HUNTINGDON — Staying unbeaten is hard enough for any team, but to do so in such dominating fashion is unheard of on a high school level. Entering week eight, the Clearfield Bison remained unblemished on the season, but also were on a streak of three consecutive shutouts, and 14 quarters of not giving up any scoring. As Clearfield made the trip to Huntingdon for another Mountain League contest with the Bearcats, the streaks were not on anyone’s mind. The sole focus was to simply win.
Clearfield did just that, in dominating fashion. The Bearcats, would only make it as far as midfield the entire game, as the Bison shut down defense stayed true to form. Five turnovers did not help the home squad, and Clearfield capitalized, spoiling homecoming night in Huntingdon with their fourth consecutive shutout, 47-0, and improving to 8-0 on the season.
“We forced some turnovers tonight, and capitalized on them. All around, I think we played really well,” Bison head coach Tim Janocko said afterwards. “Huntingdon played hard, too.
“A lot of kids touched the ball, and contributed. A good team win.”
The Bison defense did a lot of the legwork on the night, but the Bison offense got things started, and benefitted early after the opening kickoff went out of bounds from the Bearcats not just once, but twice. Add in a long return and Clearfield started the opening possession in Huntingdon territory. Six plays later, Jose Alban capped off the drive with a 20-yard run that got the entire Huntingdon defense crossed up all the way to the end zone. Luke Sidorick added the point after to make it 7-0 early in the game.
Clearfield’s defense would get to work early as they forced a three-and-out on the first Huntingdon possession, stalling out at the 42-yard line. On the night, the Bison defense held Huntingdon under 100 total yards of offense, and actually kept the Bearcats from getting into Bison territory.
After taking over following the punt, Clearfield’s second score came through the air. After getting set up by a spectacular run by Alban that put Clearfield in the red zone, Oliver Billotte capitalized on 1st-and-Goal on a rollout to his right, finding Mark McGonigal just across the goal line for the first passing score of the game. The extra point made it 14-0, where it remained through the remainder of the first quarter.
It wasn’t until the second quarter when the Clearfield defense made its big impact. After forcing a punt on the second Huntingdon possession, Clearfield’s defense made a major stand on the third. Faced with 3rd-and-3, Eric Mykut rolled out to his left and passed for the first down. Problem was, Brady Collins stepped in front of the pass, capturing the first turnover of the night and running the ball back to the Bearcat 20. McGonigal punched the ball in four plays later for his second overall score on the night, helping put Clearfield up by three possessions.
With five minutes remaining in the half, Clearfield’s longest play of the contest came courtesy of Billotte’s arm. Looking to his right, with great protection, he found Karson Kline behind the defense, and the senior wideout did the rest. A 52-yard bomb made it 27-0, as Sidorick’s kick would fall short of the cross bar.
The Bison defense then took care of business in its own way. On 2nd-and-8 for Huntingdon, the Bison defense swarmed as Mykut got the ball out quickly, but the large hands of the Clearfield defense not only batted the ball, but it ultimately landed in the hands of lineman Hayden Kovalick. He would take the interception, and rumble his way down the field for 40 yards, making a spectacular pick-six to push the Clearfield lead even higher. With the missed two-point conversion, Clearfield was two points short of the running clock, but were firmly in control.
“Our line had some batted balls, and Hayden had that pick-six. Our defense pretty much had it going in all phases tonight,” Janocko said.
That running clock eventually became a reality as Clearfield would get its final first-half score with just under a minute remaining in the half on another connection between Billotte and Kline, making it 40-0 at the break and ensuring a fast second half for all.
Billotte only played the first half, but accounted for 71 passing yards, another 58 on the ground, and three touchdowns. Clearfield accounted for 299 yards of offense, while Huntingdon finished with just 76, turning the ball over five times.
The second half saw a lot of the second-team take the field for Clearfield as the running clock kept things moving at a fast pace. But, the only score of the half was not without a bit of spectacular flare.
As the Bearcats faced 2nd-and-4 to start the fourth quarter, the handoff to Kyle Garner would not go as planned, as he was hit at the line of scrimmage, and saw the ball knocked from his grasp. McGonigal, still in the game getting reps at linebacker, scooped the ball and powered his way on the recovery into the end zone. His hat trick capped off a night where he caught a touchdown, ran one in, and scored one on defense.
Janocko spoke highly of his senior, stating he was definitely all over the ball. But, he also gave credit to Alban for his ability when he’s in the game, but also to the underclassmen for their work in the second half.
“Carter (Chamberlain) is a sophomore but he’s absolutely showing he can do work,” he said.
Sitting at 8-0, the Bison have one remaining game of the year, senior night next Friday night, and it is against a familiar foe. Next week, for the first time, Clearfield faces a team they have already faced once this year, the Bellefonte Raiders. Janocko knew this was a bit of a different feeling for the season, but also noted that each team is looking at it with different eyes.
“The biggest difference is going to be both teams know what to expect on each side of the ball. Plus, they have some guys coming back that didn’t play the first time,” he said. “So we have to treat it as a different game, as if we had not faced them yet. I’m just glad it’s at home.”
Senior Night festivities will start the evening prior to the 7 p.m. kickoff.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Clearfield 14 26 0 7 – 47
Huntingdon 0 0 0 0 – 0
BOX SCORE
1st Quarter
BISON: 20-yard run by Alban (Sidorick kick), 8:53
BISON: 4-yard pass from Billotte to McGonigal (Sidorick kick), 3:30
2nd Quarter
BISON: 4-yard run by McGonigal (Sidorick kick), 6:10
BISON: 52-yard pass from Billotte to Kline (kick failed), 4:47
BISON: 40-yard interception return by Kovalick (pass failed), 3:46
BISON: 5-yard pass from Billotte to Kline (Sidorick kick), 0:57
3rd Quarter
NO SCORING
4th Quarter
BISON: 23-yard fumble return by McGonigal (Sidorick kick), 11:38
GAME STATISTICS
Clearfield/Huntingdon
- First Downs: 10/6
- Rush Yards: 222/34
- Pass Yards: 77/42
- Total Yards: 299/76
- Penalties-Yards: 1-15/6-40
- Turnovers: 0/5
- Time of Possession: 22:24/25:36
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Clearfield: McGonigal-8 carries, 34 yards, TD; Alban-6 carries, 83 yards, TD; Billotte-4 carries, 58 yards; Chamberlain-3 carries, 27 yards; Collins-3 carries, 16 yards; Coudriet-2 carries, (-3) yards; Domico-1 carry, 10 yards; Natoli-1 carry, (-3) yards.
Huntingdon: Sheffield-9 carries, 8 yards; Miller-5 carries, 16 yards; Garner-5 carries, 11 yards; Mykut-4 carries, (-3) yards; Garlock-3 carries, 8 yards; Team-1 carry, (-1) yards; Norris-1 carry, (-2) yards; Moore-1 carry, (-3) yards.
Passing
Clearfield: Billotte-5 for 9, 71 yards, 3 TD; Domico-1 for 5, 6 yards.
Huntingdon: Mykut-4 for 12, 42 yards, 2 INT.
Receiving
Clearfield: Kline-3 catches, 61 yards, 2 TD; Freeland-1 catch, 6 yards; Natoli-1 catch, 6 yards; McGonigal-1 catch, 4 yards, TD
Huntingdon: Long-2 catches, 23 yards; Moore-1 catch, 11 yards; Sheffield-1 catch, 8 yards.