October 7th, 2006 Bisons Beaten by Huntingdon, 28-7HUNTINGDON - The Clearfield Bisons four-game win streak came to an unexpected halt Friday evening in a quieting 28-7 loss at the hands of the Huntingdon Bearcats here at War Vets Stadium in Mountain
Athletic Conference Seven Mountains Division play.
Huntingdon (5-1) took control of the game in the first half with a grueling running game spear-headed by running back Tim Rohrer and played aggressive defense that pressured Clearfield quarterback Andrew
Janocko all night long. The Bearcats defense didn't allow the Bisons the time or space to get the offense in the game.
"We pretty much had everything scouted that they were doing," said Clearfield head coach Tim Janocko. "We made some mental mistakes, especially in the first quarter that really cost us. We didn't cover some backs (coming) out (of the backfield) when we had an opportunity to do that.
"We have some kids where this is their first big game, and their eyes were a little wide. It's a learning experience for us. It's a big game, away, against a tough team. Next time they are in this situation, hopefully they will respond better."
Rohrer amassed 200 yards on 24 carries and scored three touchdowns for the Bearcats. Rohrer had seven carries of 10-yards or more as Huntingdon gained 284 yards of total offense, with 247 coming in a dominant first half. Quarterback Shawn Shoemaker gained 56 yards on nine carries and completed 2 of 3 passes for 28 yards and one touchdown.
Clearfield (4-2, at DuBois Friday at 7 p.m.) managed 321 yards of total offense, with 244 coming through the air. With Huntingdon running out to a 21-0 halftime lead, the Bisons were forced to abandon the running game and attack through the air. Andrew Janocko completed 17 of 36 passes for 244 yards and one touchdown. Doug Kephart, who is emerging as Andrew's favorite target, hauled in six passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. Adam Jury, who fought through double- and triple-coverage, managed to catch three passes for 49 yards. Andrew Janocko completed passes to seven different receivers in the game. Isiah Morgan led the ground attack with 53 yards on 11 carries.
Huntingdon took the opening kickoff and drove 73 yards in 13 plays to take a 7-0 lead with 6:16 remaining in the opening quarter. The Bearcats ground game did the damage as Rohrer gained 57 of those yards as the Huntingdon offensive line dominanted the Bisons defense. Huntingdon took possession at its own 27-yard line and Rohrer picked up a yard on a dive play. After an illegal procedure penalty cost the Bearcats, Shoemaker connected with fullback Andy Young for a 19-yard gain to put the ball at the 42 for a first down.
The Bearcats were then whistled for holding to set up first-and-20 at the 32. Huntingdon was flagged for 11 penalties in the game totaling 94 yards. On second down, Shoemaker gained 5 yards on a bootleg, then Rohrer rambled 18 yards through several Clearfield tacklers to move the ball to the Clearfield 45 for a first down. After Young gained 3 yards on a dive, Rohrer gained 18 yards on a counter to move to the Bisons' 24-yard line for a first down with 8:29 showing on the clock.
Rohrer gained a yard on first down, then gained 19 more on a sprint draw to give Huntingdon a first-and-goal at the Clearfield 4. An illegal motion penalty moved the Bearcats back to the 9, but Shoemaker would find Young open in the flat for a 9-yard touchdown pass. Mark Blemling's extra-point gave Huntingdon an early lead.
After the ensuing kickoff, Clearfield set up shop at its own 24. Morgan gained 3 yards on first down, but Andrew Janocko was dropped for a 4-yard loss on second down. Huntingdon played a simple game on
defense to keep the Bisons offense off balance throughout the game. The Bearcats were able to get a good pass rush with the defensive line and prevented Andrew Janocko from finding his receivers by keeping the
lanky signal caller on the run. Huntingdon registered 10 sacks for 90 yards in losses.
Andrew Janocko found Kephart on third down for a 20-yard gain to move the ball to the 43, but the drive would stall as Huntingdon dropped Morgan and Janocko for 3-yard losses on consecutive plays. Morgan would gain 5 yards on a third-and-17 play, but Clearfield would be forced to punt on fourth down.
Huntingdon needed just four plays to find paydirt and take a 14-0 lead with 59 seconds remaining in the opening quarter. The Bisons defense stopped Rohrer for no gain on first down, but the bulky Bearcat runner burst through the Clearfield defense for a 48-yard gain on second down. The run through the heart of the Bison defense put the ball on the Clearfield 21. Rohrer picked up 6 yards up the middle to set up his 15-yard touchdown run. Rohrer ran untouched through the left side of the Huntingdon line for the score. Blemling converted his second PAT of the game.
The Bearcats stretched the lead to 21 points in the second quarter as Rohrer rambled through the Bison defense for a 31-yard touchdown run with 10:28 left in the half.
Clearfield moved the ball well in the second quarter, but just couldn't conjure a game-changing play. After falling behind 21 points, Clearfield pieced together a six-play drive that ended in three Andrew Janocko incompletions as the Bearcats turned up the defensive pressure. Clearfield took over at its own 35 on the kickoff, and Andrew Janocko connected with Kephart on a 31-yard pickup to give the Bisons a first down at the Huntingdon 44.
Andrew Janocko then found Jury for a 20-yard gain, putting the ball at the Bearcats 24 with 9:41 left in the quarter. On first-and-10, Morgan busted up the middle of the Huntingdon defense for 5 yards. On second down from the 21, Andrew Janocko failed to find Jury in the corner of the endzone. Kephart couldn't handle Andrew's pass on a third-down attempt at a wide receiver screen pass. His fourth-down pass sailed incomplete and the Bearcats took over at their own 21.
The Bisons came up with the big play they were seeking by blocking Huntingdon punt on fourth down. Clearfield found itself with first-and-goal on the Huntingdon 7-yard line. On first down, Morgan was stopped by the Huntingdon defense for no gain. On second down, Andrew Janocko's pass to Jarrin Campman fell incomplete, setting up third-and-goal. Jury then picked up 4 yards to move the ball to the Bearcats' 3, but Andrew Janocko's fourth-down pass to Campman only gained 1 yard and Huntindgon took over on loss of downs deep in its own territory.
The Clearfield defense rose to the occasion and forced Huntingdon to punt. The Bisons took over at the Bearcats' 41 and moved the ball to the 4 but failed to put any points on the board. Andrew Janocko
completed two passes for 31 yards on the drive, and Tyler Kirkwood gained eight yards on two carries, before the drive stalled on a fourth-and-4 play. Andrew Janocko's pass to Kirkwood fell incomplete with 40 seconds left in the first half.
"I'm upset that we made some mental mistakes - more than anything," Tim Janocko said. "A couple of those mental mistakes cost us down in the red zone where we didn't block the right people and we should have
been in the end zone. It would have been a different game. It would have been 21-7 or 21-14 there at halftime. Now, it's a different game.
"We moved the ball up and down the field. We just couldn't get it in the end zone. It seemed like when we got in the red zone we made a mental mistake where we dropped the ball or had a pass protection mistake. It was always something when we got in the red zone that hurt us. Those are the things we have to fix for the rest of the season."
Shoemaker took a knee on first down, and Huntingdon took a 21-0 lead into intermission. Clearfield had the ball inside the Huntingdon 25 twice in the second quarter and failed to score.
Clearfield played better in the second half, but was unable to make up the difference on the scoreboard. The Bisons settled down on defense and didn't allow the Bearcats' big-play offense to dictate the play.
Huntingdon did go ahead 28-0 at the start of the fourth quarter as Rohrer scored from 3-yards out.
"We played better in the second half defensively," Janocko said. "We made some mental mistakes with our pass protection, and it cost us. We were making mental mistakes on the line of scrimmage."
With Clearfield's defense limiting the Bearcats' offense, the Bisons were finally able to get some momentum going on offense. The Bisons took to the air over the final 10 minutes of the game and prevented the shutout with a late score. Clearfield took over at its own 27 after a Huntingdon punt, and Andrew Janocko found Kephart on a 49-yard catch-and-run to move the ball to the Huntingdon 24 with 2:08 left in the game. Andrew Janocko then found Todd Hryn for an 11-yard pickup. Following an incompletion, Morgan gained 3 yards on a dive to set up Janocko's 16-yard scoring strike to Kephart. Kyle Kline's PAT was tipped at the line and found its way through the uprights, but Clearfield trailed 28-7 with time running out.
The Bisons went for the onside kick with Richie Queen jumping on the loose ball at the Huntingdon 47 with 1:12 left. A defensive pass interference call against Huntingdon coupled with Andrew Janocko completions to Drew Hipps for 7 yards and David Ryan for 14 yards put the ball on the Huntingdon 11 with 17 seconds remaining. The Bearcats pass rush caught up with Andrew Janocko one last time and dropped him for a 14-yard loss on the final play of the game.
"We have a lot of football left to play," Janocko said. "We are 4-2 and we have to learn from this. There is a lot of football left to play. We can't worry about this one, we have to move on"
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