C-L USES DIVERSIFIED ATTACK TO BEAT KEYSTONE

STRATTANVILLE – The Clarion-Limestone Lions are quickly becoming a defensive coordinators worst nightmare.

The Lions (5-0 overall, 4-0 KSAC) used one of the most diversified offensive attacks in recent memory to rack up 491 yards and 25 touchdowns on their way to a 28-12 win over Keystone (1-4, 1-4) in a KSAC football game Friday night at C-L.

The Lions used at least five very different formations on the night including the Wing-T, the I-formation, a three-wide receiver bunch formation, a shotgun formation with four wide receivers and the wishbone formation all to great success. C-L ran the ball 63 times for 322 yards and threw 16 times for 169 yards.

"We have a lot of diversity," C-L head coach Todd Smith said. "We can do a lot of things. We can spread you out, or we can power the football too. It is just a matter of seeing what is there."

The first half was about being wide-open for C-L. They ran up 15 first downs and 307 yards while scoring three touchdowns. The score would have been a lot worse if Keystone hadn’t picked off two Johnston passes deep in Keystone territory, including one which was returned 85 yards for a touchdown by Sam Swartzfager.

"Overall I thought we played well," Smith said. "But we blew a few nice opportunities or we would have scored more touchdowns. Give Keystone credit. I thought they gave a great effort tonight. They are better than their record is. That is a good team be 1-4."

Junior quarterback Hayden Johnston had a big first half for the Lions going 8-for-12 passing for 158 yards and two touchdowns while running for 44 yards on eight carries. For the game Johnston was 9-for-16 passing for 169 yards and the two scores. Brad Beggs was his favorite target with five catches for 82 yards and both touchdowns. Beggs now has nine touchdown catches on the year, while Johnston has thrown 10.

"I think Hayden is the top quarterback in the district," Smith said. "He does an incredible job for us."

The second half saw C-L change its philosophy becoming a power running team almost exclusively out of the wishbone.

In the half, the Lions possessed the ball for 16:31 while racking up 184 yards including 173 on the ground. Brendon Huwar was the main cog in the wishbone running 19 times for 103 yards and a score in the half and 34 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns in the game.

"I thought it (going to power football) was the smartest thing to do in the second half," Smith said. "Brendon made some good cuts, and he just runs so hard. He did a heck of a job for us tonight."

The Lions scored on their first three drives of the game while building a 21-6 lead. During those drives they had 11 first downs and 212 yards of offense.

"I don’t really have any expectations on whether or not we will move the ball," Smith said. "We game plan and do what we think will work."

The first touchdown came on a 26-yard pass from Johnston to Beggs at 8:38 of the first quarter. The combination hooked up a little over five minutes later to make it 14-0 on a 15-yard slant pass.

"The second touchdown was a play-action pass off of our Jet Sweep," Smith said. "It has been a nice play for us, and Brad is a nice target. He has such soft hands. He is having a great season."

Keystone got back in the game on a 4-yard run by Swartzfager following a 50-yard pass from Buck Neely to Bill Colwell to make the score 14-6.

Neely, who was the starting quarterback in Weeks One through Three before being replaced by Justin Bifano last week, was back in charge of the offense at the start of Friday night’s game.

"To be honest, I am very comfortable with either kid," Keystone head coach Dan Reed said. "The plus with Justin at quarterback is it gives us another weapon on the outside when we move Buck out to wide receiver. The plus when Buck plays quarterback is he can run the ball from the quarterback position. That was the reason he started tonight. I thought we needed one more weapon out of the backfield. I thought he played well in the first half."

Neely was 3-for-7 passing for 62 yards on the night while running seven times for 36 yards. But the Panthers lost the senior to an injury in the second half.

"I am not allowed to say what happened to him," Reed said.

When asked who his quarterback would be next week, Reed was just as elusive.

"We will have a quarterback next week," Reed said. "It will depend on Buck’s health before we make any decisions."

With Neely out, Bifano entered the game and went 6-for-17 for 67 yards and an interception.

The Lions made the score 21-6 with 7:13 left in the first half when Huwar scored on a 1-yard run.

The next time the Lions had the ball they looked as if they would put the game away driving to the Keystone 12-yard line. But on third-and-8, the Lions tried a screen pass that Swartzfager stepped in front off going 85 yards the other way to get the Panthers right back in the game.

"That interception was my fault," Smith said. "That was a bad call in that situation."

Reed thought the interceptions woke his defense up.

"That was the first really big defensive play we made," Reed said. "After that the kids started being where they were suppose to be. They changed defensively."

Then on C-L’s final possession of the half, the Lions drove to the Keystone 19 before Neely intercepted a Johnston pass at the 2-yard line keeping it a close game at halftime.

C-L put the final points of the night on the board with 1:07 left in the third quarter when Huwar plowed in from two yards out ending a 13-play, 86 yard drive that took 5:20 seconds and saw Huwar carry nine times for 55 yards.

Just before the drive Keystone had a golden opportunity to get back in the game after Zach Curran partially blocked a Johnston punt that set the Panthers up at the C-L 42-yard line. But Keystone went three-and-out and had to punt.

"We missed some opportunities," Keystone head coach Dan Reed said. "I really thought the defense stepped up in the second half, which I am pleased with. They kept us in the game in the second half. But we weren’t able to capitalize on it, which has really been the story of our season. In everyone of our loses, we have missed opportunities to score."

In addition to Huwar, Johnston and Beggs’ big nights, Neil Reynolds ran five times for 39 yards, while Scott Davis toted the ball three times for 21 yards and caught one pass for 25 yards. Tuffy Brooks had three runs for 11 yards and two catches for 40 yards.

Colwell had a nice game for Keystone catching four passes for 86 yards while going 1-for-1 passing for 39 yards.

C-L is at Clarion next week, while Keystone hosts West Shamokin.

CLARION-LIMESTONE 28, KEYSTONE 12

Score by Quarter

Keystone 6 6 0 0 – 12

Clarion-Limestone 14 7 7 0 – 28

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

CL – Brad Beggs 26 pass from Hayden Johnston (Kick failed), 8:38

CL – Beggs 15 pass from Johnston (Brendon Huwar run), 3:12

K – Sam Swartzfager 4 run (Pass failed), :32

Second Quarter

CL – Huwar 1 run (Nate Tote kick), 7:13

K – Swartzfager 85 interception return (Run failed), 3:33

Third Quarter

CL – Huwar 2 run (Tote kick), 1:07

Team Statistics

K CL

First Downs 10 25

Rushes-Yards 20-61 63-322

Passing Yards 168 169

Passing: Comp-Att-Int 10-28-1 9-16-2

Total Yards 229 491

Penalties-Yards 6-72 8-75

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0

Punts-Avg. 5-33.8 1-7.0

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Keystone: Sam Swartzfager 10-30, Buck Neely 7-36, Eric Baughman 1-1, Zach Curran 1-(-6), Team 1-0. C-L: Brendon Huwar 34-170, Hayden Johnston 12-68, Brad Beggs 6-13, Tuffy Brooks 3-11, Neil Reynolds 5-39, Scott Davis 3-21.

Passing – Keystone: Buck Neely 3-for-7, 62 yards; Justin Bifano 6-for-17, 67 yards, 1 interception; Billy Colwell 1-for-1, 39 yards. C-L: Hayden Johnston 9-for-16, 169 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions.

Receiving – Keystone: Billy Colwell 4-86, Cole Bowser 3-18, Shawn McGranagan 2-48, Sam Swartzfager 1-16. C-L: Tyrone Pinson 1-22, Brad Beggs 5-82, Tuffy Brooks 2-40, Scott Davis 1-25.

Punting – Keystone: Cole Bowser 5-169. C-L: Team 1-7.

Interceptions – Keystone: Sam Swartzfager, Buck Neely. C-L: Hayden Johnston

Sacks – Keystone: Sam Swartzfager