DUBOIS-All year long, every game, the mantra for the Clearfield Bison has been “Bend, don’t break.” It’s become a battle cry during the latter part of the season where the most difficult teams put up the ultimate challenges, and whether victorious or not, the Bison would not quit. Playing all four quarters became critical each week, and with it being playoff season, that mantra once again got the ultimate test. Inside Mansell Stadium in Dubois, a familiar foe was across the field, a team that Clearfield took to the limit weeks earlier, falling one play short to victory. The competition, the undefeated Laurel Highlands and District VI champion Central Dragons.
A case of deja vu came for everyone involved, as a game that started sluggish for each saw 24 minutes with no true dominant team. It saw a second half that saw rally after rally, and neither team yielding. It was a game that needed longer than the allotted 48 minutes to decide. After two overtime periods, the game, much like the first meeting between the two squads, came down to the final play, and just like the first meeting, Clearfield stood heartbroken and in disbelief, falling 41-35 in double overtime.
“Neither team made a mistake. It was two great groups fighting, throwing punches left and right at each other. To see these kids keep fighting, that shows their tenacity,” Bison head coach Myles Caragein said afterwards. “They never gave up. Central is a good team, and made plays. Our kids easily could have put their head down with a minute left and said ‘We’re done’ but they fought back and went to overtime. I am extremely proud of this team.
“I love all these guys, I just wish we had a different outcome.”
This night started as a defensive struggle, but also offensive intent, as Central tried to drive down the field on the opening possession, using up nearly half the quarter. But, the “bend, don’t break” mentality saw the Bison stop the Dragons on fourth down to take over possession. Neither squad established itself as the dominant team, at least until the Bison’s second drive. On the heels of two strong runs, quarterback Will Domico broke free just inside Dragon territory to move the ball into the red zone. Not even a false start penalty could keep them from success as Brady Collins took the next handoff up the right side for a 20-yard scamper to open the scoring.
Warren Diethrick booted the extra point to give Clearfield the 7-0 lead, which held through the end of the first quarter.
Central would not find it’s footing on the ground until midway through the second quarter, as senior running back Hunter Smith started to find traction on the wet turf. He would cap off an 11-play drive with a three-yard plunge into the end zone, following it up with the extra point to tie the game at a touchdown each. But, with over three minutes remaining and two timeouts to their credit, Clearfield was not going quietly as they pushed deep into Dragon territory, setting up 1st-and-Goal from the 4. Unfortunately, Domico got a quick rush from the defense and when he tried to get rid of the ball, no receiver was in the area. The intentional grounding call moved the Bison back to the 19 for the second attempt, and despite Domico seeing Carter Freeland across the goal line, Eli Muthler would pull the ball down for the interception, halting the momentum and sending both teams to the locker room knotted up, 7-7.
What was a test in the first half to see just how hard each team could be pushed turned into a sprint in the second half, all starting with the Bison on the opening drive.
A strong kick return put Clearfield facing downhill to get things going, and some strong running by Domico and Collins managed to move the ball into the red zone, but also saw the Bison run low on opportunities. Faced with 4th-and-8 at the 18, Domico looked to his right, and Freeland pulled the pass down despite a defender right in his line of sight for an 18-yard touchdown reception. The missed extra point left the score 13-7, but it would not remain that way for very long.
The Dragons needed only three plays following another strong kickoff return to answer the Bison score, as Smith would score from one yard out, and the extra point gave Central it’s first lead of the game. Smith would run all over the Bison, accounting for over 200 all-purpose yards.
Central added to the lead on their next drive as Smith broke free for a 39-yard rumble to the end zone, increasing the lead to 21-13 with just over a minute left in the third.
The Bison would not give up, and went back to what got them to this point all game, and all season, long, putting their trust in the ground game and in Collins. He would do just that as he would capp off the next possession with an 18-yard rumble to the end zone. Despite the missed two-point conversion, the game was back to a one-score deficit, and Clearfield was not going to waste it.
They made the most of it on the next drive, as Central saw an intentional grounding penalty move them to withing the shadow of their end zone. Two plays later, Muthler hurled a high pass to the right, only to see it intercepted by Freeland, who then found daylight up the sideline for what appeared to be a game changing pick-six. Unfortunately, the score was erased thanks to a block-in-the-back penalty, but still gave Clearfield the ball near mid-field. Collins then figured Freeland couldn’t get in the end zone, but he sure could try, as he followed the blocks from his offensive line to set up the Bison inside the Dragon 10. Freeland then got the call to finish the drive, as he pushed his way across the goal line to give Clearfield the lead once again. The two-point try was missed, leaving the score 25-21 with just over two minutes left.
Caragein was pleased with the running of his star back, as Collins finished with 191 yards on the ground and a pair of scores, but also made it clear to credit his front line for their work in giving Collins the opportunities.
“Nick Bailor, Nolan Rockmore, Ty Aveni, Christian Moore, Hunter Ressler, plus Austin Fenton subbing in, all did a phenomenal job blocking,” he said. “Brady is a tough kid to tackle, and he was determined tonight. I’m sure glad he’s on our team.”
Central would not yield for any moment, as Smith would assist in getting the ball down the field both on the ground and in the air, as the Dragons made it into the red zone with just over a minute remaining. Muthler capped off the drive with an 11-yard score to again give Central the three-point lead. But, three timeouts and 1:02 on the clock meant Clearfield had time to get down the field to potentially tie or even win.
Domico got the call for many plays in the drive, starting things off with a nine-yard run from the Bison 36. Three straight passes then moved Clearfield into opposing territory. But, the downs began running low, and with 4th and 9, Domico needed a miracle.
He found it in his reliable running back, as Collins pulled in a 27-yard strike to put Clearfield inside the 10. After spiking the ball, having used all their timeouts, Caragein elected to send out his field goal unit and allow Diethrick a chance to tie things up. Despite an attempt to ice him cold, the senior kicker shook it off, putting the ball through the uprights. After 48 minutes, the score was 28-28, and it meant more football was on tap.
Clearfield would get the ball in the first overtime period, working midway to the goal line from the Dragon 10, but were again faced with a fourth down miracle. Domico, just as before, relied on the true hands of Collins, as he would pull in the touchdown grab. Diethrick added the point after, and the Bison defense then needed to make the stop.
Unfortunately, Smith made quick work as he took the handoff directly right and broke the plane of the end zone. He added the point after, meaning the teams had to regroup for a second overtime period.
Central would get the ball first in the second overtime, with Smith getting the call on third down after being dropped for a loss the play prior. Muthler found him for the touchdown pass, the fifth overall score for Smith on the night. But, in a stunning turn of events, the point after snap went past the holder, and the Bison defense quickly got the ball recovered. The missed attempt left the door open just enough that Clearfield had an opportunity.
Domico could not find any yardage on first down, then Freeland was dropped for a loss the next play. Faced with 3rd-and-Goal at the 12, Domico found Freeland on the left sideline, getting out of bounds at the Dragon three-yard line. One final play would decide it all.
With the Dragon crowd and sideline in a frenzy, Domico took the snap and looked to his right. He found an opening and let the ball go for the end zone. The pass made it to the goal line, but in an absolute near mirror image of the last game between these two squads, Muthler would intercept the pass at nearly the same spot that Baron Dionis did the first time around, right at the goal line.
The excitement, and relief, on the Dragon sideline was met with the disbelief and heartache on the side of the Bison. Tears were in the eyes of the offense, even as the Dragon team lifted a couple players off the turf to give them an embrace filled with sportsmanship, honor, and respect. In a flash, the season had come to a halt.
As the players went to meet the Bison faithful, Caragein had a chance to reflect on his first season as head coach following the retirement of Tim Janocko, and he noted that the players were what made the season fun, but also learned some things about himself, and what to do moving forward with the next squad he will coach.
“It definitely a great year. I’m going to remember this forever. I had a great group of kids to coach for my first year,” Caragein said. “For me, I learned to evolve myself as a coach to best fit the players.
“I can’t just get stuck in one system; we have to rally around these kids, figure out what works best for them, and in turn what works best for us to win games.”
Clearfield’s season concludes as the District IX Champions in Class 3A, with a final record of 8-4.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Central 0 7 14 7 7 6 – 41
Clearfield 7 0 6 15 7 0 – 35
BOX SCORE
1st Quarter
- BISON: Collins 20-yard run (Diethrick kick), 1:07
2nd Quarter
- DRAGONS: Smith 3-yard run (Smith kick), 3:14
3rd Quarter
- BISON: Domico 18-yard pass to Freeland (kick failed), 6:50
- DRAGONS: Smith 1-yard run (Smith kick), 5:30
- DRAGONS: Smith 39-yard run (Smith kick), 1:29
4th Quarter
- BISON: Collins 18-yard run (run failed), 8:19
- BISON: Freeland 6-yard run (pass failed), 6:22
- DRAGONS: Muthler 11-yard run (Smith kick), 1:02
- BISON: Diethrick 25-yard field goal, 0:01
Overtime
- BISON: Domico 5-yard pass to Collins (Diethrick kick)
- DRAGONS: Smith 10-yard run (Smith kick)
2nd Overtime
- DRAGONS: Muthler 12-yard pass to Smith (run failed)
GAME STATISTICS
Central/Clearfield
- First Downs: 13/16
- Rush Yards: 208/312
- Pass Yards: 126/95
- Penalties-Yards: 4-39/4-40
- Total Yards: 334/407
- Turnovers: 1/2
- Time of Possession: 25:35/22:25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
- Central: Smith-26 carries, 168 yards, 4 TD; Muthler-7 carries, 40 yards, TD.
- Clearfield: Collins-19 carries, 191 yards, 2 TD; Domico-11 carries, 56 yards; Freeland-7 carries, 40 yards, TD; Bell-4 carries, 13 yards.
Passing
- Central: Muthler-11 for 23, 126 yards, TD, INT.
- Clearfield: Domico-10 for 18, 95 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT; Team-0 for 1.
Receiving
- Central: Dionis-3 catches, 48 yards; Smith-3 catches, 37 yards, TD; Benton-3 catches, 23 yards; Dunn-2 catches, 18 yards.
- Clearfield: Collins-5 catches, 60 yards, TD; Freeland-2 catches, 22 yards; Bell-1 catch, 5 yards; Ryan-1 catch, 4 yards; Samsel-1 catch, 4 yards.
FINAL 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 42 – 33 7 – 3
11/3 vs. Punxsutawney, District IX 3A Championship 20 – 14 8 – 3
11/17 vs. Central, PIAA District 6/9 Regional 35 – 41 8 – 4