DuBOIS —
Clearfield’s 3-4 defense turned out to be quite a puzzle for Johnstown.
The Trojans’ high-profile offense struggled against the Bison and the District 6 Class AAA champions committed four turnovers as Clearfield defeated Johnstown 28-12 Friday night in a PIAA sub-regional at DuBois High School.
“They didn’t do anything that surprised us,” Trojans’ coach Tony Penna Jr. said. “I know that we were prepared for it. That 3-4 defense is tough, because they’re coming from all over the place. These are kids. We watched a ton of film, we prepared for the blitzes, but they just got the better of us.
“It was one of those things that the breaks just didn’t go our way. I take total responsibility for it. My kids came and played their hearts and souls out and that’s all I can really ask for. We just weren’t able to pull it out.”
The unbeaten Bison (12-0) will face District 4 champion Shikellemy, a 35-27 winner over Selinsgrove, next Friday night at Shamokin High School in a PIAA first-round contest.
The Trojans got off to a strong start, scoring on their first possession by marching
70 yards on seven plays capped by a Gervon Simon 28-yard pass to Calvin Anderson.
Michael Brooks’ kick was blocked, but Johnstown led 6-0 at the 9:03 mark.
The District 9 champs responded with a 10-play drive with Derek Morgan scoring from the 1. Zack Fannin’s kick put Clearfield ahead 7-6 with 6:12 on the clock.
Four of the Trojans’ next seven possessions ended in turnovers, but Clearfield was only able to capitalize on one of them.
After a Shane Harper fumble recovery at the Johnstown 23, the Bison needed just three plays to get into the end zone with Curtis Frye hitting Brandon Hough for the 11-yard touchdown. Fannin’s kick put Clearfield ahead 14-6.
The District 9 champs added another touchdown in the second quarter, with a four-play drive that was aided by a roughing the passer call against the Trojans.
The Clearfield touchdown came on a
4-yard run by Morgan at the 11:13 mark of the second quarter.
After two more Johnstown interceptions by Simon to Christian Lezzer and Jack Meligard, the Trojans’ defense rose and kept the Bison off the board the rest of the quarter.
Johnstown had its deepest penetration of the second quarter with time winding down, getting to the 2 on a Simon pass to Daquan Minter, but the clock ran out.
“If we could have punched that one in, who knows?” Penna said.
“We needed to get that big play. It seems like all year these kids have stepped up when times have been tough and made that big play and it didn't happen (Friday), but it sure wasn’t for lack of effort.”
Bison coach Tim Janocko credited his defense for keeping the Trojans off-balance.
“We had some big sacks by Shane Harper,” the coach said. “The turnover ratio was the difference in the game. We were able to capitalize on some of them, we couldn’t capitalize on all of them. It gave us the opportunity to get the lead. We have a physical team and that’s been our trademark of our team for a long time around here. We’re not big so we have to be physical.”
Each team scored on its first possession of the second half. Clearfield took the second half kickoff and covered 48 yards on five plays aided by a personal foul penalty on the Trojans. Frye found Hogue for a 30-yard touchdown and Fannin added the kick to put the Bison up 28-6 at the 9:35 mark of the third quarter.
Johnstown answered with a 67-yard drive on nine plays with Simon dashing in for the final 6 yards to the touchdown. The junior quarterback’s conversion run ended short of the end zone.
Simon finished with 139 yards rushing on 22 carries.
“He played his heart out,” Penna said about his quarterback. “He’s a warrior and we have 55 of those on this team. They never quit and could have packed it in when it was 28-6, but they drove right down the field.”
Morgan finished with 98 yards on 22 carries while Frye was 7 of 10 for 96 yards.
“These kids have battled all year long and no one expected them to do what they’ve done,” Penna said. “After this pain goes away, they are going to be pretty proud of what they accomplished. My heart breaks for my seniors, who have done everything we asked of them. It’s tough.”
Sports
Related Photos
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Johnstown quarterback Gervon Simon (6) carries the ball on Friday night during the District 6-9 playoff game at DuBois as Cody Wallace (70) blocks. Paul Wilson/For The Tribune-Democrat
Discussion
Johnstown’s season ends
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