CLARION 15, ST. MARYS 6

Sept. 15, 2006

By Chris Rossetti

ST. MARYS – In a classic “mudders” game, Clarion’s Brad Rapp ran for 219 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bobcats to a 15-6 win at St. Marys Friday night.

            Rapp helped Clarion play most of the game between the tackles, which was important considering the turf at St. Marys Dutch Country Stadium was so soggy that a soccer game scheduled for Saturday was cancelled. Rapp carried the ball a career-high 25 times and scored on runs of 31 and 47 yards while breaking six runs for 10 or more yards.

            “Brad showed up tonight, and the offensive line and fullbacks opened up some key holes,” Clarion head coach Larry Wiser said. “Sometimes you would say Brad isn’t that type of inside (runner). But he broke some good tackles tonight. When he gets into the secondary, he’s gone.”

            Rapp’s performance over shadowed a good game by St. Marys’ Brian Tamburlin who toted the ball 22 times for 111 yards.

“Brian, in my estimation, is one of the better players around,” St. Marys head coach Joe Schlimm said. “The more we can get his hands on the football, the better our offense is going to be.”

Tamburlin’s running was pretty much all the offense for St. Marys, as the Dutch were held to 153 yards of total offense, the third time in as many games they have failed to reach 200 yards.

“I was real proud of our effort,” Schlimm said. “I thought we played for four quarters. We had a lot of physical mismatches that I think we responded well too. They had us by 80 pounds a man across the front. I think our kids played tough, and they played hard. We’re getting better. By far, I think this was our best ball game of the year.”

The game was scoreless for most of the first half before Clarion scored first on a 31-yard run by Rapp with 3:53 left in the half. Rapp looked like he was going to be tackled at the line of scrimmage, but he made a quick cut at the line and broke free for the long scoring run.

“The ball was designed to go outside on the pitch, and he made a cut back,” Wiser said.

            On the extra point attempt, the snap was bad, but holder Matt Smith, the back-up quarterback, picked the ball up and rolled to his right before finding Derrick Cherico in the end zone for the two-point conversion and an 8-0 Clarion lead.

            Clarion took the 8-0 advantage into halftime, but St. Marys came out in the second half and took the initial drive of the half 66 yards in eight plays to get within two points.

            The Dutch scored on a 16-yard pass from Bryan Dempsey to Kurt Baumgratz on a third-and-11 play. It was the second third down St. Marys converted on a drive that was highlighted by six carries for 51 yards by Tamburlin. Tamburlin had carries of 20 and 24 yards to set up the touchdown.

            “I was real proud the way we started the second half,” Schlimm said. “I was proud of what these guys did the entire ball game today. I think we played an excellent game.”

            Early in the fourth quarter Clarion looked like it another touchdown on a 14-yard run by quarterback Adam Bevevino. But for the second straight week, the Bevevino score was called back on a penalty, this time a hold. Two plays later, Baumgratz intercepted Bevevino in the end zone giving St. Marys the ball back with 8:15 to play.

            The Dutch looked like they were going to take the momentum when Tamburlin ran off a 13-yard run to the St. Marys 33 on the first play following the interception.

            But Clarion’s defense stiffened and forced a third-and-9 play from the 34. Dempsey dropped back to pass, but Jeff Wiant forced him out of the pocket, and Paul McGinley came up with the sack to stall the drive and force a punt.

            Clarion took over at its own 40, and it took the Bobcats just four plays – all runs by Rapp – to put the game away. The final score came on a 47-yard run by the muddied Rapp with 4:10 left to play. Wiant, who was subbing for regular kicker Jon Kemmer who was out with an injury, kicked the extra point to make it a two possession game. Wiant didn’t even practice kicking until Thursday night but had two long kickoffs and the made extra point.

            Clarion returns to action Friday in a key KSAC game at Redbank Valley, while St. Marys has a D9 League contest at Brookville.

CLARION 15, ST. MARYS 6

Score by Quarter

Clarion 0 8 0 7 – 15

St. Marys 0 0 6 0 – 6

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

C – Brad Rapp 31 run (Matt Smith pass to Derrick Cherico), 3:53

Third Quarter

SM – Kurt Baumgratz 16 pass from Bryan Dempsey (Dempsey pass failed), 7:38

Fourth Quarter

C – Rapp 47 run (Jeff Wiant kick), 4:10

C SM

First Downs 14 8

Rushes-Yards 41-259 31-104

Passing Yards 65 49

Passing: Comp-Att-Int 5-6-1 7-10-1

Total Yardage 324 153

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 2-0

Penalties-Yards 6-55 5-22

Punts-Avg. 2-34.5 3-39.7

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING – Clarion: Brad Rapp 25-219, Eric Grejda 3-14, Adam Bevevino 5-(-2), Jake Fleeger 2-2, Larry Stout 4-26, Tony McMillen 1-1, Team 1-0. St. Marys: Brian Tamburlin 22-111, Bryan Dempsey 4-2, Todd Schatz 2-6, Jeremy Williams 2-2, Team 1-(-17).

PASSING – Clarion: Adam Bevevino 5-for-6, 65 yards, 1 interception. Bryan Dempsey 7-for-10, 49 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception.

RECEIVING – Clarion: James Seidle 2-31, Tony McMillen 1-14, Tyler Schwab 1-9, Brad Rapp 1-11. St. Marys: Josh Beimel 3-28, Brian Tamburlin 1-0, Jeremy Williams 1-(-5), Kurt Baumgratz 1-16, Todd Schatz 1-10.

INTERCEPTIONS – Clarion: 1 (Jake Fleeger). St. Marys: 1 (Kurt Baumgratz),

SACKS – Clarion: 1 (Paul McGinley 1). St. Marys X (Andy Skrzypek 1, Josh Eichmiller ½, Aaron Gies ½

PUNTING – Clarion: Paul McGinley 2-69. St. Marys: Todd Schatz 3-119.