KANE PULLS AWAY FROM COUDERSPORT TO GAIN FIRST D9 TITLE BERTH SINCE 2002

KANE 26, COUDERSPORT 6

Nov. 16, 2007 at Kane  (D9 Class A Semifinals)

By Bryan Swan

For D9Sports.com

KANE – There will be a new champion this year in District 9 Class A Football.

Coudersport, the two-time defending champions, lost Friday night at Kane 26-6. It was the second loss of the season for the Falcons (8-3) against Kane (12-0), and the loss broke a 7-game District 9 playoff win streak for the Falcons, who last loss a D9 playoff game in 2004 to Clarion-Limestone.

“Coudersport is a class football team,” Kane head coach Jason Barner said. “To be able to beat them twice in a year was very, very hard. I challenged our seniors before the game on how they wanted to be remembered.”

Kane is just one win away from the first district title in school history and are making just the school’s second appearance in the D9 title game – Kane lost to Clarion-Limestone in the 2002 Class A final.

Picking up where it left off in the first meeting between the teams – a 39-7 Kane win in late October that saw Coudersport turn the ball over seven times – the Wolves forced five turnovers, including four in the second half to help them pull away with 14 points in the fourth quarter. The Wolves (12-0) led 12-6 going to the final quarter.   

Kane pulled away using ball control in the second half controlling the football for 17:29 of the half and running 33 plays from scrimmage compared to Coudersport which had 21 plays in the half and held the ball for 6:31.

Dustin Moran led the charge for Kane carrying the ball season-high 35 times for 143 yards and two touchdowns on a snowy night at Paul R. Miller Stadium.

“He’s not a big kid, but he’s tough,” Barner said. “I trust him, and I know he can hang on to it. I told him we were riding him and he had to take care of business.”

Moran’s first score of the game came on a 3-yard run that capped a 10-play drive that answered an early score from Coudersport. The touchdown tied the game at six.

The Falcons (8-3) had taken the 6-0 lead when Boomer Wetzel hit Colton Corey, who was cutting across the middle, with an 18-yard touchdown pass with less than four minutes left in the first quarter.

Moran’s second score gave Kane the lead for good – 12-6 – with a little over three minutes left before the half. It came on a 2-yard run at the end of a 69-yard drive.

At the start of the second half, the game turned into a battle of turnovers.

Coudersport forced Kane to a three-and-out and a punt at the start of the second half. However, the Wolves retained possession when Brett Whitman muffed the punt Kane recovered on the Falcon 41-yard line.   

The Coudersport defense stood their ground though and came up big.

Kane was driving to take a two score lead, but the Falcons forced their fourth turnover of the game when Dirk Cowburn picked off a Zach Anderson pass in the red zone to end the threat and give the Coudersport offense the ball for the first time in the second half with 5:29 remaining in the third quarter.

Coudersport began to put together a long drive of its own moving the ball into Wolves’ territory after starting at its own 5-yard line. The Falcons picked up four first downs on the drive and looked to be on their way for a score.

But bad luck struck on the 13th play of the drive when Wetzel’s second-and-long pass was intercepted by Mike Punk.

Kane then put the game away by going on a 16-play, 73-yard drive that took over nine minutes off the clock. By the time it ended on a 1-yard touchdown run by Anderson on a third-and-goal quarterback sneak there was only 3:43 left in the game. Anderson’s touchdown gave the Wolves a 20-6 lead.

“Obviously, the offensive line did what they needed to do,” Barner said. “They gave Zach time to throw and opened up holes.”

Needing two scores with very little time on the clock, Coudersport went to the air.

Wetzel, the Falcons three-year starting senior quarterback, moved the ball down the field connecting on four of his first six passes on the drive. However, the seventh pass fell into the wrong hands, and for the second week in a row, Kane’s John Bizzak came up with an interception and returned it for a touchdown (55 yards). Last week, Bizzak had a 60-yard interception return for a score against Curwensville.  

“Overall, the defense played very well,” Barner said.

Anderson finished the game 12-for-19 passing for 132 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. He also ran six times for 28 yards with one score.

“Offensively, I thought Zach ran well,” Barner said.

Wetzel finished the game 12-for-19 for 132 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. He finished his career going 216-for-383 passing for 3,657 yards, 45 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. He was 34-5 with two AML and two District 9 titles for the Falcons.

Kane will face the winner of Saturday’s other semifinal game between Cameron County and Redbank Valley Saturday, Nov. 24, in the D9 Class A title game at Clarion University.  

KANE 26, COUDERSPORT 6

Score By Quarters

Coudersport    6    0    0    0 – 6

Kane    0    12    0    14 – 26

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

C - Colton Corey 18 pass from Boomer Wetzel (2PT pass failed), 3:43.

Second Quarter

K - Dustin Moran 3 run (2PT pass failed), 11:14.

K - Moran 2 run (2PT run failed), 3:14.

Fourth Quarter

K - Zach Anderson 1 run (Moran pass from Anderson), 3:43.

K - John Bizzak 55 Interception return (2PT run failed), 2:31.

C                     K

First Downs                                        12                    14

Rushes-Yards                          24-91               51-187

Passing Yards                         132                  116

Passes: Comp-Att-Int             12-20-4            7-13-3

Total Yardage                         223                  303

Punts-Average                        3-24.33            1-34

Fumbles-lost                            2-1                   1-1

Penalties-Yards                       4-29                 3-36

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Coudersport: Dick Cowburn 5-54, Colton Corey 12-46, Brian Wetzel 6-(-6), Team 1-(-3). Kane: Dustin Moran 35-143, Matt Mix 8-13, Zach Anderson 6-28, Mike Punk 2-3.

Passing - Coudersport: Brian Wetzel 12-for-19, 132 yards, 1 TD, 4 INTs. Justin Kinder 0-for-1. Kane: Zach Anderson 7-for-13, 116 yards, 3 INTs.

Receiving - Coudersport: Colton Corey 4-68, Justin Kinder 3-25, Derek Burdick 2-21, Dirk Cowburn 2-8, Brett Whitman 1-10. Kane: Deryk Smith 3-55, D.J. Horton 1-19, Dustin Moran 1-19, Matt Mix 1-12, John Bizzak 1-11.