CLARION — It’s the same opponent, the same stakes on the line, and plenty of the same faces on the opposing bench as the previous two years.
But not only does this installment of a win-or-go-home game between Bradford and Clearfield take place at a new location, it also has plenty of added motivation for the second-seeded Owls.
After losing each of the past two District 9 Class AAAA title games to the Bison (42-36 in 2018; 63-61 last year) at DuBois High School, Bradford will be out for revenge tonight against top-seeded Clearfield at Clarion University’s newly renovated Tippin Gym.
The matchup is part of a championship doubleheader, with St. Marys and Punxsutawney battling for the girls title at 6 p.m. After a trophy presentation, a floor cleaning and warmups for both teams, Bradford’s championship pursuit should begin a little after 8 o’clock.
For head coach Brian Hobbs and his group of six seniors who have experienced the past two defeats to Clearfield, tonight’s opening tip cannot come soon enough for a Bradford team that will be seeking its first D9 title since 2013.
“Last year was a tough one,” Hobbs admitted. “We were right there and up (five) at half and feeling pretty confident and we just let things slip away from us. We didn’t execute down the stretch, but they’re hungry for it. They’re sick of losing that title game, especially to Clearfield.”
THOSE seniors — Tyler Gigliotti, Caleb Nuzzo, Evan Schmidt, Steve Knowlton, Peyton Manion, Owen Kane — have all played varying roles on each of the past two runner-up teams.
But nobody has had a bigger impact than Gigliotti.
In that narrow loss to the Bison (14-8) last season, Bradford’s all-time leading scorer finished with 30 points and nearly willed his team to victory with some heroics in the fourth quarter.
Hobbs is hoping that the Owls (12-10) won’t need as much from Gigliotti (20.7 ppg this season) tonight, and can instead rely on some steady contributions from their secondary scorers.
“Steve has been scoring for us and doing some really good things,” Hobbs said. “But outside of Gigs and Stevie, we really need Peyton and Evan to score in that 8-12 point range. I think if we get that from them, we’ll put ourselves in a good position. And we have Owen Kane back (from injury) and he’s been playing a little bit more as the season’s gone on and he can score, as well. Between Peyton and Evan, I think if we get 8-12 from both or either of them, we’ll be right there.”
On the defensive end, the Owls will key on Clearfield’s potent scoring duo of Cade Walker (17 ppg) and Karson Rumsky (12.7 ppg). Walker had a team-high 13 points in last year’s title game, and Rumsky added 12. Both players also knocked down a pair of 3-pointers.
And though Walker has undoubtedly been Clearfield’s top offensive threat this year, Hobbs warned his team not to sleep on Rumsky’s impact.
“I think everything goes through Walker. When he plays well, they play well,” he said. “But the secondary (scoring) is Rumsky. It seems like when he is not in double figures, they’ve really struggled. So Walker getting his and Rumsky not getting into that double-digit scoring, they seem to struggle.”
BOTH teams enter tonight’s game incredibly well-rested.
Because the teams were the only two Class AAAA schools to enter the postseason, the Bison haven’t played since Feb. 13, an 80-17 drilling of Curwensville, and Bradford has been off since a loss to Brookville on Feb. 15.
Hobbs noted that the team had a scrimmage against DuBois last Friday at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, but overall the key to staying fresh has been some lively and competitive practices.
“One of the most important things that we told the guys was just going to be their energy in practice,” Hobbs said. “They have to practice with enthusiasm and for the most part, they’ve done that. They’re still playing hard and we are just trying to clean things up.”
Bradford dropped three of its final four games of the season while Clearfield is on a five-game win streak. The Bison have won four consecutive D9 championships (two in Class AAA, the last two in AAAA), but it’ll be both side’s first game at the new Clarion University.
Bradford has played two games at a college-sized court this season at the IAABO Tournament at St. Bonaventure University, and has spent a good deal of time on UPB’s court over the past week, as well.
“It’s a college-sized court so it’s a little bit longer. “Everyone always says, ‘defensively you’re slides are longer.’ But I always say, ‘your passes are longer, too.’ So we’re going to have to have some rested legs going in because the floor is a little bit bigger,” Hobbs said.
“Hopefully the guys will adjust to that and not let it be too much of a bother to them.”
And once the ball is tossed up for the opening tip, the records, those previous championship game results, and the size of the court can all be left at the door. It’ll be the team with the better preparation and the better execution that walks out of Tippin Gym with a District 9 plaque.
“When it’s game time, our game plan has to be polished and our guys have to be ready to execute,” Hobbs said. “I think that’s been part of our problem over the past seven or eight games is just sticking to the game plan and executing the game plan. Hopefully we’ve had about two weeks to prep here and the guys will be ready, focused and have a clear mind of what our game plan is.”
