CURWENSVILLE – With the chance to repeat as the Alleghany Mountain League Champions slipping away, the Curwensville Area High School football team can now focus on bigger rewards on the horizon. This week’s match-up with Elk County Catholic provides that focal point for both teams.
The Golden Tide and the Crusaders enter Friday night’s contest with identical 6-1 records. Both have losses to a mutual opponent in Brockway. The Rovers posted the wins in consecutive weeks besting Curwensville 41-26 two weeks ago while ECC fell last week 35-14.
Now both squads would like to put that one loss behind them and stake a claim at a possible top spot in the District IX Class A playoffs. With Brockway competing at the Class AA level, this game looms large on the Bracket watch.
“Obviously this is a big game in comparison for the District IX seedings,” said Tide head coach Andy Evanko. “The AML doesn’t seem to be in the cards, but the D9 playoffs carry some weight for our team.”
Without the different color on their uniforms, these two teams will look very similar in their game plans – run, run, run and pass to keep the defense honest. The Golden Tide features junior Alex Holland, who currently is number six in the state on the rushing list. Holland has totalled 1373 yards on the year and has 16 rushing touchdowns. Ricky Pearsall, for the Crusaders is number 11 in the state with 14 scores and 1206 yards.
“There are pretty good players up and down the AML,” said Evanko. “With Alex (Holland), Buganza (Brockway’s top ranked passer in the state), and Pearsall, all of the schools continue to churn out great athletes from great programs. We all have to come ready to play every game, every year.”
Backing Holland’s ground effort for the Tide is senior fullback Zack Dimmick with 287 yards and six scores while sophomore Josh Greslick has one TD and 247 yards on the ground. When Pearsall gets a break, Cole Gerber has broke the goal line three times as part of his 207 yards, and Brock McCullough has tallied 137 yards and no scores.
The passing games of each team are similar as well. Curwensville quarterbacks have thrown 77 times, connecting on 37 passes for 605 yards and eight touchdowns. Sophomore passer Hunter McCracken has hit on 21 of 47 passes for 383 yards while senior Alec Starr is 16 of 29 for 222 yards. ECC’s Kyle Schneider is currently 33 for 68 through the air for six touchdowns and 548 yards.
The Crusaders have used a two-reciever corps on the season in Tyler Herzing (15 receptions for 367 yards) and David Bojalad (10 receptions for 127 yards). Curwensville’s duo showcases Shae Best and Shane Hoover with 12 receptions for 293 yards and 13 receptions for 242 yards respectively.
“We have very similar offenses,” said Evanko. “They have a good rusher in Pearsall. He’s an explosive back with great vision. He runs behind a good size line and we have to stop him enough to do the job. Elk has an accurate thrower in Schneider and an able receiver in Herzing. We may get to see how it feels to play a team like us.”
Curwensville’s starting defense, who held Ridgway to minus one yard of offense in the first half last week, may hold the key to this week’s victory. Pearsall ran for 120 yards against Brockway on 20 carries a week ago – 52 yards less than his season average. The Tide will have to have the same kind of performance to stop Pearsall and the Crusaders Friday night.
Holland continues to lead the Gold & Black in tackles with 47. Zack Dimmick has downed 31 ball-handlers while Jesse Zorger has tallied 30. Curwensville, as a team, has tackled very well on the season as 27 players have been a part of at least one knockdown and 16 players are in double figures.
As the season winds down, every win can be an important piece of the post season puzzle. A win for the Tide at home may go a long way to keep the lights on one more week.
“We just want to get into the seedings,” Evanko said. “But our main goal is to get another game down by the river. Otherwise the rest of the season is on the road. We like to play at Riverside Stadium in front of the best fans anywhere.”
Curwensville defeated the Crusaders last season by a score of 28-8. In the last six meetings of the two teams, the Golden Tide has won four times. Elk County last defeated Curwensville in 2008 by a score of 27-24. The 7:00 starting time for this year’s game may prove to be another nail-biter on both sides of the field.