Central Advances as They Beat Clearfield in Double Overtime
Tagged under: District 6, District 9, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs
Phil Myers | November 18, 2023
In one of the best games of the year, the Central-Martinsburg Scarlett Dragons beat the Clearfield Bison 41-35 in a thrilling double overtime game that will be talked about for years to come. Before a strong contingent of fans from both schools who braved the rain at Mansell Stadium in DuBois, Central and Clearfield put on a show that couldn’t have been better if someone had scripted it.
“It was a great game by both teams,” said Central Dragon head coach Dave Baker. He continued by saying, “These guys will never play a better football game. That’s as good as it gets. I told our players that’s the greatest game they’ll ever be involved in.” Great doesn’t even begin to describe how well these teams played, especially considering it rained throughout most of the contest.
The first half was dominated by the defense of both squads. Although the offenses did move the ball, each team punted twice and only two touchdowns were scored. Clearfield opened the scoring when Brady Collins ran 20 yards with 1:07 left in the first quarter, capping a 63-yard 4-play drive. Collins ended the game with 191 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 19 carries. He caught five passes for 60 yards and another TD.
Central tied the game at seven apiece in the second quarter on a Hunter Smith 3-yard run with 3:14 remaining. Smith had quite a game. He ran for 171 yards and scored four touchdowns. He caught three passes for 37 yards and a fifth TD.
Hunter Smith (in white #32) being brought down by a pair of Bison including #26 Cayden Bell. Photo by Chris Wechtenhiser of the Courier-Express.
After the Central score, the Bison proceeded to march downfield, but Eli Muthler of Central intercepted a 4th down pass in the end zone on the last play of the half. That was Muthler’s first of two interceptions. The game was tied as the teams headed to the locker room. The fans of both teams anticipated the second half would be more of the same, a defensive struggle where points would be hard to come by. Boy, were they in for a surprise.
The rest of the game was like watching a fireworks display or a boxing match where neither fighter would go down despite being hit with some hard punches. There were ten scores out of thirteen possessions including overtime and no one punted the football. Clearfield set the tone by scoring on the opening drive of the second half.
Facing a 4th down and eight from the Scarlet Dragon 18, Will Domico went for it all by lobbing the ball to Carter Freeland who snared the pass for an 18-yard touchdown. But the extra point was missed, and that would haunt Clearfield the rest of the game. They led for the time being 13-7.
Carter Freeland of Clearfield #5 hauls in the TD toss from Will Domico just past an unknown Central Dragon defender. Photo by Chris Wechtenhiser of the Courier-Express.
Central would not be denied as they scored the next two TDs to take a 21-13 lead into the final quarter. Smith scored both of the touchdowns on runs of a yard and 39 yards to give his team a lift. Baker replied that his message to the kids when they were down was, “You got to keep playing. That’s what you’re supposed to do. It’s not hard to figure out. You got to keep playing. That’s what you’re expected to do and that’s what these guys did.”
Clearfield countered by scoring twice within two minutes of each other to retake the lead 25-21 with 6:22 remaining in the game. First, Collins sped 18 yards into the end zone to finish off a 9-play 61-yard drive. Moments later Freeland intercepted Muthler’s pass and went 55 yards for a pick six. But the TD was called back due to a blindside block. The Bison were undeterred because on the next play Collins ran 52 yards to the six-yard line and Freeland followed that with a touchdown run.
Central, with ice in their veins took their time driving for the go-ahead score. First of all, they opened the 80-yard scoring drive by converting two consecutive fourth down situations. The first was on their own 29 and the second at their 38. On the fourteenth play of that possession, the Scarlet Dragons scored when Muthler ran 11 yards with 1:02 left. That appeared to be the game with the Dragons leading 28-25, but Clearfield proved to have ice in their veins also.
Beginning at their own 36 after the kickoff, the Bison drove to Central’s 35 wisely calling timeouts and getting out of bounds on plays. After a yard gain and two incompletions, it was fourth down with 20 seconds to go. Domico heaved a pass to Collins who had run what looked to be a wheel route. Collins, who was wide open made sure he caught the ball and ran a few yards to the 8-yard line before being tackled. Domico quickly spiked the ball with 4 seconds on the clock. Warren Diethrick came in and calmly kicked the game tying 25-yard field goal to send the affair into overtime.
The Bison got the ball first and gained 5 yards in three plays. Myles Caragein, Clearfield’s coach gambled as he and the staff were confident of the next play call. Domico hit Collins on a slant and the score to put Clearfield up 35-28. It took Central one play to tie it when Smith rumbled in from 10 yards away.
The second overtime had the Scarlet Dragons getting the rock first. Two plays lost two yards for Central and they turned to a play they hadn’t used. Muthler rolled left and was looking for a receiver when he turned and threw the ball back across the field to a wide-open Smith who outraced Clearfield defenders 12 yards to the end zone. The snap for the extra point was bad and got away from the holder, so Central led 41-35. The door was now open for Clearfield to score, kick the PAT, go home winners.
Two plays netted the Bison a minus three yards. On third down, a pass to Freeland almost went for a touchdown, but he was ruled out of bounds at the three. Domico’s fourth down pass to the end zone looked like it may tie the game, but Muthler stepped in front of the intended receiver at the last second and intercepted the ball to send the Scarlet Dragons home the winner. “That was a great game,” stated Myles Caragein, Clearfield’s head man, “It was fun going back and forth with them. Good luck to Central next week.”
Eli Muthler #5 of Central with the game saving interception in the second overtime as he steps in front of the intended receiver, Jacob Samsel #81. Photo by Chris Wechtenhiser of the Courier-Express.
Besides Smith running for 171 yards, Muthler completed 11 of 22 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown. Central gained a total of 320 yards for the game.
In addition to the 191 yards Collins gained on the ground, Domico was 11 of 20 passing for 105 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Clearfield gained 396 yards for the game.
Central is now 12-0 on the year and will face Hickory, who is 10-2, next week at a site and date to be determined. Clearfield finishes the year with an 8-4 record and two of those losses were to Central.
Score by Quarters:
Clearfield – 7 0 6 15 7 0 – 35
Central – 0 7 14 7 7 6 – 41
Scoring Summary:
First Quarter:
Clfd – Brady Collins 20-yard run, (Warren Diethrick PAT), 1:07
Second Quarter:
Cent – Hunter Smith 3-yard run, (Hunter Smith PAT), 3:14
Third Quarter:
Clfd – Carter Freeland 18-yard pass from Will Domico, (PAT no good), 6:50
Cent – Smith 1-yard run, (Smith PAT), 5:38
Cent – Sith 39-yard run, (Smith PAT), 1:29
Fourth Quarter:
Clfd – Collins 18-yard run, (2-pt. try no good), 8:19
Clfd – Freeland 6-yard run, (2-pt. try no good), 6:22
Cent – Eli Muthler 11-yard run, (Smith PAT), 1:02
Clfd – Diethrick 25-yard FG
First Overtime:
Clfd – Collins 5-yard pass from Domico, (Diethrick PAT)
Cent – Smith 10-yard run, (Smith PAT)
Second Overtime:
Cent – Smith 12-yard pass from Muthler, (PAT no good)
Clfd – Did Not Score
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