HYDE-The chill in the air at the Bison Sports Complex was a picturesque feeling for a football Friday. The glamour of Homecoming festivities brought many to the stands, and as an added treat it also meant the return of the 2024 edition of the Bison Alumni Band. It was all happiness during halftime, as the Homecoming Court took to the field, and received their roses. When the unwrapping concluded, Gabrielle Henry was smiling the biggest, being crowned the 2024 Homecoming Queen in front of her parents, peers, friends and fellow students.
But, in between the beautiful moments, the Richland Rams walked in ready to pounce on the Bison, hoping to end their undefeated season. Pounce may not have been the right term, because the two squads would smash, bash, clash and crash for 48 minutes. The physical contest left both teams bruised, but it was Clearfield that walked away with a 41-21 victory to keep their unblemished record intact.
“Richland is a great team, and they came to play,” head coach Myles Caragein said after. “Our guys had to execute tonight against a tough defense. Defense was competing, and they kept fighting.”
The night was defined by hard-hitting action, and for Clearfield they would not have it any other way. But, it did not start out how they expected. The opening drive on the night saw back-to-back penalties go against them, and when faced with a 3rd and 24, quarterback Xavier Curry tried to escape on a scramble. He ultimately saw the ball come out of his grasp, and right into the arms of the Ram defense. Not two minutes into the game, the first momentum shift happened as Richland took over at the Bison 41.
One good fortune for the opposition quickly became big for the Bison, as on the first play from scrimmage for Richland, quarterback Jacob Regan get taken down, but in doing so he coughed up the ball. Carter Freeland was right on the ball, scooping it off the turf and rumbling 56 yards in the opposite direction for the touchdown.
Bryce Frushour put the extra point right through the uprights, and Clearfield took the early 7-0 lead, where it remained throughout the entire first quarter.
“It was a big momentum shift for us. To get the ball right back and score, it boosted the confidence of our offense,” Caragein said.
After the lead change, the two sides began to trade hard hits, both in trying to gain yardage, and just by trying to break tackles. Clearfield, seeing how the game was going, decided to trust in their offensive line to part the seas and give the rushing game all the glory. On the night, Clearfield only attempted four passes, completing just one. Yet, there wasn’t much of a need to pass as Clearfield was pummeling the Rams up front, rushing for over 300 yards on the night.
Once Freeland had his touchdown on the board, the stud of the Bison took charge. Brady Collins, coming off yet another stellar performance and still chasing records, took the bulk of the first drive of the second quarter, rushing on five of the seven plays. He capped off the drive with a 13-yard run to put Clearfield ahead by a pair of possessions.
Collins was just getting warmed up as he found the end zone on the next Bison possession, capping a 10-play drive that went 65 yards, pushing Clearfield to a 21-0 lead.
“He’s just a great player, and he also boosts everyone else around him up,” Caragein said of his senior running back. “When he’s out there, he’s cheering on his teammates, making them better.”
Richland was able to get on the board right at the end of the first half, as they started to find cracks in the Bison defense, working their way inside the 10. Regan managed to find his main receiver, 3-star prospect Arnold Mugerwa, in the end zone for an 8-yard strike to prevent the shutout. The extra point made it 21-7 heading into halftime, but more importantly for Richland it gave them a chance to double-down, as the Rams would receive the opening kickoff for the third quarter.
That looked to be a possibility as the Rams worked to near mid-field in just three plays. But, Colton Ryan made a major play on 1st and 10 when he nabbed the interception to set up Clearfield on the downhill side of the field.
“They (Richland) came out with a lot of momentum,” Caragein said. “Colton went up and make a huge play to swing things back in our favor when we needed it.”
Clearfield kept things simple, relying on Freeland and Collins, and they ate up time while also following the big offensive line to get into the red zone. Collins then finished it with his third touchdown on the night, a 4-yard push into the end zone. The extra point hammered off the left upright, leaving the score 27-7. Collins would have a solid night on the ground, carrying the ball 27 times for 170 yards, and accounting for all five offensive touchdowns.
Collins added another rushing touchdown on the next possession, and it appeared as though the game was well in hand with a 34-7 look.
As good as the offense was, the Rams would immediately answer back, as Austin Yarnick took the kickoff at his own 11, then found the crease up the right side. He would put the ball under his arm and let his legs do the rest, rushing down the field for an 89-yard kickoff return to immediately give a spark to the opposing sideline. The extra point was true, and the score was cut back to a three-possession gap.
With everything still working, Caragein and his supporting staff continued to pound the ball on the ground, and the offensive line answered the call every time. The final score for the Bison came in the early part of the fourth quarter as they would run the ball nine out of ten plays, with Collins capping it off once more on a two-yard push across the line to help his team make it 41-14 with 10:34 left in the game.
“Our offensive line has played so well this year, and they’ve been together for a very long time,” Caragein said. “They work well together, and they also enjoy being around one another as they hang out away from the field as well.”
The Rams would get in the end zone one last time late in the fourth quarter, as Clearfield began doing minor substitutions on defense to give the starting squad a chance to rest. However, the second-team roster was not going down easy, as they would keep the Rams out of the end zone when they stopped the ground game on back-to-back plays just outside the goal line. But, Regan was just able to get the ball to Gunner Hagens across the goal line on fourth down as his second touchdown pass of the night. But, by then it was too late to mount a comeback, as Clearfield ran out the clock on the ensuing kickoff to close out the win.
Clearfield (8-0) will close out the scheduled regular season next Friday night when they host Central. Prior to the 7 p.m. kickoff, the 2024 senior class of cheerleaders, band members, and football players will be recognized.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Richland 0 7 7 7 – 21
Clearfield 7 14 13 7 – 41
BOX SCORE
1st Quarter
- BISON: 56-yard fumble return by Freeland (Frushour kick), 10:24
2nd Quarter
- BISON: 13-yard run by Collins (Frushour kick), 10:17
- BISON: 2-yard run by Collins (Frushour kick), 3:35
- RAMS: 8-yard pass from Regan to Mugerwa (Ritko kick), 0:15
3rd Quarter
- BISON: 4-yard run by Collins (kick failed), 7:05
- BISON: 1-yard run by Collins (Frushour kick), 2:03
- RAMS: 89-yard kickoff return by Yarnick (Ritko kick), 1:49
4th Quarter
- BISON: 2-yard run by Collins (Frushour kick), 10:34
- RAMS: 1-yard pass from Regan to Hagens (Ritko kick), 0:06
GAME STATISTICS
Richland/Clearfield
- First Downs: 13/15
- Rush Yards: 88/315
- Pass Yards: 147/20
- Penalties-Yards: 3-25/6-56
- Total Yards: 235/335
- Turnovers: 2/2
- Time of Possession: 24:23/23:37
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
- Richland: Mcaneny-10 carries, 37 yards; Regan-9 carries, 17 yards; Yeager-5 carries, 19 yards; Christian-3 carries, 14 yards; Ragno-2 carries, 5 yards; Yarnick-1 carry, (-4) yards, 89-yard kickoff return TD.
- Clearfield: Collins-27 carries, 170 yards, 5 TD; Freeland-14 carries, 91 yards, 56-yard fumble return TD; Curry-6 carries, 41 yards; Chamberlain-4 carries, 26 yards; Team-1 carry, (-2) yards.
Passing
- Richland: Regan-13 for 24, 147 yards, 2 TD, INT.
- Clearfield: Curry-1 for 3, 20 yards; Freeland-0 for 1.
Receiving
- Richland: Yarnick-4 catches, 63 yards; Christian-3 catches, 14 yards; Mugerwa-2 catches, 40 yards; Mugerwa-2 catches, 15 yards, TD; Yeager-1 catch, 2 yards; Hagens-1 catch, 1 yard, TD.
- Clearfield: Ryan-1 catch, 20 yards.
BISON SCOREBOARD:
Date Opponent Score Record
08/23 @ Tyrone 36 – 20 1 – 0
08/30 FOREST HILLS 27 – 7 2 – 0
09/06 @ Philipsburg-Osceola 33 – 7 3 – 0
09/13 BELLEFONTE 28 – 7 4 – 0
09/20 @ Huntingdon 46 – 7 5 – 0
09/27 @ Penns Valley 59 – 27 6 – 0
10/04 BALD EAGLE AREA 41 – 7 7 – 0
10/11 RICHLAND 41 – 21 8 – 0
10/18 CENTRAL
10/25 @ LHAC cross over game (TBD)