Ken Bussard already had announced in March that this would be his final season as head coach of the Central Cambria football team.

His 23-season tenure ended with a 43-7 loss at Forest Hills in the District 5-6 Class AA quarterfinals last week.

The lack of surprise or drama did nothing to diminish the fact that the area will be without one of its mainstays in the coaching ranks next fall.

Bussard’s Red Devils won 146 games, lost 101 and tied 1.

He had 13 winning seasons, four 5-5 marks and six losing seasons, with most of those teams hovering just under. 500.

Bussard was consistent during his two stints as Central Cambria’s head coach. His teams won more than they lost. Along the way, the Red Devils reached the high water mark in 1995, claiming the District 6 Class AAA crown and advancing to the Western Semifinal (state quarterfinal) before losing a dramatic 13-12 game to Sharon at Erie’s Veterans Stadium.

On that night, Buzzy went for a two-point conversion and the win, but the Sharon defense was able to bat away star quarterback Randy McKavish’s pass to preserve the win.

After the game, with a large group of western Pennsylvania media around him, Bussard didn’t dodge questions about going for two. He listed his reasons – momentum and a low snap on a previous extra-point attempt. That grace under pressure spoke volumes about Bussard, who shared Tribune-Democrat Coach of the Year honors in 1995 with Ferndale’s Kevin Marabito.

This season, Bussard’s Devils were a tight-knit group that appeared to rise to the occasion for their outgoing coach.

Central Cambria recorded two of the biggest upsets of Bussard’s tenure. The first was a double overtime 39-38 win over Bishop McCort at Point Stadium in Week 2. The second came in Week 9 at Trojan Stadium, as the Devils stunned previously unbeaten Johnstown 14-13.

In the McCort game Bussard’s quarterback son, Blake, ran for the final touchdown in the second overtime and used extra effort and a long stretch to get the winning two-point conversion.

The Devils originally lined up to kick the extra point, but when McCort called time out to ice the kicker, coach Bussard went for two.

At Johnstown, his defense was one of the few units able to contain the eventual 6-AAA champion Trojans’ offense this season.

Bussard took the head job at Central Cambria in 1985 and stayed on until 2003, when his administrative duties at the school prohibited him from coaching. The Devils won district crowns in 1995 and 2000. He returned in 2007 and coached back-to-back nine-win teams.

“Everything has a beginning and an end,” Bussard said when he announced his decision to step aside. “It seems like yesterday I was a rookie coach. Now I’m one of the grizzled veterans.”

Bussard did his job with class. The grizzled veteran will be missed next fall.



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Obstacle course: Portage’s first-ever road playoff win has given the Mustangs a chance to knock off the reigning 6-A champion this week at home.

Coach Gary Gouse’s sixth-seeded team upset third-seeded Juniata Valley 43-28.

The Mustangs will host No. 7 Bishop McCort on Saturday night.

The Crushers have won the past two 6-A crowns and had claimed District 6-AA gold in 2007 and 2006.

McCort defeated Portage 42-7 in the 2008 district final.

Portage is 8-2, while McCort is 7-4.



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Long time coming: Johnstown is 2-0 in the all-time series against Clearfield. But when the teams meet Friday at DuBois, it will be the first time they face each other in 86 years.

Johnstown won the “most recent” meeting 17-0 in 1924. The Trojans edged Clearfield 6-3 in 1919.

Clearfield (11-0) is the District 9 champion. Johnstown (10-1) won 6-AAA. They play in a sub-regional with a berth in the state playoffs at stake.

“I’ve been here 30 years. This is the first time we’ve played Johnstown, at least in the last 30 years,” Clearfield coach Tim Janocko said. “They’ve produced some great players with LaRod Stephens-Howling and some other players. We’re respectful of their tradition and the types of players they’ve produced at Johnstown.”



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11th hour: The Trojans will try to become only the third Johnstown team with 11 victories in a season.

Johnstown’s 11-win teams are two of the most impressive groups to play in this area. The first was in 1958, when Johnstown won the WPIAL championship to cap an 11-0 season at Pitt Stadium under hall of fame coach Dave Hart.

The second time was in 1988 when Jerry Davitch’s Trojans were 11-0 before falling 14-6 to Blackhawk in a WPIAL Class AAA semifinal playoff.



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On hold: Clearfield coach Janocko’s son Andrew is a redshirt junior quarterback and holder on extra-points and field goals for Pitt.

“My son is still on the team at Pitt so he knew LaRod pretty well,” coach Janocko said of Stephens-Howling, the former Pitt running back now playing for the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals.



Mike Mastovich is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat.