By Chris Rossetti

KNOX – Bubba Rue ran for 261 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries to lead Clarion to a key KSAC victory 21-12 at Keystone Friday night.

Rue, who also had one catch for nine yards, outgained the entire Keystone team 270-231 helping Clarion rack up 372 yards on the night.

“That’s one of the best games I’ve seen a running back have,” Clarion head coach Larry Wiser said. “It was an outstanding individual performance; breaking tackles and so forth like that. It was hard not to give him the ball tonight.”

Despite Rue’s best efforts, though, the game wasn’t really sealed until the Bobcats (3-0 overall, 3-0 KSAC) stopped Keystone (2-1, 2-1) on four straight plays with just under six minutes to play after a self-described “dumb” decision to not punt on fourth down from the Keystone 42 by Wiser resulted in a sack that gave Keystone the ball at midfield trailing by nine.

“I thought we played well enough to win,” Keystone head coach Jason Nellis said. “Some breaks just didn’t go our way.”

For the most part, Clarion’s defense was able to contain if not stop Keystone’s high-powered spread offense. The Panthers were able to move the ball through the air a bit, especially in the first half when they passed for 135 yards. But Keystone’s ground game was almost non-existent – 36 yards on 15 carries including one 39-yard touchdown run, and the Panthers passing attack vanished in the second half with quarterback Dan Reed completing just 3 of 19 passes in the half for 58 yards including just one of his final 13 passes for 10 yards.

“I thought we did a decent job on defense,” Wiser said. “But you know me, if we don’t put a zip up on the board, there are things to work on.”

The highlight of the contest, maybe of the year, came on the game’s first touchdown, a 59-yard run by Rue.

Keystone had the 6-1, 212-pound back stacked up at the line of scrimmage for little gain on a third-and-5 play from the Clarion 41. There were at least four or five Panthers who had their hands on him. But just when everyone tought the play was dead, Rue somehow broke free of the line and outraced the stunned Keystone defenders for the touchdown that coupled with Cameron Slike’s extra point accounted for Clarion’s first seven points.

“I thought maybe he would gain three yards on the play,” Wiser said. “I don’t know how many tackles he broke.”

Keystone, answered the score, with a touchdown of its own on the first play of the second quarter when Reed hit Brett Zuck with a 13-yard scoring toss that cut the Clarion lead to 7-6 after the Bobcats blocked the extra point.

The Panthers then had a chance to take the lead later in the half moving the ball into Clarion territory before Zuck fumbled it away to Clarion.

The Bobcats scored off the turnover when Rue scored from eight yards out with under a minute to play giving Clarion a 14-6 halftime lead.

Keystone came back in the second half getting a long kickoff return from Kyle Bailey that set up a 39-yard Zach Smith touchdown run on the first offensive play of the second half. The Panthers tried for the tie by going for two points, but the Clarion defense stopped B.J. Seyler inches short of the goal line on a pass from Reed.

Clarion then moved out to a two-possession lead when a 50-yard Rue run set up a 3-yard Kevin Grejda touchdown scamper midway through the third quarter.  

NOTES - Clarion held a 32:28 to 15:32 time of possession edge that included a 17-31 to 6:29 advantage in the second half and a 10:21-1:39 edge in the fourth quarter ... Clarion hosts Punxsutawney Friday while Keystone travels to Union.

CLARION 21, KEYSTONE 12

Score by Quarters

Clarion 7 7 7 0 – 21

Keystone 0 6 6 0 – 12

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

 C – Bubba Rue 59 run (Cameron Slike kick), 10:09

Second Quarter

K – Brett Zuck 13 pass from Dan Reed (Dylan Ziegler kick blocked), 11:55

C – Rue 8 run (Slike kick), 0:41.7

Third Quarter

K – Zach Smith 39 run (Pass failed), 11:40

C – Kevin Grejda 3 run (Slike kick), 5:17

       C         K

First Downs            14        10

Rushes-Yards         51-328 15-36

Passing Yards         44        195

Passing: Comp-Att-Int       5-15-0  13-34-1           

Total Yards            372      231

Fumbles-Lost         2-0       2-1

Penalties-Yards      6-55     3-25

Punts-Avg. 5-30.2  4-35.3

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing – Clarion: Bubba Rue 30-261, Kevin Grejda 8-40, Erik Hartle 1-7, Kris Burkhart 1-4, Dan Walters 6-14, Corbin Ragley 2-4, Team 3-negative 2. Keystone: Zach Smith 6-50, Dan Reed 7-0, Brett Zuck 1-negative 2, Team 1-negative 12.

Passing – Clarion: Dan Walters 5-for-12, 44 yards. Bubba Rue 0-for-3. Keystone: Dan Reed 13-for-34, 195 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception.

Receiving – Clarion: Corbin Ragley 2-14, Mitch Rhoades 1-6, Bubba Rue 1-9, Cody Renninger 1-15. Keystone: Steve Krauss 1-5, Brett Zuck 5-75, Zach Smith 3-54, Ben Marchand 2-36, Lexan Montana 2-25.

Interceptions – Clarion: Cody Renninger.