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RICHARDS' LATE KICKOFF RETURN LIFTS CLEARFIELD OVER BELLEFONTE |
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WEEK FIVE |
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By Dean Altemus – For D9Sports.Com CLEARFIELD – Moments after Bellefonte took a 20-14 lead on Clearfield, Clearfield’s Dave Richards returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards to tie the game, and Robby Kulling added the extra point to give the Bisons a 21-20 win over the Red Raiders Friday night at Clearfield. Tyler Roan had just given Bellefonte a 20-14 lead with a 39-yard run, but the Red Raider extra potion attempt was no good thanks in large part to a penalty that pushed the ball back to what was more like a field goal than an extra point. Clearfield had led at one point 14-6, but the Bison let the Red Raiders score the next 14 points before Richards kickoff return provided the win. It was Bellefonte who got the game’s first touchdown on a 42-yard run up the middle by Roan with 3:29 left in the first half. Jon Altemus, though, came up with a crucial block on the extra point attempt. Clearfield took its first lead of the night on a 29-yard run by Richards on the first play of the second quarter. Kulling added the extra point giving the Bisons a 7-6 lead. Sophomore Jimmy Ogden then came up with a big play when he got the punter almost as fast as the ball and didn’t allow him any time to kick the ball. Ogden instead tackled the punter at the Bellefonte 21-yard line. On the next play, Richards went 21 yards for his second touchdown of the game, and Kulling’s extra point gave Clearfield a 14-6 lead with 7:20 left in the first half. At that point, it seemed for awhile that it was going to be all Clearfield. On the ensuing kickoff, Ogden greeted Roan at the 13-yard line with a punishing tackle. Three plays later, Clearfield’s Andrew Crotzer intercepted a Sampsel pass at the 4-2yard line and returned it to the Bellefonte 31-yard line. Four plays later, the Bisons faced a fourth-and-3 and decided to go for it. The gamble should have paid off when Richard carried the pigskin inside the 10 giving the Bison what looked like a first down. Unfortunately for Clearfield, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was levied against the Bison. Two plays later, Roan stepped in front of a Sayers’ pass at the 20-yard line and raced 80 yards to the end zone untouched for the Bellefonte score. Sampsel then hit Ethan Smith with the two-point conversion pass tying the game at 14 with 3:05 left in the first half. The score remained tied at 14 heading to halftime. The game remained tied at 14 until Roan’s run late in the fourth quarter. Following Richards’ kickoff return, the Red Raiders still had a couple of more shots to score, but every time it was Clearfield defense rising to the occasion to stifle any Bellefonte hope. Sacks by Kurt Hepfer, Kurtis Wisor, Jon Altemus, Tom Yeager, and Craig Gardner were the big plays with the biggest play coming on Gardner’s and Wisor’s final sack of the night. It appeared that Sampsel had intentional grounded the ball, but the official called it a fumble with Grander recovering it allowing the Bisons to run out the clock. Clearfield now stands at 4-1 and ready to take on another District 6 team next week when it host the Mounties of Phillipsburg-Osceola. BOX SCORES CLEARFIELD 21, BELLEFONTE 20 Bellefonte 6 8 0 6 20 Clearfield 0 14 0 7 21 Rushing Belle. Roan 14-87, Stewart-Smith 1-1, Myslinski 1-0, Nagle 2- minus 2, Roberts 1- minus 13, Sampsel 9- minus 38 Clfd. Richards 25-124, Meckey 21-102, Sayers 5- minus 12 Passing Belle. Sampsel- 7 for 18, 157 yards, 2 interceptions Clfd. Sayers- 5 for 15, 2 interceptions Receiveing Belle. Stewart-Smith 3-96, Nagle 2-54, Smeltzer 1-11, Roan 1- minus 4 Clfd. Richards 2-7, Gardner 2-4, Shaw 1-9 |
