BROCKWAY – The unbeaten showdown between the Curwensville Area High School and Brockway football teams on Friday night was destined to leave one team in the driver seat in the Alleghany Mountain League – South Division. However, the Rovers emerged victorious with a 56-34 win over the Golden Tide, and stood as the only unblemished squad in the division at night’s end as Kane upset Elk County Catholic 17-14. ECC had been unbeaten as well going into Friday night’s action.
The Curwensville-Brockway clash turned into a very unusual contest as the Rovers vaulted to a 35-0 lead with just under 8:30 left to play in the first half. By the 10:27 mark of the third quarter, the Tide had roared back to within one score at 35-28, but lost the momentum once again to the hosts.
“I’m very happy with the way our guys came back in this game, but I was not happy at all with the start,” said Tide head coach Andy Evanko. “We were just flat for the first quarter-and-a-half and got ourselves in a hole. Then we pounded back after being down 35-0. I’m proud of our kids, but you can’t spot a good team that kind of start.”
Brockway (6-0) scored on their first five possessions of the game as Curwensville managed just three first downs the first four times they had the ball. Four different players for the Rovers scored on those drives as the host found the endzone by air and ground. Junior quarterback Alec Shaffer-Doane picked out three different receivers among the first five Rover TD’s. Sophomore Anthony Benson pulled in a 22-yard strike while Jacob Perrin scored from 46 yards out and Chad Melillo’s catch and run covered 20 yards. On the ground Melillo plunged in from 2-yards out and Kyle Titler added a 1-yard dive to help post the 35-0 start.
“Brockway is a very good football team,” praised Evanko. “Their quarterback played a heck of a game and the offensive line stayed with their blocks down field to help move the ball effectively. We didn’t answer the bell and come out ready to fight.”
The Golden Tide did perhaps hear the echo of that bell and refused to roll over after the rough start. Curwensville countered with 28 unanswered points of their own including going into the intermission at 35-22 to give hope to the team and its fans.
Down by five scores, the Tide came out determined as the running game rejuvenated the squad. Junior fullback Alex Olson found space and broke open runs of 18 and 37 yards to set up the visitors for their first score. Olson set the stage with 60 yards of rushing on the drive that was capped by Zach Tibbens’ 4-yard burst into the end-zone. Spencer Smeal’s kick was true for the 35-7 mark.
During the ensuing kick off it appeared that the Rovers would once again have good field position but Benson fumbled the return near midfield. Three plays later, the Tide faced fourth-and-three when Tibbens burst through the hole and scored from 41 yards out. After a Brockway off-sides was called, Olson sidestepped the tacklers for a two-point conversion and a 35-15 count with 3:01 left in the half.
Curwensville’s defense continued to be stingy as the Rovers snapped the ball just twice before it ended up in the hands of Travas Lansberry on an interception. Seven plays later the Tide was in the zone again. Olson had ripped off another chunk of real estate with a 38-yard haul, and Hunter McCracken found his favorite target in Jordan Russell for a miraculous catch with just :07 seconds left on the clock. Russell had lost his footing but not his concentration as he pulled in the short pass while lying flat on his back.
In a game that appeared to be destined to run on the mercy rule for the entire second half, Curwensville had not only avoided the running clock, but positioned themselves for a shot at closing the gap further by getting the kickoff in the second half. They would use that opportunity well.
Russell gathered the second half kick at the 7-yard line and plowed his way to the Brockway 48. However, a holding penalty would back them up momentarily. McCracken calmly found Austin Jacobson on a 35-yard catch-and -run that preceded Tibbens’ third score of the night. Tibbens broke tackles from 23-yards out to set the score at 35-28 after the PAT attempt failed.
Unfortunately for Curwensville, Brockway regathered its composure and went back on the offense. It took just eight plays for the hosts to extend the lead again to two scores. Melillo walked in from 2-yards out and the two-score lead was back on the board at 42-28.
Again Curwensville’s offense found a way to stay in the game. The big play of the drive came as the Tide was facing a fourth-and-six situation at the Brockway 47-yard line. McCracken rolled left and found Coudriet out of the backfield to cover 36 yards on the play. Tibbens scored for the fourth time on the next play from scrimmage that covered 12 yards. However, a high snap put Russell, the holder, in the vicarious position of running in the PAT which came up just short for a 42-34 mark with 4:55 left in the third.
That would be as close as the Tide would get the rest of the game as the offense was unable to produce more points and the defense couldn’t hold the Rovers back any more.
We didn’t step up a couple of times on defense,” Evanko noted. “We have to start focusing on next week and next practice. At this point of the season, it’s all just one game. We have a lot of football left to play, and the only thing that can happen is that we’ll get better or worse – and worse is not an option.”
The Rovers would score two more times to finish out the game. Shaffer-Doane connected with Perrin on a 5-yard pass early in the fourth quarter, and Titler bounced in from two yards out at the 5:41 mark of the final quarter . Phil Esposito connected on all eight extra-points on the evening for the Rovers.
Tibbens finished the game as the top rusher with 166 yards and four scores on 22 carries. Melillo piled up 162 yards on 26 totes with two scores on the ground and one through the air. Olson turned in nine carries for 104 yards in a stellar performance. Shaffer-Roane was 9-of-14 on the night for 188 yards and four touchdowns while Curwensville’s McCracken finished with 87 yards of passing on a 6-for-14 effort.
Curwensville (5-1) will be back at Riverside Stadium next week to face Ridgway (1-5), who fell to Johnsonburg 13-12 Friday night. Brockway will travel to St. Marys to battle ECC next week.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Curwensville –0 22 12 0 – 34
Brockway – 21 14 7 14- 56
BOX SCORE
1st Quarter
Brockway: 22-yard pass from Shaffer-Doane to Benson (Esposito kick), 8:45.
Brockway: 2-yard run by Melillo (Esposito kick), 4:24.
Brockway: 1-yard run by Titler (Esposito Kick), 0:06.
2nd Quarter
Brockway: 46-yaqrd pass from Shaffer-Doane to Perrin (Esposito kick), 11:39.
Brockway: 20-yard pass from Shaffer-Doane to Melillo (Esposito kick), 8:29.
Curwensville: 4-yard run by Tibbens (Smeal kick), 4:58.
Curwensville: 41-yard run by Tibbens (Olson run), 3:01
Curwensville: 4-yard pass from McCracken to Russell (Smeal kick), 0:07.
3rd Quarter
Curwensville: 34-yard run by Tibbens (kick failed), 10:27.
Brockway: 2-yard run by Melillo (Esposito kick), 8:04
Curwensville: 12-yard run by Tibbens (run failed), 4:55.
4th Quarter
Brockway: 5-yard pass from Shaffer-Doane to Perrin (Esposito kick), 10:06.
Brockway: 2-yard run by Titler (Esposito kick), 5:41.
GAME STATISTICS
Curwensville / Brockway
FIRST DOWNS: 13 / 16
RUSH YARDS: 325/ 258
PASS YARDS: 87 / 188
TOTAL YARDS: 412 / 446
COMP/ATT/TD/INT: 6-16-1-1 / 9-14-4-1
FUMBLES: 0 / 1
FUMBLES LOST: 0 /1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
CURWENSVILLE: Greslick-8 carries, 27 yards; Coudriet-3 carries, 18 yards; Tibbens-22 carries, 166 yards, 4 TD’s; Olson-9 carries, 104 yards; Russell-1 carries, 19 yards; Team-1 carry, (-3) yards; TOTALS: 43 carries, 325 yards, 4 TD’s.
BROCKWAY: Kocjancic Melillo- 26 carries, 162 yards, 2 TD’s; Shaffer-Doane-2 carries, 11 yards; Benson-6 carry, 56 yards; Titler-7 carries, 31 yards, TD; Perrin-1 carry, 0 yards; Team-2 carries, (-2) yards; TOTALS: 44 carries, 258 yards.
PASSING
CURWENSVILLE: McCracken-14 attempts, 6 completions, 87 yards, 1 touchdown; 1 interceptions; Tibbens-2 attempts, 0 completions, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions; TOTALS: 16 attempts, 6 completions, 1 touchdown, 1 interception.
BROCKWAY: Shaffer-Doale-14 attempts, 9 completions, 188 yards, 4 touchdowns, 1 interception.
RECEIVING
CURWENSVILLE: Russell- 3 receptions, 13 yards, TD; Coudrietk-1 reception, 36 yards; Jacobson – 1 reception, 35 yard; Stiles -1 reception, 3 yards; TOTALS: 6 receptions, 87 yards, TD.
BROCKWAY: Benson-3 receptions, 59 yards, TD; Perrin-3 receptions, 69 yards, 2 TD’s; Melillo-2 receptions, 54 yards, TD; Isabella-1 reception, 6 yards; TOTALS: 9 receptions, 188 yards.