Central Holds off Clearfield
Tagged under: District 6, Gameday Hub, News
Brandon Maynard | October 21, 2023
Central beats Clearfield 27-21 to remain unbeaten. Jack Dunn was crowned Homecoming King, had 2 receiving touchdowns and had the interception to seal the game.
The Bisons won the toss and decided to defer to the second half. Both teams took chances in on their first drive, for they went on 4th down and were unable to convert. On the Scarlet Dragons second drive, they found paydirt. The drove 68 yards on 11 plays, including two 4th down conversions. Eli Muthler found Dunn for a 6 yard touchdown to cap it off. Hunter Smith’s PAT was good to put Central up 7-0 with 4:39 left in the 1st quarter. Clearfield’s next drive started with a 9 yard rush by Carter Freeland. They stumbled on the next 2 downs, including a tackle for loss by Central’s Smith forcing a punt. Smith was then stopped on the drive by Waldins Benitez for a tackle for loss for the Bisons. Muthler just missed Dunn on a 3rd down overthrow. Clearfield got the ball back and took it into the 2nd trailing 7-0.
They did end up punting the ball back to Central just 2 plays into the 2nd quarter. Their first play didn’t go well, starting with a false start backing them up 5 yards. On the next play the picked up a pass interference call. The Bison defense didn’t like that and pick up an additional 15 yard penalty with a personal foul. That helped the Scarlet Dragons get down the field in 2:36 . Muthler found Dunn again for his 2nd touchdown of the game. Smith’s extra point made it 14-0 with 9:11 left in the half. Cayden Bell had a huge return on the following kick return. Setting Clearfield up with good field position. He then caught a one handed pass on 4th down to give the Bisons their first First down of the game. They didn’t stop there, Will Domico found Brady Collins for a 4 yard TD pass. Warren Diethrick’s PAT was good, making the score 14-7 with 3:31 left in the Half. Central wasted no time, Muthler connected with Dunn once again for a 37 yard gain. He then found Jacob Benton for a 18 yard Touchdown pass with 0:28 left in the half making it 21-7. Nick Garver ended the half with his first interception of the season. “Their a good team.” Bison Head Coach Myles Caragein said. “That’s been a thing for us, bend don’t break.”
The Bisons showed off their halftime adjustments right away. Driving 8 plays opening up the half with Dominco finding Freeland for a 4 yard touchdown on 4th and goal. Trailing just bye one score now, 21-14. Central also drove on their first possession of the 2nd half, using a good mix of run and pass. After getting 3 first downs, Smith got stopped on 2 consecutive wildcat runs. Giving the ball back to Clearfield on downs, who clearly had the momentum in their favor. Getting the ball with 3:39 left in the 3rd, it took them 2 minites and fifty seven seconds and 7 run plays to tie the game. Dominco took the QB sneak for a 1 yard touchdown. Clearfield’s defense was still playing great. Ending the 3rd quarter stopping Smith in the backfield.
On the first play of the 4th, Dominco helped his own cause intercepting Muthler’s pass. Central’s defense got some help. A holding call negated a run for the Bisons. The next play the rain seemed to factor in as Dominco had to fall onto a bad snap. After getting to 4th and 19, they decided to punt. Conner Morgan didn’t get all of the punt and the ball was downed on the 50 yard line. Smith and the Scarlet Dragons took advantage of the good field postion. He opened the drive up with a 17 yard run on first down and the a 9 yard run on the next play. Muthler go into a big run for 23 yards setting them up on the 1 yard line. Smith who finished with 60 yards on 17 carries scored the 1 yard TD. His PAT was partially blocked and ended up hitting the left upright, leaving the score at 27-21. Clearfield’s Cater Chamberlain lost 6 yards on his 2nd down carry, getting stopped by Lucas Black for a tackle for loss. They ended up turning the ball over on downs. Central got the ball back with 6:13 left in the game. They got held up by a holding call and a false start. Followed by an incomplete pass to make it 4th and 22. Giving them no choice but to punt. This gave Clearfield one final chance to tie the game with 4 minutes left in the game. Starting on their own 35 they started to drive, Domico led them down the field. Gaining 5 firsts down on the drive, including a 4th and 4 pass to make it 1st and goal on the 10-yard line with 0:23 seconds left in the game. On 1st down Braydon Beach picked up this 3rd sack of the year, causing the Bisons to use their final timeout. With 9 seconds left, Black hit Domico as he was throwing causing the ball go be intercepted by Dunn sealing the game. “They took control in the 2nd half.” Central’s Head Coach Dave Baker said. “They moved the ball on us, we had trouble stopping them.”
Central top performers: E. Muthler 13/23 181 yards 3 TD 1 INT 7 carries 51 yards, H. Smith 17 carries 60 yards 1 TD 3/4 PATs and J. Dunn 7 catches 124 yards 2 TD 1 INT. Clearfield top performers: W. Domico 8/17 62 yards 2 TD 2 INT 14 carries 84 yards 1 TD, B. Collins 12 carries 70 yards 3 catches 15 yards 1 TD and C. Freeland 2 carries 6 yards 4 catches 24 yards 1 TD 1 INT. Central(9-0) are Home against Richland(9-0) to finish the season. Clearfield(6-3) plays a opponent yet to be determined
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