 5′ 6″ 168
30 Panebianco, Benjamin RB/LB Sophomore 5′ 8″ 158
32 Beardsley, Seth WR/DB Sophomore 5′ 11″ 164
33 Graham, Dylan WR/DB Sophomore 5′ 7″ 132
41 Hill, Elliott WR/DB Junior 5′ 7″ 144
42 Lord, Shawn TE/LB Sophomore 6′ 1″ 173
50 Bush, Johnathan OL/DL Sophomore 5′ 8″ 224
51 Lord, Shane OL/DL Senior 5′ 11″ 174
52 White, Eric OL/DL Junior 6′ 0″ 180
54 Hoover, David OL/DL Senior 5′ 9″ 189
55 Stiver, Corey OL/DL Sophomore 6′ 0″ 182
56 Hill, Clifford OL/DL Senior 6′ 0″ 212
57 Kubala, Coleman OL/DL Junior 5′ 9″ 202
61 Verchick, Jacob OL/LB Freshman 6′ 0″ 181
63 Aughenbaugh, Bradley OL/DL Senior 6′ 2″ 248
64 Owens, Vincent OL/DL Sophomore 5′ 8″ 187
65 Ford, Gabriel OL/DL Junior 5′ 9″ 182
68 Butler, Ryan OL/DL Senior 5′ 8″ 218
70 Knepp, Corey C/DL Junior 6′ 0″ 212
72 Smith, Steven OL/DL Junior 6′ 1″ 268
73 Lancaster, Jordan OL/DL Junior 5′ 11″ 218
74 Myers, Robert OL/LB Junior 6′ 2″ 184
77 Janocko, Jonathan C/DL Freshman 6′ 1″ 213
79 Minicucci, John OL/DL Senior 5′ 11″ 202
81 Jordan, Trey WR/DB Sophomore 5′ 10″ 148
88 Puzzuto, Jacob WR/LB Junior 6′ 2″ 154
Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Tim Janocko
Assistant Coaches: Forrest Campman, David Domico
Volunteer Coaches: Joe Davis, Tom Janocko, Robert Love
2010 Clearfield Bison Varsity Schedule
9/3-CENTRAL
9/10-BALD EAGLE AREA
9/17-at Penns Valley
9/24-at Indian Valley
10/1-CENTRAL MOUNTAIN
10/8-PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA
10/15-at Lewistown
10/22-at Juniata
10/29-BELLEFONTE
11/5-at Huntingdon