| CLARION-LIMESTONE GETS ITS BIGGEST WIN EVER OVER CLARION |
| SEPT. 27 WEEK FIVE - Clarion-Limestone 44, Clarion 0 |
| By Chris Rossetti
STRATTANVILLE – Like the remnants of Hurricane Isidore that blew through the area early in the day, the Clarion-Limestone Lions blew through cross-town rival Clarion 44-0 Friday night. It was the biggest win ever for the Lions against Clarion surpassing the previous mark of 24 points set in a 30-6 win in 1993. It was also the worst loss for Clarion since Reynoldsville beat the Bobcats 59-0 in 1951, 51 seasons ago. "I just feel good for the kids," C-L first-year head coach John Kundick said. "The kids have worked hard, and they deserve everything they get. They knew what the game meant, and we told them we play one game at a time. I am just thrilled for the kids." "I haven’t said anything to the team yet," Clarion head coach Larry Wiser said. "Our kids wanted to win the game and played hard to win the game, but it is not just that. You have to go out there and play 11 guys as one. If we came out of tonight with any lesson, that has to be it. You can’t go out there and individually think you can win the football game for us. You have an area on the field you have to defend, and you have to take care of that and let what ever happens in another area take care of itself." C-L’s Brendan Huwar scored four times on three rushes and one pass, while the Lions’ sophomore quarterback Hayden Johnston added two rushing and one passing touchdown. On the night Huwar rushed for 87 yards on 14 carries with almost all of the yards and all three rushing touchdowns coming in the first half. "Brendan is just an excellent running back," Kundick said. "When he gets it in his head, he just takes off and goes. He puts that second and third and fourth effort out there. I am real happy for him. He has worked real hard this year. "The line also deserves a lot of credit. They are just doing a wonderful job." Johnston was 2-for-5 passing for 62 yards and the score while adding eight carries for 21 yards and the two touchdowns. Once again most of his damage came in the first half, as C-L led 37-0 at halftime. The Lions were able to build the 37-0 halftime lead thanks to great field position. Of C-L’s seven first-half possessions, four of them started in Clarion territory and two others started around the C-L 31-yard line. "The percentages are 2-to-1 that if you give a team the ball inside the 50 they are going to score," Wiser said. "We are trying to make things happen when it would probably be better to punt the ball and give them worse field position." The Lions were able to capitalize on the good field position scoring on five of their seven possessions. C-L scored the first four times it had the football and led 30-0 with 6:47 left in the half. The Lions first drive of the game started at the Clarion 38-yard line following a fumble by Clarion quarterback Jamie Arner. It was the second fumble in a row for Arner. The first one the Bobcats were able to fall on, but the second one went to the Lions. C-L needed five plays to get into the end zone scoring on a 5-yard run by Johnston with 7:54 left in the first half. Rocky Davis’ extra point made the score 7-0. Clarion was able to move out to its 48 on its next drive, but following a two-yard loss by Corey Corbett was forced to punt. C-L took over at its 31 following a 31-yard punt by Brady Buzzard. This time the Lions went on an 11-play march that was capped by a 2-yard run from Huwar three seconds into the second quarter. The key play of the drive was a 28-yard pass from Johnston to Brad Beggs on fourth-and-13 from the Clarion 30. Beggs was well covered by Will Lewis on the play but out positioned the Clarion defender to make the catch. Davis’ original extra point attempt was no good, but Clarion was flagged for roughing the kicker. Davis made the second attempt putting C-L up 14-0. Clarion’s next drive stalled at the Clarion 29, and the Bobcats were forced to punt. The punt snap went over Buzzard’s head, and he was forced to kick it out of the end zone for a safety putting C-L up 16-0. The Lions got the ball at the Clarion 46 after the free kick, and it took them four plays to score. On third-and-10 from the Clarion 34, Johnston found Huwar with a 23-yard touchdown strike with 7:59 left in the half. Huwar was wide open on the play, and Johnston threw a perfect spiral hitting Huwar around the 15-yard line. Davis’ extra point was good giving the Lions a 23-0 lead. "When you see someone that wide open, it is real pretty," Kundick said. "I told Brendan if he had dropped that there would have been no mercy shown. He did a fine job catching it. He was wide open." Clarion’s next possession ended when Arner was intercepted by C-L’s Erik White giving the Lions the ball at the Clarion 30. One play later, Huwar burst through a hole for a 30-yard touchdown run that coupled with Davis’ extra point made the score 30-0 with 6:47 left to play. Clarion’s best scoring chance came two drives later after Johnston fumbled away the ball at the C-L 28-yard line. Arner hit Jason Reed with a 26-yard pass to the two, but on the next play Dave Larson fumbled the ball back to the Lions. A few minutes later another Clarion turnover set up C-L final score of the half. David "Tuffy" Brooks intercepted an Arner pass at the C-L 40 and returned it to the Clarion 35. On the first play after the turnover, Huwar busted through another hole for a 35-yard touchdown run. Davis’ extra point put the Lions ahead 37-0 with 1:41 left in the half. C-L got the ball to start the second half and used five plays to score a touchdown despite having 20 yards worth of penalties against it on the drive. Johnston scored on a 16-yard run on a fourth-and-6 play with 7:41 left in the third quarter. Ben Brooks set up the touchdown with runs of 26 and 24 yards on the drive, which started at the 50-yard line following a 36-yard kickoff return by Johnston. Clarion had one last chance to put points on the board late in the fourth quarter. Back-up quarterback Justin Arner had a 46-yard run to the CL 23, and the Bobcats were able to get the ball down to the Lions 5-yard line. But C-L’s back-ups refused to be scored upon sacking Arner for a 12-yard loss back to the 17-yard line. Then on fourth down from the 17, Cam Speer intercepted a Justin Arner pass to close the game out. "The starters were cheering for those guys," Kundick said. "That was real great." NOTES: It was C-L’s second win in a row against Clarion and the Lions third win in five years against the cross-town Bobcats … Clarion’s lead in the series is 16-15. CLARION-LIMESTONE 44, CLARION 0 Score by Quarter Clarion 0 0 0 0 – 0 C-L 7 30 7 0 – 44 Scoring Summary First quarter C-L – Hayden Johnston 8 run (Rocky Davis kick) 7:54 Second quarter C-L – Brendan Huwar 2 run (Davis kick) 11:57 C-L – Safety (Punt snapped out of the end zone) 9:56 C-L – Huwar 34 pass from Johnston (Davis kick) 7:59 C-L – Huwar 30 run (Davis kick) 6:47 C-L – Huwar 35 run (Davis kick) 1:41 Third quarter C-L – Johnston 16 run (Davis kick) 7:41 C C-L First Down 7 14 Rushes-Yards 37-81 39-261 Passing Yards 83 62 Passes: Comp-Att-Int 4-11-3 2-5-0 Total Yardage 164 323 Punts-Average 4-31.3 3-33.7 Fumbles-lost 5-2 1-1 Penalties-Yards 6-49 5-40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Kick-off returns: Clarion: Will Lewis 3-48, Corey Corbett 2-39. Clarion-Limestone: Brad Beggs 1-20, Hayden Johnston 1-36. Punt returns: Clarion: Corey Corbett 1-(-2). Clarion-Limestone: Brad Beggs 1-8. Interceptions – Clarion-Limestone: Erik White, Cam Speer, David "Tuffy" Brooks |