Smethport -- The second time was a charm for the Curwensville Golden Tide.

One week after losing 27-14 to Smethport (9-1) in the AML Title game Curwensville (8-2) got its revenge with a 7-6 win over the Hubbers Friday night in the opening round of the District 9 Class A football playoffs at Smethport.

"The kids played really well tonight," Curwensville head coach Andy Evanko said. "It was a great effort. Smethport is a very, very good football team. They are well coached. Our kids rose to the occasion tonight. It was a big night for us.

"We kinds felt within ourselves that we did not play our best game last week. We didn’t hit very well, and we didn’t block very well. So we went back and did a lot of fundamentals Monday and Tuesday. You could see by the look in the kids’ eyes that they were getting ready to go. They came out tonight and played a very good football team. There was a lot of emotion. If you win you keep going on, if you don’t everything you have worked for is gone. You sort of develop a sense of urgency at this time of year. You can’t leave anything behind. Everything has to be left out of the field."

The Golden Tide used a stifling defense to shutdown Smethport allowing only 54 yards of total offense including minus rushing while handing the Hubbers their first loss of the season and their first ever home playoff loss. It was also only the second time in their long, distinguished playoff history that Smethport has lost a first-round playoff game. The Hubbers lost to Clarion 28-21 in 1999.

"The defense played one wail of a football game," Evanko said. "Coach Folmar put in a defensive game plan that took care of a couple of things we had real trouble stopping last week, and the kids stepped up and played their gaps and did what they had to do. They played huge."

With the win Curwensville advances to the District 9 Class A championship game for the second consecutive season. The Golden Tide defeated Clarion 23-0 in the title game last season.

"We are excited to be going back to the district title game, Evanko said. "We are happy. We like practicing when there is frost in the air. We like practicing when it is cold out on the practice field."

Curwensville got the only score they would need on a great individual effort by quarterback Jim Thompson. On third-and-goal from the Smethport 6-yard line Thompson dropped back to pass but couldn't find anyone open. Seeing a lane up the middle he took off eluding a couple of Hubbers to give Curwensville a 7-0 lead with 8:15 left in the first half.

The Golden Tide had a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line but two straight fumbles by Thompson on snaps put the ball back at the six before the touchdown run.

Curwensville’s defense made that lead standup through the end of the first half keeping Smethport quarterback Jeff Shostak bottled up for most of the half, and after turning away a couple of early Hubber drives keeping Smethport from moving the football.

Smethport had an early chance to score when Andy Rounsville returned a punt 31 yards to the Curwensville 26-yard line. A 17-yard run by Shostak set Smethport up at the Curwensville 7-yard line on a first-and-goal.

Shostak, though, had trouble handing the snap and lost four yards back to the 11-yard line. He then threw an incomplete pass setting up third-and-goal from the 11.

Once again Shostak dropped back to pass, but his aerial was intercepted by Thompson had the Curwensville 4-yard line thwarting the Smethport drive.

The Smethport defense was able to hold and get the ball back on a punt setting the Hubbers up at the Curwensville 35-yard line with 2:35 left in the first quarter.

Curwensville’s defense, however, held forcing a Smethport punt. Shawn Dunkle’s punt went to the 9-yard line, but Curwensville’s Keegan Prisk took the punt and returned it 41 yards to midfield setting up the Golden Tide touchdown drive.

The big play of the drive was a 23-yard pass from Thompson to Mark Records that gave Curwensville the ball at the Smethport 25-yard line. Consecutive 7-yard runs by Brooks Collins and Ryan Bilger moved the ball to the 11-yard line before three more runs got it to the one. That is when Thompson fumbled two straight snaps before scampering in for the touchdown.

After Thompson’s score, Curwensville’s defense got the ball back on a punt, and the Golden Tide proceeded to drive to the Smethport 11-yard line thanks in large part to a 19-yard run by Collins.

Curwensville, though, started to self-destruct at this point first getting an holding penalty and the another holding penalty that put the ball back at the Smethport 34-yard line setting up a second-and-33.

The Golden Tide were able to get it to the 24-yard line on a screen pass to Collins, but on fourth-and-23 from the 24, Thompson was intercepted by Cody Roberts at the 12-yard line.

"We had an awful lot of penalties that helped stop ourselves," Evanko said. "That is something we have to fix. We can’t keep continue to make penalties of that nature because it absolutely kills you. I thought we could have had two more scores if we didn’t have the 1,000 penalties."

Smethport wasn’t able to move the ball and had to punt it away giving Curwensville the ball at the Smethport 44-yard line with 47 seconds left in the half.

The Golden Tide then caught a break when an apparent interception by Steve Bartas was called back because Smethport had 12-men on the field. The half then ended with Curwensville holding the 7-0 lead.

The teams traded punts to start the second half, but then Curwensville was able to move the ball to the Smethport 7-yard line thanks to a 14-yard run by Prisk, a 15-yard scamper by Joe Bennett, a 9-yard jaunt by Collins and a 12-yard run by Prisk.

But once again the Golden Tide started to self-destruct losing six yards on a penalty and then seven more on a broken blocking assignment setting up a third-and-goal from the Smethport 20-yard line.

Thompson then tried to feather a pass into the end zone, but the ball was picked off by Smethport’s Rounsville who returned the interception 88 yards for a touchdown.

The Hubbers then lined up to kick the extra point, but instead ran a fake extra point attempt for a two-point attempt with Shostak rolling to the far sideline with the football. Curwensville’s Nate Irwin, however, read the play and tackled Shostak well short of the sticks to preserve a 7-6 Curwensville lead with 1:53 left in the third quarter.

Smethport, though, would get a huge opportunity to take the lead early in the fourth quarter.

Facing a fourth-and-1 on the first play of the fourth quarter from his own 23-yard line, Evanko decided to go for the first down and called a quarterback sneak with Thompson. The Curwensville line gave Thompson a surge, but the Smethport defense was able to submarine in and stop Thompson short of the sticks causing the turnover on downs.

"The mindset was that we had come to win the football game," Evanko said. "We thought that if we needed six inches we were going to get six inches. We came to win, and that was what we were trying to do."

The big defensive stop gave the Hubbers the ball at the Curwensville 23 with 11:57 left in the game.

Smethport’s offense, though lost four yards on the first three plays, and then on fourth-and-14 from the Curwensville 27, Shostak hit Shawn Dunkle with an 11-yard pass to the 16-yard line, but that is where the Golden Tide defense stopped Dunkle causing the turnover on downs.

"We said we came to win and if we don’t get the first down we are going to stop them," Evanko said. "That’s what we did."

The Hubbers defense, though, held forcing a punt that gave Smethport the ball at their own 45-yard line with 7:55 left in the game.

A 21-yard pass from Shostak to Bartas moved the ball to the Curwensville 33-yard line, and two plays later a 15-yard pass to Bartas from Shostak moved the ball to the Curwnevsille 14-yard line.

But it was now time for the Hubbers to self-destruct.

A fumbled option by Shostak lost five yards back to the 19-yard line, and after getting a yard back the Hubbers tried a trick play. Shostak handed the ball off to Ray Greene who then tried to pass back to Shostak. The Curwensville defense, though, read the play and broke up the pass setting up a fourth-and-14 from the 18-yard line.

Smethport then sent Nick Vandermark out to try a 35-yard field goal, but Irwin busted through the line and blocked the kick giving Curwensville the ball at its own 30 with 4:11 left in the game.

The Golden Tide then held onto the ball for the next four minutes to effectively put the game away.

Big plays during the stretch for Curwensville included a 9-yard run by Bennett on third-and-4 from the Curwensville 33 for a first down and a 35-yard run by Prisk on third-and-7 from the Curwensville 45 that took the ball to the Smethport 20-yard and all but put an end to the game.

Smethport did stop Curwensville on downs with 11 seconds left taking over at the Smethport 26, but Thompson intercepted a desperation heave from Shostak to end Smethport’s season and keep Curwensville’s alive.