CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — The Clarion Bobcats got their 2016 season off to a good start with a 41-0 win over the Punxsutawney Chucks Friday night at Clarion University’s Memorial Stadium.
The Bobcats controlled the line of scrimmage offensively and defensively with the combination of quarterback Spencer Miller and receiver Ty Burford providing a number of big plays in the dominating win.
Miller threw four touchdown passes, three to Burford and one to Michael McCloskey. Miller had two interceptions but they were easily overcome with the way the Bobcats played defense.
Clarion held the Chucks to one first down and 11 total yards. Punxsy was held to negative 6 yards on the ground. Sophomore quarterback Dylan Ishman was sacked five times and only three Chucks runners had positive yardage.
Punxsy punted seven times in the game, including three in the first quarter. On the Chucks fourth possession, they lost a fumble which Clarion turned into a score.
“I’m pretty pleased with our defensive performance tonight,” Bobcats head coach Larry Wiser, who is now three wins shy of 200, said. “We’ve got decent speed and that’s what we like to do is put pressure on the other team and we did that tonight.”
Meanwhile, Clarion ran for 323 yards on 47 carries. Colton Rapp churned out 70 yards on 16 carries while Logan Minich had 99 yards on six runs, including a 42-yard touchdown run.
Clarion led 12-0 in the second quarter as Miller hit Burford for TD plays of 40 and 27 yards.
With just three seconds left in the half, Miller looked for Burford again, but this time the Hail Mary was answered when the ball went off Burford’s hands, off a Chucks players’ hands and ended up in McCloskey’s for a 40-yard TD that made it 19-0.
“Spence threw some great balls to Ty,” Wiser said. “I liked that we were more balanced, too.”
Bobcats junior defensive end Tom Wurster blocked a punt to open the scoring in the third. The ball bounced out of the back of the end zone for a safety to make it 21-0.
Late in the third, Burford caught a 4-yard TD pass from Miller to make it 28-0.
The Minichs took care of the scoring in the fourth quarter. Logan Minich ran for a 42-yard TD while gaining 99 yards on six carries.
Sam Minich added a 25-yard TD run late to invoke the Mercy Rule at 41-0.
Ryley McMaster was all over the field for the Bobcats on both sides of the ball. He recovered a Chucks fumble that the ‘Cats turned into a touchdown and he had an interception that led to the Hail Mary score by McCloskey. McMaster added two catches for 33 yards and ran for 40 yards on four carries.
Clarion’s biggest negative was that it was called for 13 penalties for 121 yards in losses.
“We’ve got to clean that up. I think I would have been much more pleased with the result without all the penalties,” Wiser said.
The Chucks have some work to do after getting just one first down and never crossed midfield.
Ishman, who rarely had time to throw, finished 4 of 18 for 17 yards and one interception.
Ethan Riley was Punxsy’s leading rusher, gaining 12 yards on five carries.
Both teams return to action next Friday. Punxsy hosts Moniteau while Clarion hosts Brookville. Karns City beat the Raiders 45-6 while Moniteau lost to St. Marys 26-25.
CLARION 41, PUNXSUTAWNEY 0
Score by Quarters
Punxsy 0 0 0 0 – 0
Clarion 6 13 9 13 – 41
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
C – Ty Burford 40 pass from Spencer Miller (kick failed), 2:07.
Second Quarter
C – Burford 27 pass from Miller (pass failed), 9:45.
C – Michael McCloskey 40 pass from Miller (Mills Archer kick), 0:00.
Third Quarter
C – Tom Wurster block punt out of end zone, 5:20.
C – Burford 4 pass from Miller (Archer kick), 1:58.
Fourth Quarter
C – Logan Minich 42 run (kick failed), 11:10.
C – Sam Minich 25 run (Archer kick), 3:54.
P C
First Downs 1 22
Rushes-Yards 22-(-6) 47-323
Comp-Att-Int 4-8-1 10-19-3
Passing Yards 17 192
Total Plays-Yards 30-11 66-515
Penalties-Yards 4-31 13-121
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 3-0
Punts-Avg. 7-41.4 1-39
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Punxsutawney: Tyler Richardson 4-3, Dylan Ishman 8-(-31), Ethan Riley 5-12, Stone Smith 1-(-4), Alex Gianvito 1-3, Max London 2-(-1), Team 1-(-8). Clarion: Colton Rapp 16-70, Spencer Miller 3-36, Michael McCloskey 8-58, Ryley McMaster 4-40, Kyle Patterson 3-21, Logan Minich 6-99, Brendan Zerfoss 2-4, Mills Archer 3-11, Sam Minich 1-25, Team 1-(-5).
Passing – Punxsutawney: Dylan Ishman 4 of 8, 17 yards, 1 Int. Clarion: Spencer Miller 10 of 18, 192 yards, 4 TD, 2 Int.; Colton Rapp 0 of 1, 1 Int.
Receiving – Punxsutawney: Alex Gianvito 1-0, Jake Pearce 2-9, Jacob Weaver 1-8. Clarion: Michael McCloskey 3-69, Ty Burford 5-90, Ryley McMaster 2-33.
Interceptions – Punxsutawney: Tyler Richardson, Robert Stormer 2. Clarion: Ryley McMaster.
Copyright © 2024 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited.
