By Andy Close

EMPORIUM – Andy Lippert rushed for 173 yards and four touchdowns as Cameron County remained unbeaten with a 28-6 win over Sheffield Friday.

“Give credit to Sheffield,” said Cameron County head coach John Fragale.  “They have gotten better every week.  We just took over in the second half.”

Lippert went over the 1,000-yard mark on the season with his effort and now has 1,081 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season.

“You can’t say enough about Andy, he’s just tough,” Fragale said.  “You watch him run the football and he’s got that special desire.”

Leading 14-0 at halftime, the Red Raiders methodically marched down the field to start the second half.  The 12-play drive took over seven minutes off the clock before Lippert found pay dirt from 14 yards out to make it 21-0.  The senior running back carried the ball nine times and accounted for 60 of the 75 total yards on the drive.

Jasper Rentas took the ensuing kickoff for Sheffield (2-6 overall, 2-6 AML) and raced 82-yards for a touchdown that made it 21-6 and temporarily put the Wolverines back in the game. 

Lippert, however, had other ideas.  His 4-yard touchdown run capped a 7-play, 51-yard drive that made it 28-6 early in the fourth quarter.

“Our offensive line has done a great job,” said Fragale.  “They open up the holes for Andy, and he just takes over from there. They have come a long way since the beginning of the year.”

Sloppy play dominated the first half, as the two teams accounted for five turnovers.  A Lippert 1-yard touchdown run made it 7-0 early in the first quarter. 

After the two teams traded punts, Sheffield quarterback Craig Fitch was sacked and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Tanner Johnson who returned it to the Sheffield 29-yard line. 

Lippert wasted no time making the Wolverines pay, as he took the handoff on the first play of the drive and raced in to the end zone from 28-yards out to make it 14-0.

Lippert had to carry a little more of the offensive load then usual, as  Cameron County was without the services of starting quarterback Jason Blose, who suffered a grade-one sprain of his left knee in last week’s win against Port Allegany. Fragale added that Blose would probably return to action next week when Cameron County plays host to Smethport in the AML finale.

Cameron County’s defense also came up big in the game limiting Sheffield to just 43 yards of total offense.

The Wolverines were led offensively by Robert Howell who accounted for 60 yards rushing on nine carries.  Sheffield hosts Coudersport next Saturday.

Cameron County 28, Sheffield 6

Score By Quarters

CC                   7  7  7 7 -28

Sheffield         0  0  6  0- 6

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

CC- Andy Lippert 1 run (Hunter Bardo kick) 7:01

Second Quarter

CC- Lippert 28 run (Bardo kick) 10:53

Third Quarter

CC- Lippert 14 run (Bardo kick) 4:18

S-  Jasper Rentas 82 kickoff return (Attempt failed) 4:02

Fourth Quarter

CC- Lippert 4 run (Bardo kick) 11:00

Team Stats

                                    CC                   S

First Downs                10                    5

Rushes-Yards              44-172             26-28

Passing Yards             0                      15

Comp-Att.-Int.                        0-1-1                1-4-0

Total Yards                 172                  43

Penalties-Yards           4-33                 9-48

Fumbles-Lost              3-1                   4-3

Punts-Avg.                  1-23.0              3-37.5

Individual Stats

Rushing: Cameron County: Andy Lippert 26-173, Tanner Johnson 5-15, Brett Malize 3-6, Hunter Bardo 2-11, Dylan Reed 1-(-)9, Vince Summers 1-(-)13, TEAM 4 (-)11

Sheffield: Robert Howell 9-60, Jimmy Hahn 6-24, Tevin Williams 2-8, Devon Harris 1-(-)3, Craig Fitch 6-(-)45, TEAM 2-(-)16.

Passing: Cameron County: Vince Summers 0-1, 1 int.  Sheffield Craig Fitch 1-3, 15 yards, Jimmy Hahn 0-1.

Receiving: Sheffield: Jimmy Hahn 1-15.

Interceptions: Sheffield: Jason Abraham 1