DUBOIS — A stifling Ridgway defense coupled with Johnny Mitchell’s three touchdown passes spelled doom for Curwensville in the District 9 Class A semifinals Saturday, as the Elkers cruised to a 33-0 shut-out victory.
The Elkers, after keeping the Golden Tide off the scoreboard for the second time this season, are in Friday’s Class A title game against county rival Elk Catholic, scheduled for 7 p.m. in Brockway. Ridgway beat the Crusaders 7-0 in Week 9.
“It’s big for the kids,” Ridgway head coach Mark Heindl said, “not only to be in a District 9 championship for the first time since ‘93, but to go against their county rivals in Elk Catholic. What more could you ask for?”
Both teams are riding extensive title-game droughts: Ridgway is in its first championship tilt since 1993, while Elk Catholic hasn’t played for a title since 1995.
“First time since 1993 and that was our big push going into this week,” Heindl said of his team, which had a bye into the semifinals. “The bye we had in the first round, our kids earned it. It worked dividends for us. They got some time away from football for a few days and came back Monday not only refocused, but ready to roll.
“We had one heck of a week of practice and I think you can see that here tonight.”
In 2014, the top-seeded Elkers were upset by Union in the first round of the playoffs after having beat them earlier in the season.
“Our seniors had sour tastes in their mouths as sophomores two years ago when we lost in the first round,” Heindl said. “We live for another week and get ready for a District 9 championship.”
The Curwensville offense struggled to find daylight all game long, losing yards on the team’s first two drives while its first four drives ended in punts and a fifth ended before it could start after a muffed kickoff return. District 9’s leading rusher, Nick Stewart, who entered the game with 1,984 rushing yards, was bottled up for just 52 on 20 attempts.
Without Stewart rolling, the Golden Tide had trouble finding any way to move the chains, as a steady pass-rush kept quarterback Bryce Timko (4-for-11, 53 yards, interception) on his heels. For Ridgway, it was the team’s seventh shutout of the season.
The Elkers used some big catches on back-to-back drives just before halftime to take a 26-0 lead into intermission. Mitchell found Neil MacDonald (84 yards on 11 carries, touchdown, three catches for 54 yards, touchdown) in the back of the end zone for as jump ball.
MacDonald won the battle in the air then landed one foot in bounds for the touchdown with 1:06 left in the half. Eleven seconds later after Curwensville fumbled the ensuing kickoff, the Elkers were back in the end zone as Josh Raubenstrauch capped a one-play drive with another toe-tapping catch in the front corner of the end zone.
Having the ability to pass was key for Ridgway after knowing the Golden Tide were going to crowd the line of scrimmage.
“We knew they were going to stack as many guys in the box to force us to pass and credit to our offense line tonight,” Heindl said. “Curwensville had a great defensive scheme to force us to pass, but our receivers made some great catches. Johnny had some great reads and our offensive line gave him some time.”
MacDonald and Jacob Zimmerman added rushing touchdowns for Ridgway. Joey Elinski ran seven times for 75 yards and caught a 13-yard pass as well as recovering a fumble on kickoff coverage. The Elkers piled up 360 yards of total offense, while Curwensville mustered only 114.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Curwensville 0 0 0 0 — 0
Ridgway 7 19 7 0 — 33
TEAM STATISTICS
Rushing Yards: Curwensville 28-61, Ridgway 47-251; Passing Yards Curwensville 4-11-53, Ridgway 6-7-109; Total Yards: Curwensville 114, Ridgway 360.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Curwensville: Nick Stewart 20-52, Kaleb Witherite 5-27, Bryce Timko 3-(-18), Ridgway: Neil MacDonald 11-84-1, Joey Elinksi 7-75, Johnny Mitchell 13-43, Jacob Zimmerman 8-26-1, James Winslow 6-25, Jacob Myers 1-0, Bryce Barkley 1-(-2).
Passing: Curwensville: Timko 4-11-53-0-1, Ridgway: Johnny Mitchell 6-7-109-3-0.
Receiving: Curwensville: Zach Marshall 3-58, Stewart 1-(-5), Ridgway: MacDonald 3-54, Josh Raubenstrauch 1-34-1, Elinski 1-13, Kyle Jordan 1-8.
