HYDE – The Clearfield defense had its problems with General McLane’s high-powered passing attack during Friday’s PIAA Class 4A first-round playoff game at the Bison Sports Complex. But with their backs against the wall, the Bison forced three straight incomplete passes by Lancer QB Isaac Dietz on goal-to-go from the 8-yard line and McLane kicker McCall Eichner’s 25-yard field goal attempt with 14 seconds left to play didn’t get high enough to clear the line as Clearfield held on for a 27-26 victory in a classic.
Dietz completed 20 of his 34 pass attempts for 279 yards, including a 96-yard scoring strike that gave the Lancers a 26-21 lead with 5:25 to go in the game.
But Clearfield answered with a 6-play, 62-yard drive capped by a 10-yard Brady Collins TD run with 1:57 remaining that put the Bison back in front by a point. Collins ran the ball 23 times for 184 yards and two scores to lead the offense. He also set the new single-season program record for yards with 2,574, eclipsing the previous mark of 2,515 held by Dave Richards.
“It was an incredible game,” Clearfield head coach Myles Caragein said. “These kids just kept fighting, I’m so proud of them. Their backs were against the corner. We had some things go against us in that first half that were a little frustrating, but they just kept fighting. They never gave up.
“I told them from the beginning of the game this was going to be a four-quarter fight and you have to keep fighting no matter what happens whether we’re up or down keep swinging, and they did a great job.”
It was the Lancers who came out swinging with a hurry-up offense that needed just three plays to cover 52 yards and put the first points on the board.
Dietz found Jared Corwin for an 11-yard touchdown pass just 30 seconds into the game and Eichner added the PAT to give the visitors a 7-0 lead over the stunned Bison.
But Clearfield answered swiftly with a methodical 67-yard drive that saw quarterback Xavier Curry connect with Colton Ryan for a 10-yard gain on third-and-6 to keep the series going and then hit Elijah Glunt for a 26-yard pass play that moved the Bison to the Lancer 4. Carter Freeland took it the final four yards and Bryce Frushour booted the PAT to tie the game at 7-7 with 7:05 still left in the first quarter.
General McLane was called for a block below the waist on the ensuing kickoff and started its second series at the 13, but the Lancers converted two third downs and a fourth down over the course of the drive, navigating the 87 yards in 14 plays. The Lancers did get a little help from the Bison defense, who were called for a 5-yard facemask penalty after it appeared McLane had been stopped on fourth down from the Clearfield 18.
But the Lancers took advantage of the new life and Dietz hit brother Jacob Dietz for a 9-yard TD pass with 3:08 to play in the first.
Clearfield’s next drive ended after three plays and Obrien Owens booted a 56-yard punt that pinned McLane at its 2. It was the only punt in the game.
General McLane was able to travel from its 2 all the way to paydirt, needing 17 plays, three third down conversions as well as moving the chains once on fourth down. Clearfield once again helped out the Lancer offense with a penalty, this time giving up a first down after an apparent stop on third-and-10 from the 20. Teige Berger carried the ball 6 yards for a score two plays after the penalty. Berger ran 23 times for 116 yards for the Lancers.
Ty Aveni blocked the Lancer extra point to keep the score 20-7 with 6:08 left in the first half.
The Bison wasted little time getting back in the game.
After Curry gained five yards on first down from the 31 and Collins picked up four on second, the Bison single-season and career rushing leader burst through a seam in the Lancer defense and raced 60 yards for a score, making it 20-14 with 4:39 remaining in the second.
The Bison defense was finally able to hold the Lancers out of the end zone as Hunter Ressler sacked Dietz on fourth-and-4 from Clearfield’s 19 and the half ran out four plays later.
Clearfield was to get the ball to start the second half, but General McLane surprised the Bison with a short kickoff that the Lancers recovered at the 42. McLane moved the ball to the Bison 10, but Isaac Dietz was dropped for a 3-yard loss on third down, then threw an incomplete pass on fourth to turn the ball back over to Clearfield.
The Bison rushing attack took over from there. Clearfield ran the ball 10 straight times with Freeland paying off the 87-yard drive with a 5-yard score and Frushour kicking the PAT to give the hosts their first lead of the game, 21-20, with 3:31 left in the third. Freeland picked up 98 yards on 15 carries.
“We just trust our linemen and we want to run right behind them,” Caragein said. “When you have Brady and Freeland, let’s just run North and South and see if we can turn those 5-yard runs into touchdown, and we eventually did it. That’s just a testament to our linemen. They did a great job blocking.”
Freeland ran five times for 57 yards on the drive, including a 35-yard scamper on third-and-3. Collins broke the program’s single-season rushing record with a 3-yard run the play before Freeland’s TD.
“Brady’s just a stud.” Caragein said. “I mean I have a bunch of them, but he’s special. Doing multi-sports and putting the time in and the work ethic. He’s just such a hard-working kid, not just him but all the other kids. This is a great group of seniors and I’m just blessed to be able to coach them.”
McLane looked to answer after starting on the Bison 47 following a good return on the kickoff. But Colton Ryan dropped into coverage and picked off Dietz to thwart the drive. He returned the ball 40 yards, but a 15-yard penalty brought it back to their own 32.
The Bison then embarked on a 14-play drive, but were unable to finish it off. Curry dropped back to pass on fourth-and-goal from the 12, was unable to find an open receiver as the McLane pressure got to him and scrambled for a 7-yard gain, turning it over on downs at the 5.
On the next play, Lancer receiver Jacob Dietz collided with a Bison defender going for a pass and fell to the turf violently, slamming his head off the ground. After he initially got to his feet, Dietz lost his balance and was in obvious distress as he tried to get back to the huddle. He was eased back to the ground by teammates and training staff and was worked on for quite some time before the ambulance crew was called to assist after he tried to walk off the field twice with help. He eventually was loaded up on a stretcher and taken to the hospital. There was no immediate word on his condition.
Dietz had eight catches for 78 yards and a score before the injury.
“I hate seeing an injury like that,” Caragein said. “I hope for a quick recovery for (Dietz). I hope it’s nothing serious. But both teams responded. They came out and hit a big play that put us in the corner again. We had to come out swinging, and we did.”
After the long injury delay the teams returned to the field where Berger was dropped for a 1-yard loss on the first play. But on third-and-11 from the 4, Isaac Dietz connected with Kyle McConnell for the 96-yard touchdown strike that gave the Lancers the 26-21 lead with 5:25 left to play. A 2-point pass play was no good.
Once again, Clearfield responded.
This time, Curry hooked up with Glunt on a 36-yard pass play on third-and-7 to move to the Lancer 23.
After Freeland ran for three yards, Collins carried twice for back-to-back 10-yard gains, the second going for a score as he ran through several Lancer defenders before diving for the pilon.
“These kids have been together, they’ve been through some adversity, so when they get backed in the corner, they’re not going to back down,” Caragein said. “They are competitors. They are just going to keep going as long as there is time on the clock.”
Clearfield’s attempt at a 2-point conversion also failed, leaving the score at 27-26 with plenty of time for McLane to answer.
Isaac Deitz hit Corwin for 26 yards on the first play of the drive before finding McConnell for 14 two snaps later. But after two runs and a 5-yard face mask penalty on the Bison got General McLane to the Bison 8, Clearfield’s defense pressured Isaac Dietz into three straight incomplete passes in the end zone and the Lancers chose to try to win it with a 25-yard field goal.
After the failed kick, Clearfield needed to kneel on the ball just once to claim the 1-point victory and advanced to the PIAA quarterfinal round against the winner of Saturday’s McKeesport-Thomas Jefferson contest.
The Bison improved to 12-0, while General McLane ended its season at 8-3.
Score by Quarters
General McLane 14 6 0 6 — 26
Clearfield 7 7 7 6 — 27
First Quarter
GM—Jared Corwin 11 pass from Isaac Dietz, (McCall Eichner kick), 11:30.
CL—Carter Freeland 4 run, (Bryce Frushour kick), 7:05.
GM—Jacob Dietz 9 pass from Isaac Dietz, (Eichner kick), 3:08.
Second Quarter
GM—Teige Berger 6 run, (kick blocked), 6:08.
CL—Brady Collins 60 run, (Frushour kick), 4:39.
Third Quarter
CL—Freeland 5 run, (Frushour kick), 3:31.
Fourth Quarter
GM—Kyle McConnell 96 pass from I. Dietz, (pass failed), 5:25.
CL—Collins 10 run, (pass failed), 1:57.
___
;GM;CL
First downs;21;14
Rushes-yards;36-194;42-293
Comp-Att-Int;20-34-1;4-8-0
Passing Yards;279;78
Total Plays-Yards;70-473;50-371
Fumbles-Lost;0-0;0-0
Punts;0-0.0;1-56.0
Penalties-Yards;4-32;5-37
___
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
General McLane—Tiege Berger 23-116, Isaac Dietz 9-59, Cohen Beachly 4-19.
Clearfield—Brady Collins 23-184, Carter Freeland 15-98, Xavier Curry 3-13, Team 1 (-1).
PASSING
General McLane—Isaac Dietz 20-of-34, 279 yds, 3 TD, 1 Int.
Clearfield—Xavier Curry 4-of-8, 78 yds.
RECEIVING
General McLane—Jacob Dietz 8-78, Jared Corwin 7-61, Tiege Berger 3-30, Kyle McConnell 2-110.
Clearfield—Elijah Glunt 2-62, Colton Ryan 1-10, Cooper Broad 1-6.
INTERCEPTIONS
Clearfield—Colton Ryan.