Information for this story courtesy of the Clearfield Progress

BROCKWAY — Scoring two touchdowns in the game’s first 35 seconds and rallying to win with two more touchdowns in the final 6:16 of regulation, the Brockway Rovers beat the Curwensville Golden Tide, 36-29, in the District 9 Class A quarterfinals Friday night at Varischetti Field.

The Rovers (9-1) trailed 29-22 midway through the fourth quarter when they stuffed the Tide (7-3) on fourth-and-1 after Curwensville decided to go for the first down at its own 27. Four plays later, Alec Shaffer-Doan threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Benson. Rovers kicker Philip Esposito booted the extra point kick to tie the game at 29-29 with 6:16 remaining.

Curwensville returned the ensuing kickoff 65 yards and got close enough for a Spencer Smeal 33-yard field goal. However, the Rovers blocked the kick, setting up the game-winning 83-yard scoring drive.

With 47 seconds left, Benson scored again, this time on a 14-yard run to win the game. The Rovers (9-2) advance to the semifinals to take on Clarion. Curwensville finished at 7-3 with two of its losses to Brockway.

Brockway scored twice in a hurry as Benson scored the first of his three touchdowns on a 62-yard pass from Shaffer-Doan on the game’s first play from scrimmage. The Tide fumbled away the ball on their first play from scrimmage after the following kickoff and Shaffer-Doan made it 14-0 on his own legs with a 17-yard run at the 11:25 mark.

Shaffer-Doan completed 14 of 26 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns. He upped his season yardage total to 2,298 yards, second only to Port Allegany’s Matt Bodamer’s 2,937 yards.

The game started eerily similar to Brockway’s 56-34 win over Curwensville in Week 6. The Rovers jumped out to a 35-0 lead before the Tide got to within 35-28. This time wasn’t as dramatic, but there was still a comeback by the Tide.

The Rovers went up 22-8 after Jason Faulk’s 37-yard interception return with 4:14 left in the second quarter, but Brad Coudriet’s 2-yard run with 1:19 remaining in the half got the Tide within 22-15 by intermission.

Coudriet’s score was the first of three straight touchdowns by the Tide. Fullback Zach Tibbens, who ran for a 14-yard touchdown for the Tide’s first score in the first quarter, added TD runs of 22 and 4 yards in the fourth quarter to put Curwensville up 29-22. He finished with 172 yards on 31 carries.

Not quite as explosive as their first meeting, the teams combined for 706 yards of offense. Curwensville outgained Brockway, 394-312.

BROCKWAY 36
CURWENSVILLE 29

Score By Quarters

Curwensville  7  8  14   0        -           29


Brockway     14  8   0  14        -           36

First Quarter

B – Anthony Benson 62 pass from Alec Shaffer-Doan, (Philip Esposito kick), 11:46.

B – Alec Shaffer-Doan 17 run, (Esposito kick), 11:25.

C – Zach Tibbens 14 run, (Olson kick), 5:51.

Second Quarter

B – Jason Faulk 37 interception return, (Shaffer-Doan run), 4:15.

C – Brad Coudriet 2 run, (Tibbens run), 1:19.

Third Quarter

C – Zach Tibbens 22 run, (Tibbens run), 8:47.

C – Zach Tibbens 4 run, (run failed), :13.

Fourth Quarter

B – Anthony Benson 35 pass from Shaffer-Doan, (Esposito kick), 6:16.

B – Anthony Benson 14 run (Esposito kick), :47.

TEAM STATISTICS

                                                C                     B

First Downs                            19                    11

Rushes-Yards                          50-233             23-68

Passing: Comp-Att-Int            9-18-2              14-26-1

Passing Yards                         161                  244

Total Yards                             394                  312

Fumbles-Lost                          1-1                   1-0

Punts-Avg                               0-0                   2-38.5

Penalties-Yards                       9-73                 10-84

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing – Curwensville: Zach Tibbens 31-172, Brad Coudriet 9-25, Alex Olson 5-25, Jordan Russell 1-8, Hunter McCracken 3-4, Josh Greslick 1-(-1).
Brockway: Alec Shaffer-Doan 5-29, Anthony Benson 7-24, Chad Melillo 8-18, Kyle Titler 1-(-1), Team 2-(-2).

Passing
- Curwensville: McCracken 9-for-18, 161 yards, 2 Int. Brockway: Alec Shaffer-Doan 14-of-26, 244 yards, 2 TDs, 1 Int.

Receiving – Curwensville: Brad Stubbs 3-83, Brad Coudriet 3-41, Austin Jacobson 2-30, Jordan Russell 1-7.
Brockway: Anthony Benson 5-148, Jake Perrin 4-46, Anthony Isabella 4-38, Kyle Titler 1-12.