JOHNSONBURG — The Curwensville Area High School football team did what they could to assure themselves the number one seed in the District IX Class A playoffs on Friday night. The Golden Tide finished the regular season with a 42-22 victory over Johnsonburg. Curwensville stands at 8-1 on the season and will have the best record in the tournament, however, they still need a little help to be the top seed.Â
Because of the criteria set up in District IX that combines the AML and the KSAC leagues, Brockway, who handed Curwensville its only loss, needs to secure the AML Championship to give the Tide the number one seed. The Rovers will meet Cameron County next week for the AML title. If the Red Raiders win the AML, the criteria states that a Class A champion secures the top spot. Because Brockway is Class AA, a win from them would allow Curwensville to take that honor. The top KSAC team (which is Clarion) is given the number 2 seed.
On Friday against the Rams, the Golden Tide left little doubt that they were the team to hold that top spot. Curwensville scored on its first two possessions, and never looked back as they controlled the game early.
There was no change of game plan for the visitors as they took the opening kick-off and marched down the field via the running game. Junior tailback Alex Holland carried the ball seven times on the opening eight-play drive including the final run of 10 yards for the initial score. Taylor Bumbarger’s PAT kick set the score at 7-0 with 8:03 left in the quarter.
The Tide defense gave up just five yards as the Rams were stopped on three downs and had to punt the ball back to Curwensville. An Illegal block in the back pushed the Ram punt further down the field as Curwensville took over on their own 14-yard line.
Quickly sophomore quarterback Hunter McCracken took the snap and stepped aside as he handed Holland the ball up the middle. Holland’s lead blocking allowed him to get into the secondary. Holland turned on the afterburners as he broke to the sideline and picked up a huge block from Shae Best to scamper 86 yards for his second touchdown in 2:04. The PAT failed and the score stood at 13-0 with 5:59 left in the first quarter.
“Alex had a great game,” said Tide head coach Andy Evanko. “He took advantage of good blocking when he had it, and ran threw tackles when he needed to. He quietly continues to pile up his yards. You don’t always realize the yardage he’s putting up until you read about it the next day. I’m glad he’s on our side”
The Rams gave the ball back with its second three-and-out, and Curwensville methodically ran out the first quarter clock. The Black and Gold offense kept the ball for 13 plays before senior quarterback Alec Starr hit Shane Hoover in the end zone for a five-yard touchdown pass. The point after again failed and the score stood at 19-0 at the 10:30 mark in the second quarter.
With the help of two long passes, Jonsonburg quarterback Andrew Nortum found his comfort zone and the Rams quickly got on the board. Nortum found Louie Imbrogno in the right corner of the end zone and also caught the PAT pass to hold the score at 19-8 with halftime just 8:44 away.
Curwensville quickly answered the score as McCracken took charge on his series. During the drive, Holland added 35 yards to his total, McCracken hit Shae Best on an 11-yard pass and senior fullback Zack Dimmick cleaned up the final two yards for another score.  McCracken then found Holland in the end zone for the two-point conversion for a 27-8 lead with just over 6:00 minutes in the half.
A balanced pass-run attack allowed the Rams to move the ball down the field on their next possession. Johnsonburg managed a 10-play drive that included four straight first downs that sat the ball on the Curwensville two-yard line for a first and goal. However, the defense stiffened on first down for a six-yard loss and knocked the ball down the next two pass plays. On fourth-and-goal from the eight, Nortum hit Joe Holmberg in the end zone for a score. Mitchell Vallone pulled in a PAT pass from Nortum and the score stood at 27-16 with 2:16 until halftime.
That 2:16 was more than enough time for the Tide to score again as Starr hit Holland on a 37-yard catch and run that moved the ball to the Johnsonburg 34. Two plays later Hoover pulled in a 26-yard pass play from Starr to the two-yard line. Holland finished the drive on the next play with his third TD of the half. Kyle Barrett got the call on the two-point conversion with a juggling catch for the 35-16 halftime mark.
“We didn’t tackle in that second quarter as well as we have been,” said Evanko. “Nortum was able to stay alive and make extra things happen after it looked like we had him stopped. They always have some exceptional athletes and come to play every game. In the second half they played exceptionally well on defense.”
Long drives and defensive stops highlighted the third quarter. The result was neither team scoring. A Curwensville sack by Jesse Zorger, an interception by Ram Sophomore Quinn Luhr and a fumble recovery by Tide senior Jeremy Bloom showcased the period.
Bloom’s recovery put the Tide in business for a sustained 15-play drive. The big play of the drive was a 24-yard run by Dimmick. Holland finished the chore by diving into the end zone from three yards out. Bumbarger finished the scoring with 7:10 left in the game.
The Rams were able to take advantage of a fumble recover of their own with 5:00 to play. The ball sat on the Curwensville 19-yard line. Nortum and his coaches turned back to the run, and with 1:05 left, Nortum ran off the left tackle for a one-yard rum that set the final at 42-22 when the PAT was blocked.
Holland finished the game with 259 rushing yards, 37 yards receiving and four touchdows. Dimmick turned in 66 yards and a score on 11 carries. McCracken and Starr combined for 8 for 12 on passes.  Starr was four of five for 81 yards, while McCracken was four for seven. Hoover had three catches for 42 yards including a score while Best grabbed three passes for 55 yards.
“We were just trying to take what they would give,” said Evanko. “We have quarterbacks who can throw and kids who can catch the ball. We just tried to mix things up a little and the team played a great game.
Last week against Brockway, Nortum ran for 136 yards. Curwensville held him to 28 yards rushing (27 for the team). However, he was able to pass for 187 yards on Friday night. Passes of 46 and 39 to Wolfe and Joe Holmberg respectively helped his cause.
Curwensville will take next week off before getting into the district playoffs. With a little help from the Rovers next week, the Tide will be sitting on top of the district bracket ready to play at Riverside Stadium.
Score by Quarter
Curwensville  13 22 0 70 – 42
Johnsonburg  0 16 0 6 – 22
 BOX SCORE
 1st Quarter
 Curwensville: 10-yard run by Holland (Bumbarger kick), 8:03.
Curwensville: 86-yard run by Holland (kick failed), 5:59.
2nd Quarter
Curwensville: 5-yard pass by Starr to Hoover (pass failed), 10:30.
Johnsonburg: 21-yard pass from Nortrum to Imbrogno (Nortum pass to Imborgno), 8:44.
Curwensville: 2-yard run by Dimmick (Starr pass to Holland), 6:12.
Johnsonburg: 8-yard pass from Nortum to J. Holmberg (Vallone run), 2:16.
Curwensville: 2-yard run by Holland (pass by Starr to Barrett), :51.
4th Quarter
Curwensville: 3-yard run by Holland (Bumbarger kick), 7:10
Johnsonburg: 1-yard run by Nortuml (kick blocked), 1:05
GAME STATISTICS
CURWENSVILLE /Â JOHNSONBURG
 FIRST DOWNS:  20 / 8
 RUSH YARDS: 348 / 38
 PASS YARDS: 134 / 187
 TOTAL YARDS: 481 / 225
 PENALTIES: 7 / 4
 PENALTY YARDS: 66 / 40
 COMP/ATT/TD/INT: 8-12 -1-1 / 9-20-1-0
 FUMBLES: 4 / 1
FUMBLES LOST: 1Â / 1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
 RUSHING
CURWENSVILLE: Holand- 31 carries, 259 yards, 4 TD’s; Dimmick – 11 carries, 66 yards, TD; Starr- 5 carries, 17 yards; Bloom- 1 carry, 0 yards; Greslick – 1 carry, 0 yards; Coudreit – 1 rush, 6 yards; TOTAL-50 carries, 348 yards, 5 TD’s.
JOHNSONBURG:  Nortum – 15 carries, 28 yards, TD; M. Homberg – 2 carries, -1 yards; Miller – 4 carries, 11 yards; Shuey – 1 carry, o yards; TOTALS: 23 carries, 38 yards, TD.
PASSING
CURWENSVILLE:Â McCracken – 4 for 7, 53 yards, INT; Starr- 4 for 5, 81 yards, TD; TOTALS: 8 for 12, 134 yards, TD, INT.
JOHNSONBURG: Nortum – 10 for 20, 187 yards, 2 TD’s; M. Holmberg – 0 for 1, 0 yards; TOTALS: 10 for 21, 187 yards, 2 TD’s.
RECEIVING
CURWENSVILLE: Holland – 1 reception, 37 yards; Best – 3 receptions, Hoover – 3 catches, 42 yards, TD; Zorger -1 reception, 0 yards; TOTALS: 8 receptions, 134 yards, TD..
JOHNSONBURG: J. Holmberg -2 receptions, 47 yards, TD; Imbrogno – 2 receptions, 28 yards; Vallone – 2 receptions, 19 yards, TD; Wolfe – 1 reception, 46 yards; Luhr – 2 receptions, 39 yards; Zuroski – 1 reception, 8 yards; TOTALS:  10 receptions, 187 yards, 2 TD’s.
