ST. MARYS SHOCKS CLEARFIELD TO MOVE INTO D9 CLASS AAA TITLE GAME

First ever D9 Playoff win for Dutch

ST. MARYS 30, CLEARFIELD 14

Nov. 9, 2007 at Clearfield (D9 Class AAA Semifinals)

By Fred Kavelak

For D9Sports.com

HYDE - Todd Schatz ran for 153 yards on only nine carries and caught three passes for 96 yards and one touchdown, and Jeremy Williams returned St. Marys' sixth interception of the game for a 100-yard touchdown in the final minute as the Flying Dutch shocked host Clearfield 30-14 in the District 9 Class AAA semifinal Friday night at the Bison Sports Complex.

The playoff win in the duel between 7-3 teams was a first for St. Marys (8-2), which lost 21-18 to Clearfield in its only other postseason appearance, the 2005 District 9 Class AAA championship game.

Coach Joe Schlimm's Flying Dutch will continue the school's first winning season since 1986 Friday against top seed and defending champion Bradford (7-2). The championship game kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Mansell Stadium.

"I'm just so proud of our kids," Schlimm said after players, cheerleaders and fans celebrated on the wet turf. "They've been waiting for a long time to play in the District 9 title game. It's been their goal all year long. That's fantastic.  

"It was a super football game. I think both sides played very well. We were able to make some big plays and keep the momentum going, and I think the fact that we were able to throw the ball with some success really helped us out offensively." 

St. Marys surprised Clearfield with an efficient and effective aerial attack to balance its offense en route to avenging a regular season 28-13 home field loss that made the Bisons the No. 2 seed.

While owning a completion percentage of 55.9, St. Marys junior quarterback James Swanson had passed for only 520 yards. His six completions in 10 attempts Friday night netted 168 yards.

The big one came two plays after Clearfield had gone in front 14-10 when Jarrin Campman and wide receiver Todd Hryn had hooked up for their second scoring pass with 5:03 left in the third quarter, Hryn making a tremendous bobble-and-catch while keeping his feet in bounds at the right pylon.

But less than 20 seconds later, Swanson found Schatz streaking wide open down the middle of the field for a 49-yard touchdown that put St. Marys ahead to stay, 16-14, in what had been a see-saw battle.

St. Marys tacked on two scores in the fourth quarter, when the Flying Dutch secondary picked off Campman passes in the end zone (Brett Quiggle), at the two (Mitchell Straub) and at the goal line (Williams).

After Quiggle's pick, the Flying Dutch drove 80 yards for the clinching touchdown, most of them on runs of 24 and 50 yards by Schatz. St. Marys needed four plays to cover the last two yards against the stubborn Clearfield defense, but that took more than two minutes off the clock, and only 5:09 remained when Brian Tamburlin stepped through a big hole on the left side for the one-yard score. Andy Eck's conversion made it a two-possession game, 23-14.

Any hopes coach Tim Janocko's Bisons had of staging one of their patented late-game comebacks seemed dashed by Straub's interception with 2:31 left, but they got one more shot when linebacker Justin Karp recovered a Swanson fumble at the 13.

However, Williams put the exclamation point to the St. Marys victory with his fifth interception return for a TD this season. He made the pick running to his right, continued up the Clearfield sideline, weaved toward the St. Marys sideline as he neared midfield and picked up an escort of white jerseys on his way to crossing the goal line with 24 seconds left.

Clearfield needed only four plays to score after the opening kickoff. Hryn broke deep on a Campman scramble and had clear sailing for a 40-yard touchdown. Parker Herrington's first PAT kick made it 7-0 with 1:44 gone.

A motion penalty negated a St. Marys score on the ensuing drive, but the Flying Dutch wouldn't be denied on its next possession, Swanson sneaking the final yard to cap an eight-play drive, the key one his third-down dart to Steven Simchick that gained 19 yards. Eck's PAT tied the game at 7-7 with 2:08 remaining in the first period.

In the final minute of the first half, St. Marys moved from it 43 to the Clearfield 10 on four plays, and Eck just did clear the crossbar with a 27-yard field goal three seconds before intermission.

NOTES – For Clearfield, the disappointing loss ended a five-game winning streak and knocked the Bisons out of the District 9 Class AAA championship game for the first time in 10 years ... Hryn had six receptions for 123 yards, almost matching his season total. He entered the game with 135 yards for 12 catches ... Campman, who was 15-for-36 for 256 yards to finish his junior season with 1,840 passing yards, had been intercepted only six times in his previous 197 passes ... Sophomore linebacker Sean Sadosky was one of the ringleaders of the St. Marys defense with three-and-a-half sacks and another tackle for a loss.

ST. MARYS 30, CLEARFIELD 14

Score By Quarters

St. Marys  7 3 6 14 — 30

Clearfield  7 0 7   0 — 14

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

C - Todd Hryn 40 pass-run from Jarrin Campman (Parker Herrington kick), 10:56.

SM - James Swanson 1 run (Andy Eck kick), 2:08.

Second Quarter

SM - FG Eck 17, :03.

Third Quarter

C - Hryn 22 pass from J. Campman (Herrington kick), 5:03.

SM - Todd Schatz 49 pass-run from Swanson (kick failed), 4:45.

Fourth Quarter

SM - Brian Tamburlin 1 run (Eck kick), 5:09.

SM - Jeremy Williams 100 interception return (Eck kick), :24.

                               SM                 C

First Downs                        16                    12

Rushes-Yards                     45-184             20-27

Passing Yards                     168                  256

Passes: Comp-Att-Int         6-10-1              16-36-6

Total Yardage                    352                  283

Punts-Average                    5-22.2              4-27.8

Fumbles-lost                       2-1                    0-0

Penalties-Yards                  5-36                 7-70

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - St. Marys: Todd Schatz 9-153, Brian Tamburlin 21-42, Jeremy Williams 7-8, James Swanson 8-(-19). Clearfield: Drew Hipps 1-21, Toby Young 3-4, Isiah Morgan 2-3, Jarrin Campman 14-(-1).

Passing - St. Marys: James Swanson 6 of 10, 168 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. Clearfield: Jarrin Campman 16 of 36, 256 yards, 2 TDs, 6 INTs.

Receiving - St. Marys: Todd Schatz 3-96, Brett Quiggle 2-53, Steven Simchick 1-19. Clearfield: Todd Hryn 6-123, Trey Campman 4-52, Drew Hipps 3-48, David Ryan 2-29, Jarrin Campman 1-4.

Interceptions - St. Marys: Jeremy Williams (2), Joseph Sadosky, (2), Brett Quiggle, Mitchell Straub. Clearfield: Jarrin Campman.

Fumble recoveries - St. Marys: James Swanson. Clearfield: Justin Karp.