August 30th, 2006
Jay Siegel, sports editor
2006 Clearfield Bison Football PreviewHYDE — The Clearfield Area High School football team enters the 2006
season with room for improvement.
Coming off a 6-5 campaign, the Bisons will be looking to improve on
that mark and at the same time put another District 9 Class AAA
championship trophy in the case at Clearfield High.
It won't be easy, however.
The Bisons lost several key members of last year's squad, many of whom
will be missed. The biggest departures came on offense, where the
Bisons will be looking to replace running back Shane Davis, wide
receiver Beau Ryan, wide receiver Matt Morgan, running back/wide
receiver Curtis Campman and center Patrick McDermott.
But it's not all gloom and doom for the Bisons. Head coach Tim Janocko
has been associated with the Clearfield football program for more than
a quarter of a century, amassing a 150-78-3 record. This is his 22nd
season as head coach.
He talked about how this year compares to those gone by.
"It's a strange team," Janocko said as his team prepares for Friday's
season opener. "We lost a lot of good kids, but we have a nice nucleus
back. It will be interesting to see how quickly these kids mature."
Janocko will turn the offense over to his son, Andrew, once again.
Last season, the strong-armed junior led District 9 in passing yards,
completing 136-of-239 for 1,682 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was
intercepted just nine times.
"It's a pretty big season for Andrew, and he knows that. But he's only
going to be as good as the guys around him," Janocko said.
Andrew is hoping to play football at the collegiate level. Pitt, Penn
State, Akron and Buffalo have shown interest.
He will have some weapons on offense to work with. The Bison receiving
corps consist of seniors Will Bacharach and Doug Kephart and juniors
Drew Hipps and Todd Hryn. Last season, Kephart caught 10 balls for 163
yards and five touchdowns.
Expect big things from tight end Adam Jury, who could be a major
weapon for the Bisons. He hauled in 25 passes for 315 yards last
season. Among those 25 passes were a pair of touchdowns.
"Adam is just a good athlete. He can catch, he can punt, he can block.
He does it all," Janocko said.
An area of concern for the Bisons will certainly be the ground game.
With Davis and Campman gone, they will rely on a pair of inexperienced
backs — junior Toby Young and sophomore Isiah Morgan. Young got a
little experience last season, carrying the ball 16 times for 83 yards
— a little over five yards per carry.
"We have some younger kids there who will have to come in and plug
the holes. Again, how quickly they mature will determine how good we
can be. We have some size there, so we'll see," Janocko said.
The offensive line will be another key for the 2006 Bisons. Senior
Mike McDermott, who missed the previous two season due to injuries,
takes over at center. The tackles will be senior John Bowman and
junior Justin Karp. In one of the guard spots, expect to see senior
Scott Heichel, who is fully recovered from knee surgery. The other
guard slot is still up in the air.
The offensive line will have to come together quickly.
"It's going to take some time, but I think the line is coming along,"
Janocko said.
Senior Tyler Kirkwood could be the wild card along the line. He's
listed as a tackle, but indications are that he could also see spot
duty at fullback.
On defense, under the direction of longtime defensive coordinator
Forrest Campman, the Bisons should be solid once again.
Spots on the front four are still up for grabs. However, expect to see
senior Joe Hinchcliffe, sophomore Nick Redden, Karp or Heichel at the
tackle spots. The defensive end positions look like senior Jacob
Riglin and Bowman.
At outside linebacker, Young and Kepart will see action. At inside
linebacker, expect to see Kirkwood and junior Curtis Conrad. In
secondary, it will be Bacharach, Janocko and Campman at the corners
and Jury at safety.
"Defensively, we've got some size and we've got some speed. There's
inexperience there, so it might take these guys a couple of games to
adjust," Janocko said.
Senior Kyle Kline has looked good during practice and will handle
placekicking duties. Jury will punt.
Clearfield, which plays in the Mountain Athletic Conference, will play
the usual suspects once again. They open with Bradford, a team that
took them to double overtime last year. The Bisons will look to avenge
losses to Huntingdon, Bellefonte, DuBois and St. Marys. The Bisons
fell to the Flying Dutch, 40-22, during the regular season, but won
when it counted winning 21-18 in the D-9 Class AAA title game.
Clearfield fell to Perry in the first round of the PIAA playoffs, 55-14.
"Our goal is always the same. We want to win the district and make the
playoffs. We've got a mix of kids, so it might take us two or three
games to get going. Hopefully, we'll improve and get better as the
season goes along," Janocko said.
The Bisons open the season on Friday, playing host to state-ranked
Bradford at the Bison Sports Complex.
Clearfield Bison Football Roster
Seniors
Will Bacharach (WR/DB), John Bowman (OL/DL), Cody Fye (OL/DL), Scott
Heichel (OL/DL), Joseph Hinchcliffe (OL/DL), Andrew Janocko (QB/DB),
Adam Jury (TE/DB), Douglas Kephart (WR/LB), Tyler Kirkwood (OL/LB),
Kyle Kline (K), Michael McDermott (OL/DL), Anthony Moore (WR/DB),
Jacob Riglin (OL/DL).
Juniors
Curtis Conrad (OL/LB), Tyler Danver (WR/DB), Tyler Davis (WR/DB), Joel
Fox (WR/DB), Nathan Greenland (WR/LB), Drew Hipps (WR/DB), Casey
Hoffman (OL/DL), Gary Hoover (OL/LB), Todd Hryn (WR/LB), Justin Karp
(RB/LB), Ryan Lippert (OL/DL), Vincent Panebianco (TE/DL), Richard
Queen (RB/LB), David Ryan (WR/DB), Bryant Sellers (RB/DB), David
Welker (WR/DB), Toby Young (RB/LB), Lee Zalno (OL/DL).
Sophomores
Alex Angstadt (WR/DB), Justin Barbieri (OL/DL), Corey Bookhamer
(WR/DB), Jarrin Campman (QB/DB), Shay Flanagan (OL/DL), Robert Foust
(OL/DL), Parker Herrington (K), Cruise Kerr (TE/LB), Isiah Morgan
(RB/LB), Scott Nashida (WR/DB), Nathan Quick (OL/DL), Nicholas Redden
(OL/DL), Joshua Rippey (RB/LB), Tanner St. Clair (WR/DB), Brandon Sass
(QB/DB), Jeff Smallwood (WR/DB), Zachary Stephens (OL/DL), Tyler
Wilson (TE/LB).
Schedule
September
1—BRADFORD; 8—at Brookville; 15—INDIAN VALLEY; 22—BELLEFONTE; 29 — at Lewistown.
October
6—at Huntingdon; 13—at DuBois; 20—ST. MARYS; 27—PUNXSUTAWNEY.
November
3—at Brockway, 7:30 p.m.
Home games in CAPS.
All games begin at 7 p.m. unless noted otherwise.
Learn more about the Clearfield football program at www.clearfieldfootball.org/.
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