Football

Penn Cambria Panthers edged out in overtime by Clearfield Bison

H.S. football extra

CLEARFIELD -- Penn Cambria looked to be in total control Friday night at Clearfield, as the Panthers held a two touchdown lead late in the third quarter in both teams' Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference regular-season finale at the Bison Sports Complex.

However, the Bison staged a furious fourth-quarter comeback to force overtime, where Colton Ryan's fourth touchdown run of the night finished off an improbable comeback as Clearfield captured a thrilling 34-28 senior night victory its players and fans won't soon forget.

Play of the game: A late two-point conversion by the Bison, who pulled out the "Philly Special'' from its bag of tricks to tie the game at 28-28 with 11.6 seconds remaining. Senior Landyn Rankin took a handoff on a reverse and pulled up, airing out a pass to the right flat to a wide-open Xavier Curry, the Bison QB, who waltzed into the end zone.

Player of the game: Ryan, who had 27 carries for 149 yards and four touchdowns. The Panthers held Ryan to just 24 yards in the first half, but he exploded for 125 yards and all four scores in the second half and overtime to spearhead the Bison's improbable comeback.

Unsung heroes: The Clearfield offensive line, which came alive in the second half to help fuel the team's comeback. The Bison had just 84 yards on the ground at the half but racked up 194 in the second half as the team finished with 384 total yards (278 rushing, 106 passing). Bison QB Xavier Curry (14-122) joined Ryan in going over the century mark on the ground.

Most vital statistic: Penn Cambria built a 21-7 lead with 4:27 to play in the third quarter, but allowed the Bison to score four times in the final 15:23 and overtime.

Penn Cambria coach Jason Grassi: ""It was such a physical game. We punched them, they punched us. It was just a great football game. We just didn't finish it out the way we wanted to and could have. We just have to learn from it and move on and get ready for next week's playoff game.

"We told our kids after the game -- this game didn't change anything. We still have a home game. We get to play Forest Hills. That's our mindset now. We're getting ready for the playoffs. We'll learn from this game. We'll find out what we need to work on and try to get better this week.''

Notable: Penn Cambria's Corbin Vinglish put together a big night in the loss. He ran for 101 yards and two scores and also caught a 48-yard touchdown pass.

Records: Penn Cambria (8-2), Clearfield (7-3).

Next week: Penn Cambria will tentatively host Forest Hills in the District 6 Class 3A semifinals, while Clearfield will await its opponents in the upcoming District 9 playoffs.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Penn Cambria 7 7 7 7 0 -- 28

Clearfield 7 0 7 14 6 -- 34

First Quarter

PC--Vinglish 48 pass from Jones (Jones kick), 9:30.

CF--Broad 6 run (Diehl kick), 5:00.

Second Quarter

PC--Vinglish 32 run (Jones kick), 6:04.

Third Quarter

PC--Vinglish 36 run (Jones kick), 4:27.

CF--Ryan 4 run (Cash Diehl kick), 3:23.

Fourth Quarter

CF--Ryan 11 run (kick failed), 6:22.

PC--Latterner 50 run (Jones kick), 1:03.

CF--Ryan 1 run (Curry pass from Rankin), 6:22.

Overtime

CF--Ryan 1 run.

TEAM STATISTICS PC CF

First downs 14 17

Total yards 348 384

Rushes-yards 38-217 44-278

Yards passing 131 106

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 10-17-1 13-25-2

Punts-avg. 3-23.7 1-33

Fumbles-lost 1-0 3-0

Penalties-yards 7-52 6-65

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Penn Cambria, Vinglish 17-101, Jones 13-54, Lilly 3-10, Latterner 40-56, TEAM 1-(-4). Clearfield, Ryan 27-149, Curry 14-122, Broad 2-9, TEAM 1-(-2).

PASSING--Penn Cambria, Jones 7-12-0-130, Latterner 3-5-1-1. Clearfield, Curry 13-24, 2-106, TEAM 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING--Penn Cambria, Vinglish 1-48, Nadolsky 3-56, Gides 2-22, Lilly 4-5. Clearfield, Broad 4-23, Ryan 4-20, Glunt 3-40, Diehl 2-23.