BROOKVILLE — It was not the typical type of scenario for the Clearfield Bison, as they looked to continue their run in their undefeated season. Rather than a Friday night, their District 8/9 Subregional playoff would happen on a Saturday afternoon. Even as the designated home team, the Bison were playing at the Brookville High School. Then, the slated 1 p.m. start would not take place as scheduled as their opponent, the USO Academy Wildcats, were having transportation woes just trying to get to the field.
Once the kickoff finally happened, the Wildcats showed what they had that made them difficult. Clearfield, coming off a bye week, struggled early. Yet, when it mattered most, the cleats dug in, and the Bison herded in an entire group of cats. After 48 minutes, the Bison captured a fifth consecutive District 9 championship in a 34-24 final.
“That’s a team that’s just being relentless and never giving up,” Bison head coach Myles Caragein said afterwards. “We had our backs against the wall a couple times and had some bad things happen. These kids, they didn’t stop fighting it or back down. They did a great job in not giving up.”
It was the Bison defense that had to try and make an impact against star freshman quarterback AErious Shields, but he was quickly able to find gaps in the secondary, and used the clock to USO’s advantage by taking their time between plays. A nine-play drive went 71 yards, with only 20 coming on the ground, as the Bison defense managed to lock down star running back, Xair Stevenson. The scoring drive culminated when Shields connected with Carter Alford on a quick 4-yard strike. The ensuing two-point try was bottled up, and at 6:50 remaining in the first quarter, the Wildcats held the 6-0 advantage.
The Bison needed an answer on offense, but instead got the answer on the kickoff. Brady Collins picked up the bouncing ball at the 15, and found a hole down his own sideline. Try as they might, USO could not get a grip on the senior, and immediately Clearfield found the answer. The 85-yard return, and the ensuing extra point by Bryce Frushour suddenly gave the Bison the lead, 7-6.
“When we need a play, we know we can rely on him,” Caragein said of his running back.
Still, the Wildcats would not hesitate and continued to use the passing game on the next possession, and at one point almost seemed to fumble the ball just outside the red zone. However, they managed to find a bit of life in the run game, before facing 4th and goal at the two. Eli Sweeney then lined up under center in a formation that many Eagles fans have become familiar with. The “Tush Push” from the backfield seemed to get just enough for the touchdown, and after one quarter the Wildcats held a 12-7 advantage.
They also could see that Clearfield was also reeling in a different sense. Collins was not himself on his first few carries after the USO score, as he appeared to be favoring his one leg. Knowing this, the Bison looked to use him as a decoy and let Carter Freeland try to get the run game going. What also helped was Xavier Curry getting his passing game in a groove rather quickly, as he capped off the first offensive drive for Clearfield in the second quarter with a 20-yard pass to Cooper Broad that he brought down despite a defender in his face for the Bison touchdown. The extra point made it 14-12, and it also meant the defense needed to make a stand.
“USO has a lot of playmakers and they certainly did well today. Our guys, they just keep fighting,” Caragein said. “They have some great athletes and they can make plays. What we have to do going forward is at practice focusing on our technique.”
The Bison defense made that stop as they forced a turnover on downs by stopping Stevenson for a loss at the USO 35. Clearfield turned around and rode Freeland to the red zone before Curry connected with Colton Ryan for a 12-yard touchdown. The extra point made it 21-12, where it remained for the rest of the first half.
Clearfield tried to get the offense going again to start the second half, and even Collins seemed to get better as he rushed for 14 yards on the first play, more than he had in the entire first half. But, Clearfield’s offense was stagnant late, and turned the ball over after being denied on fourth down. On the next play, Stevenson would get the carry and stopped after four yards. However, on the tackle he went down and could be seen quivering in pain. He would get up under his own power, but as he left the field he was not moving his left arm. Ultimately, the shoulder injury would sideline him for the remainder of the game, as the highly-touted and Buffalo-bound senior was held to only 29 yards.
That did not stop USO as the passing attack was not relenting, and Shields connected to Rodney Clinton for a 29-yard touchdown at the 5:40 mark. The Wildcats again were unsuccessful in their two-point try, leaving the score 21-18.
Clearfield took over, and managed to create opportunities for Collins again, but faced a 3rd-and-14 at their own 46 and with the defense in pursuit, Curry somehow found Frushour despite double coverage for a 41-yard gain to put them in the red zone. The drive, sadly, did not yield any points as they were denied on fourth down on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Still, the fight continued, and Clearfield forced a three-and-out, taking over near mid-field, and needed to find a way to get some breathing room.
When needing some help, even with a bad wheel, Collins seems to find a way. Two plays after forcing the punt, the senior back found a hole up the middle, and rushed his way 41 yards to the end zone. Despite showing some pain once he let up, the score put Clearfield up 27-18 as the extra point was blocked. His longest run of the day, part of a 120-yard effort, gave the Bison that two score advantage they wanted.
It did not last because the Shields-Alford connection found the end zone on the next drive, a 50-yard blast to again pull the Wildcats to within three, 27-24. Shields passed for nearly 350 yards on the afternoon, and three touchdowns.
Clearfield found itself in a bad spot on the next drive. After going three-and-out, the snap on the punt to O’Brian Owens went over his head. What was a punt from the Bison 46 ended up as a 1st-and-10 in the red zone for USO, putting momentum clearly in their hands.
All that momentum halted extremely quickly as a bad snap to Shields saw him lose the handle and Clearfield pounced on the loose ball.
The turnover would lead to points as Freeland also found a hole up the center, and a 51-yard rush later he would find the end zone with 2:23 remaining in the game. The extra point made it a two-possession gap, but the Bison defense had trouble stopping the pass all game long, and the Wildcats knew that. Their next drive started at their own 15, but thanks to six straight completions, made it all the way to the Bison 31. However, the struggle for the Wildcats was time, and by the time they snapped the ball on 3rd and 13, less than 30 seconds remained.
Shields let a pass loose to the end zone, but in doing so an entire herd of black jerseys were waiting, as Freeland brought the ball down for the interception, sealing the Bison victory.
An afternoon that started with the Bison not completely in routine form due to things out of their control led to medals being passed out to the players, and a plaque being held up in triumph. Caragein acknowledged that USO’s struggles getting to the stadium had some effect on his team’s preparation, but also did not hurt them.
“I think it did a little bit, but it also didn’t help us, either. I like to be in a routine, and we got here early. But, when we had that delay, we had to adjust our preparation,” he said. “I don’t think it played as big a factor as expected, it was just two great teams with great athletes and great competition.”
Clearfield (11-0) will have to get into routine yet again and do so in a short week, because they will be back on the field Friday night when they take on District 10 champion General McLane in the opening round of the PIAA state playoffs in the 4A bracket.
“It will be a short week for us, but at the same time it is going to feel nice to be back on the field come Friday,” Caragein said with a smile.
The one advantage the Bison will have over the General McLane Lancers on Friday is familiar surroundings. The opening round of the playoffs will see Clearfield play host to the Lancers at the Bison Sports Complex, with kickoff at 7 p.m. Ticket information will be announced at the beginning of the week.
SCORE BY QUARTER
USO 12 0 6 6 – 24
Clearfield 7 14 0 13 – 34
BOX SCORE
1st Quarter
- WILDCATS: 4-yard pass from Shields to Alford (Run failed), 6:50
- BISON: 85-yard kickoff return by Collins (Frushour kick), 6:37
- WILDCATS: 2-yard run by Sweeney (Run failed), 2:07
2nd Quarter
- BISON: 20-yard pass from Curry to Broad (Frushour kick), 8:36
- BISON: 12-yard pass from Curry to Ryan (Frushour kick), 3:41
3rd Quarter
- WILDCATS: 29-yard pass from Shields to Clinton (Pass failed), 5:40
4th Quarter
- BISON: 41-yard run by Collins (Kick failed), 8:38
- WILDCATS: 50-yard pass from Shields to Alford (Pass failed), 7:47
- BISON: 51-yard run by Freeland (Frushour kick), 2:23
GAME STATISTICS
USO/Clearfield
- First Downs: 8/12
- Rush Yards: 7/172
- Pass Yards: 348/152
- Penalties-Yards: 9-69/3-20
- Total Yards: 355/324
- Turnovers: 3/0
- Time of Possession: 22:46/25:14
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
- USO: Stevenson-10 carries, 29 yards; Shields-7 carries, (-24) yards; Stamper-4 carries, 1 yard; Alford-2 carries, (-1) yards; Sweeney-1 carry, 2 yards, TD.
- Clearfield: Collins-14 carries, 120 yards, TD; Freeland-14 carries, 73 yards, TD; Curry-4 carries, 10 yards; Team-3 carries, (-33) yards.
Passing
- USO: Shields: 18 for 19, 348 yards, 3 TD, INT; Sweeney-0 for 1.
- Clearfield: Curry-7 for 17, 134 yards, 2 TD; Freeland-1 for 2, 18 yards; Team-0 for 2.
Receiving
- USO: Alford-9 catches, 237 yards, 2 TD; Clinton-7 catches, 119 yards, TD; Stamper-1 catch, 6 yards; Stevenson-1 catch, 1 yard.
- Clearfield: Broad-3 catches, 39 yards, TD; Freeland-2 catches, 48 yards; Ryan-2 catches, 24 yards, TD; Frushour-1 catch, 41 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 35 – 14 9 – 0
10/25 @ Bedford 36 – 6 10 – 0
11/9 District 8/9 Subregional vs. USO in Brookville 34 – 24 11 – 0
11/15 PIAA Playoffs-Round 1 GENERAL MCLANE