HYDE — No full moon nor Friday the 13th voodoo was going to ruin the mood for fans at the Clearfield Junior-Senior High School. On this night, homecoming festivities would welcome fans of the Clearfield Bison into their home stadium, as they put their unblemished record up against the Huntingdon Bearcats.
On a night where Kimberly Wilsoncroft adorned the crown as homecoming queen, a back-and-forth contest highlighted by turnovers and key scores fell the way of the Bison in the final 24 minutes, keeping their season record undefeated after a 28-16 triumph.
Neither offense found any footing in the opening quarter, as both sides went scoreless for a majority of the initial 12 minutes. The big moment for the visitors came when the Bearcat special teams broke through the line and blocked Zach Hess’ punt, recovering the ball at the Bison 30. But, the Bison defense responded quickly and pushed the visitors back and forced Huntingdon to punt the ball right back to Clearfield.
The ensuing drive seemed to stall at mid-field, but a key pass interference call on the Bearcats gave Clearfield new life and a fresh set of downs at the Huntingdon 30.
A short time later, Mark McGonigal punched in the first score of the night from nine yards out with under a minute remaining in the opening quarter. Hess missed the point after, leaving the score 6-0 heading into the second quarter.
Huntingdon knew it needed to make a big play, and midway through the second stanza, they got it once more thanks to special teams.
After Clearfield failed to gain a first down following a failed 42-yard field goal by Giovan Scaccia, the long snap to Hess sailed over his head, spelling doom for the Bison. The bad snap went into the end zone and the Bearcats fell on the loose ball for the sudden touchdown, taking the air out of the large crowd in the Bison Sports Complex.
Scaccia hit the point after, and Clearfield suddenly found itself in a one-point deficit with just over seven minutes before halftime.
But, just like they had the previous two weeks, the Bison offense answered as Oliver Billotte and company methodically mastered a two-minute drive into Huntingdon territory. That drive was capped off when Jason Plubell found daylight into the second level, roaring for a 34-yard touchdown that brought the black-and-red bleachers to their feet. Billotte then tossed in the two-point conversion, bringing Clearfield back ahead by a touchdown.
Huntingdon failed to move the ball after the score, but Clearfield soon found themselves backed up. Following a Bearcats punt, Billotte and the Bison offense moved the ball deep into Huntingdon territory. Suddenly the drive stopped when Carter Miller swiped Billotte’s pass at the Bearcat 11, and turned on the speed as he roared up the field into Clearfield territory. A swift tackle by Clearfield saved the pick-six, but it set up Huntingdon at the Bison 30 with time on the clock.
It was appearing to be a strong drive following the turnover as the Bison were on their heels, but Jake Lezzer suddenly made his name heard as he reached in front of Carter’s would-be touchdown pass and intercepted the ball for the touchback, saving the go-ahead score.
The ensuing drive for Clearfield went nowhere, and another punt gave the Bearcats the ball with less than two minutes remaining before the half. The drive stalled just outside the end zone, and rather than try for the touchdown, the Huntingdon coaches opted for the short 19-yard field goal as time expired, leaving the Bison ahead by four, 14-10, heading into the break.
Clearfield received the opening kickoff for the second half, and if there was ever a time to need a spark it was now. Coming out of the locker room, the team that seemed driven to make a statement on this night was the home squad.
That came when the lone score of the third quarter came with just over five minutes remaining as Billotte made up for his early interception with a solid pass to Matt Pallo, who last week had the key reception on the game-winning drive against Central, and brought in the first receiving touchdown for the Bison since August 30 against Penns Valley. This time, Hess stayed true and booted the extra point putting Clearfield up by two possessions heading into the final quarter of play.
Huntingdon still would not go away as shortly after the final quarter started, quarterback Nick Troha connected from four yards out to Derrick Foltz to pull within one score at 21-16. Troha couldn’t connect on his pass for the two-point conversion, leaving the gap at five points, and a lot of time for Clearfield to answer.
The dagger for the Bearcats night occurred midway through the final quarter. All game long the Bison defense was making it a challenge for Huntingdon to score, including the goal line stand just before halftime.
Finally the Bison defense made the boldest statement of the night
Clearfield’s answer came from linebacker Nick Domico when he pounced on a Bearcat fumble, and the big man took the ball 41 yards in the opposite direction for the first defensive touchdown of the season for Clearfield, much to the delight of the Bison sideline and grandstands.
Hess hammered the extra point and the final was set as the Bison defense turned away the Bearcats on their final drive on fourth down. Clearfield took over and kept the ball on the ground, forcing Huntingdon to use their remaining time outs, and once the Bison gained the first down, a kneel down ran out the clock.
Now at 4-0, Clearfield heads on the road next week to face Central Mountain.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Huntingdon 0 10 0 6 – 16
Clearfield 6 8 7 7 – 28
BOX SCORE
1st Quarter
BISON: 9-yard run by McGonigal (Hess kick failed), 0:14
2nd Quarter
BEARCATS: Fumble recovery in end zone by Fultz (Scaccia kick), 7:26
BISON: 34-yard run by Plubell (Billotte pass), 5:40
BEARCATS: 19-yard field goal by Scaccia, 0:00
3rd Quarter
BISON: Billotte 14-yard pass to Pallo (Hess kick), 5:02
4th Quarter
BEARCATS: Troha 4-yard pass to Fultz (Troha pass failed), 11:00
BISON: 46-yard fumble return by Domico (Hess kick), 6:15
GAME STATISTICS
Huntingdon/Clearfield
First Downs: 14/18
Rush Yards: 125/122
Pass Yards: 28/165
Total Yards: 153/287
Penalties-Yards: 3-40/4-34
Turnovers: 3/2
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Huntingdon: Troha-16 carries, 62 yards; Fultz-13 carries, 47 yards; Lauer-9 carries, 19 yards; Emel-1 carry, (-3) yards.
Clearfield: Zattoni-7 carries, 59 yards; Plubell-7 carries, 54 yards; McGonigal-9 carries, 24 yards; Firanski-2 carries, 20 yards; Billotte-10 carries, (-11) yards.
PASSING
Huntingdon: Troha-6 for 13, 28 yards, TD, INT; Fultz-0 for 1.
Clearfield: Billotte-12 for 31, 165 yards, TD, 2 INT
RECEIVING
Huntingdon: Fultz-4 catches, 22 yards; Emel-1 catch, 11 yards; Miller-1 catch, (-5) yards.
Clearfield: Lezzer-8 catches, 104 yards; Pallo-3 catches, 40 yards, TD; Domico-1 catch, 21 yards.