CLARION-LIMESTONE 42, JOHNSONBURG 14

Nov. 5, 2005 - District 9 Class A Playoffs - First Round

STRATTANVILLE – Clarion-Limestone scored twice in the first minute of the fourth quarter to break open a 7-point game on its way to a 42-14 win over Johnsonburg in the opening round of the District 9 Class A playoffs Saturday night at C-L.

The third seeded Lions (9-1), who now travel to arch-rival Clarion (2^nd seed; 8-2) at 7 p.m. Saturday, led 21-14 after three quarters before Scott Davis scored on a 1-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Forty-eight seconds later, Neil Reynolds picked up a Ram fumble and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown.

A late 3-yard touchdown run by David Brooks in the final minute set the final score.

C-L led 21-7 at halftime and looked to put the game away midway through the third quarter driving into Johnsonburg territory. But John Yonker intercepted a Davis pass at the Ram 1-yard line and went 99 yards the other way to put sixth seeded Johnsonburg (6-4) right back in the game at 21-14 with 8:24 left in the third quarter.

C-L’s defense, though, wasn’t going to allow the Rams to get any closer. The Lions held Johnsonburg to just 11 yards and two first downs on 17 offensive plays in the second half. The Rams didn’t get a second-half first down until 10:56 left in the game, and their second first down of the half came with just 27 seconds left.

On the other side of the ball, C-L had little trouble running – actually passing – right through Johnsonburg early in the game while building the 21-7 halftime advantage.

The Lions scored on their first three possessions needing less than two minutes on each drive to put points on the scoreboard. Davis was 10-for-10 to start the game for 138 yards and three touchdowns.

Andy Wilson put C-L ahead 7-0 on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Davis 1:55 into the game. The touchdown was set up when Johnsonburg fumbled on its first play from scrimmage. The Lions drive took just 1:44.

The Rams rebounded for a while knotting the game at 7 on a 5-yard Tom Launer run with 6:02 left in the opening 12 minutes.

C-L, though, answered back with a drive that last 1:23 scoring on a 21-yard pass from Davis to Matt Hetrick.

The Lions then made it 21-7 on its next possession – one in which they need just 1:29 to score – hitting pay dirt on a 43-yard pass from Davis to Kaleb Klosky 11 seconds into the second quarter.

C-L out gained Johnsonburg 450-133. A surprising 248 of the Lions yards came on the ground. C-L came into the game averaging 123.4 yards per game rushing, the sixth worst mark in District 9. The Lions top rushing game before Saturday was 220 yards in a Week 6 29-27 win at home over Keystone. That was the only other time the Lions had topped 200 yards rushing this season.

Davis did most of the damage running 21 times for 171 yards while going 16-for-23 passing for 202 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He also picked off a pass and recovered a fumble on defense. Klosky had seven catches for 124 yards and the touchdown, while Brooks had three catches for 34 yards and eight carries for 30 yards and a touchdown.

Anthony Imbrogno was 8 of 13 passing for Johnsonburg for 95 yards and two interceptions. Launer had five catches for 45 yards and eight carries for 32 and the score, while Jesse Dennis had three grabs for 50 yards.

NOTES – The win makes C-L 10-8 all-time in 13 District 9 playoffs appearances. Seven of those wins have come over the past four seasons with the Lions going 7-1 winning D9 Class A titles in 2002 and 2003 and coming in second last year … Johnsonburg, which was making its first visit to the postseason since 1996, is now 2-3 in four D9 Playoff appearances winning the D9 Class A title in 1987, the first year of the tournament … Saturday game between C-L and Clarion marks the second time the neighborhood rivals have met in the postseason … C-L won its first D9 title with a thrilling 21-14 overtime win over the Bobcats in the 1990 D9 Title Game. The Lions QB that day – current head coach Todd Smith … It will be the second meeting between C-L and Clarion this season with the Bobcats winning 41-6 at Clarion University’s Memorial Stadium in Week 7. Davis was ejected from that game in the first quarter for throwing a punch in the end zone following a safety that cut a Lions lead to 6-2 … It will be the 35^th meeting all-time between the rivals. The series is currently tied at 17 wins apiece. Clarion’s win this year was the Bobcats first since 2000, and C-L has won 15 of the past 19 meetings … The winner of Saturday’s C-L-Clarion game will face the winner of the other semifinal game between Curwensville and Coudersport which is Friday at 7 p.m. at Coudersport.

CLARION-LIMESTONE 42, JOHNSONBURG 14

Score by Quarter

JB 7 0 7 0 – 14

C-L 14 7 0 21 – 42

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

C-L – Andy Wilson 13 pass from Scott Davis (Davis kick), 10:05

J – Tom Launer 5 run (Jesse Dennis kick), 6:02

C-L – Matt Hetrick 21 pass from Davis (Davis kick), 4:03

Second Quarter

C-L – Kaleb Klosky 43 pass from Davis (Davis kick), 11:49

Third Quarter

J – John Yonker 99 interception return (Dennis kick), 8:24

Fourth Quarter

C-L – Davis 1 run (Davis kick), 11:57

C-L – Neil Reynolds 29 fumble return (Davis kick), 11:09

C-L – David "Tuffy" Brooks 3 run (Davis kick), :51

Team Statistics

J C-L

First downs 9 20

Rushes-Yards 27-38 40-248

Passing Yards 95 202

Comp-Att-Int 8-14-2 16-23-1

Total Yards 133 450

Punts-Avg. 3-37.7 2-34.0

Fumbles-Lost 6-4 2-1

Penalties-Yards 5-35 7-70

Individual statistics

RUSHING – Johnsonburg: Jesse Dennis 9-9, Tom Launer 8-32, Anthony Imbrogno 7-(-14), Josh Feronti 3-11. C-L: Scott Davis 21-171, Matt Hetrick 8-49, David Brooks 8-30, Andy Wilson 2-(-1), Team 1-(-1).

PASSING – Johnsonburg: Anthony Imbrogno 8 of 13, 95 yards, 2 Int.; Tom Launer 0 of 1. C-L: Scott Davis 16 of 23, 202 yards., 3 TDs, Int.

RECEIVING – Johnsonburg: Tom Launer 5-45, Jesse Dennis 3-50. C-L: Kaleb Klosky 7-124, David Brooks 3-34, Matt Hetrick 2-28, Andy Wilson 2-12, Justin Murray 2-4.

INTERCEPTIONS – Johnsonburg: John Yonker. C-L: Scott Davis, David Brooks.

FUMBLE RECOVERIES – Johnsonburg: Jack Schreiber. C-L: Matt Hetrick, Scott Davis, Neil Reynolds.