Photos by Tim Weight 

By Kenny Varner

BELLEFONTE – It was a tale of two halves Friday night at Rogers Stadium.

Despite a slow start, the Bellefonte football team found itself down 15-0 going into the intermission in the battle with a 2-1 Clearfield squad.

On the first Bison possession, the Red Raiders’ Caleb Bartley picked up a Xavier Curry fumble rumbling for a 40-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown to spark his team.

With the momentum, Bellefonte tied the contest, sending the game into overtime.

However, the Bison scored in the overtime period to spoil the Red Raiders comeback bid winning 21-18.

“We went in at halftime and we had to make some adjustments. We talked to the kids and we told they could do one of two things,” said Bellefonte coach Tony Confer. “We could lay down and let the game get out of hand or we could come out and fight to the end. They came out and they kept fighting. The defense kept us in it. The offense eventually got going a little bit. I feel real bad for the kids right now. This one was a hard game to lose but the message was we had an opportunity to win it.”

In the comeback attempt  Red Raider running back Kaven Smith-Kirk led the charge as he invigorated the Bellefonte running game with 191 yards on the ground. The Red Raiders finished with 237 yards on the ground.

Heading into the overtime period, Bellefonte took to the offensive side first.

Starting at the 10, the Red Raiders were stopped at the three, facing a fourth down.

Bellefonte sent in the field goal unit. Kicker William Osman blasted a clutch field goal, putting them ahead 18-15 with the Bison offense taking their turn on the period.

But after a 9-yard run by Cooper Broad. Clearfield quarterback Xavier Curry finished the drive, giving the Bison a 21-18 victory.   

Trailing 15-0 coming out of the intermission, the Red Raiders mounted their comeback.

Minutes into the third, the Bellefonte defense forced Curry into fumbling the ball. A scoop by Bartley and a 40-yard run later, cut the Bison lead to 15-7 with the PAT with 8:57 left in the third.

Bellefonte’s defense closed the down the high flying Clearfield offense that earlier was running its passing game at will.

The Red Raiders failed to allow any more scoring in regulation.

In the fourth, Ashton Howell finished off a 6-play drive. Highlighting the drive was a 40-yard run by Smith-Kirk setting his team up for the tying score. The 2-point conversion was successful, knotting the game at 15.

In the first, Clearfield got on the scoreboard first when Curry hit a 28-yard TD pass to  Broad. The PAT attempt failed at 8:15.

Bellefonte found themselves on their own two after a Bison punt.

The Bison defense was able to put two-points on the board via a safety at  3:35.

Clearfield’s next touchdown came in the second on a Colton Ream 2-yard run at 3:58.

With the loss, the Red Raiders fall to 1-3. The last two losses combined, the Red Raiders lost by a combined 11 points.

Next up for the Red Raiders is a road trip to play Penns Valley.

Clearfield 21, Bellefonte 18 (OT)

Clearfield      8 7 0 0 6 – 21

Bellefonte     0 0 7 8 3 – 18

First Quarter

CL – Xavier Curry 28-yards TD pass to Cooper Broad ( PAT failed), 8:15.

CL – Saftey, 3:35

Second Quarter

CL – Colton Ream 2-yard run (CL), 3:58.

Third Quarter

BE – Caleb Bartley 40-yard fumble recovery (William Osman kick), 8:57

Fourth Quarter

BE – Ashton Howell 7-yard TD run (2-point conversion), 11:05

Overtime

BE – Osman Field goal

CL – Curry 1-yard run

TEAM STATISTICS   CL      BE      

First downs               11         11

Total Yards               229     284 Rushes-yards.         25-77 43-237

Yards passing          152     47

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 12-20-0 5-11-0

Fumbles-lost           1-1      3-1

Penalties-yards      4-35  3-30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: CL – Colton Ryan 12-59, Cooper Broad 1-9, Xavier Curry 10-12, Brian Owens 2(-3). BE  –  Brennan Huntsinger 13-41, Kaven Smith-Kirk 191, Ashten Howell 3-14, Team – (-11), Parker Jodon 1-2.

PASSING: CL  – Curry 12-20 152.  BE – Huntsinger 5-11 42.

RECEIVING : CL –  Ryan 1-10, Broad 5-69, Cash Diehl 1-3, Elijah Glunt 3-54. BE  –  Gavin DuFour 1-5, Howell 2-24, Jackson Long 1-5,Jodon 1-8. .