CURWENSVILLE – In what looked more like a basketball score, the Curwensville Area High School football team eliminated visiting Sheffield 56-32 in Friday night’s District IX Playoff opener. The Golden Tide will move to the district semifinal game next week against Redbank Valley at a site and time to be announced later this weekend.
The Tide jumped on the scoreboard early – without an offensive play – as the Wolverines fumbled on the first play from scrimmage. Junior Kyle Billings scooped up the lost ball and scampered 35 yards for the touchdown at the 11:41 mark of the first quarter. Jason Thorp added the first of his six extra-points on the night to post the 7-0 start for the hosts.
“Getting that early fumble really got us off to a great start,” said Curwensville head coach Andy Evanko. “The defense really played well the whole game and set us up to do good things.”
Just moments later, the defense set the table once again as Jonathan Miller sacked the Wolverine quarterback and seperated the ball after an eight-yard loss. A.J. Bloom followed the play to cover the fumble and give Curwensville the ball on the Sheffield 33-yard line.
It took just six plays for the offense to post a 13-0 margin as quarterback Kyle Johns dove into the end zone from one-yard out at the 8:06 mark. A high snap on the PAT didn’t allow the kick to be tried.
Sheffield had a little more success in their third offensive series, but again the defense stepped up as senior captain Ricky Magnuson stopped Sheffield’s Jereke Jackson one yard short on a fourth-and-three play. Again the Tide made quick work of things as the district’s top running back, Zach Tibbens finished the five-play drive with a 41-yard dash to the house. Alex Olson trotted in for the two-point conversion to give the second-seeded hosts a 21-0 lead into the second quarter.
“The offense blocked very well tonight to give Zach a lot of room to run,” said Evanko. “We had a couple of bumps in the second quarter that helped them bounce back, but once we righted the ship again, things went smoothly.”
Tibbens was just getting warmed up with his first score as he went on to run for over 200 yards in the first half, surpassed 2,000 yards for the season and finish the game with five rushing touchdowns.
“We look at any success as a team success, and Zach would be the first to tell you that he couldn’t do this without the guys up front leading the way,” Evanko praised. “He is a special back – elusive, powerful and quick, and it’s really special to watch the guys up front turn him loose.”
However, the Wolverines weren’t about to cower under Curwensville’s fast start. Down by three scores, they charged right back on the ensuing drive. Converting two third down plays of more than 12 yards, Sheffield lit up their side of the scoreboard with a 48-yard pass play from Adam Higby to Noah Heeter. A Tide fumble allowed for a second score as Jackson finished off the five-play drive with a 12-yard jaunt to close the gap to 21-14 at the 8:54 mark of the second quarter.
“They put us in some situations that were not favorable,” Evanko mentioned. “Sheffield is a pretty good football team, and they didn’t quit throughout this game.”
But, just when it looked like it was going to be a struggle for the Black and Gold, Tibbens sandwiched scores from 35 and 28 yards out around an Austin Jacobson interception. The defense forced another fumble that Olson pounced on – a turnover that he would eventually turn into an 11-yard score as the Tide took a 42-14 lead into the locker room.
The hosts upped that margin to 49-14 after their first possession of the second half. Tibbens sealed the eight-play deal with a four-yard bounce to the left. With this margin of deficit, the game went into the 35-point mercy rule.
The final score for the hosts came two-and-a-half minutes later with Tibbens adding a six-yard burst to his totals. The Tide starters would hold their guests scoreless in the third quarter before exiting the game with the 56-14 advantage. The Wolverines would go on to add three more scores in the final frame.
Tibbens finished the game with 26 carries for 278 yards and five scores. This effort sets his season total at 2,127 yards and 28 touchdowns. Jacobson picked off his sixth pass of the season, and the defense has now scooped up 18 fumble recoveries.
The Golden Tide will be back in action against Redbank Valley. The Bulldogs were a 31-26 winner over Ridgway Friday night.
“Because they play in the other league, we don’t know a lot about them, but we’ll try to learn quickly in the film room tomorrow,” as Evanko planned his day. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to execute and come out and play good football.”
In other Class A action, top seeded Clarion breezed by Union 49-0 and Brockway upended Smethport 53-28. Clarion will now play Brockway in the other semi-final match-up.
Kane remained unbeaten in the Class AA championships by knocking out Brookville 26-12. The Wolves will now play Karns City – a 55-6 winner over St. Marys
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Sheffield – 0 14 0 18 – 32
Curwensville – 21 21 14 0 – 56
BOX SCORE
1st Quarter
Curwensville: 35-yard fumble return by Billings (Thorp kick), 11:41.
Curwensville: 1-yard run by Johns (kick failed), 8:06.
Curwensville: 41-yard run by Tibbens (Olson run), 3:06.
2nd Quarter
Sheffield: 48-yard pass from Higby to Heeter (Vile kick), 11:05
Sheffield: 12-yard run by Jackson (Vile kick), 8:54.
Curwensville: 35-yard run by Tibbens (Thorp kick), 7:08.
Curwensville: 28-yard run by Tibbens (Thorp kick), 3:44.
Curwensville: 11-yard run by Olson (Thorp kick), 1:45.
3rd Quarter
Curwensville: 4-yard run by Tibbens (Thorp kick), 8:59.
Curwensville: 6-yard run by Tibbens (Thorp kick), 6:28.
4th Quarter
Sheffield: 10-yard run by Jackson (run failed),11:20.
Sheffield: 52-yard run by Jackson (run failed), 4:07.
Sheffield: 48-yard fumble recovery by Heeter (no PAT attempt), 00:00.
GAME STATISTICS
Sheffield / Curwensville
FIRST DOWNS: 11 /14
RUSH YARDS: 213/342
PASS YARDS: 103 / 36
TOTAL YARDS: 316 /378
PENALTIES:4/ 5
PENALTY YARDS: 40 / 36
COMP/ATT/TD/INT: 5-16-1-1/ 4-7-0-0
FUMBLES: 5 / 2
FUMBLES LOST: 4/1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
SHEFFIELD: Jackson – 23 carries, 181 yards, 3 TD; Kipp – 3 carries, 7 yards; Higby – 3 carries, (-5) yards; Holden – 8 carries 36 yards; Team – 1 carry, (-6) yards.
CURWENSVILLE: Tibbens – 26 carries, 278 yards, 5 TD; Olson – 5 carries, 44 yards, TD; Johnson – 5 carry, 15 yards; Johns – 2 carries, 3 yards, TD; McKenzie – 3 carry, 9 yards; Junod – 1 carry, 0 yards; Peters – 5 carries, (-6) yards; Team – 1 carry, (-1) yard.
PASSING
SHEFFIELD : Higby – 16 attempts, 5 completions, 103 yards, TD, INT.
CURWENSVILLE: Johns – 5 attempts, 3 completion, 29 yards; Terry – 2 attempts, 7 yards.
RECEIVING
SHEFFIELD : Heeter – 1 receptions, 48 yards, TD; Kipp – 2 receptions, 7 yards; Confer – 2 receptions, 48 yards.
CURWENSVILLE: Lansberry – 2 reception, 16 yards; Jacobson – 1 reception, 13 yards; Passmore – 1 reception 7 yards.