DUBOIS – It was the first meeting ever at Mansell Stadium in DuBois between Curwensville and Ridgway for the District 9 Class ?A? football championship.
In the end Ridgway picked up its second straight title with a hard fought, penalty-filled victory over the Golden Tide 9-7.
The District 9 championship was the third overall for the Elkers having won in 1989 and now back to back in 2016 and 2017.
Curwensville?s title count is still at three, with District championships in 2000, 2004 and 2010. The Tide have been runner-ups in 2001, 2006 and again this year.
And just like the first game this year between the two schools, which Curwensville won 14-11, it was a defensive battle as neither team mounted many serious threats.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Golden Tide found themselves at their own 15 yard line with just under nine minutes to play in the second.
On a first and 10 Curwensville senior running back Nick Stewart took a handoff and went left, broke a few inside tackle attempts, bounced to the outside and jetted up the left sideline 85 yards for the first score of the game.
The PAT attempt by junior Madison Weber was perfect giving the Tide a 7-0 lead with 8:36 to play before halftime.
Late in the second quarter, Curwensville head coach Andy Evanko showed confidence in his squad by going for a fourth and two attempt at the Tide 44 yard line.
Unfortunately junior fullback Avery Francisco was stopped short of the first down marker giving Ridgway excellent field position.
Ridgway took full advantage of the Golden Tide gamble, as quarterback Johnny Mitchell scored form 18 yards out with 1:20 to play before the break.
The extra point attempt by Aaron Hinton was missed and the Tide, the number one seed, still had the intermission edge over second seeded Ridgway, 7-6.
Although Hinton missed the PAT the senior kicker would get revenge in the second half.
The third quarter was just like the first 12 minutes – no scoring.
With 9:49 remaining in the battle, Hinton hit a 32 yard field goal that proved to be the winning play for Ridgway.
Curwensville would get the ball a couple of more times before the final whistle but was unable to mount a drive, thus losing a heartbreaker 9-7.
The Tide had three turnovers in the game, a fumble and two interceptions. Ridgway did not turn over the ball after throwing five interceptions in the first meeting in early October.
The Golden Tide finish with another fine year at 9-3, while Ridgway, now also 9-3, moves on to the PIAA Class ?A? quarterfinals next weekend.
SCORING SUMMARY
RIDGWAY 0 6 0 3 9
CURWENSVILLE 0 7 0 0 7
2ND QUARTER
CURW 8:36 Nick Stewart 85 yard run, Madison Weber PAT 7 0
RIDG 1:20 Johnny Mitchell 18 yard run, PAT attempt failed 7 6
4TH QUARTER
RIDG 9:49 Aaron Hinton 32 yard field goal 7 9
Game Statistics courtesy www.d9sports.com:
Curw Ridg
First Downs 8 6
Rushes-Yards 36-171 39-131
Passing Yards 17 22
Comp-Att-Int 5-16-2 2-5-0
Total Yards 188 153
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0
Punts-Avg 5-34.2 5-33.4
Penalties-Yards 12-95 6-45
Rushing ? Curwensville: Nick Stewart 26-161, Avery Francisco 4-13, Bryce Timko 5-(-10), Noah Van Gunden 1-7. Ridgway: Neil MacDonald 20-92, Johnny Mitchell 10-24, Jake Zimmerman 2-0, Aaron Hinton 6-16, Evan Furlong 1-(-1).
Passing ? Curwensville: Bryce Timko 5-of-16, 17 yards, 2 Int. Ridgway: Johnny Mitchell 2-of-5, 22 yards.
Receiving ? Curwensville: Josh Terry 3-11, Noah Von Gunden 1-9, Nick Stewart 1-(-3). Ridgway: Neil MacDonald 1-5, Andy Breier 1-17.
Interceptions ? Ridgway: Andy Breier, Neil MacDonald.
Final Golden Tide Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 08/25 | @ Cameron County | 38 – 8 | 1 – 0 |
| 09/01 | @ Smethport | 48 – 0 | 2 – 0 |
| 09/08 | SHEFFIELD | 56 – 8 | 3 – 0 |
| 09/15 | @ Port Allegany | 56 – 13 | 4 – 0 |
| 09/22 | @ Kane | 0 – 57 | 4 – 1 |
| 09/29 | BROCKWAY | 15 – 13 | 5 – 1 |
| 10/06 | RIDGWAY | 14 – 11 | 6 – 1 |
| 10/13 | @ Elk County Catholic | 43 – 12 | 7 – 1 |
| 10/20 | BRADFORD | 14 – 23 | 7 – 2 |
| 10/27 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | 48 – 19 | 8 – 2 |
| 11/03 | District 9 A Playoffs | ||
| 11/03 | BYE | ||
| 11/11 | Redbank Valley @ DuBois, 6 pm | 47 – 13 | 9 – 2 |
| 11/17 | vs. Ridgway, @ DuBois, 7 pm | 7 – 9 | 9 – 3 |