CLARION-LIMESTONE SET FOR REMATCH WITH WEST MIDDLESEX  IN STATE PLAYOFFS

PIAA CLASS A PLAYOFF HOME

By Chris Rossetti

CLARION – Clarion-Limestone and West Middlesex will meet in the opening round of the PIAA Class A football playoffs for the second consecutive season when the two teams take the field at 7 p.m. Friday at Clarion University’s Memorial Stadium.

Last season the Lions handily defeated West Middlesex 40-7 at Sharon High School.

C-L head coach Todd Smith knows his 11-0 Lions, who are the two-time defending District 9 champions, can’t expect the same result against the 9-2 Big Red, the two-time defending District 10 champions.

"I think at this point everyone is good," Smith said. "They are a district champion also. I think every game from here on out you are playing good teams and expecting good games. Last year I think we caught them off guard. I don’t think that it is going to happen this year. They have some really good athletes on their team."

One of the reasons last year’s game can’t and shouldn’t be used as a barometer for this year’s contest is that while C-L has many of its key contributors returning this season, West Middlesex has a different team with a little bit of a different philosophy.

A year ago, the Big Red was a rushing team that had thrown for just 907 yards. This season West Middlesex goes to the air a lot more under first-year starting quarterback Bob Michaels.

Michaels is 115-for-219 passing for 1,863 yards and 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He ranks No. 1 in District 10 in yards passed for this season. Michaels has also rushed 44 times for 98 yards and eight touchdowns.

"What we have seen of him he looks good," Smith said. "He likes to stay in the pocket, and he has a really good arm. He looks impressive."

Michaels’ leading receiver is Paul Fair who has 54 catches for 806 yards. He ranks No. 1 in District 10 in receiving yards. He also can run the ball with 58 carries for 281 yards while scoring a combined total of 14 touchdowns.

Fair isn’t the only receiving threat for the Big Red. Jesse Polite had added 24 catches for 475 yards and five touchdowns, while Anthony Ruffo has 21 catches for 205 yards. Giani Ruffo is the leading rusher for West Middlesex with 122 carries for 587 yards. He has scored six touchdowns.

"They have some nice receivers with decent speed," Smith said. "Fair is a big kid and a pretty physical receiver. The (Giani) Ruffo kid is quick. He looks like he runs well."

The passing attack has helped West Middlesex average 26.3 points per game, but that number is a bit deceiving. The Big Red put up 49 points on one-win Conneaut Lake and 59 points on winless Maplewood. In their other nine games, West Middlesex is averaging 20.1 ppg.

The way the Big Red has been winning games is with their defense. West Middlesex is allowing just 10.5 ppg, which is the 59^th best defense in the entire state. The defense has one shutout while holding opponents to 10 points or fewer in six times including in each of the last four weeks and in six of the last seven weeks.

"They like to change up on defense running a 4-4 and a 4-3," Smith said. "They just do a good job of flying to the football. They get a lot of people to the football. They look to be a good defensive unit."

C-L features a balanced attack led by quarterback Hayden Johnston.

Johnston is the fourth leading passer and 21^st leading rusher in District 9. He is 81-for-138 for 1,283 yards, 22 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Johnston has also carried the ball 98 times for 582 yards and seven touchdowns.

Brad Beggs is Johnston’s top target.

Beggs has 43 catches for 668 yards and a district leading 18 touchdown catches. He ranks third in District 9 in yards receiver for.

"It is really kind of hard to explain the chemistry between Hayden and Brad," Smith said. "We don’t throw the ball all that much, but Brad has 18 touchdowns and Hayden has thrown 22. That just blows my mind. They just have this connection. They kind of know where each other is going to be. It has worked out really nice for us. When I look at their numbers, it is hard to understand knowing we don’t throw the ball that much."

While Johnston and Beggs lead the aerial attack, Brendan Huwar joins Johnston in forming the third-best rushing attack in District 9 (235.8 yards per game).’

Huwar is the districts third leading rusher with 1,218 yards and 18 touchdowns on 227 carries.

A lot of the key to the Lions success on offense belongs to an experienced offense line that includes Sheldon Champion at center, David Ferguson and Ron Frances at the guard and Dave Eggleton and Dan Jeannerat at the tackles.

The Lions has helped C-L average a District 9 leading 361.2 yards per game while putting up 33.4 ppg, the 41^st best total in Pennsylvania.

"Our offensive line is made up of five unselfish guys who are not looking for glory or anything like that," Smith said. "They understand their success will come through the bigger success of the team. They really are no different than the rest of the team. They just do what we ask them to do. The big thing with the kids on our team and on our line is they are all so smart. They really catch on quick. It is easier to do a lot of different things with a team and with an offensive line that is smart and can pick up on things."

While C-L’s offense has been tough, the defense has also been solid and in fact might even be better than the offense.

The defense is allowing just 6.0 ppg, which ranks 10^th in the state. Only two teams have scored more than eight points on the Lions all season, and C-L has shutout two opponents.

"As they say, offense wins games and defenses win championships," Smith said. "Our defense won last year’s District 9 title game against Kane and our defense won this year’s game against Port Allegany. They have come up big in key situations all season. They have just been a solid unit all year. They have put our offense in great situations by forcing turnovers, which has really helped us as well. When our kids get the momentum in a game they keep feeding off of it. That seems to happen when the defense makes big plays."

The paths the two teams followed to their district titles were different.

C-L came into the season as the heavy favorite to repeat as the District 9 champions, and the Lions haven’t disappointed rolling past all but one of their opponents by two touchdowns or more.

Last week the Lions played far from their best game of the season in the District 9 championship game against Port Allegany but still came away with a 20-8 win.

"I think the Port Allegany game tells a lot about the character of this team," Smith said. "It shows you how much they believe in each other and how much they care about the players and the coaches. Right now all that matters is getting the win. Style points don’t count."

In the title game, Johnston and Beggs hooked up for three touchdowns with Johnston going 9-for-14 passing for 136 yards and three touchdowns and Beggs catching five passes for 96 yards and all three scores.

West Middlesex, on the other hand, was somewhat of an unknown coming into the season. The Big Red struggled in the preseason and lost their first two games. But things started to click for West Middlesex in Week Three, and the Big Red have rolled off nine straight wins including a thrilling 7-6 double overtime win over previously unbeaten Cochranton in the District 10 championship game last Friday.

In that game, Michaels was 15-for-36 passing for 131 yards but he threw four interceptions. Polite had three catches for 64 yards, while Fair had seven for 30 yards. Giani Ruffo had 17 carries for 76 yards while adding four catches for 29 yards.