October 4th, 2006
Jay Siegel, sports editor
Clearfield (4-1) at Huntingdon (4-1)HUNTINGDON — After a relatively nice and easy blowout victory, the
Bisons get back on the horse this week when they travel to Huntingdon
to take on the Bearcats.
Clearfield is coming off a 31-0 pasting of Lewistown. The Bearcats,
meanwhile, are coming off a tough, 24-7 victory over Punxsutawney.
Huntingdon enters the game with a 4-1 mark as well. Its lone loss came
against Tyrone.
The Bearcats are one of the honorable mention Class AAA teams in the
state, according to the Harrisburg Patriot-News.
Traditionally, Huntingdon likes to run the football. Coach Jim Zauzig
hasn't changed the offense much, even though they've got a few more
weapons.
"They're multi-faceted," said Clearfield coach Tim Janocko. "They have
some good running backs. Their quarterback is more than adequate
throwing the football, but he's more of a fast kid, more of a runner."
The Bearcats — who are averaging 28 points per game — use three very
capable running backs. Joey Riley, Tim Rohrer and Andy Young are the
go-to guys when it comes to the Huntingdon ground game. But don't be
surprised to see the Bearcats take a few shots down the field.
"They come at you a lot of different ways. We have our hands full,
there's no doubt," Janocko said. "It's going to be a very tough game,
especially at Huntingdon."
Clearfield, which won three consecutive nailbiters before blowing out
the Panthers last week, cannot afford to make mistakes this week.
Huntingdon has a habit of pouncing on a team's miscues.
So will the team that makes fewer mistakes win?
"Yeah, I think that's the type of game this is. It's going to come
down to whether or not we can stop them enough to be in the game in
the fourth quarter. If we're in the game in the fourth quarter, we
have a chance. We have to be able to play great defense to stay in the
game," Janocko said.
The Bisons did just that the past two weeks. The Bisons pitched the
shutout last week. In two weeks, the Bison D has allowed just 17
points — a far cry from the team that surrendered 56 in Week One.
Janocko said that both the offensive and defensive lines have a lot to
do with this squad's success.
"Our offensive and defensive linemen are getting better. We have a
sophomore linebacker (Nick Redden) playing both ways. John Bowman,
Mike (McDermott) and Scott (Heichel) are getting more consistent and
they're getting better. Those are the kids who are making the
difference right now," Janocko said.
With the top passer in District 9 in senior quarterback Andrew
Janocko, more teams are coming after the signal caller with blitz
packages. The O-line has responded and stepped up their game.
"They continue to improve. We're seeing a lot of different defenses
now. It's just amazing what teams are throwing at us. Lewistown was
running a nickel package. They were blitzing every play, trying to
slow us down," coach Janocko said.
So far, no one has been able to slow down the Bison offense.
Janocko was the first QB in District 9 to go over 1,000 yards this
season. He's completed 72-of-118 (61 percent) for 1,079 yards. He's
tossed six touchdowns and just five interceptions. His passer rating
is 146.13, over 35 points better than anyone else in D-9.
Tight end Adam Jury leads D-9 in receiving, catching 38 balls for 609
yards — an average of 16 yards per catch. He also has two touchdowns.
Wideout Doug Kephart is second in receiving, catching 20 balls for 406
yards and five scores.
If the Bisons turn to the ground game, Isiah Morgan will be the man
for the Bisons. He's got 418 yards on 92 carries — 4.5 yards per
carry. He's also scored eight touchdowns.
As the Bisons head into October, Janocko said that he would like to
see his squad get on a roll.
"We need to string two or three more wins under our belt and head into
the playoffs," he said. "I think this would be a huge win if we can
pull it off. I look at it as a game that prepares us for the rest of
the season. We're going to have to play these types of teams and we're
going to have to face a team like this in the playoffs."
"We're 4-1 and we're happy to be 4-1. We just want to take them one at
a time and do the best we can."
Kickoff at War Vets Field is slated for 7 p.m.
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