RSS Feed
 
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Red Raiders take giant step
Nursing a 6-2 halftime lead through a 35-minute lightning delay during a torrential downpour at CARP Field, the Red Raiders (3-0) tacked on three second half touchdowns to remove all doubt. Based on strength of schedule, there's little standing in the way of a 9-0 regular season and an AMFLNorth Division crown for Cameron County. Meanwhile, Coudersport (2-1) could be looming down the road for a rematch during the postseason playoffs. Cameron County hosts a young Curwensville team (0-3) on Friday at 7 p.m., while Coudersport looks to get back in the win column on Saturday night at Elk County Catholic. Next weekend, the Red Raiders travel to Otto-Eldred (Friday, 7 p.m.), while the Falcons are at Port Allegany (Saturday, 1:30). Friday's victory was the Red Raiders' first in Coudersport since 1966 - the teams didn't play each other for many years - and snapped the Falcons' 41-game regular season winning streak. Cameron County head coach Tony Defilippi was pleased with the performance, but also looking ahead. "It's still only the third week of the season and there are a lot of games left," Defilippi said. He expressed relief that the Raiders' turnovers didn't prove as costly as they could have. The Big Red defense stuffed Coudersport's ground game. Counting lost yardage on five quarterback sacks, the hosts had negative 46 yards on the ground. Respectful of the Raiders' inside defense, veteran coach Paul Simcoe opted almost exclusively for the passing game, but even out of the shotgun quarterback Brian Wetzel often had little time to throw. Shawn Ellenberger was all over Wetzel, recording three sacks and countless hurries. When Wetzel did throw, the wind caused havoc, plus the Raiders' pass defense was more often than not up to the task. Defense and turnovers marked the first quarter. Fumble recoveries by Mike Dunn and Adam Foust helped the Falcons snuff Cameron County's offense. The Red Raiders broke the ice late in the first quarter when Charlie Holjencin intercepted a Wetzel pass at his team's 45, followed some blockers and sprinted for the touchdown. Trailing 6-0, Coudersport threatened when Wetzel found Derek Burdick open for a 41- yard pickup to the Red Raider 22. That advance ended on a misfired option pass. Moments later, CCHS quarterback/punter Jordan Crane set up to kick out of trouble at the Raider goal line. The snap sailed far over his head and past the upright for a safety. After the marathon halftime break, Cameron County struck with some lightning of its own. Crane found a wide open Abram Zoschg on the left sideline for a 25-yard touchdown. The senior QB then drilled a pass to Cameron Clingan for the two-pointer and it was 14-2. Coudersport answered with an effective drive covering 65 yards on eight plays, almost all through the air. Kyle Gee covered the final two yards off left tackle and Cooper Bonczar kicked the PAT, making the score 14-9. Back came Cameron County. After some success on the ground, Crane tossed a short pass to Darrick Mason. The big fullback gathered a head of steam and raced down the left sideline on a 48-yard touchdown play. Charlie Holjencin booted the extra point, putting the Raiders up 21-9 late in the third stanza. Coudersport's defense dug in, stopping one advance on downs and another on Colton Corey's interception. Offensively, however, the Falcons were held in check. They finally climbed back into contention when Brett Whitman recovered a fumble near midfield. Three snaps later, Wetzel delivered a strike to Corey in stride on a TD pass covering 49 yards. Bonczar tacked on the PAT, making it 21-16 with 4:36 left. An onside kick backfired, especially after Clingan took a handoff, broke a tackle and flew 49 yards for a touchdown that sealed the win. Clingan's long run made him the leading rusher with eight carries for 90 yards. Mason had 11 for 56. Gee caught six passes for 80 yards to pace Coudersport. Wetzel and backup Eric Babcock, who played for a fourth-quarter series, threw 49 passes, with 21 completions and 299 yards. Cameron County picked off three of the passes, two by Charlie Holjencin and the other by his brother, Jarek. Ellenberger, Mike Malizia, Donovan McCurley and Taylor Songer combined for the five sacks. Coudersport coach Paul Simcoe was respectful of Cameron County after the game. "They are a very talented team," Simcoe said. "We'll learn a lot about ourselves based on how we respond to this." The veteran coach also said he knew the string of AMFLwins had to end sometime. "You have to be good and sometimes you have to be lucky," he said of the streak. "We weren't quite good enough tonight or lucky enough." |
for larger version       |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
)