KANE, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Redbank Valley quarterback Braylon Wagner tried to get his balky right shoulder loose before the District 9 Class A semifinal game against Coudersport.
The Bulldog coaching staff didn’t like what they saw.
“We told him, ‘Go change your clothes,’” said Redbank coach Blane Gold.
(Pictured above, Mason Clouse)
It was a possibility Redbank Valley was prepared for. Two weeks ago in a loss against Central Clarion, the Bulldogs lost both Wagner and his backup, Jaxon Huffman, to shoulder injuries. Both practiced during the week, but were very much game-time decisions.
Gold decided to roll the dice on the contingency plan to the contingency plan.
“We did a little riverboat gambling and opted to hold Jaxon and Braylon out,” Gold said. “Really our three quarterbacks because Owen Clouse is our emergency quarterback — he was in a boot (after an injury suffered on Tuesday in the soccer playoffs) so we decided to go with the fourth option tonight.”
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That option? Mason Clouse.
The senior, a wideout by trade who has 907 yards receiving this season, stepped into the breach at QB.
He didn’t do much passing.
Didn’t need to.
Instead Redbank relied heavily on its physical offensive line and running back Drew Byers on the way to a 46-13 win over Coudersport in Kane to set up a clash with Port Allegany next week in the district final.
Byers rushed for 125 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Clouse was just dangerous enough with his arm, throwing for 88 yards, to keep Coudersport honest.
Redbank jumped out to a 30-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and went into the half up 46-0.
“In the second half, the goal turned into getting out of there healthy,” Gold said.
Byers scored on a 6-yard run to get things started for the Bulldogs (10-1), who will play Port Allegany for the district title next week.
Byers also scored on a 4-yard run and returned an interception for a TD in the rout.
“Next week is going to be an absolute dogfight,” Gold said. “We respect every opponent we play, but we’re shooting for winning the district title and we felt it was really, really important to have all of those guys held out 100% for that rematch with Port next week.”
Gold said he is confident all three will be able to play next week.
Gold was pleased with how the offensive line and the running game performed, knowing that they were going to be heavily relied upon to win this game against Coudersport.
“I have to give a lot of credit to the offensive line,” Gold said. “We were really banged up on the outside and at quarterback, but we have no injuries on the offensive line and with our running backs. We said that we’re gonna put a lot of it on them and the defense and the defense and offensive line came up big.”
Gold also had high praise for Mason Clouse.
“We prepped for the worst case scenario — we actually repped five guys (at quarterback) this week,” Gold said. “I can’t say enough about Mason. He’s trying to become the first player in the history of our program to go over 1,000 yards receiving, and to do what he did, essentially taking one for the team, shows he knows what the bigger picture is. He just wants to win.”
The coaching staff also worked overtime getting Clouse ready.
“Offensive coordinator Jason Kundick spent a ton of time this week. I can’t stress how many man hours he spent,” Gold said. “He was putting packages in and making scripts and doing things along those lines. Fantastic job by Jason to put in a game plan that was successful and a ton of credit to the kids for executing that game plan.”
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
