By Chris Rossetti

KNOX – Visiting Clarion used a big-play offense to hold off a pesky Keystone team 34-20 Friday night in the season opener for both teams.

“I’m really proud of the kids,” Clarion first-year head coach Judd Allan said. “I just try to coach the kids up during the week, make it a fun time. They are the ones that won the game, not me. I just had the best seat in the house. It will go under my record, but the kids are the ones who deserve it.”

The Bobcats (1-0 overall, 1-0 KSAC Small School) had four scoring plays of 15 or more yards and a 71-yard run that set up the fifth touchdown.

“With the option offense, you keep getting 3-and 4-yard gains and reading the defense and then when they start sneaking up, you have to go over the top,” Allan said. “I thought we did a pretty good job of that at times. There were some other plays, some isolations that we cracked away from the option side. I was pretty pleased. I was excited. It was good.”

All three of Keystone’s touchdowns also came on big plays including an interception return for a touchdown and a punt return for a touchdown.

“Our last scrimmage was really bad,” Keystone head coach Jason Nellis. “It left us this week wondering what kind of football team we had. I was proud of the guys. They played hard. They got down, but didn’t quit.”

Clarion led 27-7 late in the first half before Keystone (0-1, 0-1) rallied to within seven with 13 unanswered points between the end of the first half and the start of the second half.

“We have an inexperienced team, a lot of young guys, and they didn’t quit which is a big thing,” Nellis said. “We made some break to get ourselves back into the game but shot ourselves in the foot to not allow us to get back into the game.”

Clarion struck first taking a 7-0 lead on its first offensive play of the game, a 74-yard touchdown pass from Danny Walters to Camron Kirkland.

“I decided in July I was going up with the first play,” Allan said. “I didn’t know if I would have the guts to do it. But it worked. I thanked Danny for that.”

Keystone tied the game about four minutes later when Layton Greenwalt stepped in front of a Walters’ pass and returned the interception 44 yards for a touchdown.

Clarion, though, scored the next 20 points.

Kris Burkhart scored on runs of 35 yards and one yard, and then Marcus Smerker hit pay dirt from 15 yards out to give the Bobcats a 27-7 lead with 3:57 left in the first half.

Keystone, though, got an important touchdown right before halftime when Mitch Rearick scored on a 37-yard run, and then the Panthers defense forced a punt on Clarion’s first possession of the second half.

B.J. Seyler fielded the Walters’ punt at his own 26-yard line, cut toward the home sideline and was off to the races on a 74-yard punt return for a score.

The momentum seemed to stay with the Panthers when Seyler picked off a Walters’ fourth-down pass at the Keystone 6-yard line late in the third quarter. But Clarion’s defense came up with a big play when Mitchell Rhoades recovered a James Gillen fumble at the Keystone 11.

“We went into halftime down 13, and I said we needed to get a stop and score and we did,” Nellis said. “Then we had a big goal-line stand that should have been a momentum turner in our favor and the very next play we gave it back to them. Things like that, especially with our youth, we can’t overcome.”

Clarion capitalized on the turnover despite a holding penalty that pushed the Bobcats back to the 23-yard line when Walters hooked up with Kirkland on a 23-yard touchdown pass.

“After their punt return, I thought we were going to see what kind of character our team has,” Allan said. “I liked the way we battled back. We played tough the rest of the way.”

Walter led Clarion with 113 yards rushing on 11 carries while also going 3 of 7 passing for 109 yards, two touchdowns and two picks. Smerker added 101 yards rushing on 18 carries while scoring the touchdown and Burkhart had nine totes for 55 yards and two scores and one catch for 12 yards before leaving with an injury. Kirkland had two grabs for 97 yards, while Rhoades had a fumble recovery, an interception and four passes defended.

Rearick paced Keystone with 13 carries for 78 yards and the touchdown while going 8 of 21 passing for 75 yards and two picks.

Clarion hosts Moniteau next week while Keystone is at Brookville.

CLARION 34, KEYSTONE 20

Score by Quarters

Clarion13 14 7 0 – 34

Keystone 7 7 6 0 – 20

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

C – Cameron Kirkland 74 pass from Danny Walters (Cameron Slike kick), 9:41

K – Layton Greenwalt 44 interception return (Dylan Ziegler kick), 5:24

C – Kris Burkhart 35 run (Slick kick failed), 0:05

Second Quarter

C – Burkhart 1 run (Marcus Smerker rush failed), 5:02

C – Smerker 15 run (Bryce Straffin pass from Brandon Heeter), 3:57

K – Mitch Rearick 37 run (Ziegler kick), 2:05

Third Quarter

K – B.J. Seyler 74 punt return (Ziegler kick failed), 9:25

C – Kirkland 23 pass from Walter (Slike kick), 2:40

TEAM STATS

       C         K

First Downs            15        12

Rushes-Yards         43-302 30-119

Passing Yards         109      75

Passing: Comp-Att-Int       3-7-2    8-21-2

Total Yards            411      194

Fumbles-Lost         3-1       3-1

Penalties-Yards      9-82     3-25

Punt-Avg.   3-29.3  3-30.0 

IND. STATS

Rushing – Clarion: Danny Walter 11-113, Marcus Smerker 18-101, Kris Burkhart 9-55, Cameron Kirkland 2-26, T.J. Armstrong 1-6, Bobby Boyer 1-2, Brandon Heeter 1-minus 1. Keystone: Mitch Rearick 13-78, James Gillen 4-16, Colt O’Neil 6-15, Josh Lencer 7-10.

Passing – Clarion: Walter 3-for-7, 109 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions. Keystone: Rearick 8-for-21, 75 yards, 2 interceptions.

Receiving – Clarion: Kirkland 2-97, Burkhardt 1-12. Keystone: Gillen 2-28, Kyle Servey 2-15, Josh Eberhart 1-18, B.J. Seyler 1-12, Matt Hergenroeder 1-13, Lencer 1-minus 1.  

Interceptions – Clarion: Mitch Rhoades, Walters. Keystone: Layton Greenwalt, Seyler.