HYDE — What looked to be a powerhouse matchup in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference turned out to be a stunner for the entire crowd at the Bison Sports Complex. The homestanding Clearfield Bison, coming off a string of three consecutive victories, welcomed in the powerful Penns Valley Rams. Homecoming festivities would bring a large crowd to the facility, including over 70 members from the Bison Alumni Band.
What they got was proof of why the Rams’ Ty Watson was so dominant, as he would run over the Bison defense all night long. The problem was, one skill player does not compare to a defense that would bend but never break and an offense that could explode for burst plays in an instant. At the end of 48 minutes, with homecoming queen Riley Charles on the sidelines in her cheer outfit after being crowned during halftime, the Bison would put on a dominating performance in a 35-7 triumph.
“It started with us having a great week of practice. They were competitive and physical with each other, and have to keep that up. Defensively, yeah we bent a little bit, but they have a lot of good players,” Bison head coach Miles Caragein said afterwards. Watson, (Jackson) Romig, (John) Meyer; they have some studs on that team. But, they didn’t get their heads down, made some big plays, kept rallying and kept them out of the end zone.”
Caragein was spot on when he described Watson, as he would punish the Bison defense to a tune of over 200 yards rushing on the night. However, he would only manage one score, and even that came late in the game.
That was due to the Bison defense putting a stop to momentum every single drive in the first half, setting the tone after forcing a punt on the opening drive. Clearfield only needed four plays and just over a minute to find the end zone as Brady Collins, Carter Freeland and Carter Chamberlain all pounded the Rams defense on consecutive runs. Then, Will Domico looked high and hurled a spiral to Freeland for a 31-yard touchdown pass to get the scoring started. A wide left extra point left the score 6-0 with eight minutes remaining in the first quarter, but it was only the first act in what ended up being a magnificent play from the Bison offense.
Watson managed to get his yards on the next drive, ripping off a 29-yard gallop into Bison territory before the drive stalled just inside the red zone. On fourth down, Romig dropped back but was sacked in the backfield for a turnover on downs, giving Clearfield position just beyond its own 30.
The ensuing drive was one that pounded the front line of Penns Valley, with seven consecutive runs that finished off with Cayden Bell sweeping off the left side for a 16-yard score. Connor Morgan, still filling in for the injured but recovering Warren Diethrick, managed to boot the extra point to make it 13-0 heading into the second quarter.
Once again, the Rams relied on Watson to pound the Bison defense, as he put up nearly 60 yards in four plays to put them in the red zone for the second time. Yet, once more, the drive stalled out just inside the 20. Watson would gain 215 yards for the game, but on 4th and 7 at the Bison 19, Romig called his own number only to be stuffed for a loss and giving Clearfield another shot to pad the lead.
A holding penalty moved the ball back to the 10, but the first play from scrimmage immediately made an impact. Domico took the snap and looked left, hurling the ball high and deep for Freeland. It was almost as if it was predicted, as assistant coach Nate Glunt suddenly saw what was coming and began yelling, “Score! Score!”
As if he was seeing the future, Freeland pulled the ball in and outran the entire defense to score a 90-yard touchdown to move the score up yet again. The extra point was botched, but Domico went from being holder to quarterback and managed to find Chamberlain in the end zone for the two-point conversion, making it 21-0 and still 10 minutes remained until halftime.
Caragein knew the touchdown pass popped the balloon for the Rams, stating, “It was a momentum changer. We noticed on film that they were doing a lot of pressures from the left, sending two defenders. We called a play to get the ball outside quickly, and our athletes made a play.”
Clearfield then decided to just grind out the remaining part of the quarter as Chamberlain would get his lone score of the night with 5:20 remaining in the half from 11 yards out, then just four minutes later, the Bison capped off its fifth offensive drive with another score, this one coming from Domico as he found Brady Collins in the end zone from 22 yards out. Both extra points were good, and the 35-0 halftime lead meant a running clock for the remaining 24 minutes.
The Bison did not have a rusher over 100 yards on the night, but all backs had solid outings, putting up 238 rushing yards that wore down the Rams defense.
“They are a unique crew, with a lot of great talent. It’s a nice problem to have in deciding who to give the ball to,” Caragein said. “They run hard, block hard, play hard. They are great kids, and do well when they get the ball.”
With the running clock in the second half, things went quickly as Clearfield ran down the time fast in the third quarter. Domico failed to connect on a couple passes, but finished 7-for-10, tossing for 203 yards and three scores. Clearfield did not turn the ball over and held the ball for 26 minutes.
Despite the defense giving up a late score to Watson, with mostly reserves in at that point, Caragein was pleased to see his team stand up when it mattered.
“It’s a great mental testament. They did give up a couple big plays, but they did not give up and let them score. They got up, went to the next play, and forgot about it,” he said.
Sitting at 5-1, the Bison now face three straight road contests, but Caragein knew that with the run of victories they have experienced, the team is just hitting their stride.
“Anytime you go on the road, let alone for three straight weeks, it’s a tough test,” he said. “This is a lot of momentum for us, and now we’ll go into a film session on Sunday and get ready to head on the road.”
The road trips begin with a visit to undefeated Bald Eagle Area (6-0) next Friday.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Penns Valley 0 0 0 7 – 7
Clearfield 13 22 0 0 – 35
BOX SCORE
1st Quarter
- BISON: Domico 31-yard pass to Freeland (kick failed), 8:06
- BISON: Bell 16-yard run (Morgan kick), 2:48
2nd Quarter
- BISON: Domico 90-yard pass to Freeland (Domico to Chamberlain for conversion), 10:00
- BISON: Chamberlain 11-yard run (Morgan kick)
- BISON: Domico 22-yard pass to Collins (Morgan kick), 1:05
3rd Quarter
- No scoring
4th Quarter
- RAMS: Watson 34-yard run (Watson kick), 6:50
GAME STATISTICS
Penns Valley/Clearfield
- First Downs: 12/12
- Rush Yards: 184/238
- Pass Yards: 81/203
- Penalties-Yards: 4-40/7-50
- Total Yards: 265/441
- Turnovers: 0/0
- Time of Possession: 21:45/26:15
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
- Penns Valley: Watson-23 carries, 215 yards, TD; Romig-7 carries, (-30) yards.
- Clearfield: Owens-11 carries, 42 yards; Chamberlain-9 carries, 49 yards, TD; Collins-7 carries, 62 yards; Freeland-3 carries, 19 yards; Bell-1 carry, 16 yards, TD.
Passing
- Penns Valley: Romig-10 for 20, 81 yards.
- Clearfield: Domico-7 for 10, 203 yards, 3 TD.
Receiving
- Penns Valley: Watson-6 catches, 38 yards; Meyer-3 catches, 40 yards; Lieb-1 catch, 3 yards.
- Clearfield: Freeland-4 catches, 161 yards, 2 TD; Collins-2 catches, 38 yards, TD; Chamberlain-1 catch, 4 yards.
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 35 – 7 5 – 1
10/06 @ Bald Eagle Area
10/13 @ Richland
10/20 @ Central
10/27 TBD