Falcons vs. Golden Tide: the rematch this evening!

Coudersport and Curwensville clash on the gridiron for the fifth time in just over a year Saturday evening (5:00) on the artificial surface of Clarion University's Memorial Stadium.

Survival is at stake, as the winner claims the PIAA District 9 Class A championship and advances into the state quarterfinals next weekend to meet the winner of the D10 title tilt between Sharpsville and West Middlesex.

Twice this season, the Falcons have topped Curwensville by a touchdown. Last year, Coudersport crushed the Golden Tide 41-13 on Oct. 29, but barely eked out a 28-26 win two weeks later.

Based on last Saturday's systematic dismantling of Johnsonburg, the Falcons may be harder than ever to beat. Quarterbacks Justen Kinder and Boomer Wetzel, alternating on almost every snap, threw five touchdown passes and the defense clicked on all cylinders in Coudy's 34-14 win.

The only misfire by the Falcon D was on a slant pass from quarterback Calvin Grumley to John Yonker that covered 66 yards for a touchdown. Aside from that play, the Rams gained three total yards.

Winningest team ever

A victory by the Falcons (12- 0) tonight would tie last year's team for the most wins in school history. Last season,

Coudersport rattled off 13 wins before losing to Duquesne, 33- 2, at Clarion in the school's first-ever appearance in the state semifinals.

Last weekend's triumphant return to the Clarion gridiron began as a defensive struggle. Johnsonburg drew first blood after a high center snap from punt formation put the Rams at Coudy's three early in the second quarter. Jesse Dennis scored on the next snap and Grumley drilled the PAT for a 7-0 lead.

Coudersport had an immediate answer. Junior fullback Adam Foust returned from injury with a 34-run up the gut. Five plays later, Kinder tossed a high pass to Chris Cavallari, who sailed into the endzone from 28 yards away. Then Wetzel tossed to Blair Heimel for the two-point conversion and an 8-7 lead.

After Johnsonburg went three-and-out, Kinder hit Jon Hau for a 23-yard gain; Wetzel and Logan Hathaway combined for 15 yards, and Kinder connected with Brett Whitman for a 20-yard TD play. Wetzel fired to Hau for the PAT and a 16-7 advantage.

An interception that was shared by Whitman and Colton Corey set up another first half score for the Purple Gang. Wetzel's 30-yard touchdown pass to Sam Decker on a picture perfect play produced six more points.

Halftime stats showed Coudersport with 185 total yards, while Johnsonburg had negative 15. Early in the second half, Wetzel connected with Hathaway, who juggled the ball but still held his composure and juked a defender to finish off a 33-yard touchdown play.

Grumley's big hookup with Yonker cut the difference to 28- 14, but the Falcons put the game on ice moments later on Kinder's 34-yard TD pass to Hathaway.

Coudersport, a ground-based team during the regular season,

wasn't all-pass on Saturday. Cavallari took a pounding from a stacked Ram defense in gaining 104 yards on 29 carries.

Dared 'em to pass

"They had nine and 10 guys on the line of scrimmage," Coudersport head coach Paul Simcoe said. "With that many people up front, if we get rid of the ball, they can't cover our receivers. They did a good job of controlling our running game, so we worked on the passing game." Kinder was 8-for-11 passing

for 144 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, while Boomer Wetzel was 6- for-10 passing for 98 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. Hathaway (99 yards, 2 TDs) and Sam Decker (85 yards, 1 TD) each had five catches.

Johnsonburg coach Tom Launer admitted that the Coudersport defense was nearly impenetrable: "We tried running from the spread. We tried running from the fullhouse. We tried running from the Wing-T. Nothing worked." His team's only first downs

came on a Falcon facemasking penalty and the long touchdown pass.

"Our kids aren't real big, but we have enough team speed where we can usually get to the ball," Simcoe pointed out.

Grumley was 2-for-12 passing with three interceptions while being sacked six times. He had 10 rushes for negative 24 yards. Isaac Cary was in on three of the sacks, while Kody Frederick and Cavallari had two each. Whitman grabbed two of the interceptions. Derek Burdick had the other.