COUDERSPORT LOOKING TO SPOIL C-L'S HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE; LIONS LOOK TO RETURN TO D9 CLASS A CHAMPIONSHIP GAME FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1998

By Chris Rossetti

CLARION TWP. – Nine weeks down and now the fun begins.

Four teams are left standing in District 9 Class A and two of them get together at 7 p.m. Saturday night when Coudersport, the third seed in the playoffs, travels south to face Clarion-Limestone, the No. 2 seed, in a semifinal matchup between two 8-1 teams.

The Falcons under head coach Paul Simcoe come into the game riding a five-game winning streak that helped them secure the No.2 spot in the AML North. Coudersport’s lone loss this season came to AML Champion Smethport, who finished the regular season 9-0.

"They are a very, very good team," C-L head coach Clyde Conti said. "They have an excellent quarterback, a nice backfield and their line traps and pounds the ball very well. On defense they are very solid in how they play. They are very good at not allowing big plays."

The Lions of Clarion-Limestone enter the game with an eight-game winning streak. C-L hasn’t lost since a 25-7 setback to Karns City in Week One. The Lions are the only District 9 team and one of only two teams, Greenville was the other, to come within three touchdowns of Gremlins, who were 9-0 going into their game Friday night with South Vo-Tech and ranked second in the state in Class AA by the Pennsylvania Football News and sixth in the state by the Harrisburg Patriot-News. The Lions were also the only team to hold a lead on Karns City all season.

"They are a good team that is very well balanced," Simcoe said. "They have good coaching and some very good players. We just need to get our kids prepared."

Coudersport enters the playoff coming off a 20-0 win at Johnsonburg last Friday night, while Clarion-Limestone is coming off a 53-0 win over A-C Valley.

The Coudersport offense is a balanced one having passed for over 1,000 yards and run close to 2,000 yards.

"We hope our balance on offense is one of our strength," Simcoe said. "Teams can’t key on one player. I am not sure we have one truly standout player who is head and shoulders above the rest on offense, but we are pretty solid at every position. We hope that makes it hard for people to defend us."

The Falcons are led by quarterback Ben Cary, a southpaw, running backs Ross Simcoe, the coaches son, and Mike Maiuro, tight end Dane Haskins and wideouts Steve Brink and Zach Hershey, who also can line up in the backfield.

Cary comes into the game having passed for the fourth most yards in District 9 this season and the third most in Class A. He is 60-for-128 (46.9 percent) passing for 1,018 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has also thrown five interceptions.

"He is a very athletic kid who is left handed, something we don’t see very often," Conti said. "He is very good on the play action and on the waggle and in the five-step drop among other things. He is a very accurate passer, and he is a big part of what they do."

Conti said his team needs to be aware that Cary is left-handed and not think that every quarterback is right-handed because that is all the Lions have played this season.

"We have to be aware that he is a lefty, but at the same time he throws the ball both ways very well," Conti said.

Maiuro enters the game having gained 756 yards this season, the 11^th most in District 9 and the sixth most in Class A, on 169 carries. He is averaging 4.5 yards per carry and 84 yards per game and has scored nine touchdowns.

Ross Simcoe is the lead blocker for Maiuro but he can also carry the football. Simcoe has rushed for 449 yards on 66 carries and average 6.8 yards per touch this season while scoring five touchdowns.

"The Maiuro kid is very good," Conti said. "And Simcoe is doing some great things for them."

At tight end Haskins provides excellent blocking along with a nice ability to catch passes. He has 15 grabs this season for 249 yards and three scores.

"Haskins is an excellent athlete," Conti said. "We know that from seeing him play basketball against us (in last season District 9 semifinals)."

At wide receiver the Falcons employ Brink and at times Hershey. Brink has 17 catches for 342 yards and five touchdowns this year, while Hershey has rushed for 205 yards and four touchdowns on 39 carries this season.

"Brink is very quick," Conti said. "He is a very dangerous receiver. Hershey is very good and he had a great game for them last week as a receiver. He can also be used as running back."

The Lions also have been running a balanced attack in 2001 running for 1,774 yards and passing for 1,119.

Just like the overall team stats the Lions individual performances are very balanced as well.

At quarterback C-L likes to rotate freshman Hayden Johnston with senior J.J. Ferguson. Johnston is more of a scrambler with a good arm, while Ferguson tends to drop back and throw the ball more.

"We are aware of their two quarterback rotation," Simcoe said. "Both kids bring something different to the table, and the freshman doesn’t play like a freshman. "As long as our kids recognize who is in the game, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem for us, though."

Johnston enters the game having gone 14-for-40 passing for 299 yards and three touchdowns. He has also run the ball 37 times for 199 yards and three touchdowns.

Ferguson enters the contest on a tear. He has thrown for 799 yards, the sixth most in District 9 this season, on 30-for-57 passing. He has 15 touchdown passes and only four interceptions.

"As I have said all year, we need both kids to win," Conti said.

The quarterbacks’ top targets this season have been Dan Alderton and Chad Conti, Clyde’s son.

Alderton has caught 17 passes for 461 yards and 10 touchdowns. He is tied for the fifth most receiving yards in District 9.

Conti, meanwhile has 12 grabs for 401 yards and six scores.

Both players are also key to the Lions running attack. Alderton is C-L’s leading rusher with 508 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns on 71 carries. He is averaging 7.2 yards per tote despite missing Week Two and most of Week One with an injury. Conti is the Lions third leading rusher with 284 yards on 41 carries and two touchdowns.

Joining Conti and Alderton in the backfield are tailback Brendan Huwar (54 rushes for 261 yards and three touchdowns) and fullback Ben Brooks (59-399 and five touchdowns).

At tight end the Lions use Harley Doane who has caught one pass for 37 yards and is a key blocker up front.

At wide receiver, Ryan Smith and Justin McKissick share time along with Conti and Alderton. Smith has five catches for 57 yards and one score this season, while McKissick has four grabs for 44 yards and a touchdown.

On defense both teams have been outstanding in 2001. Coudersport has allowed only 52 points all season, the fewest in District 9, an average of 5.8 points per game and have shutout five of their six opponents. If you take away the 32 points the Falcons allowed to Smethport they are allowing just 2.5 points per game in their other eight games.

"They are a very solid defensive team," Conti said. "They always are and always have been. Paul does a very nice job with them."

The Lions defense isn’t a slouch either. C-L has allowed just 93 points all season an average of 10.3 per game. If you take away the 25 points Karns City scored, the Lions are allowing only 8.5 points per game in their other eight games.

"We’ve been playing pretty well on defense," Conti said. "But we haven’t played a team the caliber of Coudersport in recent week. But our kids are playing very well and playing with a lot of confidence. We’ve been more aggressive this year and have swarmed to the football more. Hopefully we react that way Saturday."

One thing that worries Simcoe a little bit about C-L is the Lions speed. Alderton was the state champion in the 400-meter dash last season, while Conti and Huwar also add a lot of speed to the Lions lineup.

"I don’t know if we are as quick as them," Simcoe said. "But we have some quick kids. We have good overall team speed, but we are going to have to keep them from breaking big plays."

One way to keep the Lions from breaking big plays Simcoe believes is to keep the ball away from the C-L offense.

"We would like to control the line of scrimmage and the clock and keep the ball away from them because of their speed," Simcoe said. "With that speed every play is a potential touchdown."

Conti realizes that Coudersport has some quick players, but he also knows that in order for his team’s quickness to come into play the Lions need to break the Falcons containment

"We need to get our guys out in the open if we are going to take advantage of our speed," Conti said.

One of Conti’s biggest concerns is how his team will match-up size wise up front with Coudersport.

"They have great size on the line, and they come off the football very well," Conti said.

Simcoe isn’t so sure his line has any real size advantage on C-L.

"I think the size of the two teams is fairly equal up front," Simcoe said.

Both coaches also said that special teams are going to be very important in this football game.

"Usually in the course of a game there are one or two special teams plays that in a close game are the difference in the game," Simcoe said. "We know they have a good kicker (Rocky Davis) and we need to be aware of that."

Conti said Coudersport has some very good players on special teams and his team better come to play on special teams if they expect to win the game.

"We better play well on special teams because they have some game-breaker type kids back there," Conti said. "That Brink kids is very exciting to watch when he gets the ball, and they also have some other kids who can make things happen."

Simcoe said in order for his team to win they will have to do a couple of things well.

"We need to stay away from turnovers," Simcoe said. "We need to make good offensive decisions especially in the passing game. We need to read the defense and not try to force the ball in there but take what the coverage will give us."

Simcoe also said that if his line can control the line of scrimmage at least some of the time then the Falcons can control the clock and use it to their advantage.

"We can use the time as our 12^th defender," Simcoe said.

In order for his team to have a chance at coming out on top, Conti believes a few things need to be done.

"For us to win we need to hold onto the football and protect the football and play well on special teams," Conti said. "We also need to prevent the big plays from being broken and make them drive the football. If we do that then maybe we can make a play or two and go with them. It will be very tough. I have a lot of respect for there team. The thing that I like about them is that I am very impressed with Paul’s coaching and teaching. They also play very disciplined and they hustle."

Simcoe added that with all the team’s being equal at this time of year playing well becomes important.

"Every team is a good team at this time of year," Simcoe said. "The team who plays the best will win."

NOTES: Clarion-Limestone has been to five District 9 Class A title games since 1987, the last time in 1998 when it lost 28-14 to Smethport. The Lions won District 9 Class A titles in 1993 and 1990 ... Coudersport has made it to one District 9 Class A title game since 1987 winning the 1994 district title with a 21-20 win over Smethport ... The Falcons have also made it to two District 9 Class AA finals since 1987 ... The Falcons lost the 1988 District 9 Class AA championship game 18-14 to Keystone and the 1990 final 19-0 to Smethport... C-L has been to the District 9 Class A playoffs nine times since 1987 the last time last year when it lost 40-7 to Curwensville ... Coudersport has been to the District 9 Class A playoffs twice since 1987 last playing in them in 1997 when the Falcons lost 22-6 to Clarion and to the District 9 Class AA playoffs twice (1988 & 1990)  ... Coudersport and C-L have met in the District 9 Class A playoffs once with Coudersport winning 11-6 in the opening round of the 1994 playoffs.