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CLARION'S DEFENSE SHUTS DOWN REDBANK VALLEY |
| SEPT. 12, 2003 - Clarion 22, Redbank Valley 6 |
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By Chris Rossetti
CLARION – Friday night’s KSAC showdown between two undefeated teams, Redbank Valley and Clarion, was billed as a match-up of Redbank Valley’s high-octane offense against Clarion’s blue-collar defense. In the end it was the blue-collar effort that can out on top with the Bobcats gaining a 22-6 win while not allowing an offensive touchdown. "This was a big win," Wiser said. "I can’t say enough about my players. They played great." Clarion completely shutdown a Redbank Valley offense that came into the game having scored 93 points in its first two games while racking up a District 9 leading 798 yards. The Bobcats limited Redbank Valley to 167 yards of total offense with 94 of those yards coming on two fruitless Bulldog drives in the first half. Clarion also completely shut down the Redbank rushing offense holding it to negative 22 yards on 21 carries. Coming into the game Redbank Valley had been averaging 219.5 yards per game on the ground. "I think it was a combination of great coverage and great defensive line play," Wiser said. "Our secondary did a great job, and our line was able to pressure them all night long." A lot of Clarion’s ground-game defense actually came off the pass rush, as the Bobcats sacked Redbank Valley quarterback Shane Reed six times for negative 47 yards. "We had great pressure," Wiser said. "We had good pressure from both our ends." Redbank Valley head coach Ed Wasilowski attributed a lot of the Bulldogs pass protection problems to the fact Clarion new Redbank Valley had to throw the football after getting down 20 points. "That happened when they knew we had to throw the ball," Wasilowski said. "The defensive linemen knew it (the pass) was coming. That puts a lot of pressure on your offensive line." The Bobcats not only were harassing Reed in the pocket all night long, they were also interrupting his passes picking off three of them while breaking up an additional five. "The overall speed in their defensive backfield surprised me," Wasilowski said. "Shane wasn’t sharp to be sure, but we weren’t getting guys open. I am not going to blame Shane at all. We didn’t have guys open, and when we did we got rushed." While Clarion’s defense was coming up big, Redbank Valley did have its chances to score. The Bulldogs were in Clarion territory seven times including three times when they started drives in Clarion territory and three times when they got inside the Clarion 20. But despite the penetration the Bulldogs weren’t able to score. The three trips inside the 20 ended in an interception, a lost fumble and a turn over on downs. "Missed opportunities was the name of the game," Wasilowski said. "You miss opportunities like that in a game like this and the result is what you see on the scoreboard." While Redbank Valley’s offense wasn’t putting up any points, Clarion’s offense was doing just enough to win. The Bobcats moved the ball effectively in the first half gaining 142 of their 226 yards in the while picking up seven of their 10 first downs. In the second half, Clarion got a long 5-yard touchdown run by James Myers but other than that managed just 27 yards of additional offense and two first downs, one of which they lost the ball on a fumble on, in the second half. "I was probably guilty as always of going conservative in the second half," Wiser said. "They have a big-play offense, so the last thing you want is to see them on the field. You are just trying to eat up clock." Clarion’s first two touchdowns came in the second quarter following big pass plays. Quarterback Zac Toven scored the game’s first touchdown on a 4-yard run with 5:31 left giving Clarion a 6-0 lead. The touchdown was set up in part by a 26-yard pass from Toven to Cole Sessions. The Bobcats second score came on a 4-yard run by Myers with 1:04 left one play after Toven hit Sessions with a 32-yard strike giving Clarion a 13-0 halftime lead. One play after the second half kickoff, the Bobcats were up 20-0 thanks to Myers’ 57-yard scoring run down the Clarion sideline. "That was the killer as it turned out," Wasilowski said. "It was not how we wanted to come out of the lockerroom." Redbank Valley’s lone score came with two minutes remaining in the game when Tyson Truitt returned a 44-yard punt from Chris McSwain 71 yards for a score. Clarion closed out the scoring with 37 seconds left when Reed was called for intentional grounding in the end zone resulting in a safety. Myers led Clarion with 11 carries for 85 yards and two scores. On defense, Lucas Schaeffer had two sacks, McSwain had 1 ½ sacks and Corey Corbett had two interceptions. Reed was 16-for-37 passing for 189 yards and three interceptions while the sack yardage meant he rushed 8 times for negative 42 yards. Brandon Johnston and Skyler Smith led the Bulldogs in rushing with 10 yards each. The only negative in the game for Clarion happened late in the game when Myers appeared to seriously injury his knee. He was carried off the field and was going to be taken to the hospital for x-rays following the game. His status was unavailable at press time. CLARION 22, REDBANK VALLEY 6 Score By Quarters Redbank Valley 0 0 0 6 – 6 Clarion 0 13 7 2 – 22 Second Quarter C – James Myers 4 run (Chris McSwain), 1:04 C – Safety, Reed called for Intentional grounding in end zone, :37 First Downs 11 10 Passing – Redbank Valley: Shane Reed 16-for-37, 189 yards, 3 interceptions. Clarion: Zac Toven 3-for-3, 65 yards. Receiving – Redbank Valley: Tyson Truitt 7-95, Brandon Johnston 4-40, Matt Steffy 2-18, Bryce Miller 3-36. Clarion: Elliot Fabri 1-7, Cole Sessions 2-58. Interceptions – Clarion: Corey Corbett (2), Cole Sessions Sacks – Clarion: Lucas Schaeffer (2), Justin Arner, Chris McSwain (1½) ,Zack Seitz, Caleb Kifer (½). Punting – Redbank Valley: Brock Shaffer 3-87. Clarion: Chris McSwain 7-248. |
