HYDE — Although they came away with the victory one week earlier, it was not all good for the Clearfield Bison. The coaching staff admitted that there was some sloppy play, some miscues in play calling, and some poor decisions on their own part that easily could have been handled differently. With that game done, the week of practice led up to the lights being turned on for the home crowd as the Bison welcomed in Huntingdon on Friday night.
This night belonged to the defense, as the Bison got things started early, and kept going full throttle the entire night, resulting in a 44-20 triumph, their third consecutive win on the season.
“They did a great job with the all-out pressure, and it put us in a good position,” Bison head coach Myles Caragein said after. “Carter (Chamberlain) up the gut, (Carter) Freeland on the edge, that’s pretty scary (for offenses).”
That scary rush was what provided the Bison with the first score. Clearfield’s initial drive stalled in Huntingdon territory when Will Domico saw his pass get intercepted by Eric Mykut in the red zone. However, three plays later, that rush from the defense put Mykut in a tough spot, in his own end zone. Chamberlain came up the center, and not only accounted for the first sack of the night, but in turn caused the ball to come loose. From one angle, it appeared the Bison forced a safety. However, it actually resulted in a fumble recovery by Chamberlain to put the first touchdown on the board. Tucker Scott, who is filling in for Warren Diethrick at kicker due to injury, hooked the extra point left, resulting in a 6-0 score that remained through the first quarter.
Huntingdon struggled with the ball all night, fumbling six different times, losing three. When they weren’t fumbling the ball, the Bison defense forced punts, and in the second quarter the Bearcats were doing plenty of them.
Clearfield got on the board a second time in the game four minutes into the second quarter as Domico got his rhythm going through the air, eventually connecting with Freeland on an 11-yard strike. Another wide-left extra point still put the Bison up two possessions. Domico’s run at having a successful passing game continued on the next Bison drive, following another Huntingdon three-and-out, that included two excellent passes to Caleb Bell and Brady Collins, putting Clearfield just outside the goal line. Chamberlain capped the drive off with a three-yard rushing score to put the Bison up 18.
As good as the offense was, the defense was locking down early, and often, as the Bearcats were held to only one first down in the first 24 minutes, and outside of one long run by Evan Edmiston, were held to negative one yard rushing.
On the opposite end, the Bison were rolling on offense thanks to the good field position, as Domico capped off a stellar first half with a 34-yard rumble to the end zone. The extra point by Scott would split the uprights, and the Bison headed into halftime looking at a 25-0 lead that was caused by the lockdown defense and timely turnovers.
“The kids had a great week of practice, and they executed. They really ran hard tonight,” Caragein said. “Defensively, this is a tough team to play against with that triple-option (offense). Our defense did a great job reading their keys, and they didn’t play selfish. They executed perfectly.”
Clearfield’s biggest impact came quickly in the second half, since it only took one play to do so. Clearfield’s first play from scrimmage in the third quarter was a read-option by Domico, who held the ball as long as he could in the gut of Brady Collins before pulling it out, and pulverizing up the gut of the Bearcat defense, sprinting 72 yards for his second rushing score of the night. He would lead all rushers with 138 yards, on just three carries. A missed extra point left the score 31-0, but the defense was still not done.
Another three-and-out forced a punt, but Clearfield was backed up in its own field, starting at their own five. Collins and Chamberlain got the first five yards, but then Domico looked to his right on third down, finding Freeland streaking down the sidelines and never looking back. The 90-yard strike was the second passing touchdown of the game, and would officially put the running clock in effect for the time remaining. Domico completed half his passes, tossing for a season-high 216 yards, and would add on a third touchdown late in the third quarter to Colton Ryan.
Caragein elected to pull his first team offense entering the fourth quarter to give them some rest, and to allow the underclassmen to get some experience on the field.
Huntingdon kept their starters in for a majority of the fourth quarter, which resulted in the first score for the Bearcats when Mykut found Reese Hughes for 28 yards. The extra point made it 44-7, however the running clock continued.
Clearfield was not immune to the turnover bug, as Obrian Owens would fumble the ball deep in Huntingdon territory, and the Bearcats’ Kyler Garner picked it up for an 82-yard scoop-and-score. The missed extra point was the lone hiccup on the recovery.
The final Huntingdon touchdown came with just over two minutes left in the game as Dominick Peruso punched the ball in from five yards out, setting the final as the Bison would run out the rest of the clock.
Caragein’s first five games as Bison head coach have seen many unique circumstances, and many different ways of scoring. From safeties to fumbles, passes and rushing, he’s seen a lot. But even with the success he’s seen putting points on the board, what he is noticing is the difference between a fresh team that started the year against Tyrone to the dominant performance on Friday night is how the team continues to get better.
“We’re definitely improving. They keep working, and are committed to each other,” he said. “I see them pushing each other at practice and it’s making them better.”
The Bison (4-1) start the second half of their 2023 season in the Laurel Highlands Conference by concluding a week-long homecoming celebration against the Penns Valley Rams, also 4-1 after a 20-19 win over Bellefonte. Homecoming festivities will take place at halftime, while during the pre-game festivities for the alma mater and National Anthem, the Bison Alumni Band will join on the field for the performance.
Kickoff on homecoming night is at 7 p.m.
NOTE: Prior to the game, Superintendent for the Clearfield Area School District, Terry Struble, held a dual ceremony. The first part was to honor the Class of 1968, who donated a significant amount to help the district open a new stadium entrance and ticket booth on the home grandstand side of the Bison Sports Complex, across from the Bison statue. In addition, Struble also dedicated the new ticket booth in honor of Larry Putt, who passed away on December 1, 2022. At the time, he was serving as school board president for Clearfield. He was on the board for 19 years at the time of his passing.
Many members of his family were in attendance for the dedication, including his wife, Margaret, his son and assistant Bison coach, Daniel, and some of his grand children, including current Bison wide receiver, Issac Putt.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Huntingdon 0 0 0 20 – 20
Clearfield 6 19 19 0 – 44
BOX SCORE
1st Quarter
- BISON: Chamberlain fumble recovery in end zone (kick failed), 6:34
2nd Quarter
- BISON: Domico 11-yard pass to Freeland (kick failed), 10:12
- BISON: Chamberlain 3-yard run (kick failed), 6:15
- BISON: Domico 34-yard run (Scott kick), 3:24
3rd Quarter
- BISON: Domico 72-yard run (kick failed), 11:41
- BISON: Domico 90-yard pass to Freeland (Scott kick), 8:50
- BISON: Domico 18-yard pass to Ryan (conversion failed), 1:35
4th Quarter
- BEARCATS: Mykut 28-yard pass to Hughes (Mykut kick), 10:40
- BEARCATS: Garner 82-yard fumble return (kick blocked), 6:20
- BEARCATS: Persuo 5-yard run (Mykut kick), 2:19
GAME STATISTICS
Huntingdon/Clearfield
- First Downs: 5/14
- Rush Yards: 149/330
- Pass Yards: 42/226
- Penalties-Yards: 4-27/3-20
- Total Yards: 191/556
- Turnovers: 3/3
- Time of Possession: 24:10/23:50
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
- Huntingdon: Edmison-9 carries, 124 yards; Mykut-6 carries, (-19) yards; Miller-5 carries, 11 yards; Steele-5 carries, 5 yards; Persuo-3 carries, 23 yards, TD; Long-2 carries, 4 yards; Team-2 carries, (-2) yards; Hughes-1 carry, 3 yards.
- Clearfield: Chamberlain-10 carries, 50 yards, TD; Collins-9 carries, 70 yards; Owens-7 carries, 65 yards; Domico-3 carries, 138 yards, 2 TD; Freeland-2 carries, 9 yards; Robinson-2 carries, (-5) yards; Bell-1 carry, 3 yards.
Passing
- Huntingdon: Mykut-2 for 7, 32 yards, TD; Long-1 for 2, 10 yards.
- Clearfield: Domico-9 for 18, 216 yards, 3 TD, INT.
Receiving
- Huntingdon: Long-2 catches, 4 yards; Hughes-1 catch, 28 yards, TD; Rutter-1 catch, 10 yards.
- Clearfield: Freeland-6 catches, 172 yards, 2 TD; Bell-2 catches, 36 yards; Ryan-1 catch, 18 yards, TD.
BISON SCOREBOARD:
Date Opponent Score Record
08/25 TYRONE 29 – 21 1 – 0
09/01 @ Forest Hills 13 – 22 1 – 1
09/08 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA 44 – 7 2 – 1
09/15 @ Bellefonte 26 – 7 3 – 1
09/22 HUNTINGDON 44 – 20 4 – 1
09/29 PENNS VALLEY
10/06 @ Bald Eagle Area
10/13 @ Richland
10/20 @ Central
10/27 TBD
