CURWENSVILLE – On paper the 6-1 Curwensville Area High School football team would appear to have a sure thing this week against Elk County Catholic (0-7). However, taking anyone for granted in the Allegheny Mountain League is never a good idea, and the Crusaders do have some weapons that pose a problem for incoming defenses.
“ECC is not that bad of a football team,” suggested Andy Evanko, head coach of Curwensville. “It just happens that we play in a quality league where everybody is fairly equal. They have just had a few costly mistakes or they could easily be 4-3.”
Perhaps the biggest problem that the Crusaders bring to the field is seen in their passing game. Senior Andy Gerbauer and junior Mitchell Smith have shared time at quarterback this season, but the advantage goes to receivers Ryan Childs and Cory Huff. Childs measures in at 6’6’’ tall while a 6’5’ Huff provides for a pair of high-flying targets.
Childs has 20 receptions on the season for 311 yards and four touchdowns. Huff has covered 250 yards on 15 grabs including one scoring effort. Smith (when not taking snaps) and Dan Singer have also pulled in a combined 16 catches for 227 yards to pace a large receiving corps.
Gerbauer has connected on 34-of-86 passes for 466 yards and two TD’s, but is susceptible to an errant pass with six interceptions. Smith has thrown the ball 50 times and completed 24 of those for one score among his 317 yards. He has been picked off four times on the year.
One other thing to watch for out of the ECC passing game is the fact that four other players have thrown passes on the season; the option is always a possibility. Childs, Singer, and Ryan Seelye have all looked to go down field with pass attempts from their receiver positions.
“It will be a challenge to go up against those guys because they can go up and get the ball,” said senior defensive back Alex Olson. “I really think we’ll be okay because the D-line will put the pressure on in the back field and take the heat off us.”
The Crusader running game has been slightly less productive than the aerial attack this season averaging just less than 92 yards per game. Jonathan Dippold has been the top ball-carrier with 94 jaunts for 372 yards and four scores to date. Smith has three TD’s on 48 carries for 130 yards while singer has carried the ball 35 times for 125 yards.
“We are coming into the game looking at it like both teams are 0-0,” said Olson. “We’re still going to come out and play football as we have been and get the job done.”
The Golden Tide leaned on the running game last week in their 27-24 victory over Ridgway. Senior Zach Tibbens rambled for 271 yards in the game to push his yearly total to 1,339. Also putting yards behind them on the ground are Olson with 201 yards on 37 carries, Hunter Johnson with 176 yards on 37 carries and Trey McKenzie at 18 carries and 152 yards.
McKenzie had spent the last two seasons playing on the school’s soccer team and has been able to score twice this season on the gridiron.
“It’s been fun getting back into the flow of the game,” McKenzie said. “Whether I get a couple carries or a bunch doesn’t really matter. Whatever’s good for the team is good for me.”
The passing game has been able to compliment the rushing efforts in the past few games. Senior quarterback Kyle Johns has now thrown the ball 49 times for 209 yards on 23 completions. He has yet to find the end zone on a pass and has been picked off six times.
On the receiving end of those passes are senior Austin Jacobson who has cradled six passes for 64 yards, Travis Lansberry covering 45 yards on two catches and Kyle Billings with 38 yards on five grabs. Both Nathan Kurtz and Tibbens have totaled 29 yards; Kurtz on four catches and Tibbens on three.
They are always a threat, and we have to come to play,” said Evanko. “We’ll be in a place we never seem to play well on a night we never seem to play well against a team who always gives us trouble. There’s nothing easy about this game.”
Curwensville will play ECC at the St. Marys’ High School field on Saturday with a 7:00 kick-off set.
Golden Tide Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 08/30 | COUDERSPORT | 34 – 26 | 1 – 0 |
| 09/06 | @ Cameron County | 21 – 20 | 2 – 0 |
| 09/13 | SMETHPORT | 42 – 13 | 3 – 0 |
| 09/20 | @ St. Joe’s Catholic Academy | 25 – 7 | 4 – 0 |
| 09/27 | @ Kane | 8 – 42 | 4 – 1 |
| 10/04 | BROCKWAY | 42 – 22 | 5 – 1 |
| 10/11 | @ Ridgway | 27 – 24 | 6 – 1 |
| 10/19 | @ Elk County Catholic | ||
| 10/25 | SHEFFIELD |