Curwensville Defense Holds Off Kane 13-6

CURWENSVILLE — There really is only one title for the story that unfolded at Riverside Stadium on Friday night with the Curwensville Area High School football team playing host to Kane – A Tale of Two Halves.

The Golden Tide held off the pesky Wolves 13-6 in what became a defensive struggle in which the hosts turned back Kane threats with big plays when they needed them.

Curwensville’s offense came out of the locker room with little surprises and drove the opening kickoff methodically down the field for the first score of the game.  The 17-play drive that started on their own 35-yard line called on the offensive line to push the Wolves back on every down.  Senior running back Alex Holland carried the ball 15 times on the opening drive, including the final 4-yard touchdown plunge.  Spencer Smeal’s kick for the extra-point was good for the 7-0 lead at the 3:22 mark of the opening frame.

The surge by the offensive line allowed Holland to go over the 1,000-yard mark for the season.  Holland needed 31 yards coming into game five for the milestone, and with 56 yards on the initial drive of the game he surpassed the mark.  

The sustained drive on offense and a defensive stand that forced a 3-and-out, gave Curwensville the ball back and allowed them to end the first quarter on their second series.  Kane handled the ball a total of 1:24 in the first quarter with no first downs.

By the time the visitors would get to touch the ball again, Curwensville was leading 13-0 via a 13-play scoring drive in which Holland handled the ball 12 times.  Quarterback Hunter McCracken and wide-out Jesse Zorger did connect on a 30-yard pass play on the second snap of the drive that started on the Black and Gold’s 13-yard line.  Holland’s 11-yard jaunt was the capper with 6:22 left in the half.

Kane moved the ball on it’s next series finding success over the middle through the air.  However, the 10-play drive came to a hault on the Curwensville 21-yard line when sophomore Kyle Johns fell on a fumble by Wolves’ quarterback Sean Jordan.

“Kyle came up with some huge hits in last week’s game at Otto-Eldred,” said Tide head coach Andy Evanko.  “Tonight he defended the pass very well – that’s a pretty nice package.  He has taken the opportunity and it has paid off for us.”

Curwensville’s defense allowed just three first downs in the first half and dominated the visitors who could manage just seven downs of positive yardage in 15 snaps.

“The defense stepped up huge for us tonight,” Evanko said.  “Josh Greslick came on strong play after play, and the linebackers all played so well.  The line also stood out.  Todd Munchak, Brad Stubbs and Spencer Smeal really took away their running game.  That was huge for us.”

And then, the teams came back out of the locker room.  

Kane opened the third quarter at the 35 after the kick-off went out of bounds.  Initially,  it appeared that the Tide defense was going to limit the visitors to one positive play – a 19-yard pass play.  However, as Sean Rolick set up in punt formation, Curwensville’s Spencer Smeal just missed the block, but ran into the kicker to give new life to the Wolves.

The penalty seemed to be the push needed to help Kane find the end zone.  Jonah Smith pounded the ball in from less than a yard at the 7:27 mark of the third quarter.  The PAT failed to set the score at 13-6 before the Tide had touched the ball in the second half.

“The penalty did hurt us, but you have to like Spencer’s aggressive nature,” Evanko said.  “We had to hope that the defense could turn it around so it didn’t hurt us.  But you don’t make mistakes against a good team like Kane and not pay for it.”

The Golden Tide offense found the going tough in the second half as no drive was able to last more than six plays before a punt or a turnover.  The Kane defense forced two punts, stopped the hosts twice on fourth down plays and recovered a fumble in the half.  Curwensville managed just three first downs in the second half.

“Kane has a very aggressive defense and are a good football team,” noted Evanko.  “We weren’t blocking all that well, but it’s good to see the misses so that we can go back and fix the problems.”

Fortunately for the Tide, their defense was equally up to the challenge.  With 8:48 left in the game, the defense made a comeback even harder for the Wolves as Jordan was knocked out of the game when a bad snap left him vulnerable to the defensive pursuit.  Interceptions by Johns and Brad Coudriet, and two huge fumble recoveries – the last by Munchak with 1:05 left in the game preserved the victory.

“I am so proud of our defense,”said Evanko.  “The kids all stepped up big when we needed it.  We just seem to be getting better every day.”

Curwensville’s defense held a strong Wolves’ running game to a total of -10 yards rushing.  Holland finished the game with 160 yards on 44 carries and two scores.  McCracken connected on 5-of-9 passes for 63 yards.  Zorger caught four passes for 55 yards.

Curwensville (4-1) is now tied for first place in the AML-South with Elk County Catholic.  ECC downed Johnsonburg 34-6 while Brockway (3-2) bumped Ridgway (3-2) 30-22 on Friday night.  Kane’s loss sets their record at 3-2 as the South race continues to be tight.

Score by Quarters

Kane – 0 0 6 0 – 6

Curwensville – 7 6  0 0 – 13

 BOX SCORE

 1st Quarter

 Curwensville:  4-yard run by Hollad (Smeal kick), 3:22

2nd Quarter

Curwensville: 11-yard run by Holland (kick failed), 6:22

3^rd Quarter

Kane: 1-yard run by Smith (kick failed), 7:27

4th Quarter

No scoring

GAME STATISTICS

Kane /  Curwensville

FIRST DOWNS:  11 / 12

RUSH YARDS: (-10)  /  155

PASS YARDS: 190  /  63

TOTAL YARDS: 180 / 218 

PENALTIES:  5 / 2

PENALTY YARDS:  25  / 20

COMP/ATT/TD/INT: 12-24-0-2/ 5-9-0-0

FUMBLES: 4 / 3

FUMBLES LOST: 2 / 1

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING                                                                                                                                                                        

KANE: Burdick -5 carries, 16 yards; Jordan-5 carries, (-1) yards; Kocjancic-1 carry, 3 yards; Smith-5 carries, 12 yards, 1 TD; Rolick-1 carry, (-3) yards; Team-2 carries, (-37) yards; TOTALS: 19 carries, (-10) yards, 1 TD.

CURWENSVILLE:  Holland-44 carries, 160 yards, 2 TD’s; McCracken-1 carry, (-5) yards; Coudriet-2 carries, (-1) yard; Greslick-1 carry, 2 yards; Team-3 carries, (-1) yard; TOTALS: 48 carries, 155 yards, 2 TD’s.

PASSING

KANE: Jordan-18 attempts, 9 completions, 168 yards, 2 interceptions; Cleer-6 attempts, 3 completions, 22 yards; TOTALS: 24 attempts, 12 completions, 190 yards, 2 interceptions. 

CURWENSVILLE:  McCracken – 9 attempts, 5 completions, 63 yards.

RECEIVING

KANE: Kocjancic-2 receptions, 39 yards; Ennis-2 receptions, 74 yards; Rolick-3 reception, 46 yards; Smith-2 receptions, 21 yards; Burdick-3 receptions, 10 yards; TOTALS: 12 receptions, 190 yards.

CURWENSVILLE:  Zorger – 4 receptions , 55 yards; Russell – 1 receptions, 8 yards; TOTALS: 5 receptions, 63 yards.