HYDE, Pa. (EYT) — What more could one ask for in a high school football game?
The Clearfield Bison gave their fans their money’s worth Friday night at the Bison Sports Complex with a come-from-behind, 35-28, win over Karns City.
Clearfield (9-1) drove 80 yards in nine plays with Seth Caldwell using a tackle-breaking 22-yard run to give the Bison the lead for good with about four minutes left.
Clearfield won its ninth straight game after twice rallying from 14-point deficits in a matchup of the two best programs in District 9.
The Bison ended Karns City’s eight-game winning streak while they celebrated Senior Night and clinched a top seed in the upcoming District 5-6-9 Class AAAA playoffs.
Sophomore quarterback Isaac Rumery led the way for the Bison as he completed 15 of 24 passes for 283 yards, 3 touchdowns and one interception. He also added 28 yards on nine runs.
Caldwell, who had a hard time finding room to run in the first half, ended up scoring three touchdowns, including one receiving. Caldwell, who went over 4,000 yards for his career this season, finished with 69 yards on 17 carries.
The Bison receivers had big performances as well with Micah Heichel bringing in eight catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Ryan Lezzer finished with 109 yards on four receptions. Mason Royer had a 36-yard catch and sophomore Tae Lynch had a 20-yarder.
“We just made plays,” Bison head coach Tim Janocko said. “Isaac Rumery had a great night throwing the ball, the receivers did a great job and Seth Caldwell came alive in the fourth quarter like he always does.
“It was a great, hard-fought high school football game against a very good, well-prepared team.”
Clearfield fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter after stopping Karns City’s first drive inside the Bison 20 with a fumble recovery by Royer.
The Gremlins (8-2) moved the ball easily and looked ready to run away with the game before the Bison settled in.
After trailing 14-0, Clearfield got back in the game when Rumery hit Caldwell for a 6-yard TD pass early in the second quarter. Josh Serena’s kick made it 14-7.
After forcing a punt, the Bison started on their 20 with 5:52 left in the first half.
Rumery used his legs as well as his arm to lead the Bison to the end zone. The biggest play to set up the TD was a 20-yard pass to Lynch on fourth-and-4 from the Gremlins 26.
Caldwell finished things off with a leap over the pile from two yards out to make it 14-14.
But, the Gremlins scored the first two touchdowns of the second half to take a 28-14 lead.
A Rumery interception helped set up the first score, then the Gremlins forced a punt and scored again.
But Rumery played nearly flawless football the rest of the game. He hit 7 of his last 10 passes for 134 yards and two TDs.
After falling behind by 14, Rumery and the Bison started their third possession of the second half at their 29. Nine plays later, Rumery found Heichel for a 3-yard TD pass and Serena’s kick made it 28-21. Heichel had three grabs for 29 yards on the drive.
The score quickly became 28-28 after Karns City lost a fumble a few plays later and Rumery and Heichel connected again, this time for a 15-yard TD to make it 28-28 early in the fourth.
But the Gremlins looked poised to regain the lead when they quickly moved to the Bison 17. But the Clearfield defense stood tall and a personal foul penalty on Karns City pushed the Gremlins back, helping leave Kaiden Power’s 44-yard field goal attempt well short.
“Those are the mistakes you just can’t make at this time of the season,” Gremlins head coach Ed Conto said. “We may be beat up and have a lot of starters out of the lineup, but I’m not gonna let that be an excuse.
“We play a lot of kids so they are ready when they go in there.”
After the miss, Clearfield started at its 20. The Bison had to overcome a holding penalty on second down and converted a fourth-and-1 from their own 29.
With a first-and-10 from their 32, Rumery was sacked for a loss of seven yards, but on the very next play, he and Lezzer connected for a huge 47-yard pass play to the Gremlins 28.
Caldwell got six on first down, then busted off a 22-yarder to pay dirt to give Clearfield the lead for good, 35-28.
The Gremlins got the ball back at their 41 with 3:56 left, but a short run and three failed pass attempts by quarterback Jacob King gave Clearfield the ball back and they salted the game away.
Clearfield is the top seed in the playoffs and will host a semifinal game next week, either against Somerset (5-5) or Bellefonte (5-5).
DuBois will play at Johnstown next week in the other semifinal.
CLEARFELD 35, KARNS CITY 28
Score by Quarters
Karns City 14 0 14 0 – 28
Clearfield 0 14 7 14 – 35
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
K – Jimmy Thompson 24 pass from Cullen Williams (Kaiden Powers kick), 5:45.
K – Kaiden Powers 27 pass from Jacob King (Powers kick), 2:05.
Second Quarter
C – Seth Caldwell 6 pass from Isaac Rumery (Josh Serena kick), 10:39.
C – Caldwell 2 run (Serena kick), 0:39.
Third Quarter
K – Eric Dodd 3 run (Powers kick), 9:38.
K – Powers 7 run (Powers kick), 3:34.
C – Micah Heichel 3 pass from Rumery (Serena kick), 0:04.
Fourth Quarter
C – Heichel 33 pass from Rumery (Serena kick), 10:35.
C – Caldwell 22 run (Serena kick), 4:04.
TEAM STATISTICS
KCCFD
First Downs 20 14
Rushes-Yards43-19028-99
Passing Yards 157 283
Comp-Att-Int 7-12-0 15-24-1
Total Plays-Yards 55-357 52-382
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 0-0
Penalties-Yards 1-10 3-23
Punts-Avg.1-36 3-35.0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Karns City: Kaiden Powers 8-33, Cullen Williams 14-80, Eric Dodd 8-43, Jacob King 4-3, Aaron Hutchinson 3-5, Sebastian Troutman 2-4, Clay Garing 1-5, Jimmy Thompson 1-7, Team 1-(-16), Dalton Beham 1-6. Clearfield: Seth Caldwell 17-69, Isaac Rumery 9-28, Ty Bender 1-3 ,Ryan Lezzer 1(-.
Passing – Karns City: Jacob King 7 of 11, 133 yards, 1 TD; Cullen Williams 1 of 1, 24 yards, 1 TD. Clearfield: Isaac Rumery 15 of 24, 283 yards, 3 TD, 1 Int.
Receiving – Karns City: Kaiden Powers 2-67, Jimmy Thompson 2-31, Brian Beabout 3-59 . Clearfield: Micah Heichel 8-114, Ryan Lezzer 4-107, Mason Royer 1-36, Tae Lynch 1-20, Seth Caldwell 1-6.
Interceptions – Karns City: Cullen Williams.
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