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By Rich Rhoades
CURWENSVILLE - In one of the "scoreboard-watching" games of
the week, it's the Curwensville Golden Tide squaring off against the
Ridgway Elkers in an Allegheny Mountain League South Division tilt at
Riverside Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
A whole lot of implications go with this game. The loser of this game most
likely is knocked out of both the AML South race and the Class A playoff
picture.
Both teams are coming off wins. Curwensville surprised and beat up
previously unbeaten Kane, 20-6, to put itself back in the AML South race.
The Golden Tide limited Kane to 156 yards of offense, including 80 yards
of rushing on 24 carries. Kane quarterback Tyler Smith completed only 8 of
18 passes and was intercepted twice.
Curwensville got 166 yards rushing from Brooks Collins, who leads the Tide
for the season in rushing with 435 yards. Quarterback Travis McDonald
completed 4 of 5 passes for 67 yards, two of them going for touchdowns
covering 39 and 3 yards to Greg Gilbert and Jeremy Struble.
Gilbert has caught five of McDonald's eight TD passes and leads the team
with 12 receptions for 307 yards.
The name of the game for the Tide, however, is defense. Curwensville
limited AML South frontrunners Kane and Brockway to a combined 14 points
and 85 yards rushing in the last two weeks.
A Curwensville win over the Elkers combined with a Brockway win over Kane
would create a three-way tie for first between the Tide, Brockway and
Kane. That would favor Curwensville, which would own wins over both teams.
Curwensville then finishes the AML regular season next week at
Johnsonburg, which currently owns a 1-5 record.
Ridgway, coming off a 48-13 rout of Youngsville, needs to beat
Curwensville then hope that Kane beats Brockway and loses to Smethport.
Then that would give the Elkers an AML South title. Still, winning out the
regular season would keep Ridgway in the Class A playoff picture
regardless of the AML South race.
Ridgway has won three straight games since losing two straight to Brockway
and Kane at home. The Elkers don't have a victory against a team with a
winning record this year.
The Elkers are somewhat balanced. Four players, including quarterback Andy
Kelly, have rushed for over 100 yards. Leading the way is Ryan Mitchell,
who has rushed for 479 yards and eight touchdowns. He scored three
touchdowns in the second quarter against Youngsville.
Dave Bundy (387 yards, 2 TDs) and Josh Mercer (269 yards, 4 TDs) will get
some carries as well.
Kelly, who has rushed for 187 yards and four touchdowns, has completed
almost 60 percent of his passes (40-of-68, 58.8 percent) for 501 yards
with four touchdowns and five interceptions. His top receiving targets are
Bundy, Justin Buehler and Josh Shirey. |