As the 2010 season wore on, it became clearly obvious that the Clearfield Bisons were gunning towards a memorable campaign. From the opening kickoff at the beginning of September, head coach Tim Janocko watched his team mesh and become a more cohesive unit on the field.
Following its week one victory, Janocko said “We’re gonna get scary good.”
That certainly has become a reality as, now entering the last game of the regular season, the Bisons stand unblemished and are looking to end the season with it’s first undefeated record since 2004.
The only team standing between them and a 10-0 regular season is the Huntingdon Bearcats.
One thing Clearfield will not have to worry about is to whether they will have a post-season birth. They have clinched a spot in the Class AAA playoffs as they have over 30 points on the Punxsutawney Chucks. The question remains as to who they will face in the first round, but that is the furthest thing from their minds heading into Friday.
Coming off the strength of a 34-0 thrashing of Bellefonte last week, Clearfield kept momentum on its side. Through nine games, with the exception of week six against Philipsburg-Osceola, the Bisons have allowed no more than 14 points on defense. That makes this game against Huntingdon extremely interesting and very important.
Huntingdon is coming off of a 34-21 victory against Philipsburg-Osceola, which was their fourth win away from their home stadium. On the road, the Bearcats are 4-1, but at home they are only 2-2. This is by far the biggest game of the season for Huntingdon, and they need to pull out all stops to make Clearfield have a 9-1 season.
The heart of the Bearcat offense is their ground game. On average, they have 183 yards on the ground, which not only will wear out defenses but also wear out time on the game clock. The lead rusher on the team is Houston Riley, who thus far has 743 yards on the ground and nine touchdowns.
Although don’t count out Dylan Gutshall and Nick Marter on the ground either. These two have combined for over 600 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.
This gives the Bearcats a three-deep rushing attack which could play big in Friday’s action. At certain times, Clearfield has shown some weakness in its run defense, so watch for that aspect of the game to come out early and often.
But, Clearfield has shown they can fight fire with fire. The duo of Derek Morgan and Beau Swales can certainly carry the load when necessary. Morgan himself is on the cusp of having a 1,000-yard season, and could possibly get it on Friday. Just 154 more yards and he eclipses that mark, which would put an exclamation point on a stellar senior season. Through nine games, he has 12 touchdowns and averages over six yards a carry.
Meanwhile Swales has done exceptionally well as he has 546 yards through nine games and 11 touchdowns. Look out for these two to give Clearfield a huge boost.
However when it comes to the Bisons, the passing game is exactly what got them this far. Quarterback Curtis Frye has been exceptional in his junior season. He has completed nearly 62 percent of his passes, has 1277 yards through the air, 11 touchdowns and only four interceptions. His quarterback rating of 112 is exceptional.
His play could be the big difference this week as his 141 passing yards per game average is more than Huntingdon’s by over 20 yards, and Huntingdon has used three quarterbacks in its passing game all season.
If Frye can get his passing game started early, then this game could be one that is done early.
An undefeated season, playoff implications, and bragging rights are on the line in Huntingdon on Friday night. If the attendees are expecting a bit of warmth, this game is not for them. Weather for Friday is calling for flurries and snow showers. Bring the thermal clothing, blankets, winter gloves and heavy coats. With temperatures expected to be below freezing, this can be considered perfect football weather in central Pennsylvania.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.