BROCKWAY – Clarion-Limestone won its first District 9 Class A title since 1993 with a 27-14 win over Kane Saturday night at Brockway.

With the win, the Lions (11-0) move into the PIAA playoffs where they will face District 109 Class A champion West Middlesex, a 21-17 winner of Eisenhower, at 7 p.m. Friday night in Sharon.

"It is just great for these kids," first-year head coach John Kundick said. "If you listen to them talk, they have been working for this since they were in elementary school. From what ever happens from now on is gravy for all of us. It is just great that these kids are going on."

Kane finishes the season 9-2, a huge turnaround from last season’s 1-8 mark. The Wolves are the AML South and the AML Champion.

"We played with a passion," Kane first-year head coach Rick Bouch said. "We played like that the whole year. The big thing tonight was we got in the red zone but couldn’t score."

Kane got the ball to start the game, and the Wolves came out on fire getting a big kickoff return from Mike Jamerson out to the Wolves 46-yard line.

From there senior quarterback Tyler Smith completed passes of 24 and 22 yards to Tim Smith to move the Wolves to the 10-yard line.

After losing a yard on a run back to the 11, Tyler Smith dropped back to pass but found nobody open. He tucked the ball and sprinted for the corner of the end zone diving over the pylon for the game’s first touchdown. The snap on the extra point attempt was a bad one forcing Tyler Smith, the holder, to fall on the ball, but Kane led 6-0 1:56 into the game.

"I think our guys are just known for slow starts," Kundick said. "I don’t think they would be happy unless they let someone score first to make them mad or something. I don’t know what it is either. But we knew they could pass, and they came out passing. We worked on our defense for that, but of course we weren’t in it at the time. We jumped to it afterward and it worked."

The quick score by Kane did not faze C-L with the Lions marching right down the field to take the lead.

The Lions used a strong running game to move the ball to the Wolves 32-yard line, but the drive seemed to be fizzling with C-L facing a third-and-6 from the 32. But sophomore quarterback Hayden Johnston found a wide open Brad Beggs in the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at six with 6:19 left in the opening quarter. Rocky Davis then came on and hit the extra point giving the Lions a 7-6 lead, a lead they would never relinquish.

On Kane’s next possession, C-L’s defense came alive forcing a punt.

Johnston returned the 37-yard punt by Andy Cecchetti 31 yard to the Kane 30-yard line.

The Lions were able to move the ball a yard but where left facing a third-and-9 play. But once again Johnston and Beggs hooked up, this time for 16-yard gain to the 13-yard line.

A few plays later, C-L was looking at a third-and-goal from the Kane 4-yard line. This time Johnston dropped back to pass and rolled out before fining tight end Harley Doane streaking across the middle of the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown pass. Davis extra point was wide right, but the Lions led 13-6 with 45 seconds left in the first quarter.

On Kane’s next possession, moments into the second quarter, Tyler Smith dropped back to pass and tried to throw a screen pass across the field. But C-L’s David Brooks read the play and stepped in front of the Wolves receiver intercepting the ball at the Kane 39-yard line. With nothing in front of him but green grass, Brooks took the interception into the end zone for a touchdown. Davis’ extra point gave the Lions a 20-7 lead 16 seconds into the second quarter.

"We tried to sprint out and throw back across the field," Bouch said. "That Brooks kid made a nice play and broke on the ball. He stole it from our guy and took it to the end zone. That was a great play."

"That was a big play," Kundick said. "You could just see it coming. That was a big play. There were a lot of big plays tonight, but that was an important one."

Kane was undaunted by the interception and drove right back down the field to get back into the football game. The Wolves scored on a 3-yard pass from Tyler Smith to Andy Cecchetti with 7:21 left in the first half. Kane then decided to go for the two-point conversion, and the Wolves used a little tricky to get the two points. Tyler Smith pitched the ball to Hugh rich who threw to a wide open Tim Smith in the end zone for the two points cutting C-L’s lead to 20-14.

The Wolves defense added by a couple of penalties on C-L, finally shutdown the Lions offense on the ensuing possession forcing a punt attempt on a fourth-and-24 from the Lions 29-yard line. But C-L tried to fake the punt getting the ball to Beggs on a pass from Johnston. Beggs was able to scamper up to the 50-yard line, but that is where he was stopped three yards short of the sticks.

With great field position and 4:59 left in the first half, Kane tried to mount a drive. But the Wolves could only reach the C-L 30-yard line where they turned the ball over on downs with 1:31 left in the first half.

But C-L was in a generous mood, as David Brooks fumbled the first C-L play on a wing back counter play. Kane jumped on the lose ball at the C-L 33-yard line.

But once again the Wolves were not able to move the football gaining just seven yards in four tries giving C-L the ball back on downs and allowing the Lions to take a 20-14 lead into the lockerroom.

"(After the interception for a touchdown) we came back and scored," Bouch said. "Then we got the ball back and had a chance to score before the half and didn’t."

C-L got the ball to start the second half, but the Lions offense went three-and-out and punted away to Kane.

Kane took over after the punt at its 21-yard line and was able to move the ball over the 35-yard line. But the Wolves were facing a third-and-7 when Smith appeared to hit Tim Smith with pass. As Tim Smith was going down after apparently catching the football, he appeared to lateral the ball toward no one in particular, and the Lions pounced on the loose ball. But the officials ruled that the ball was never caught and it was an incomplete pass setting up a fourth-and-7, and the Wolves sent out the punt team.

But now it was Kane’s turn to fake the punt, and the Wolves fake was more successful than the Lions. Tyler Smith found Hugh Rich with a 19-yard pass for a first down in C-L territory.

Kane then moved the ball to the C-L 19 where it faced a fourth-and-1 with five minutes left in the third quarter.

The Wolves elected to go for it, but the Lions defense came up huge stuffing running back Matt Burton for a 1-yard loss.

"Those guys on the line have done it all year," Kundick said. "No matter what had happened on the drive up to that point when the time came for them to get a stop our guys came through."

"Our guys wanted that opportunity to get out there," Bouch said. "We just didn’t make the play."

C-L’s big defensive stand was magnified a minute later when Hayden Johnston took a quarterback keeper, cut to his left and turned up field out racing the Kane defenders 63 yards for a touchdown. Davis’ extra point put the Lions ahead 27-14 with 3:05 left in the third quarter.

"The play was designed for Hayden to keep the ball and go to the right," C-L offensive coordinator Todd Smith said. "But he cut the play back to the left on his own and went for the touchdown. It was just a great individual effort by Hayden."

Kane’s special teams tried to give the Wolves a lift on the ensuing kickoff, as Tim Smith took Davis kick at the 5-yard line and cut up the sideline for a 44-yard return to the Kane 49-yard line. Erik White, the last C-L defender between Smith and the end zone made the touchdown saving tackle.

Kane was able to move the ball over midfield, but the Lions defense came up with a big play at the C-L 44. Jordan Johnston got into the backfield on Tyler Smith and sacked him at the 44 stripping the ball from Smith’s hand at the same time. Doane then fell on the ball at the 44 giving the Lions the football back.

C-L’s offense wasn’t able to do anything with the ball, but the Lions were able to run out the quarter giving them a 27-14 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

After the Lions punted the ball back to Kane, the Wolves were unable to move the football and punted back to C-L.

Starting at their 37-yard line with 9:30 left in the game, the Lions wanted to pound the ball inside and run the clock. But Brendan Huwar fumbled the football, and Kane recovered at the C-L 35-yard line with 8:35 left in the game.

But once again, the Lions defense came up big forcing the Wolves into a fourth-and-18 situation at the 34-yard line. Tyler Smith went back to pass, but the only receiver he could find open was Steve Chittester at the 34. Chittester caught the ball but was immediately tackle by the Lions giving C-L the ball back with 6:56 left in the game.

C-L’s offense was then able to grind nearly 4:30 minutes off the clock before having to punt the ball back to Kane.

Taking over at their 36-yard line with 2:39 left in the game, the Wolves caught a break when C-L was called for pass interference on a long pass play intended for Jamerson down the sideline. The penalty gave Kane the ball, with a first down, at midfield.

But the Wolves were only able to move the football to the C-L 40. On fourth-and-15 from the 40, Tyler Smith tried a desperation heave over the middle of the field. But C-L’s Beggs knocked the ball down with 1:34 to play, and the Lions celebration began.

"I am proud of these guys," Kundick said. "And I am proud of my coaching staff. They did a great job. We all worked very hard to get here."

For the most part C-L’s defense was able to control Kane’s super quarterback Tyler Smith. Smith was able to complete 18-of-34 passes for 199 yards and one touchdown with an interception. But only 130 of those yards came after the first drive, and in the second half the Lions were putting pressure on Smith the entire half making him dump the ball off to his backs.

"We weren’t doing anything special to put pressure on him," Todd Smith said. "We were playing our normal defensive front. But we did make a change in the secondary during the week with the hopes off slowing down the passing game. When we thought they would be in a passing situation, we moved Hayden (Johnston) back to strong safety from his normal middle linebacker spot and played press coverage with on their receivers. Hayden made some big plays back there."

While Kane’s passing game was being slowed by the Lions defense, the Wolves running game was almost non-existent. They managed just 75 yards for the game on 32 carries (2.3 yards per carry) but 66 of those yards came on five of the carries. On the other 27 carries Kane managed just nine yards, and the Lions stopped Kane runners for zero or negative yards on 14 of the 32 carries.

"It is the same thing I have been saying all year," Kundick said. "Our line just plays hard. They have worked very hard to get where they are at, and they deserve a lot of credit."

Burton was Kane’s leading rusher carrying the ball 19 times for 52 yards, while Tyler Smith carried it 10 times for 16 yards. Tim Smith caught seven passes for 109 yards.

While C-L’s defense played well, so did Kane’s.

The Wolves limited the Lions to 221 total yards of offense including 133 on the ground. And 63 of those ground yards came on Johnston’s touchdown. On the Lions other 34 carries they managed only 70 yards (2.1 yards per carry).

But Johnston was the difference makes. He ran 10 times for 82 yards and a touchdown and was 6-for-7 passing for 88 yards and two touchdowns.

Huwar added 16 carries for 46 yards, while Beggs had three catches for 69 yards.

NOTES: The championship was the Lions third title. In addition to the 1993 title, C-L also won a district title in 1990. The Lions have also lost three district title games, all the Smethport (1991, 1992, 1998) … This was the first trip to the championship game for Kane … The C-L win snapped a four-game winning streak in the District 9 title game for the AML. The last KSAC team to win a title before the Lions was Clarion in 1997 (7-3 over Smethport). Since then Smethport (1998), Cameron County (1999), Curwensville (2000) and Coudersport (2001) have won district titles … Overall in the 16 years of the District 9 Class A title game the Little 12/KSAC has won five titles (1988 – East Brady, 1990 – Clarion-Limestone, 1993 – Clarion-Limestone, 1997 – Clarion, 2002 – Clarion-Limestone) while the AML has won 11 titles with Smethport winning five of them (1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998). Coudersport has won two titles (1994, 2001) and Johnsonburg (1987), Ridgway (1989), Cameron County (1999) and Curwensville (2000) have each won one title … Even though the AML didn’t go to a North-South format until 1999 (they were East-West prior to that) the current break down of titles is seven for the AML North, four for the KSAC/Little 12 and four for the AML South in their current alignments … One team, East Brady, no longer exits. The Bulldogs are now part of the Karns City School District … This was the second year in a row and the third time in the last four years that the Class A title game has been held at Brockway … The field was in superb condition.

K – 6 8 0 0 – 14

C-L – 13 7 7 0 – 27

K – Tyler Smith 11 run (Bad snap on the kick) 10:04

C-L – Brad Beggs 32 pass from Hayden Johnston (Rocky Davis kick) 6:19

C-L – Harley Doane 4 pass from Johnston (kick failed) :45

C-L – David Brooks 39 interception return (Davis kick) 11:44

K – Andy Cecchetti 3 pass from Tyler Smith (Hugh Rich pass to Tim Smith) 7:21

C-L – Hayden Johnston 63 run (Davis kick) 3:05

K C

First Down 14 9

Rushes-Yards 32-75 35-133

Passing Yards 199 88

Passes: Comp-Att-Int 18-34-1 6-7-0

Total Yardage 274 221

Penalties-Yards 6-34 8-60

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 3-2

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Kane: Matt Burton 19-52, Tyler Smith 10-16, 1 TD, Steve Chittester 2-4, Mike Jamerson 1-3. Clarion-Limestone: Brendan Huwar 16-46, Hayden Johnston 10-82, 1 TD, David Brooks 2-0, Ben Brooks 6-6, Team 1-(-1).

Passing – Kane: Tyler Smith 18-for-34, 199 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. Clarion-Limestone: Hayden Johnston 6-for-7, 88 yards, 2 TD’s.

Receiving – Kane: Hugh Rich 2-26, Mike Sivak 1-16, Tim Smith 7-109, Andy Cecchetti 5-28, 1 TD, Mike Jamerson 1-23, Matt Burton 1-(-3), Steve Chittester 1-0. Clarion-Limestone: Brad Beggs 3-69, 1 TD, Harley Doane 2-15, 1 TD, Brendan Huwar 1-4.