Bisons top Chucks for D-9 AAA crown

Sunday, November 14, 2010

DuBOIS - The Clearfield Bisons forced four turnovers and converted three of them into 19 points as they beat Punxsutawney, 26-14, Friday night in DuBois to win the District 9 Class AAA championship.
The Chucks (10-1) won the Class AAA title a year ago, beating the Bisons 34-28, but Clearfield (11-0) got back on top as senior running back Derek Morgan ran 29 times for 132 yards and two scores, caught a 12-yard TD pass and returned an interception for another touchdown that sealed the win.
"Those three interceptions and capitalizing on all three of them was really big," Bisons head coach Tim Janocko said. "Their kid (Logan Weaver) is the best quarterback we've seen all year and to do that is really a feather in the cap for our defense."
The Bisons last D-9 Class AAA title was just two years ago when they beat St. Marys 42-20. Clearfield has seven titles since 1999. The Bisons also beat the Chucks 33-10 in 1994 for the Class AAAA championship.
"We want to do this every year, and we've been fortunate that we've been in this position so often," Janocko said.
Clearfield will put its undefeated record on the line this week against District 6 champion Johnstown. The Trojans routed Bellefonte 49-8 Friday.
For Morgan, his biggest game of 2010 couldn't have come at a better time. The shifty, but powerful runner went over the 1,000-yard mark while carrying the offense on his back for much of the game.
His interception and 34-yard TD return with 5:21 left in the game gave the Bisons an insurmountable 19-point lead.
"Derek was really running downhill all night and you thought he was going to break one any minute," Janocko said.
For the Chucks, they ran the ball effectively, but Weaver's three interceptions were one more than he had thrown all season. He finished 7 of 15 for just 58 yards with a touchdown.
"Their secondary was really aggressive. We haven't had that many interceptions all year and it's hard to win when you do that," Chucks head coach Alan Nichol said.
The Bisons didn't need much time to capitalize on the first interception.
Punxsy opened with the ball and picked up one first down when Weaver hit Ben Blazavich for a gain of 12 yards.
With a first down at their 46, the Bison defense stopped Chucks running back Jason Fallara for no gain. Fallara, who injured a knee three weeks ago, ran for 102 yards on 20 carries.
Punxsy got called for being offside, moving the Chucks back to the 41. Then Zak Dickey, Punxsy's leading receiver, dropped a pass. Shane Harper then made a great play, stepping in front of the receiver to make the pick and raced down the sideline before being knocked out of bounds at the Chucks 10.
After a short run and an illegal procedure call, Morgan caught a short pass from junior quarterback Curtis Frye, put a nasty move on a Chucks defender and raced in for the touchdown.
Zach Fannin had his extra point kick blocked, but the Bisons led 6-0 with 9:15 to play in the first.
The Chucks got a solid kick return from Devin Neal to the 39, but an illegal block cost them and they began from the 22.
Fallara picked up a yard, but on second down, disaster struck the Chucks again.
Weaver threw a deep ball, intended for Dickey, beat Frye turned around in time to make the pick.
Starting at their 46, the Bisons needed eight plays to cover 54 yards as Morgan scored on a 17-yard run on fourth down and 3. John Mellgard's kickout block allowed Morgan to go in untouched. Morgan gained 33 yards on four carries on the drive and Derek Danver's 19-yard catch accounted for 52 of the 54 yards.
The pass failed on the conversion and the Bisons led 12-0 with 4:08 left.
The Chucks finally got things moving on their third offensive possession of the half, driving 79 yards on 10 plays with Fallara scoring on a 5-yard run with just 32 seconds left in the first quarter. Kody Young booted the PAT and it was 12-7.
Fallara carried five times on the drive, gaining 30 yards. Blazavich added a 16-yard run and a 12-yard catch.
Both teams had chances to score in the second quarter. The Bisons had one drive stop on downs at the Chuck 14, while Punxsy saw a lengthy drive start at its 14 and end at the Bison 30 on downs.
The third quarter went quickly. Clearfield turned the ball over on downs, then punted. The Chucks turned it over when Weaver was sacked and Beau Swales recovered the fumble. Punxsy punted later in the third and that was the beginning of the end for the Chucks.
Derek Danver received the bouncing punt at his 2 and returned it to the 9.
The Bisons then put together the signature drive of the game, moving 91 yards on 15 plays. It lasted 7:24. Morgan capped the drive with a 4-yard run with a 5:36 left. Fannin hit the PAT kick and it was 19-7.
The Bisons mixed their plays well. Frye hit all three of throws for 34 yards on the march with tight end Andrew Redden making two difficult catches for first downs.
"I really thought the big difference was when we could set up some play-action passes. And Andrew made some very big catches on that drive," Janocko said.
Swales broke a 19-yard gain on the first play to get the Bisons out of the shadow of their end zone. Three plays later, Frye's sneak for a yard gave them a first down at the Bisons 33.
After a short Morgan run, Redden was left uncovered. Frye's throw was a little wide, but Redden adjusted and dove to make the grab at the Chucks 48.
On third down at the 44, Redden made another tough catch, this time sliding for a gain of 10 to the 34.
After an 8-yard gain by Frye, it was all Morgan, carrying five straight times for the last 26 yards.
Morgan saved his best for last, however.
Trailing by 12 points with less than six minutes to play, the Chucks had to throw.
Weaver dropped back and let fly, but the ball was tipped by a Bisons defender. Morgan caught the ball on the run and scored from 34 yards. Fannin's kick made it 26-7.
Punxsy scored with 2:54 left when Weaver hit Blazavich for a 10-yard score.
But Danver recovered the onside kick and the Bisons killed the clock to set off the celebration.
A date and time for the Clearfield-Johnstown game will be announced.
NOTES: Two of District 9's more accomplished passing attacks didn't account for many yards. The Bisons had 78 while the Chucks finished with 58. ...Chucks receiver Zak Dickey led his team in catches and yards entering the game, but was held without any Friday.
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Reported by Scott Shindledecker, Tri-County Sunday Sports Editor. E-mail: scotts@thecourierexpress.com