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By Nate Ritchey
nritchey@altoonamirror.com
THREE SPRINGS -- Claysburg-Kimmel wanted desperately to avoid a repeat of last week when it fell behind by three scores from the start.
The Bulldogs didn't exactly come out clicking, and only led by their lone score after one quarter of play.
Southern Huntingdon didn't do itself any favors as C-K settled in during the second frame with 16 points.
After Claysburg got up by 30 in the third, the Rockets used two scores to close within two touchdowns before the Bulldogs rattled off TD's on three straight possessions en route to a 59-28 victory over Southern on Friday night at Southern Huntingdon Stadium.
"Before I even had to say a word (following the two SH scores), our guys got together and said, 'Coach, we're good -- it's not a problem," C-K coach Chuck Kassick said. "We'll take care of it.' I can see they are maturing right in front of me because I think in years past and maybe even weeks past, it might have been finger pointing or we're getting a little tight. But it was, 'we're good coach, we're fine'."
Play of the game: With Claysburg only up 10 points early in the second quarter, Mark Lattieri took a handoff and broke left before getting partially tripped up. The senior stuck his hand in the ground to regain his balance before he was met by a few more SH tacklers that caused him to stumble. Again, he used his hand to put himself upright before getting into open field en route to a 74-yard touchdown sprint that gave the Bulldogs a 16-0 edge with 8:04 before the half.
Kassick: "He's hard to bring down -- he really is. I don't know that he's been brought down on first contact yet this year. Not that he's Superman but he's got great balance, his feet are really good, and he's got a strong base and core. I thought he was down and the next thing you know, his hand is down and he's off to the races."
Player of the game: Lattieri ran 18 times for 241 yards and four TDs. He reeled off a 49-yard sprint to paydirt at 6:13 to account for the only points of the first quarter, then followed up with the 74-yarder before a 9-yard run came in response to two unanswered scores by Southern Huntingdon. He capped off the Bulldogs' three straight scores with a 2-yard power run across the goal line.
Lattieri: "The first two they (Southern Huntingdon) scored kind of hurt a little bit because we didn't want them to score. But after that, we just pushed the ball down the field."
Unsung hero: Claysburg quarterback Mason Campagna was 9-of-18 for 169 yards through the air, while also running 13 times for 96 yards. The junior gave his team a 23-0 advantage at the half when he reached the end zone from 14 yards away, and then began the second half by running 34 yards at 8:24 to give the Bulldogs a 30-0 cushion. He then ended his night by hitting freshman Gavin Treon on a 44-yard TD strike at 1:31 of the third to make it 44-16.
Most vital statistic: C-K amassed 557 yards of total offense.
Southern Huntingdon coach Aaron Batzel: "We're young and we do have that spunk behind us. We're making plays that we definitely didn't make last year -- we're getting turnovers and making plays on special teams. We're doing good things, we've just got to do it more consistently and we can't let the game get out of control.''
Notable: Claysburg-Kimmel freshman Nathan Fee delivered his first career field goal just 11 ticks into the second stanza when he connected from 29 yards out to make it 10-0. ... SH's Chase Gibbons picked off Campagna at the goal line with seconds left in the first half to turn C-K away from adding on to its lead. ... On the ensuing kickoff after the Bulldogs went up 30-0, Eli Rice returned it 75 yards for a score. ... On Claysburg's next possession, Elijah Oswald stepped in front of a Campagna screen pass and took it back 50 yards for a pick-6, his third of the year, to pull the Rockets within 30-16 in less than a minute. ... Gibbons started the fourth with a 4-yard touchdown, C-K backup QB Blake Kulick ran in from 1 yard out, and Rowdy Grissinger set the final with an 80-yard burst with 3:45 to play. ... The Rockets lost three of the five balls they fumbled with the Bulldogs' Remy Diehl, Landon Knisley and Lattieri coming up with the loose balls.
Batzel: "I feel like a lot of these games we are within shooting range around halftime. Then we just lose it in the second half."
Records: Claysburg-Kimmel (4-2); Southern Huntingdon (0-6).
Next week: Claysburg-Kimmel hosts Glendale next Friday night; Southern Huntingdon entertains West Branch the same night.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Claysburg-Kimmel 7 16 28 8 -- 59
So. Huntingdon 0 0 16 12 -- 28
First Quarter
CK--Lattieri 49 run (Fee kick), 6:13.
Second Quarter
CK--Fee 29 field goal, 11:49.
CK--Lattieri 74 run (kick failed), 8:04.
CK--Campagna 14 run (Fee kick), 4:17.
Third Quarter
CK--Campagna 34 run (Fee kick), 8:24.
SH--Rice 75 kickoff return (Boden run), 8:10.
SH--Oswald 50 int. return (Boden run), 7:16.
CK--Lattieri 9 run (Fee kick), 4:59.
CK--Treon 44 pass from Campagna (Fee kick), 1:31.
CK--Lattieri 2 run (Fee kick), 0:25.
Fourth Quarter
SH--Gibbons 4 run (pass failed), 9:07.
CK--Kulick 1 run (Treon pass from Kulick), 4:11.
SH--Grissinger 80 run (run failed), 3:45.
TEAM STATISTICS C-K S-H
First downs 23 9
Total yards 557 256
Rushes-yards 40-367 32-176
Yards passing 190 80
Pass (comp.-att.-int.) 10-20-2 7-18-0
Punts-avg. 1-54.0 4-29.5
Fumbles-lost 3-0 5-3
Penalties-yards 15-110 5-48
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Claysburg-Kimmel, Campagna 13-96, Lattieri 18-241, Brown 2-21, Kulick 2-(-8), Treon 2-20, Frazier 2-(-2), A. Soler 1-(-1). Southern Huntingdon, Gibbons 16-65, Cromwell 6-5, Grissinger 4-85, Boden 5-20, Detwiler 1-1.
PASSING -- Claysburg-Kimmel, Campagna 9-18-2-169, Kulick 1-2-0-21. Southern Huntingdon, Cromwell 3-7-0-24, Gibbons 4-11-0-56.
RECEIVING -- Claysburg-Kimmel, Diehl 2-28, Herline 5-58, Mowry 1-39, Treon 2-65. Southern Huntingdon, Gibbons 1-6, Grissinger 3-59, Flood 2-11, Rice 1-4.