HYDE — The Clearfield Bisons are on a roll. Just don\’t tell head coach
Tim Janocko.
The Bisons — winners of three consecutive games — appear to be peaking
at the right time. With just two weeks left in the regular season,
Clearfield is starting to position itself for the postseason.
Janocko likes his team, make no mistake about it. He just doesn\’t want
to get into the specifics of this win streak, which includes wins over
Central Mountain (21-7), Indian Valley (19-13) and St. Marys (28-13).
\”We\’re doing OK, keeping our fingers crossed,\” Janocko said.
Truth be told, the Bisons are doing more than OK. They\’ve put together
three solid efforts that have resulted in the back-to-back-to-back
wins. After struggling in a 41-31 loss at Bellefonte, Clearfield has
turned it around.
This week, the Huntingdon Bearcats roll into the Bison Sports Complex.
The Bearcats are struggling, and they may have hit rock bottom in a
26-21 loss to hapless Bald Eagle Area last week.
Janocko said that his squad cannot afford to look past Huntingdon, however.
\”They\’re a good program. They have athletes and they can beat people,\”
Janocko said. \”They\’ve lost a lot of close games.\”
The Bearcats are a power running team. They live by the run and they
die by it. This season, they\’ve mostly died by it. But they do have a
couple of solid backs in senior fullback Andrew Young (6-3, 200) and
senior scatback Joey Riley (5-9, 155).
Certainly, the focus has to be on stopping Young, because he is a
beast. But if you key on Young, Riley is capable of coming up to bite
you.
Janocko said that the key is shutting down the ground game. Period.
\”They have a real nice 1-2 punch. They have the big running back
(Young), and he runs hard. And Riley is a nice scat back,\” Janocko
said.
Clearfield will once again look to junior quarterback Jarrin Campman,
who after some early-season struggles has seemingly put it all
together. After a nightmare of a game at Bellefonte, Campman has come
back strong, putting together three solid efforts — all wins.
Campman was named the District 9 Player of the Week two weeks in a
row. For the season, he\’s completed 83-of-150 passes (55.3 percent)
for 1,242 yards. He\’s tossed 11 touchdowns and three interceptions.
His passer rating is a gaudy 145.09. On the ground, Campman has rushed
131 times for 467 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Once again, the Bisons will try to be balanced offensively.
\”I think we have to continue to be balanced and control the ball and
avoid big mistakes,\” Janocko said. \”I\’m sure Huntingdon will have
something to say about that. But we\’re home, it\’s senior night and
it\’s an opportunity for us to get that sixth win.\”
To do that, the Bisons will need to be focused on the task at hand.
Janocko believes they will do exactly that. Why? These Bisons are more
mature in Week 9 than they were, say, in Week 5.
\”It\’s maturity. We\’ve gotten better every week. We have kids gaining
experience every week. As we mature as a team, we\’re able to do more
things and do things better.\”
Kickoff at the Bison Sports Complex is set for 7 p.m.
