MARTINSBURG — Will Domico laid on the grass, surrounded by his offensive line, jersey and pants stained with grass and mud. His team supported and protected him all night, including when he was on the sidelines being evaluated for injury. But, through the helmet, the devastation was clear. He and his Clearfield Bison brothers fought valiantly against an undefeated Central Dragon squad. It was the third game in a row on the road, and third consecutive game against an unbeaten opponent, and much like the prior two weeks, this came down to the wire.
It came down to literally one final play, ending with one second remaining, as Domico and his teammates looked up at a 27-21 final where Clearfield was on the rougher end of the score.
Clearfield head coach Miles Caragein saw his team go on the road the last three weeks, with each game being decided by seven points or less. He reflected afterwards, stating, “We really have some great competition this year. I love our schedule. Going on the road against three undefeated teams, I don’t think I’ve ever done that in my coaching career.
“Our kids have absolutely stood up to the test. It’s a learning experience for all of us, and we are just going to keep fighting.”
The battle for field position defined the game early on, with Central getting the early advantage when quarterback Eli Muthler began finding his receivers. The second drive of the game for the Dragons saw the junior signal-caller connect on a 4th-and-Goal pass to Jack Dunn to put the home squad on the scoreboard. The extra point made it 7-0, where it remained throughout the remainder of the first quarter.
Meanwhile, Clearfield struggled to get its footing as Domico had to go to the sideline after the scoring drive, with trainers checking him over for potential injury and trauma. That slowed the team down a bit, but he would return in the second quarter and showed no sign of injury, as he continued to elude the Dragon defense. Unfortunately, the Dragon offense would get back on the board with just over nine minutes left in the half, as Muthler connected with Dunn yet again, this time on a 17-yard pass that landed just inside the sideline paint. Another extra point by Hunter Smith made it 14-0, yet the Bison still did not feel out of it.
Despite the steady light rain that was falling on the field, Domico finally got his first completion on the night courtesy of a beautiful one-handed grab by Cayden Bell on 4th-and-5 at the Dragon 37. The 23-yard strike, followed by a pair of personal foul penalties, put Clearfield just outside the goal line. However, the Dragon defense halted Carter Chamberlain on two runs, and Domico got stuffed as well, forcing a 4th-and-Goal at the three.
Domico went RPO on the next play, zinging a pass over the middle that found Collins for the touchdown, pulling Clearfield to within seven as Warren Diethrick drilled the point after.
“They did some things defensively to take away the inside, and we have some things that we possibly need to fix when we get in a certain formation, but they scouted us well,” Caragein said of the goal-line stops by Central.
Muthler got the touchdown back on the next drive, this time connecting with Jacob Benton from eight yards out. The 21-7 score would hold through to halftime, but with Clearfield receiving the opening kickoff, and the rain staying steady through the night, it seemed to be an uphill battle for the squad clad in white.
Yet, when they exited the locker room and took the field for the opening second-half drive, something about their demeanor felt different. Collins took the first handoff on the drive for 14 yards, after a strong kickoff return by Bell put Clearfield in Dragon territory right away. Three plays later, Collins rumbled for 19 yards to again put Clearfield on the cusp of scoring. The Central defense stood Chamberlain up twice, and Domico’s pass to Bell fell short. The fourth down call again was an RPO, and this time the Clearfield signal-caller found Carter Freeland for the touchdown pass, capping a drive that ignited the Bison sideline and pulled the squad to within one score.
It was then time for the defense to make a statement, as they began to get pressure on Muthler. After passing for 132 yards in the first half, he began to miss his receivers as the Clearfield secondary knocked down balls. Still, they managed to push into Bison territory, and were faced with 4th-and-1 at the Bison 32. Relying on Smith, who finished the night with only 59 yards on 18 carries, he pushed to the line to gain. The Bison defense pushed back, and officials went for the measurement. The chains told no lies, as Clearfield stopped them about two feet short of the marker, and took over on downs.
What they did was go seven plays, all runs, down the field to again find themselves just outside the goal line. Domico then, for the first time all night, lined up under center, with both Freeland and Chamberlain flanking him in the backfield. Although it wasn’t exactly the “Brotherly Shove” that works so well for the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, the “Bison Stampede” got Domico across the goal line for the lone rushing touchdown for the Bison. Diethrick again was perfect on the point after, and with only 49 seconds remaining in the third, the game suddenly got interesting, 21-21.
It got even more interesting when Muthler tossed an interception to Domico on the first play of the fourth quarter. The momentum shift put Clearfield in prime position to get the lead, however a holding penalty pushed them back and in the end had to turn the ball over on a punt.
Four plays later, Smith would get the nod to cap off a four-play drive with a one-yard plunge across the goal line. But, in a plot twist, his extra point try knocked the left upright, and fell to the ground.
Clearfield had a prime opportunity to pull an upset, and after exchanging a pair of punts, the Bison lined up at their own 35 with exactly four minutes remaining.
Methodical running from Collins and Domico, who combined for nearly 150 rush yards, got the ball into Dragon territory. As the clock began to go under two minutes, Domico then relied on his arm, and his legs, to keep the drive going. A 9-yard strike to Freeland, then a 10-yard connection to Collins put the Bison in the red zone, and the Bison faithful began feeling it. Even a five-yard penalty for an illegal shift couldn’t keep them back, as Domico found Freeland again for 11 yards, but after an incompletion, stared down 4th-and-4, with the game on the line. After a time out, the offense came back to the field, knowing it was now or nothing.
His go-to target pulled through, as Freeland got just past the line to gain to set up 1st-and-Goal.
Tme began running out, as Domico would falter and get sacked back at the 16 with just over 10 seconds remaining, forcing Clearfield to take their final time out and decide what to do. The only option was to pass, and if Domico had to scramble, it was get outside the tackles and get rid of the ball to hopefully keep some time on the clock for another attempt.
Staring down 2nd-and-Goal at the 16, Domico took the snap, looked left, then back right, and slinged the ball over the center of the field. He had a target just beyond the goal line with Bell. But, what he got instead was the Dragons’ Baron Dionis stepping right in front of the pass, nabbing a game-sealing interception with one second remaining on the clock. The front line that protected Domico all night long had a devastating sense to them, and their quarterback laid on the grass in disbelief that he came one play, and one second, short of a potential game-tying touchdown.
“We had a chance right there to the end. To be down two scores and for my kids to fight back, I am so proud of them,” Caragein said afterwards. “That’s been our thing this year, bend but don’t break. The kids were relentless, right up to the end, but Central made the play right at the end, and hey, I commend them. That’s a good team.
“This was a great test for us. We have to keep learning from this, and keep building.”
Clearfield concluded the predetermined portion of the 2023 schedule at 6-3. They won against all four opponents in the East 2 region of the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference, while going 2-1 against the three opponents from East 1. Clearfield went 0-2 against West division opponents, falling to both Forest Hills and Richland, with Richland now set to go against Central for the LHAC championship. Clearfield still has one game remaining on the year, and Caragein, along with his coaching staff, already know what they are planning to do in the coming week to prepare for the regular-season finale.
“I think our focus is to have the kids see they faced two really good teams the last two weeks, but to not get frustrated,” he said. “Yes, we have been on the wrong end of the score the last couple games, but we have learned a lot. We fought, learned about ourselves, and never gave up. We are going to grow from this.”
Clearfield’s regular season will conclude on Senior Night at the Bison Sports Complex. They will be facing a team from the West 2 region, and tentatively that appears to be Chestnut Ridge (7-2), who fell to unbeaten Richland, 28-10, on Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 pm, with senior recognition for football, cheerleading, and band happening prior to the game.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Clearfield 0 7 14 0 – 21
Central 7 14 0 6 – 27
BOX SCORE
1st Quarter
- DRAGONS: Muthler 6-yard pass to Dunn (Smith kick), 4:39
2nd Quarter
- DRAGONS: Muthler 17-yard pass to Dunn (Smith kick), 9:11
- BISON: Domico 3-yard pass to Collins (Diethrick kick), 3:31
- DRAGONS: Muthler 18-yard pass to Benton (Smith kick), 0:28
3rd Quarter
- BISON: Domico 3-yard pass to Freeland (Diethrick kick), 8:13
- BISON: Domico 1-yard run (Diethrick kick), 0:49
4th Quarter
- DRAGONS: Smith 1-yard run (kick failed), 8:39
GAME STATISTICS
Clearfield/Central
- First Downs: 15/12
- Rush Yards: 170/110
- Pass Yards: 69/163
- Penalties-Yards: 6-60/7-61
- Total Yards: 239/273
- Turnovers: 2/1
- Time of Possession: 27:07/20:53
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
- Clearfield: Domico-13 carries, 77 yards, TD; Collins-12 carries, 71 yards; Chamberlain-9 carries, 17 yards; Freeland-3 carries, 4 yards; Bell-1 carry, 2 yards, Team-1 carry, (-1) yards.
- Central: Smith-18 carries, 59 yards, TD; Muthler-7 carries, 52 yards; Team-1 carry, (-1) yards.
Passing
- Clearfield: Domico-9 for 17, 69 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT.
- Central: Muthler-12 for 23, 163, 3 TD, INT.
Receiving
- Clearfield: Freeland-5 catches, 32 yards, TD; Collins-3 catches, 14 yards, TD; Bell-1 catch, 23 yards.
- Central: Dunn-6 catches, 88 yards, 2 TD; Dionis-4 catches, 59 yards; Benton-2catches, 16 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 13 – 7 6 – 1
10/13 @ Richland 28 – 35 6 – 2
10/20 @ Central 21 – 27 6 – 3
10/27 CHESTNUT RIDGE
