CLARION TOPPLES WEST SHAMOKIN

By Chris Rossetti

CLARION – Clarion ended its two-game losing streak and kept its slim District 9 Class A playoff hopes alive with a 46-14 win over West Shamokin Friday at Clarion.

"I think I still have a very good football team," Clarion head coach Larry Wiser said. "We have just made some mistakes the last couple of weeks. We talked about correcting those mistakes. We had three games of great practice this week."

In order for the Bobcats (5-2 overall, 4-2 KSAC) to qualify for the playoffs they need to beat Moniteau next week and A-C Valley in Week Nine AND they need Ridgway to lose to Cameron County next week. Even then Clarion isn’t assured a playoff spot, as it would still need either Kane or Otto-Eldred to lose next week along with both Elk County Catholic and Youngsville losing. Then maybe the Bobcats might sneak in past Ridgway on point differential criteria.

While the playoff hopes may be slim, Clarion did its part in keeping those hopes alive my scoring the games first 32 points including 20 in the first half while outgaining West Shamokin 433 yards to 217.

In the early going, Clarion found itself ahead quickly 14-0.

On the Bobcats second play from scrimmage Dave Larson broke free for a 70-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead with 9:34 left in the opening quarter.

After Caleb Kifer recovered a West Shamokin fumble at the Wolves 31-yard line, Zac Toven hit Cole Sessions with a 26-yard pass to the 5. Toven then finished the short drive with a 5-yard run to make it 14-0 with 7:10 left in the first quarter.

After the two teams traded punts, West Shamokin had its best opportunity to score in the first half going on 66-yard drive that saw the Wolves facing a first-and-goal from the Clarion 3-yard line late in the first quarter.

Things looked even brighter one play later for West Shamokin when quarterback Trevor Henderson dove to the 1-yard line setting up second-and-goal. But that is when things started to go wrong.

On the last play of the first quarter, Josh Morales was dropped for a 1-yard loss by Nate McClaine,

The on the first play of the second quarter, Sessions intercepted a Henderson pass in the end zone thwarting the drive.

"We had breakdowns and mistakes," West Shamokin head coach Randy Tira said. "It is getting frustrating. If a couple of things had gone the other way it might have changed some things. I keep telling them it is all in the attitude. If you have the attitude to play, you are going to play."

Clarion immediately gave the ball back to West Shamokin on a fumble by James Myers at the Clarion 31-yard line, but the Bobcat defense came up big with McSwain dropping Henderson with a 12-yard sack on second down forcing an eventual Wolves punt.

After Clarion took over at its own 25, it needed just six plays to find the end zone scoring on a 7-yard run by Larson. A 45-yard pass from Sean Wolf to Sessions was the big play of the drive that ended with 7:34 left in the opening half.

The Bobcats extended their lead to 26-0 on the first play of the second half when Corey Corbett took the second-half kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown.

Six minutes later Clarion was ahead 32-0 on a 1-yard run by Wolf moments after Wolf had picked up a first down at the 1-inch line by centimeter on a fourth-and-2 play from the 3.

West Shamokin got on the board when Henderson hit Jerry Wilson with a 17-yard scoring pass on fourth-and-14 with 3:02 left in the third quarter. Wilson made a diving catch at the side of the end zone somehow staying in bounds when he caught the pass. The two-point conversion was no good leaving it a 32-6 game.

After a failed on-side kick, West Shamokin did get the ball back at its own 29-yard line on a fumble by McSwain.

Five plays later, Wilson and Henderson hooked up on a 38-yard scoring strike and then again on the two-point conversion to make the score 32-14 with 11:44 left in the game.

West Shamokin tried another on-side kick, but Toven scooped it up and returned it all the way to the Wolves 15-yard line.

Two plays later Larson scored on a 5-yard run making it 38-14 with 10:54 left to play.

Clarion closed out the scoring with 33 seconds remaining when Manny Carpin scored on a 17-yard run.

Larson had a big night with 12 carries for 151 yards and three touchdowns while also making two sacks on defense. Sessions added four catches for 105 yards.

Henderson was 14-for-31 passing for 156 yards and two scores to go with the interception. But he was also sacked six times.

CLARION 46, WEST SHAMOKIN 14

Score by Quarter

West Shamokin 0 0 6 8 – 14

Clarion 14 6 12 14 – 46

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

C – Dave Larson 70 run (Larson kick), 9:34

C – Zac Toevn 5 run (Laron kick), 7:10

Second Quarter

C – Larson 7 run (Larson kick failed), 7:34

Third Quarter

C – Corey Corbett 75 kickoff return (Larson kick failed), 11:48

C – Sean Wolf 1 run (Chris McSwain kick failed), 6:26

WS – Jerry Wilson 17 pass from Trevor Henderson (Henderson pass failed), 3:02

Fourth Quarter

WS – Wilson 38 pass from Henderson (Henderson pass to Wilson), 11:44

C – Larson 5 run (Larson run failed), 10:54

C – Manny Carpin 17 run (Wolf run), :33

Team Statistics

W C

First Downs 14 16

Rushes-Yards 32-61 42-312

Passing Yards 156 112

Passes: Comp-Att-Int 14-31-1 5-15-0

Total Yards 217 433

Penalties-Yards 1-5 8-90

Fumbles-Lost 3-3 2-2

Punts-Avg 5-26.8 2-17.5

Individual Statistics

Rushing: West Shamokin – Todd Cessna 2-6, Trevor Henderson 16-(-28), Devin Creighton 5-23, Josh Morales 7-32, Logan Kaplon 2-28. Clarion – Dave Larson 12-151, Chris McSwain 4-45, James Myers 9-28, Corey Corbett 1-2, Zac Toven 3-23, Elliot Fabri 4-6, Sean Wolf 4-26, Brad Rapp 2-15, Manny Carpin 3-16.

Passing: West Shamokin – Trevor Henderson 14-for-31, 156 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception. Clarion – Zac Toven 3-for-7, 62 yards; Sean Wolf 2-for-7, 50 yards; Team 0-for-1, 0 yards.

Receiving: West Shamokin – Todd Cessna 3-36, Logan Kaplon 7-33, Kameron Kerr 1-8, Jerry Wilson 3-79. Clarion – Cole Sessions 4-105, Corey Corbett 1-7.

Interception: Clarion – Cole Sessions (1)

Sacks: Clarion – Dave Larson (2), Lucas Schaeffer (1 ½), Caleb Kifer (1), Chris McSwain (1), Zack Seitz (1/2).

Fumble Recoveries: West Shamokin – Jerry Wilson (1), Jake Waltenbaugh (1). Clarion – Caleb Kifer (2), Chris McSwain (1).