WEEK 3 GAME RECAPS

SEPT. 15-16

BROCKWAY'S CANTAFIO TOPS 3,000-YARD MARK IN ROVERS WIN

BROCKWAY -- With 197 yards rushing Friday night in Brockway's 34-12 win against Cameron County, the Rovers' Aaron Cantafio broke the 3,000 yards rushing in a career. Cantafio, a senior, now has 3,116 yards rushing. 

In addition to his big rushing night, Cantafio scored four touchdowns for the Rovers who raced out to a22-6 halftime lead on its way to the win.

Cantafio scored his first touchdown of the game with 6:04 left in the first quarter on a 2-yard run and then he ran for the two-point conversion giving the Rovers an 8-0 lead.

Brockway made the score 14-0 with 10:18 left in the half when Cantafio scored on a 1-yard run.

Cameron County got its first score with 4:08 left in the half on a 71-yard run by Scott Horning cutting the Rovers' lead to 14-6.

Brockway, though, responded with a 3-yard run by Mike Grecco and a two-point conversion pass from Adam Kulbatsky to Cantafio making the score 22-6.  

Cameron County cut the deficit to 10 points on a 5-yard run by Horning with 5:34 left in the third quarter.

A 17-yard run by Cantafio with 4:33 left in the third quartre and a 10-yard run by Cantafio with 4:56 left in the game closed out the scoring.

Jesse Vivian also surpassed 100 yards rushing for Brockway with 102 yards on 14 carries, as the Rovers rushed for 352 yards in the game.

Horning rushed for 133 yards for Cameron County. 

BALD EAGLE TOPS BISONS

BABB LEADS ST. MARYS TO WIN

TIDE ROLL OVER WOLVES

KANE -- Curwensville overcame an 18-6 deficit after one quarter to defeat Kane 54-26 at Kane Friday night. 

The Golden Tide (3-0) scored 21 points in the second quarter and then added 21 more in the third quarter to pull away from the Wolves (2-1). 

Mark Harnish scored three touchdowns for Curwensville, including a 60-yard interception return for a TD, while Matt Harnish added two scores. 

Mark Harnish also intercepted two passes for Curwensville. 

The Golden Tide got 124 yards rushing and one touchdown from Joe Bennett, while Kane's Tyler Smith threw a touchdown pass and also returned a fumble 65 yards for a TD.

DUBOIS GETS WIN

DuBOIS -- Six different DuBois Area players scored touchdowns to lead the Beavers (2-1) to a 40-7 win over Brookville (0-3) at DuBois. 

The Beavers scored 14 first-quarter points in building a 20-7 halftime lead. Todd Braid led DuBois with 87 yards rushing and a TD. 

Matt Melillo was 9-29 for 83 yards a TD pass for Brookville.

RAMS ARE 3-0

JOHNSONBURG --Johnsonburg rushed out to a 28-6 lead after three quarters on its way to a 34-18 win over Elk County Christian at home Friday night. 

oey Carnovale rushed 10 times for 39 yards and scored three touchdowns for the Rams (3-0). 

Craig Timm had 69 yards rushing for the ECC (1-2), while Justin Taylor rushed for a 44-yard touchdown with 1:15 to play.

 ECC's Rocco Tettis was 10-17 for 150 yards passing, while Johnsonburg's Francis Iorfido passed for 95 yards and a touchdown.

COUDY COMMITS SEVEN TURNOVERS; SMETHPORT PREVAILS

SMETHPORT- Coudersport fumbled the ball 13 times and lost seven of those fumbles, as Smethport defeated Coudy 14-0 in a rain-soaked Allegheny Mountain League contest Friday night.

Coudy (1-2) gave up the ball on five of its first six first-half possessions. The Falcons fumbled the ball 15 times in their first two games combined.

Smethport (2-1), who possess a share of the AML North Division lead, was able to gain yardage on the ground. Eric Raydo gained 109 yards on 30 carries to lead the Hubbers. Raydo replaced Dan Mitchell, who dislocated his shoulder on Smethport's first offensive possession.

The Hubbers outgained Coudy in the first half 123 to 31 and scored in the first quarter. Jeff Shotak found Matt Bailey for a 36-yard touchdown completion that capped off a 5-play, 55-yard drive.

Smethport's second TD came in the fourth quarter, as Marc Shelgren rumbled into the end zone from a yard out. The scoring drive started at the Coudy 16, when Smethport recovered a Dan Cary fumble.

Meanwhile, Coudy couldn't get anything going offensively, gaining just 171 total yards. Michael Maiuro led Coudy in rushing with 62 yards on 12 carries. Dane Haskins was the Falcons' leading receiver with three catches for 45 yards.

 MONITEAU WINS AGAIN

WEST SUNBURY -- Ryan Jackson scored three touchdowns to help Moniteau (2-1) to its second consecutive win, 30-22 over West Shamokin, Friday night at Moniteau.

Jackson scored on runs of 7 and 40 and on a 65-yard pass in helping the Warriors to the win.

West Shamokin got on the board first when Bill Fulton scored from 14 yards out to give the Wolves a 7-0 lead.

Moniteau responded with a 53-yard drive that ended when Ryan Jackson scored from seven yards that with the two-point conversion gave the Warriors an 8-7 lead.

West Shamokin, however, answered with a 2-yard run by Chris Reefer after Moniteau fumbled at its own 16-yard line. The extra point gave the Wolves a 14-8 lead.

The Warriors, however, were able to take the lead into halftime when Jackson ran for 40 yards that with the two-point conversion made the score 16-14 Moniteau.

Moniteau extended its lead in the second half when Jackson caught a 65-yard touchdown pass from Jason Frederick giving the Warriors a 24-14 lead.

The Wolves, however, got a safety and then a 10-yard touchdown run from Reefer to close the gap to 24-22. The two-point conversion failed.

Moniteau, however, put the game away when Bill Stabb ran 54 yards to the West Shamokin 1-yard line on a fourth-and-4 play, and Scott Wiest scored from there.

TRIO LEADS OWLS TO WIN

PUNXSUTAWNEY -- Three different running backs each scored two touchdowns to lead Bradford (1-2) to a 43-14 win over Punxsutawney (0-3) in a D9 League match-up Friday night at Punxy.

Elliott George and Matt Cannon each rushed for two touchdowns, and Jason Casey rushed for a touchdown and returned a punt for one to help the Owls to the win.

The trio was called into action after Bradford's top back Jim Nuzzo injured his ankle and had to leave the game.

Bradford got on the scoreboard early on a safety, and then George scored from 1 yard out to give the Owls a 9-0 lead.

After Nuzzo recovered a fumble, Casey pounded in from 4 yards out to give the Owls a 15-0 lead.

Punxsutawney got back in the game on a 68-yard run by Pat Casady and a two-point conversion pass that cut the Owls lead to 15-8.

Casey, however, returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown to give Bradford a 22-8 win, and then Cannon raced in from 33 yards to give the Owls a 29-8 lead.

Punxy scored its final touchdown on a 2-yard run by Dustin Guidash to make the score 29-14.

Bradford, though, got a 5-yard run from George and a 13-yard run from Cannon to close out the scoring.

CLARION SHUTS OUT KC

By Chris Rossetti

CLARION – Clarion (3-0 overall, 3-0 KSAC)  used a stifling defense and hard-nosed running from Kyle Cathcart to beat Karns City (2-1, 2-1) 21-0 in a showdown of unbeaten KSAC teams Friday night at Clarion.

Cathcart rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns, and the Clarion defense allowed just 107 total yards for the game.

The defense was especially tough in the second half holding Karns City to –2 yards of offense in the half.

Since Redbank Valley’s Ron Geist scored 1:55 into the season opener, Clarion has not allowed a point, a span of 145 minutes, 5 seconds.

"I was impressed with our heart more than anything else," senior defensive end Taylor Sessions said. "Ever since Redbank Valley scored upon us on the first play of the season, we have stepped up our defensive play."

Clarion head coach Larry Wiser said he was pleased with the adjustments his team made as the game went on.

"As the game progressed we were able to jump in and out of some things," Wiser said. "I though our ends made some nice adjustments squeezing down on the play and so for like that. We also made some big plays on the outside, and I thought our coverage was good the whole time. We bent a little, but we didn’t break."

Clarion scored its first touchdown in the second quarter and then tacked on two fourth quarter scores to seal the win.

"I think in the second half we got down a little bit," Karns City head coach Ed Conto said. "When you are playing a good football team, all it takes are inches. We weren’t getting to where we were suppose to be the second half."

Clarion, which has now won 13 consecutive regular season game dating back to October 1998, got the only touchdown it would need late in the second quarter when Cathcart scored from five yards out with 3:03 to play in the first half.

The touchdown was set up when Zac Mechling intercepted an Ian Ferguson pass at midfield and returned it to the Gremlins’ five-yard line with 3:09 left in the half.

"My job on that play is to take the farthest receiver down the field," Mechling said. "But since he was rolling out, I didn’t think he was going to throw it that far. I saw the receiver, and he looked kind of open. So I waited for (Ferguson) to throw it, and I cut in front of it. I wanted to get into the end zone real bad. But it didn’t happen. I was just glad we got close and were able to put it in on the next play."

"There is no question to us the words of my offensive coordinator ‘that was huge play. A huge play.,’" Wiser said. "Zac is a smart football player. He made a quick read."

"Their kids just made a nice play there," Karns City head coach Ed Conto said.

The interception put a damper on what had been a largely successful first half for Karns City, even though the Gremlins weren’t able to put any points on the board.

Karns City ran 35 first-half plays and gained 109 yards while holding Clarion to 44 yards on just 14 plays.

"We didn’t get into the end zone right away, and then they got that one," Conto said. "I think that was the difference. Against a good football team you can’t make a mistake."

Clarion Area turned another Karns City turnover into its second touchdown of the game in the third quarter.

This time Karns City had a fourth-and-two from the Clarion 44-yard line and elected to go for it. Billy Graham tried to run over the left side, but the Clarion defense stripped the ball from him. Greg Larson pounced on the fumble giving the Bobcats the ball at their own 44 with 2:32 left in the third quarter.

After gaining just three yards on two plays, Clarion was faced with a third-and-seven from its own 47. But Mario Bernardi found an open Dan Patton for a 12-yard gain to the Karns City 41-yard line.

On the next play, Bernardi rolled out and found a ton of room to run down the near sideline. He reached the 29-yard line before being brought down.

"That was big play," Conto said. "We made a bad defensive call. We ran a blitz, and when they boot legged out all night we contained them. But we lost our containment there, and they got that first down. That was when things broke down a little bit. We backed off a little at that point, and that’s all it takes when you are playing a good team. You back off a n inch and they get things rolling."

Cathcart was the one who got rolling taking over from there, rushing nine times, the final one from a yard out, to give Clarion a 14-0 lead with 8:53 left in the game.

Cathcart was a force for the Bobcats in the second half rushing for 82 yards and the touchdown.

"We made some adjustments in the second half," Cathcart said. "I had few rushes and stuff, but the line did a terrific job. They need a lot of credit too."

"We wanted to control the clock in the second half," Wiser said. "At halftime we talked about our inside game and what we could or couldn’t get out of it. I thought we made some decent adjustments on some blocking."

The Bobcats got their final touchdown with just 19 seconds left when Dan Patton scored on a pitch from five yards out.

"It wasn’t a conscience thing on my part to score that touchdown," Wiser said. "We were pounding the ball away, and I thought we had close to a minute to play. That was a mental error. It wasn’t something I wanted to do to a Karns City ball team or anything like that. But I can see where it can come out that way. I really do."

Leading the way for the Clarion defense was Nick Niznik with 11 unassisted tackles and seven assisted tackles, Cathcart with 11 unassisted tackles and three assisted tackles, Larson with 5 unassisted tackles, 10 assisted tackles and three quarterback sacks and Brock Luke with 6 unassisted tackled and two assisted tackles.

NOTES: Clarion has now won 13 of 14  regular season games dating back to October of 1998 … On offense, Cathcart had 117 of Clarion’s 168 yards on the night. Bernardi was 2-7 passing for 17 yards and one interception … Karns City’s offense was led by Beau Rattigan’s 44 yards rushing. Billy Graham added 40 yards rushing … Ferguson was 1-8 for 9 yards and one interception … Clarion travels to Clarion-Limestone for the 29^th meeting between the town rivals with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff … Clarion leads the all-time series 15-13 and has won three of the past four meetings … Karns City hosts Moniteau in its homecoming game Friday night with a 7 p.m. kickoff.

C-L STOMPS KEYSTONE

By Jonathan Shaffer

KNOX- Clarion-Limestone gained 386 yards of total offense and built a 44-6 lead by halftime before dispatching Keystone 51-6 in KSAC action Friday, Sept. 15.

The running back trio of Alderton, Ben Brooks and Chad Conti gained 283 of C-L's 292 total rushing yards. The trio also rushed for five touchdowns.

"We weren't able to stop them," Keystone (0-3) coach Dan Reed said. "Their lines were just pushing us around. We need to improve drastically in our line play."

"That is how we like to operate our offense," C-L coach Clyde Conti said. "Each back brings something to the table."

Alderton finished with 133 yards on eight carries and 83 yards on four catches. Brooks ended with 83 yards on 13 rushes, while Conti gained 67 yards on three carries.

C-L scored 28 points in the first quarter to set the tempo early. The Lions also held Keystone's Adam Black to 6-24 passing for 64 yards and intercepted a pass.

"We were able to put pressure on Adam," Clyde Conti said. "He is an outstanding quarterback and an excellent person. Keystone's passing game can be dangerous, but our boys were able to do what they had to do."

C-L scored its first touchdown at the 10:13 mark of the first quarter, due in large part to recovering a Keystone fumble at the Panthers 36.

It took the Lions just two plays to punch it into the end zone from there. Conti broke free on a 19-yard touchdown run to end the scoring drive, which took only 15 seconds. Rocky Davis kicked the point after to build a 7-0 lead.

Keystone punted on its next possession, and C-L took over at its own 48-yard line.

On the fourth play of the possession, Conti broke loose to score on a 40-yard run with 7:37 left. Davis added another extra point to increase the C-L lead to 14-0. The scoring drive lasted a mere 55 seconds and covered 52 yards.

C-L then attacked with a different weapon from its three-man running back arsenal in Alderton.

The Lions next scoring drive lasted only three plays and went 54 yards. Alderton capped off the drive with a 33-yard touchdown run with 4:49 left in the first quarter. Davis kicked the extra point to make the score 21-0 in favor of C-L.

Alderton's scoring run was just a sign of things to come, as he also scored on a 61-yard run with 2:24 left, completing a three-play, 66-yard drive that lasted 29 seconds. Davis kicked his fourth extra point of the quarter to make the score 28-0.

Alderton's third touchdown included J.J. Ferguson in the act.

With 8:10 left in the second quarter, Ferguson found Alderton on a 28-yard touchdown pass to top off of a 55-yard drive. Davis added his fifth straight PAT to create a 35-0 advantage.

Keystone was able to score its first and only points on the ensuing kickoff. Kurt Carnahan caught the Davis kickoff at the Keystone 15 only to find a hole and shed tacklers on his way to an 85-yard touchdown return. The Panthers two-point conversion pass failed, but had cut the lead to 35-6 with 7:57 on the clock.

C-L answered the Keystone touchdown with a touchdown of its own with 3:16 left in the half.

The Lions had drove the ball 37 yards to the Keystone 3-yard line before Ferguson found Ryan Smith for a 3-yard touchdown reception. Davis missed his first point after of the evening, but the Lions had a 41-6 lead.

C-L made the score 44-6 by halftime, as Davis booted a 25-yard field goal with 16 seconds left on the clock.

The Lions continued its scoring ways in the second half, registering a touchdown with 7:59 left in the third quarter.

Brooks, the other member of the three-man running attack, scampered into the end zone from 13 yards out to end a five-play, 63-yard drive. Davis added his final extra point of the evening, as the score changed to 51-6.

The Lions' 3-0 start has put them on a crash course of unbeaten teams next week, as Clarion Area, 21-0 winners over Karns City and currently ranked second in the PA Football News, will visit the Lions' Den at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22.

"Clarion is the type of football team that by looking at them as a pure football fan, you are willing to drive two, three, four hours to watch them," Clyde Conti said. "They are one of the best Class A teams in Western Pennsylvania."

"I know we are probably nowhere near what they have in many aspects, but I feel really good about the group of boys we have. The game will be interesting."

FALCONS SAIL PAST KNIGHTS

RIMERSBURG- Chris Gilman gained 156 yards on the ground and rushed for two touchdowns to lead A-C Valley past Union 30-8 in KSAC action.

Gilman scored on runs of nine and two yards.

A-C Valley (3-0 overall, 2-0 KSAC) quarterback Mike Stewart registered a 3-yard touchdown run but left the game with a shoulder injury.

Stewart's TD run took place in the first quarter, as Gilman ran in the two-point conversion to give the Falcons an 8-0 lead.

Union (1-2 overall and KSAC) tied the game when Garrett Conway intercepted a pass from backup QB Josh Defibaugh and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown. The Golden Knights converted the two-point attempt for the tie.

Cory Jackson put A-C Valley ahead for good with six seconds left before halftime, reeling in a Defibaugh pass for 32-yard TD reception.

Gilman's touchdowns took place in the second half.

Union's running game was led by Seth Stewart, who carried the ball 13 times for 41 yards. Union's passing came went for negative-3 yards. 

JUST CALL THEM AIR-ELKERS

RIDGWAY -- After throwing just one touchdown pass all of last year, Ridgway has all of a sudden gone to the air, as Brandon Steger followed up last week's four touchdown performance by throwing three more this week in Ridgway's 27-8 win over Sheffield Friday night.

Steger ended the night 8-16 for 192 yards in leading the 8th-ranked Elkers to the win.

Jesse Depanfilis added an 80-yard kickoff return for a TD for Ridgway.

Dustin Dickant caught two touchdown passes for Ridgway (3-0), the No. 8 ranked team in Class A by the PFN.

Sheffield's William Ethridge rushed for 129 yards, including a 93-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Dickant caught four passes for 131 yards and rushed 6 times for 32 yards.Check back later for more on this game.

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