WEST SUNBURY, Pa. – The combination of Cal German to Ethan Burford accounted for three touchdowns in helping Central Clarion upend Moniteau 46-14 on Friday evening at West Sunbury.
(Article by Steve Smail. Photo by Dave Cyphert of ProPoint Media Photography.)
German finished the game completing 17-of-33 passes for 425 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. He completed three of the touchdown passes to Burford who finished with seven catches for 246 yards. Cutter Boggess caught five passes for 66 yards and a score. Hunter Craddock caught two passes for 75 yards with a score.
Boggess led the Wildcats ground game with 45 yards on four carries with a pair of scores.
Central Clarion only attempted 13 rushing attempts for the game for 56 yards.
“Defensively they were really stacking the box so it was opening things up for the passing game,” said Central Clarion head coach Larry Wiser. “In the second half they backed off a bit and that’s when Cutter was able to break one run for a touchdown. I think we would have had another touchdown on the ground earlier in the game, but we fumbled on that play.”
Defensively, the Wildcats handled the Warriors better than they did Brookville last week. Moniteau rushed for 168 yards on 51 attempts while two quarterbacks completed 7-of-19 passes for 72 yards.
“The kids really responded this week especially on defense,” said Wiser. “We were much more physical than we were last week. Our line of Kaoz Baker, Jordan Wolbert, Logan Lerch, and Cole Wrhen did a nice job controlling the line. We put in a lot of hard work in practice and we also spent a lot of time looking at film. Of course, offensively Cal just keeps building on what he was already doing.”
Central Clarion took the opening kickoff using eight plays to travel 77 yards with German completing 4-of-7 passes for 72 yards including a 15 yard touchdown pass to Burford to open the scoring at the 9:58 mark. After Beau Verdill made the PAT kick the Wildcats led 7-0.
Central Clarion then stopped Moniteau on three downs forcing a punt.
A 41-yard punt pinned Central Clarion on their own 15.
That hole didn’t prove much of a problem as on the first play, German found Burford for an 85-yard scoring pass. A bad snap on the PAT kept the score 13-0 by the end of the first quarter.
Moniteau would use a 13-play drive moving from their own 26 to the Wildcats 24 before Burford intercepted a David Stamm pass in the end zone on fourth down.
Neither team generated much offense throughout much of the second quarter as Clarion punted twice on each of their two possessions. Moniteau punted on their first opportunity of the quarter.
After the second Central Clarion punt, the Warriors would take over at their own 37. Eight plays (all on the ground) later, JD Dessicino scored on a 13-yard run. Stamm added the PAT kick to cut the lead to 13-7 with 3:27 left in the first half.
Central Clarion appeared to be heading for another score as German connected with Craddock on a 38-yard pass play moving the ball from their own 45 to the Moniteau 17. A fumble on the next play gave the ball back to the Warriors.
Central Clarion used two of their timeouts while Moniteau used one and the Warriors ended up punting the ball back to the Wildcats.
After the punt, the Wildcats took over at the Moniteau 47. Three plays later German connected with Boggess on a 26-yard touchdown pass. The two-point pass failed, and Central Clarion led 19-7 at halftime.
“You guys will make fun of me because we’ve probably never thrown the ball that many times in a game,” said Wiser.
After stopping Moniteau on three plays forcing another punt, the Wildcats took over at their own 37. Two plays later German connected with Burford on a 60-yard touchdown pass. Verdill tacked on the PAT kick for a 26-7 lead with 9:02 to play in the third.
Moniteau would take six-plus minutes off the clock in marching 12 plays and 61 yards with Mason Mershimer scoring from eight yards out. Stamm made the PAT to cut the lead to 26-14 with 2:39 to play in the third.
Central Clarion (2-1 overall) responded with a 10-play drive which took the rest of the third quarter and first 22 seconds of the fourth. Boggess capped the drive with a one-yard plunge into the end zone. Verdill added another PAT kick for a 33-14 lead.
After another punt, Central Clarion appeared on their way to score again, but another fumble deep in Warriors territory ended that scoring threat.
However, the Wildcats would score on their final two possessions of the game to set the final score.
German connected with Craddock on a 37-yard pass for a score while Boggess closed the scoring on a 36-yard run for the 46-14 final score.
“I was pleased with how these kids responded after last week to come in and get this win,” said Wiser.
Central Clarion will face DuBois next week, while Moniteau will battle unbeaten Brookville.
