DEFENSE RULES THE DAY AS BROOKVILLE BEATS CLEARFIELD

CLEARFIELD – There is an old adage in football that says defense wins championships. No one said that the defenses and special teams would have to score all the points. But that is what happened Friday night when Brookville topped Clearfield 14-12 in a District 9 League game on a soggy field in Clearfield. The two teams’ offenses managed to muster only 219 combined total yards of offense and no touchdowns. But the defenses scored three touchdowns and the special teams one to make it a game. Brookville recovered a fumble in the end zone and returned an interception for a touchdown, while Clearfield returned a kickoff for a touchdown and returned a fumble for a score. The difference being Brookville hit its two extra points while Clearfield missed an extra point and a two-point conversion.

The Raiders (2-0 overall, 1-0 D9 League) scored first when Ryan Dinger fell on a fumble by Clearfield (0-2, 0-2) quarterback Tanner Kelly in the end zone 47 seconds into the second quarter. Brandon Gunning added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

But the Bison answered right back when Josh Harbold returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. Unfortunately for Clearfield, Joe Davis’ extra point try was short leaving Brookville ahead 7-6.Late in the second quarter, Cliff Park picked off a Kelly pass at the Clearfield 22-yard line and returned it for a touchdown that combined with Gunning’s extra point gave the Raiders a 14-6 lead. The score remained 14-6 until late in the third quarter when Scott Hall recovered a Brookville fumble and rumbled 30 yards for a touchdown with 10 seconds left in the quarter. Down by two, Clearfield had to go for the two-point conversion, but a Kelly pass fell incomplete.

The Bisons had a chance late in the game deep in Brookville territory to drive for the winning score, but on fourth down Puller tackled a Bison player two yards short of the sticks sealing the win.

Clearfield lost despite outgaining Brookville 109 yards to 68.

SCORING SUMMARY

Score by Quarter

B 0 14 0 0 – 14

C 0 6 6 0 – 12

Second Quarter

B – Ryan Dinger fumble recovery in end zone (Brandon Gunning kick), 11:13

C – Josh Harbold 99 kickoff return (Kick failed), 11:01

B – Cliff Park 22 interception return (Gunning kick), 3:40

Third Quarter

C – Scott Hall 30 fumble recovery (Pass failed), 0:10

Team Stats

B C

First Downs 5 10

Rushing Yards 9 42

Passing Yards 59 67

Passing: Comp-Att-Int 4-12-0 15-34-1

Total Yards 68 109

Punts-Avg 7-32 2-29

Penalties-Yards 3-32 2-10

Fumbles-Lost 2-2 3-3

Individual Stats

Rushing

Brookville: Matt Gilbert 12-2, Josh Rakovan 6-3, Nick Heschke 10-(-19), Brent Puller (2-18), Kerry Brush 3-5. Clearfield: Josh Harbold 19-54, Tanner Kelly 8-(-13), Shane Davis 1-1.

Passing

Brookville: Nick Heschke 4-for-12, 59 yards. Clearfield: Tanner Kelly 15-for-34, 67 yards, 1 int.

Receiving

Brookville: Keith Ishman 1-15, Kirk Hays 2-20, Cliff Park 1-24. Clearfield: Beau Ryan 3-13, Shane Davis 1-(-2), Josh Harbold 6-23, Nathan Shadek 3-14, Mike Scoggin 2-19.