BROCKWAY — It was an absolutely miserable night to play football: temperatures in the 30s, blowing wind, a steady drizzle all night long.
But when the final whistle sounded, not a single person on the Coudersport sideline was thinking about the weather.
Coudersport (7-4) overcame a 12-0 halftime deficit and scored 22 unanswered points en route to a 22-12 victory over Clarion-Limestone (9-3) in Friday’s District 9 Class A Semifinal game. The victory sends the Falcons to their first district title game since 2009.
“It’s a big deal for us,” head coach Tom Storey said about the achievement. “I’m excited for the boys. They worked hard for it. This is why we pushed them… to take it this far.”
In a game in which it was outgained 283-215, Coudy made the most of the sloppy conditions by coming up with three key fumble recoveries and just enough big plays to overcome the Lions’ powerful rushing attack.
Senior Stephen Kelly led the way for the Falcons with 119 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns, while quarterback Hayden Keck added a rushing touchdown of his own to go with 68 passing yards and 23 rushing yards.
C-L, meanwhile, got a pair of 100-yard performances from Austin Newcomb (23 carries, 169 yards, 2 TDs) and Ayden Wiles (18 carries, 113 yards).
Newcomb’s performance was enough to set the District 9 single season rushing record, previously held by Curwensville’s Alex Holland, who ran for 2,600 yards in 2010.
Newcomb’s 169 yards on Friday gives him 2,611 for the season. But Newcomb missed most of the second half due to an unknown injury.
The game got off to an ugly start for both teams, with three fumbles occurring within the first four plays. It was a trend that continued all game long, as the two sides fumbled the ball a combined 10 times with five of them resulting in turnovers.
The first quarter was quite literally all Clarion-Limestone: the Falcons ran just six offensive plays in the first 12 minutes. It was a combination of poor ball security by Coudy and C-L’s ability to convert on third down.
The Lions eventually found the scoreboard on a 42-yard scoring run by Newcomb late in the quarter that put Clarion-Limestone up 6-0. C-L would score again early in the second quarter when Newcomb ran the ball in from nine yards out to make it 12-0 Lions.
Coudy’s offense was able to stay on the field a bit longer in the second quarter, but was once again unable to find paydirt.
The Falcons ground game, and Kelly in particular, had a lot of trouble getting anything going. But with some necessary adjustments, Coudy came out in the second half and got back to what’s worked for it all season long.
“It was a little confidence going from the first half,” Storey said about the team’s improved play in the second half. “I told them at halftime, ‘You guys just have to execute.’ But it’s that desire, that momentum that they have, and they came out fired up in that second half.”
The Falcons finally found the scoreboard midway through the third quarter on a 10-yard TD run by Kelly to cut the deficit to 12-8.
After coming up with a fumble recovery, the Falcons took the lead on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Keck with just over a minute gone in the fourth quarter.
With Clarion-Limestone at midfield on the next possession desperately needing a first down, Coudy came up with a huge fourth down stop. Despite allowing two players to run for 100 yards, the Falcons’ defense stiffened up when it mattered most.
“It was just execution and getting their confidence back up,” Storey said. “Just (to be) doing what they’re doing, making some little adjustments, and playing where they’re supposed to be playing.”
Just plays after the fourth down stop, Kelly delivered the knockout punch with a 42-yard touchdown run of his own to put Coudy up 22-12 with 7:57 left.
Down two scores and with Newcomb out of the game, the C-L offense was forced out of its comfort zone.
“I kinda do wish Newcomb was out there,” Storey said. “But the guys came out, we made those adjustments, they stayed home, and they got pumped up.”
None of the Lions’ attempts at closing the deficit could get past the fired-up Coudersport defense, which didn’t allow Clarion-Limestone past midfield in its final possessions.
With a quick kneel down into the soaking wet turf of Frank Varischetti Field, Keck sent the Falcons on to the district title game.
Coudersport’s victory was the second of these playoffs that came against a team that the Falcons had lost to in the regular season: Coudy routed Redbank Valley 52-7 in the quarterfinals after falling to the Bulldogs 41-27 on Oct. 12. Last night’s victory over the Lions served as revenge after a 34-22 loss back on Sept. 14.
The Falcons will try to do it again in the championship game against Smethport, who blanked Curwensville 28-0 on Friday.
To say the Falcons are eager to see the Hubbers again would be putting it mildly.
The first meeting between the longtime North Tier rivals was perhaps the craziest game of the 2018 regular season: in a contest that decided the Small School North Division title, Coudy was leading the Hubbers 20-7 with just over five minutes to play. But Smethport scored twice in less than a minute and then capped the comeback with a last-second defensive stand.
Storey knows there will be very little that needs to be said to motivate his team for next week’s rematch.
“Everything about it — from the game we just played a few weeks ago and the chance to go at it again,” Storey said. “We’ve told these guys over and over: we’re better than what our record showed from the regular season and we pushed them all year long.
“So now having that chance, they’re in the final and we’ll get a chance to push them through that, AND to be playing Smethport, AND to have that revenge match that we wanna have, there’s definitely going to be some motivation for them this week.”
AT BROCKWAY
BY QUARTERS
Coudersport 0 0 8 14—22
Clarion-Limestone 6 6 0 0—12
TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs: Coudy: 7, C-L: 11; Rushes/Yards Rushing: Coudy: 33-147, C-L: 48-281; Yards Passing: Coudy: 68, C-L 2; Comp-Att-Int: Coudy: 7-13-0, C-L: 1-4-0; Penalties: Coudy: 4-40, C-L: 4-29; Fumbles-Lost: Coudy: 4-2, C-L: 6-3; Total Yards: Coudy: 215, C-L: 283 Offensive Plays: Coudy: 46, C-L: 52
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Passing: Coudy: Hayden Keck 7-13-68-0-0; C-L: Colby Himes 1-4-2-0-0
Rushing: Coudy: Stephen Kelly 22-119-2, Hayden Keck 7-23-1, Kolby VanWhy 1-(-2), Thomas Wilson 2-3, Brant Kightlinger 1-4; C-L: Austin Newcomb 23-169-2, Ayden Wiles 18-113, Kyle Bottaro 4-16, Colby Himes 3-(-17)
Receiving: Coudy: John Minor 3-43, Kolby VanWhy 2-11, Brandt Kightlinger 1-14, Dillon Keglovits 1-14; C-L: Ayden Wiles 1-2
Scoring summary
First quarter
C-L: Newcomb 42-yard run (2-pt conversion failed), 3:27
Second quarter
C-L: Newcomb 9-yard run (2-pt conversion failed), 10:45
Third quarter
C: Kelly 10-yard run (2-pt conversion by VanWhy), 5:46
Fourth quarter
C: Keck 1-yard run (2-pt conversion failed), 10:55
C: Kelly 42-yard run (2-pt conversion by Keck), 7:57
