Information for this story is courtesy of Chris Wechtenhiser of the DuBois Courier-Express/Tri-County Sunday

COAL TOWNSHIP – Two Clearfield touchdowns in less than two minutes early in the second quarter helped key the Bisons to a 42-26 win over Shikellamy and into the PIAA Class AAA quarterfinals for the first time since 2002.

The win was a school record 13^th for Clearfield, who will face Allentown Central Catholic in the quarterfinal next week at a site, time and date to be determined.

“This is a very significant win for our program,” Clearfield head coach Tim Janocko said. “Every step is another step for our program. It’s a huge step. We’ve been building this for a long time, so it’s good to be here. Our kids, it’s what they expect to do.”

A blocked punt early in the second quarter helped turn the game around.

Clearfield (13-0) was trailing 14-7 thanks to a couple of touchdowns on 50-yard-plus plays by Shikellamy (9-4) that appeared to give the Braves the early momentum.

But David Hoover blocked a punt, and Andrew Redden picked up the ball and returned it 13 yards for the game-tying touchdown with 10:33 left in the first half.  

“The blocked punt was a huge play,” Janocko said. “That got us back in the game because momentum was swinging away from us.”

Momentum was clearly back in Clearfield’s possession less than two minutes later when Derek Morgan threw a 12-yard halfback option touchdown pass to Brandon Hogue with 8:47 left in the half making it 21-14.

Then, late in the half, the Bisons struck on a more conventional scoring toss when Curtis Frye hit Derek Danver with a 22-yard touchdown pass making it 28-14 Clearfield at halftime.

“Our kids executed very well after the blocked punt,” Janocko said. “Morgan threw the touchdown, and then Derek Danver made that big catch in the end zone. Our quarterback also played very well and made some big throws.”

The Bisons wasted little time in the third quarter putting the game away when Frye hit Redden with a 26-yard scoring pass less than three minutes into the second half before Morgan made it 42-14 on a 2-yard scoring run with 45 seconds left in the third quarter.

“That’s a good football team over there,” Janocko said. “Coach (Sam) Stroh does a nice job with them, and they have some athletes. At this time of year, you’re playing against great athletes. They’re going to make plays, and you have to expect that. They’re here for a season. They’re going to make plays, you’re going to make plays and you hope you make more plays than they do.”

Clearfield struck first on a 1-yard Frye touchdown run 2:55 into the game before Shikellamy answered with a 59-yard touchdown run by Dominick Wolfe 52 seconds later to tie the game at seven. The Braves then took the lead on a 56-yard scoring run by quarterback Garrett Pope with 1:15 left in the opening 12 minutes.

But Pope’s score was the last for Shikellamy until early in the fourth quarter by which time the game was all but over.

Morgan had another big game for the Bisons running 25 times for 148 yards while also going 1 of 1 passing for 12 yards and the touchdown. Frye was 9 of 19 passing for 122 yards and two scores while Danver and Redden each catching two balls for 44 yards.

Wolfe led Shikellamy with 17 carries for 136 yards with Pope adding five totes for 62 yards but he was just 4 of 15 passing for 26 yards.

NOTES – Clearfield’s win coupled with Brockway’s win in Class AA over Oliver and the fact that the District 9 Class A champion gets an automatic berth in the PIAA quarterfinals means District 9 has three teams in the PIAA football quarterfinals for the first time since 2002 and just the second time in history … Allentown Central Catholic (13-0) is ranked No. 1 in the state by the Pennsylvania Football News and RodFrisco.Com. Clearfield No.8 in RodFrisco.Com and No. 7 by PFN … ACC beat Abington Heights  54-14 Friday night … Clearfield is in the PIAA quarterfinals for the third time in school history. The Bisons lost to Erie Central 48-6 in the 1994 Class AAAA quarterfinals and to Perry 61-0 in the 2002 Class AAA quarterfinals.

CLEARFIELD 42,  SHIKELLAMY 26
Score By Quarters
Clearfield 7 21 14 0 — 42
Shikellamy 14 0 0 12 — 26
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
CF - Curtis Frye 1 run (Zach Fannin kick), 9:05.
S - Dominick Wolfe 59 run (Mike Yoder kick), 8:13.
S - Garrett Pope 56 run (Yoder kick), 1:15.
Second Quarter
CF - Andrew Redden 13 punt block return (Fannin kick), 10:33.
CF - Brandon Hogue 12 pass from Derek Morgan (Fannin kick), 8:47.
CF - Derek Danver 22 pass from Frye (Fannin kick), 1:33.
Third Quarter
CF - Redden 26 pass from Frye (Fannin kick), 9:17.
CF - Morgan 2 run (Fannin kick), 0:45.
Fourth Quarter
S - Wolfe 41 fumble return (pass failed), 10:09.
S - Wolfe 20 run (pass failed), 5:10.
CF S
First Downs 19 7
Rushes-Yards 42-197 28-243
Passing Yards 134 26
Comp-Att-Int 10-20-0 4-18
Total Yardage 331 269
Punts-Average 5-24.6 7-25.4
Fumbles-lost 3-1 3-1
Penalties-Yards 3-15 8-48
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Clearfield: Derek Morgan 25-148, Curtis Frye 7-(-8), Beau Swales 4-33, Christian Lezzer 4-22, Jack Mellgard 2-2. Shikellamy: Dominick Wolfe 17-136, Garrett Pope 5-62, Casey Shaffer 1-2, Samuel Thomas 5-43.
Passing - Clearfield: Curtis Frye 9 of 19, 122 yds., 2 TDs, 0 Int.; Derek Morgan 1 of 1, 12 yds., 1 TD, 0 Int. Shikellamy: Garrett Pope 4 of 15, 26 yds., 0 TD, 0 Int.,; Tyler Pratt 0 of 2.
Receiving - Clearfield: Derek Danver 2-44, Andrew Redden 2-44, Jack Mellgard 2-31, Beau Swales 2-3, Brandon Hogue 1-12. Shikellamy: Tyler Pratt 2-12, Ryan Wagner 1-9, Dominick Wolfe 1-5.
Interceptions - None.