By Josh Funk

For D9Sports.com

BROCKWAY – If an author would sit down and write a child’s book describing Curwensville's Alex Holland, he could do it this way:  "See Alex.  See Alex run.  See Alex run...a lot."

And Holland did quite a lot of running this night, and in the process he helped flatten Cameron County's hopes of a District 9 football championship.

Holland ran for 246 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Golden Tide (10-1) amassed 396 yards of total offense against the Red Raiders (8-4) in a 22-13 victory Saturday evening in a District 9 Class A semifinal played at Brockway's Frank Varischetti Field.  With the victory, Curwensville will face Port Allegany (7-4), a 24-17 victor over Redbank Valley Saturday Nov. 27 at 1 p.m. in the District 9 Class A championship game, which will be played at Brockway.

Holland said he embraces the role of workhorse in Curwensville's power-I offense - and he's lived up to expectations. Through 11 games, No. 36 has run for 2,228 yards and 26 touchdowns.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Holland said.

And the win over the Raiders was especially meaningful for Holland.

"That means we're playing for the District 9 championship," Holland said.

Curwensville head coach Andy Evanko made certain to emphasize the Golden Tide are more than just No. 36.

"We've got a lot of guys in that (locker) room that have put in a lot of effort to be the best that they can possibly be," Evanko said. "We've got a great offensive line and a fantastic running back."

And Evanko also has a two-quarterback rotation he can use at his disposal in sophomore Hunter McCracken and senior Alec Starr.

"It's kind of worked out for us," Evanko said.

McCracken and Starr were effective this night combining for 124 yards through the air and a touchdown.  McCracken accounted for the scoring pass - a 23-yard strike to Shane Hoover - with 1:24 left in the first half to push the Tide advantage to 15-7.  Curwensville got on the board with a 20-yard run from Alex Holland. That initial score was set up by a 20-yard Holland run on a faked punt and a Starr 13-yard pass to Hoover. Holland also ran in a two-point conversion to give the Tide an 8-7 lead with 5:49 left in the half.

After a scoreless first quarter which ended with three total turnovers on downs (two for Cameron County and one for Curwensville), things heated up in the second period.

Two plays after Tide offensive lineman Kyle Scribe was taken from the field in an ambulance with an apparent leg injury, McCracken fumbled the ball away and Cameron County's Aaron Burnside raced 43 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 Raider lead.

"There were two things we talked about leading up to this game," said Cameron County head coach Mark Morelli. "One, we had to win the turnover battle. And second, we had to be physical and stout on the line of scrimmage. They (Curwensville) keep pounding on you and pounding on you. They're tough."

Curwensville's drive to its initial touchdown followed the Burnside fumble return and featured seven rushes by Holland. 

Curwensville's second scoring drive was aided by two Raider 15-yard penalties called in rapid succession of each other - a questionable pass interference penalty and an unsportsmanlike conduct foul arguing the call.

But Cameron County responded almost immediately to keep the game close.

Junior field general Zack Austin hit Vince Summers for 14 yards before scampering 42 yards to the Golden Tide 8 yard line. Jason Blose punched in from eight yards out on the next play, and the Raiders sliced the Curwensville lead to just 15-13 after a failed two-point conversion.

Curwensville advanced to the CC 6-yard line with just one second left in the half on Starr passes of 30 yards to Hoover and 18 yards to Shae Best, but Holland only gained a yard on a near-side toss as time expired.

The Tide's first two possessions of the second half ended in turnovers - a McCracken interception and a turnover on downs - but the Tide's third possession put the game out of reach.

Holland exploded for runs of 39 and 16 yards within the first three plays of the drive and wound up accounting for all 87 yards of the 10-play, 5:11 march capped with a 10-yard scoring run with 3:44 left in the game.

Best picked off Austin on the Raiders' ensuing possession, and three Holland runs and a Starr kneel down put Curwensville in its first District 9 championship game for the first time since 2006.

Zach Dimmick added 33 yards on six rushes for the Tide. Hoover caught six passes for 106 yards and Best caught one pass for 18 yards and picked off two passes defensively.

Austin paced the Raiders' ground attack with 114 yards on 12 carries. Blose added 56 yards on 17 totes.

NOTES: Curwensville lost its appearance in the 2006 D9 title game to Coudersport, 48-21.  Curwensville last won a District 9 championship in 2004 when it defeated Clarion-Limestone 41-8. The Tide defeated Port Allegany 35-6 in Week 3 of the 2010 season, in Curwensville.  Holland has run for 3,048 yards in his career after posting 820 yards rushing in his sophomore season.

CURWENSVILLE 22, CAMERON COUNTY 22

Score by Quarter

Cameron County 0 13 0 0 – 13

Curwensville 0 15 0 7 – 22

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

CC - Burnside 43 fumble return (Vince Thompson kick), 9:47

CU - Holland 20 run (Holland run), 5:47

CU - Shane Hoover 23 pass from Hunter McCracken (Taylor Bumbarger kick), 1:23

CC - Jason Blose 8 run (Andrew Fragale run failed), 1:00

Fourth Quarter

CU - Holland 10 run (Bumbarger kick), 3:47

Team Stats

                                    CC                               Curwensville

First Downs                15                                23

Rushing-Yards            35-191                         52-272

Passing Yards             69                                124                 

Passing: Com-Att-Int  6-16-2                          8-12-1

Total Offense              260                              396

Penalties-Yards           8-72                             5-35    

Fumbles-Lost              0-0                               1-1

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Cameron County: Zack Austin, 12-114; Jason Blose, 17-56, TD; Andrew Fragale, 6-21. Curwensville: Alex Holland, 41-246, 2 TD; Zach Dimmick, 6-33; Alec Starr, 1-2; Shae Best, 1-0; Hunter McCracken, 3-minus-7.

Passing - Cameron County: Austin, 6-of-14, 69 yards, INT; Blose, 0-of-2, 0 yards, INT. Curwensville: Starr, 4-of-7, 71 yards; McCracken, 4-of-5, 53 yards, TD, INT.

Receiving - Cameron County: Blose, 2-26; Ryan Grimm, 2-16; Vince Summers, 1-14; Fragale, 1-12. Curwensville: Shane Hoover, 6-106, TD; Best, 1-18.