| CATHCART RUNS FOR 339 YARDS TO LEAD CLARION OVER REDBANK VALLEY |
| WEEK TWO |
| By Chris Rossetti
CLARION -- It was the Kyle Cathcart show Friday night at Clarion High School. The Bobcats senior running back ran for 339 yards and five touchdowns helping Clarion (2-0) to a 48-20 win over Redbank Valley (1-1) in an early season KSAC match-up. "It may be one of the best games I have had from a running back since I have been here," Clarion's 13th-year head coach Larry Wiser said. "We had one guy who had 260 yards one year, but I don't remember a back ever running 300 yards here." Cathcart was quick to give credit to his teammates for his big night. "The first thing I have to do is mention the (offensive) line," Cathcart said. "They did a tremendous job for me. All I can do is run. They were opening up holes for me, and the downfield blocks by the receivers were great." Cathcart's night was nearly a state-record setting night, as the 195-pound back came within 116 yards of the state record of 455 in a single game set by Connellsville's Marcus Furman last year. If Cathcart, who was taken out of the game with over 14:30 minutes to play had stayed in he might have had a shot at topping Furman. Cathcart, though, wasn't disappointed in not getting a shot at the record. In fact he thought that it was more important for the players behind him to play than for him to set the record. "I have said this throughout my whole varsity career," Cathcart said. "It is not about the records. It is about getting these kids out here. Getting some quality experience for them. It was great for them. They take this with them and build upon it. So it is not about the records. It is about playing football." With Cathcart out of the game, Clarion's other backs got to strut their stuff helping Clarion run for 545 yards on the night. Leading the charge behind Cathcart were Matt Watterson (71 yards and one touchdown), Caleb Kifer (25 yards), Andy Craig (41 yards), Dustin Shaffer (10 yards and one touchdown) and Adam Divins (28 yards). Cathcart's five touchdown, which he scored on runs of 51 yards, 44 yards, 83 yards, 9 yards and 77 yards, give him 55 in his career, two short of the District 9 record for touchdowns of 57 set by Brockway's Aaron Cantafio last season. "I would rather win games than break records," Cathcart said. "That is the way you have to approach it. If it happens it happens. If not what are you going to do. Whatever it takes for us to win games is what I want to do." Wiser said the record would be the icing on the cake for Cathcart's career. "What he has done for us the last three years now going on a fourth, (the record) would be a very fitting tribute to the kind of effort he has put in both in the off season and in season," Wiser said. "He is just a class kid." Despite allowing Cathcart to run all over them, Redbank Valley stayed competitive with the Bobcats for the first 2 1/2 quarters of the game. Clarion got out to a quick 14-0 lead 5:17 seconds into the game thanks to two long runs by Cathcart. After holding the Bulldogs to a three-and-out on their first possession, Clarion took over at its own 40-yard line following a 35-yard punt by Ron Geist. Three plays into the drive, the Bobcats were looking at a fourth-and-1 from their own 49-yard line when Cathcart dove up the middle, broke free and ran 51 yards for his first score of the game. The extra point was no good, but Clarion led 6-0 with 9:03 left in the first quarter. Redbank Valley got good field position on the ensuing kickoff when Tyson Shreckengost took a reverse from Tyson Truitt on the kick-off return and went 36 yards to the Clarion 47-yard line. Only a touchdown saving tackle by kicker Davey Larson prevented the play from going for six points. Clarion's defense, though, came up buig when Joel McNeil sacked Redbank Valley quarterback Chris Merwin forcing a fumble that Clarion's Ambrogio Giambanco recovered at the Clarion 49-yard line. Three plays after the fumble, Cathcart broke free from 44 yards out to give Clarion a 12-0 lead. Then on the extra-point try, the Bobcats faked the kick with holder Jamie Arner boot legging it to the end zone for the two-point conversion giving Clarion a 14-0 lead with 6:43 left in the opening quarter. Redbank Valley, though, wasn't fazed. The Bulldogs presided to take the following drive 84 yards on 13 plays to cut the Clarion lead to 14-7 as the first quarter ended. The Bulldogs touchdown came on an 8-yard pass from Merwin to Shreckengost as the first quarter horn sounded. The big plays of the drive were a 21-yard run by Geist and a 16-yard pass by Merwin to Truitt. Redbank Valley's defense then came up with a big play at the start of the second quarter stripping the ball from Cathcart on Clarion's second play after the touchdown. Jared Thomas recovered the fumble for the Bulldogs at the Clarion 20-yard line with 11:48 left in the opening half. Merwin then hit Shreckengost with a pass that appeared to put the ball at the 1-yard line, but the play was called back on a holding penalty. A few plays later, Redbank Valley was facing a third down and 21 at the Clarion 32-yard line when Merwin scrambled for 29 yards to the Clarion three. One play later Geist, who rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, scored on a 3-yard run, and Brady Evans' extra point tied the game at 14 with 10:12 left in the half. The 14 all score was something new for Clarion, which has spent the better part of the last two seasons blowing teams out of the water. "We really took a step tonight mentally as a team," Cathcart said. "They took it to us in the first half. We came out strong but kind of faded." The game was still tied at 14 after the two teams exchanged punts with Clarion getting the ball at its own 17-yard line with 4:42 left in the half. That is when Cathcart scored his third touchdown of the game, this time on an 83-yard run down the near sideline. Ben Bevevino then ran in the two-point conversion giving the Bobcats a 22-14 halftime lead. "We broke a big play there," Wiser said. "That touchdown at the end of the half was important, but I still thought things were really in the balance in this game." The game didn't remain in the balance much longer, as Clarion outscored Redbank Valley 20-0 in the third quarter to take a 42-14 lead. "At halftime we dug down deep," Catchart said. "The seniors stepped up and said 'do we want it or do they want it.' Basically we just asked ourselves how bad we wanted it, and we came out after halftime on fire." The Bobcats got things going on their first drive of the second half when they went 63 yards on 12 plays taking 5:32 off the clock. Cathcart scored the touchdown on a 9-yard run with 6:28 left in the third quarter. "That drive right at the beginning of the second half really kind of broke their back," Wiser said. "I really have to give a lot of credit to the line and Kyle and (Matt Watterson) and all those guys out there. That was a gut check right there." Cathcart was the main force on the drive rushing the ball eight times for 47 yards. What made his efforts on the drive even more remarkable was that he had seemed to hit that proverbial wall late in the second quarter. "Actually it was my fault," Cathcart said. "I was doing some stupid things. I was taking drinks when I needed to. I came in at halftime, and the trainer and my dad told me that I needed a break that I was asking too much of my self. I took a lot of fluids at halftime. So that really helped a lot." On Redbank Valley's next series, Cathcart came up big on the defensive side of the ball interception a Merwin pass giving Clarion the ball at their own 17-yard line with 3:56 left in the third quarter. On the interception, Cathcart returned the ball deep into Bulldog territory only to see the long return called back on a late flag for blocking in the back. All the penalty did, though, was delay the inevitable as Catchart broke lose again, this time from 77 yards away to give Clarion a 36-14 lead with 3:05 left in the third quarter. Clarion tacked on one more third quarter touchdown on a 1-yard run by Matt Watterson with two seconds left in the quarter to take a 42-14 lead. "There is no doubt that our inexperience and lack of depth caught up to us in the second half," Redbank Valley head coach Ed Wasilowski said. "Kyle had a great game, but our kids just wore out. We have two many kids going both ways. They were bigger than us to begin with, and on a hot night like this we had too many kids on the sideline. Not to take anything away from them, though, I don't know if it would have made a difference. But it won't have been as bad game." In the fourth quarter the two teams exchanged touchdowns with Geist scoring on a 6-yard run for Redbank Valley and Dustin Shaffer scoring on a 2-yard run for Clarion. The win was Clarion's 20th straight regular season win and 16th straight overall win at home. Redbank Valley was the last team to beat Clarion at home doing so Sept. 4, 1998. Clarion-Limestone was the last team to beat Clarion in the regular season doing so Oct. 30, 1998. Clarion travels to Union next week, while Redbank Valley hosts Karns City. Both games are set to kick-off at 7 p.m. BOX SCORE Clarion 14 8 20 6 -48 C - Cathcart 44 run (Jamie Arner run), 6:43 RV - Tyson Shreckengost 8 pass from Chris Merwin (Brady Evans kick), :00 Second quarter RV - Ron Geist 3 run (Evans kick), 10:12 C - Cathcart 83 run (Bevevino run), 4:28 Third quarter C - Cathcart 9 run (Watterson run), 6:28 C - Cathcart 77 run (Kick failed), 3:05 C - Watterson 1 run (Kick failed), :02 Fourth quarter RV - Geist 6 run (Kick blocked), 8:07 C - Dustin Shaffer 2 run (Conversion failed), 4:27 C S Rushes-Yards 46-545 36-160 Passing - Clarion: Ben Bevivino 1-for-3, 6 yds. Redbank Valley: Chris Merwin 9-for-17, 76 yds. 1 TD, 1 INT, Cody Doverspike 0-2 0 yds. Receiving - Clarion: Will Lewis 1-6. Redbank Valley: Tyson Truitt 2-52,
Tyson Shreckengost 4-17, 1 TD, Tyler Raybuck 2-5, Scott Smith 1-2. Punt Returns: Clarion: Cole Sessions 1-9, Corey Corbett 1-4. Redbank
Valley: Tyson Truitt 1-10. Interceptions: Clarion: Kyle Cathcart |
