FLINTON - Damon Braniff wasn't feeling too good when he stepped onto Dr. Roy F. Baker Field on Friday night.
He left it as the greatest single-game rusher in Glendale High School football history.
Battling a stomach virus all day that had him out of the game from time to time, the Vikings senior tailback left Claysburg-Kimmel feeling ill on his school's homecoming, amassing a record 303 yards on the ground and scoring on runs of 73, 37, 63 and 5 yards as Glendale improved to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the Silver Division of the Inter-County Conference with a 37-6 victory over the visiting Bulldogs.
An 1,100-yard rusher on Glendale's playoff team a season ago, Braniff almost doubled his season rushing total of 338 yards in one night, although he said he couldn't eat anything leading up to the game because of how nauseous he felt.
"I felt horrible," Braniff said. "I felt like I had to step up. I couldn't let the team down, even though I wasn't feeling well."
Braniff had 7 yards on his first four carries before breaking down the home sideline and going 73 yards for his first touchdown with less than 30 seconds left in the first quarter to stake Glendale to a 12-6 lead that it never relinquished. In addition to his scoring runs, Braniff had 49- and 39-yard carries.
Viking coach Matt Irvine was a freshman lineman when Alan Collins ran for what is believed to be the previous record of 262 yards against Bucktail in the last game of 2003.
"Having a kid like Damon is a huge help in what we want to do in our offense," Irvine said.
It probably didn't hurt Braniff's cause that 233-pound starting lineman Sam Troxell was back in the lineup for the first time in three games after injuring his ankle on opening night against Northern Bedford. The Vikings ran for 405 yards as a team.
"It feels pretty good," Troxell said. "We're getting stuff done the way we need to. Damon's numbers have been down. We haven't been doing a very good job of blocking. We did that tonight."
Claysburg led 6-0 after a nine-play, 78-yard drive to open the game culminated in Zach Helsel's 24-yard touchdown run on third-and-8.
Helsel had 114 yards by halftime and finished with 165, but the Bulldogs couldn't cash in on it. The tide-turner came when Brandon Johns celebrated his birthday by picking off a Trey Claar pass around midfield and returning it to the C-K 42. Braniff covered the remaining distance in two runs to give Glendale a two-score advantage.
Claysburg fell to 1-4 overall, 0-2 in the division.
"Until we start practicing hard, the results are going to be the same. We have to do something to turn it around," Claysburg coach Joe Kitt said. "We did a good job on Braniff for a couple of series. Then he broke those big runs, and those were killers."
The Viking players were unusually boisterous after the game, but Braniff's milestone didn't seem to be the reason.
"I'd rather have the win than the stats," Braniff said. "As long as we're winning, I don't care how many yards I have."
Game notes: Eliza Ginter was crowned homecoming queen before the game, while Luke Iraca was king. Cassidy Noel and Troxell were the runners-up. ... Viking players wear patches on the back of their helmets in memory of Troxell's mother, Barb, who was a victim of lymphoma in June. ... Claysburg travels to Moshannon Valley next Friday. Glendale also will be on the road, playing at Tussey Mountain.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Claysburg-Kimmel 6 0 0 0 - 6
Glendale12 8 7 10 - 37
First quarter
CK-Helsel 24 run (kick failed), 7:05.
G-Witherow 1 run (kick failed), 3:42.
G-Braniff 73 run (run failed), 0:22.9.
Second quarter
G-Braniff 37 run (Jersey pass from Witherow), 8:38.
Third quarter
G-Braniff 63 run (Matchock kick), 1:45.
Fourth quarter
G-Matchock 22 FG, 12:00.
G-Braniff 5 run (Matchock kick), 6:32.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Claysburg-Kimmel-Helsel 26-165, Weyandt 2-9, Claar 4-4, Pant 4-5, Cowher 2-5, Imgrund 1-(-3), Repko 1-(-11), TEAM 1-(-1). Glendale-Braniff 16-303, Twigg 10-45, Witherow 7-28, Kimberly 4-22, O'Donnell 1-5, Hewitt 1-2.
PASSING: Claysburg-Kimmel-3-9-1-32. Glendale-Witherow 7-9-0-87, Hommer 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING: Claysburg-Kimmel-Weyandt 2-17, Helsel 1-15. Glendale-Twigg 3-64, Bantley 2-13, Hommer 1-10, O'Donnell 1-6.
INTERCEPTIONS: Claysburg-Kimmel-none. Glendale-Johns.
TEAM STATISTICSCKG
First downs1116
Rushes-yards41-17339-405
Passing (comp.-att.-int.)3-9-17-10-0
Yards passing3287
Total yards205492
Fumbles-lost2-01-0
Penalties-yards4-304-42
Punts-avg.3-35.31-30.0
