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CLARION 7, MONITEAU 3 |
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Oct. 28, 2005 |
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By Chris Rossetti WEST SUNBURY – Clarion’s defense saved its best for last Friday night stopping Moniteau on four straight plays from inside the Bobcats 5-yard line in the closing minutes to preserve a 7-3 win at Moniteau. The last Warrior offensive play was a fourth-and-goal run by Matt Schandelmeier that ended a ½ yard short of the goal line with 1:37 to play. That ½ yard had major District 9 Class A playoff implications. Because Clarion stopped Schandelmeier the Bobcats are the No. 2 seed in the upcoming playoffs, Clarion-Limestone is the No. 3 seed and Port Allegany is the No. 5 seed. A ½ yard more by Schandelmeier and Clarion is the No. 5 seed. Port the No. 4 seed and C-L either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed. Basically, the ½ yard saved Clarion a 176-mile round trip to Port Allegany next week. Instead, the Bobcats will play Elk County Catholic at Clarion University’s Memorial Stadium Friday night, a block from Clarion High School. It also means the Bobcats would host a semifinal game if they beat ECC. "There is no question that is the biggest play we have made all year," Clarion head coach Larry Wiser said. "That is the difference between a 2 ½ hour trip and versus potentially two home playoff games." Not only did the victory secure the No. 2 seed in the postseason for Clarion it also gave the ‘Cats a three-way share of the KSAC title, Clarion’s second straight conference crown. The goal-line stand didn’t look like it was going to happen after Moniteau (4-5), who will be the fifth seed in the D9 Class AA playoffs and travel to Brookville next week, had driven from its own 40 to the Clarion 1 with ease. But Wiser called time out, and his defense responded with the inspired stop. "The object was to stop Schandelmeier," defensive tackle Chad Dolby said. "Some of the guys including myself lined up in the wrong hole at times. Coach Wiser came out and corrected that, and we shut them out. That’s all." Following the goal-line stand, Clarion’s offensive line took over helping the Bobcats pick up two first downs to run out the clock. The biggest of the runs was a 4-yard quarterback sneak by Wolf that moved the ball from the ½ yard line to the 5-yard line and gave the Bobcats breathing room. "That was all heart," Chris McSwain, Clarion’s star linebacker/running back, said. McSwain had another big night for Clarion going over 100 yards for the sixth time in eight games this season while also becoming the 14th known runner in District 9 history to gain 3,000 career yards. McSwain, the second back to go over 3,000 this season (Curwensville’s Nick Sipes is the other) ran 21 times for 158 yards and a touchdown and now has 3,047 career yards second at Clarion to Kyle Cathcart (4,449). "I just try to run hard," McSwain said. "The line makes a crease, and I just run. It is definitely special. It was in the back of my mind all week. I just had to forget about it. It wasn’t about me out here. It was about winning this game." For three quarters, it didn’t look like McSwain was going to get the 100 or 3,000. He carried just 13 times in the first 36 minutes for 41 yards. But in the fourth quarter he started to get going and finished the quarter with eight carries for 117 yards. Seventy of those yards came on a 70-yard touchdown run with 7:19 to play giving Clarion its only points of the game. "The down-field blocks were there, the holes were there and I just ran," McSwain said. McSwain was pretty much the entire Clarion offense, as the Bobcats gained a season low 209 yards on the night including just 98 through the first three quarters. "I’m not sure exactly what the problem was," Wiser said. "We just didn’t seem to be firing. They were changing three or four defenses. We weren’t real enthusiastic the first half, which is really uncharacteristic for these kids." While the offense wasn’t doing much, the defense was playing a bend but don’t break game. Moniteau had three drives inside the Clarion 10 on the night but came away with zero points on the possessions. The Warriors were stopped on down at the Clarion 8 midway through the second quarter and at the Clarion 7 midway through the third. Both drives happened with the Moniteau holding a 3-0 lead thanks to an earlier 37-yard field goal by Cousins. "When you get the ball down there, you have to punch it in," Moniteau head coach Steve Wilson said. "I am proud of our kids. They played hard and played well today. They played well enough to win on both sides of the ball, we just need to get it down." Wilson said in hindsight he might have chosen to kick field goals inside the 10 the first two times, but at the time he believed field position was more important. "We figured at that point even if we didn’t get it we were pinning them back deep with a long field," Wilson said. "I didn’t want to lose field position to these guys. I was afraid that one more field goal still only puts us up by six." In addition to its failure to score inside the 10, Moniteau also had two touchdowns called back on penalties, the only two infractions the Warriors were flagged for on the night. The first touchdown called back was on the opening kickoff when Schandelmeier went 75 yards to pay dirt only to have it called back because of a block in the back. The second touchdown called back came in the second half with Moniteau up 3-0. Garth Kohlmeyer hit Cousins with a pass over the middle that would have gone 43 yards for a score. But a Moniteau blocker was called for a block in the back at the 3-yard line negating the score. "That stuff happens in football all the time," Wilson said. "The game is not won or lost there. We had other opportunities. They are kids, and they are aggressive and I want their aggression out there." NOTES – Clarion shares the KSAC title with Clarion-Limestone and Karns City … It is the second straight year Clarion and C-L have shared the title and it is Clarion’s fourth title since the KSAC was formed in 1993 … The Moniteau-Brookville match-up in the postseason is the second straight year the two teams have met in the "pig tail" game. Last year, Brookville upset Moniteau 20-13 at Moniteau on its way to the surprising District 9 title … Clarion and ECC will meet for the first time ever next week, but it is the second straight year ECC has made a trip to Clarion County for the opening round of the postseason. Last season, the Crusaders fell to C-L 27-6 at C-L in the first round. Clarion beat Port Allegany 42-10 in the opening round before losing to eventual D9 champion Curwensville 42-0 in the semifinals a year ago. CLARION 7, MONITEAU 3 Score by Quarters Clarion 0 0 0 7 – 7 Moniteau 3 0 0 0 – 3 Scoring Summary First Quarter M – Adam Cousins 37 field goal, 4:27 Fourth Quarter C – Chris McSwain 70 run (Dan L’Insalata kick), 7:19 Team Statistics C M First Downs 9 14 Rushes-Yards 34-178 56-197 Passing Yards 31 47 Passing: Comp-Att-Int 1-8-1 2-9-1 Total Yards 209 244 Penalties-Yards 5-32 2-20 Fumble-Lost 0-0 0-0 Punts Avg. 4-34.3 3-26.7 Individual Statistics Rushing – Clarion: Chris McSwain 21-158, Elliott Fabri 3-28, Manny Carpin 1-(-3), Eric Grejda 2-5, James Seidle 1-2, Sean Wolf 4-(-10), Team 2-(-2). Moniteau: Matt Schandelmeier 29-119, Adam Cousins 12-37, Garth Kohlmeyer 8-22, Kyle Mauthe 6-19, Ryan Protzman 1-0. Passing – Clarion: Sean Wolf 1-for-8, 31 yards, 1 interception. Moniteau: Garth Kohlmeyer 2-for-9, 47 yards, 1 interception. Receiving – Clarion: Manny Carpin 1-31. Moniteau: Adam Cousins 1-40, Cruz Eshenbaugh 1-7. Punting – Clarion: Paul McGinley 4-137. Moniteau: Ryan Protzman 3-80. Interceptions – Clarion: Carpin. Moniteau: Josh Loos.
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