ALTOONA —
Greater Johnstown had its opportunities Saturday afternoon at Mansion Park in the District 6-9 Class AAA Regional Championship against Clearfield.
But four costly turnovers and nine penalties for 88 yards kept the Trojans from expanding on an early lead and the Bisons then scored on a 13-play drive late in the fourth quarter to come away with a 29-23 victory.
“We had some crucial penalties at some bad times and too many turnovers to win a championship game,” Johnstown coach Tony Penna Jr. said. “You can’t win championship games and turn the ball over.
“They’ve got a good team over there in Clearfield and they were able to put a drive together at the end of the game and get a touchdown.”
The Trojans (9-2) took a
23-21 lead at the 5:22 mark of the third quarter on an Julian Ter Horst 25-yard field goal, which capped a 10-play Johnstown drive that covered 52 yards.
On the ensuing kickoff, the ball went into the end zone and Clearfield began from its own 20. But the 13-play drive came up short when the Bisons had to turn the ball back over on downs to begin the fourth quarter.
But just three plays into the Johnstown series, the Trojans had a hold. Then on the next play, quarterback Gervon Simon was picked off by Dylan Graham.
Each team had the ball one more time but could not gain any momentum until the Bisons took over at the Johnstown
45 and began their game-winning drive, ending with a Beau Swales 1-yard plunge and conversion run.
Swales finished the game with 161 yards on 29 carries, including 115 yards on 21 carries in the second half.
“He’s a special player,” Clearfield coach Tim Janocko said about his running back. “He was a little bit tentative, I thought, in the first quarter and he fumbled and got down a little bit and he came back. He’s the kind of kid that the more you give him the ball the better he gets.”
Clearfield scored on its opening drive of the first quarter, marching 44 yards on five straight running plays, ending with a 26-yard Christian Lezzer run and Spencer Herrington kick.
The Trojans answered right back with an 11-play drive of their own, capped by a 1-yard Simon run. Ter Horst’s kick evened the game at 7.
On Clearfield’s next series, Javon Vuckovich forced a Swales fumble that was recovered by Mark Watson at the Bisons 38.
Just one-play later, Simon threw a 38-yard pass to Dwight Andrews for the Johnstown touchdown and the lead.
The Trojans scored one more time in the first quarter, a five-play drive that covered 40 yards with Simon hitting Watson for the 20-yard touchdown. Ter Horst’s kick put the Trojans ahead 20-7 after the first.
“I told our kids, we were down before and that we had to get our poise back and keep playing hard and good things would happen and they did,” Janocko said.
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