2023 Season Recap

The 2023 season ushered in a new era for the Bison Football Program, the first under head coach Miles Caragein.  It was also the first season of competition in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference.  It proved to be another successful season, with the team finishing with a record of 8-4 and a District 9 AAA championship,  Clearfield’s 19th.

Offense

The 2023 offense was led by second year starter Will Domico.  Domico evolved into a dual-threat for his senior season, picking up chunks of yardage with both his arm and legs.  He would finish the season with 1686 yards through the air and 579 on the ground.  His combined 2,265 yards rank 13^th all-time on the single season list with his 29 combined touchdowns ranking 12^th.  His 110 completions and 212 attempts are both the 15^th most in a single season, while his 1,686 rank 14^th all-time.  Domico finishes his Bison career with 147 completions on 293 attempts for 2,302 yards and 26 touchdowns. 

Domico’s rushing threat combined with Carter Chamberlain and Brady Collins, who both moved up the career rushing list.  Collins finished the season with 904 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns on 118 carries.   This pushes his career totals to 338 carries for 2,551 yards and 24 touchdowns.  His 2,551 yards as a junior rank 8^th on the all-time list, 2,088 yards behind leader Dave Richards (1999-2002).  Chamberlain finishes his career in red and black with 285 carries for 1,602 yards and 22 touchdowns. 

Carter Freeland was the favorite target through the air in 2023.  He finished the season with 47 catches for 872 yards and 10 touchdowns.  His 10 touchdowns tied Mike Scoggins (2004) and Wes Dahlem (1993) for the 9^th most in a single season.  His 173 yards against Huntingdon this year was the 15^th highest single game total in program history.  Through his junior season, Freeland has 70 receptions for 1,311 yards and 14 touchdowns.  The puts him 15 touchdowns behind Wes Dahlem (1991-1994) and 1,367 yards behind Jake Lezzer (2017-2020) for the all-time lead in both categories. 

Defense

Sophomore Colton Ryan was the leading tackler for the Bison this year finishing the season with 95, the 14^th most in a single season all-time.  Carter Chamberlain lead the team with 6 sacks and Will Domico and Carter Freeland each had 3 interceptions.  Freeland’s 3 fumble recoveries were tied for the 9^th most in a single season all-time.  His 4 sacks against Tyrone are tied for the 2^nd most in a single game. 

Brady Collin’s 87 tackles pushed his career total to 216 through his junior season.  This moves him into 5^th place all-time, 152 behind Matt Collins (2014-2016) for the all-time lead.  Freeland has 166 career tackles tying Scott Hall (2002-2004) for 22^nd most all-time.  Carter Chamberlain finishes his career with 147.  Chamberlain’s 8 career sacks are tied for 25^th most all-time. 

2022 Season Recap

2022 was another successful season for the Clearfield Bison football team, finishing with a record of 8-4, a Mountain League championship and a District 9 AAA championship.  Several Bison players hit milestones and moved up the all-time statistical leaderboards.  This was Clearfield’s 18^th District 9 championship and 12^th Mountain League championship. 

Offense

Sophomore running back Brady Collins was the story for the Bison offense this season.  He finished the season with 1,495 yards rushing, which is the 7^th highest single season total in program history.  His 15 rushing touchdowns are good for 21^st most all-time in a single season.  Collins now has 1,647 career rushing yards as a sophomore, which ranks 19^th all-time. 

Defense

Senior Isaac Samsel led the Bison with 88 tackles, the 21^st most single season tackles in program history.  Samsel finishes his Bison career with 172 total tackles, the 17^th most of all-time.  His four sacks this season bring his career total to 16.5.  This ranks him 4^th in program history behind Christian Lezzer (2010-2013), Tim Taylor (1997-1999), and Derrick Yohe (1997-1999). 

Coaching

Coach Janocko became the 19^th coach in state history to win at least 300 games.  He finishes his Hall of Fame career with a record of 307-120- 3.  His 307 wins are tied for 16^th all-time and 9^th all-time for a coach who spent their entire career with one school.  His career winning percentage of .712 ranks third in program history behind William Cutler and John Kase.  However, both men only coached for one season.  Janocko’s 38 seasons as head coach are by far the most in school history.  The next closest is Marty Koons who coached 8 seasons from 1953-1960. Congratulations to Coach Janocko on a tremendous career and best wishes for an enjoyable retirement.

2021 Season Recap

2021 was another successful season for the Clearfield Bison football team with an undefeated regular season and an overall record of 11-1.  Several Bison players hit milestones and moved up the all-time statistical leaderboards.  This was Clearfield’s 10^th undefeated regular season and first since 2018.  It was Clearfield’s 15^th District 9 championship and 11^th Mountain League championship. 

Offense

Senior quarterback Oliver Billotte achieved several notable accomplishments.  His 21 touchdown passes is the 5^th most single-season total in program history.  He finishes his career with 304 completions (3^rd all-time behind Chad Kroell and Isaac Rumery) 547 attempts (5^th) 3880 yards (4^th) and 51 touchdowns (3^rd).

His season high 297 yards against Bellefonte is the 10th most single game total all-time. 

OB also finishes his career with 1,257 rushing yards and his 38 career rushing touchdowns ranks 6^th on the all-time list, tying Isiah Morgan (2006-2008). 

Senior receiver Karson Kline finished the season with 55 receptions (5^th) 1,049 yards (5^th) and 14 touchdowns (4^th), tying Brian Kaspick’s total in 1999.  His 254 yards against Bellefonte broke the single-game record of 219 set by Jake Lezzer in 2018.  His 90 career receptions place him 6^th on the all-time list, tied with Josh Kroell (1988-1990).  His 1,568 career yards place him 8^th all-time and his 19 touchdowns tie him with three other players for 7^th all-time. 

Senior Mark McGonigal finishes his career with 1,436 rushing yards (21^st).  His 18 career rushing touchdowns tie him with Tom Krolick (1953-1954) and John Rockmore (1981-1983) for 25^th all-time. 

Defense

Senior Hayden Kovalick led the Bison with 92 tackles, the 15^th most single season tackles in program history.  Kovalick and teammate Isaac Samsel tied with 11.5 sacks this season 2.5 behind Dustin Maines’ 2014 record of 14.  Oliver Billotte finished the season with 11, which is 6^th best all-time.  Billotte’s 3.5 sacks against this season BEA is tied with David Hoover for the 4^th most in a single game. 

Billotte’s 180 career tackles is 14^th most all-time in program history.  He finishes his career with 15.5 sacks, tying Dustin Maines (2012-2014) for 5^th all-time. 

Coaching

Coach Janocko is closing on a major milestone, finishing the season with a career record of 299-117-3.  With one more win, Janocko would become the 19^th coach in state history to win at least 300 games.  He currently ranks 5^th among active coaches in career wins. 

2020 Season Recap

The Bison finished the 2020 covid-shortened season with a record of 4-2.  All statistics have been updated through the end of the 2020 season. 

The 2020 regular season schedule was shortened from 10 games to 4 due to a two week delay to start the season, two games lost due to quarantine, and two lost due to playoff scheduling.  Mountain league games against Bellefonte, Tyrone, and Bald Eagle were all cancelled and not made up.  Despite the shortened season, the Bison were able to capture the District IX AAA Championship and several players achieved individual success. 

Senior Jake Lezzer has become the all-time Bison leader in receptions (146) and yards (2,678).  His 21 career touchdowns rank him tied for 4th all-time behind Wes Dahlem (1991-1994) (29), Ryan Lezzer (2013-2016), and Brian Kaspick (1998-2000).

Junior quarterback Oliver Billotte’s 201 career completions moves him into 10^th place on the all-time passing list and his 369 attempts puts him 11^th all time.  His 2,146 career yards give him the 13^th most in Clearfield history. 

Defensively, senior Nick Domico led the Bison in tackles for the second straight season with 57.  This brings Nick’s career total to 181, good for 14^th on the all-time list.  Junior Karson Kline’s 8 passes defended led the team and pushes his career total to 10, tying him for 20^th all-time. 

Coach Janocko continues to move up the all-time wins list, albeit slowly this season with only six games played.  His record now sits at 288-116-3.  The link to the all-time coaching wins list can also be found under the Miscellaneous section, and is current through the end of last season (2019). 

2019 Defensive Updates

All defensive statistics have been updated through the end of the 2019 season.

Nick Domico’s 84 total tackles in 2019 is the 25^th best single season total of all-time.

Ian Heitsenrether’s 6.5 sacks ties him with six other players (including himself last season) for 16^th best single season total in program history.  His career total of 13 place him 9^th all-time for career sacks.  Allan Myers’ career total of 8.5 places him 22^nd on the all-time list.

Jake Lezzer’s three interceptions this season bring his career total up to 11, putting him 5th all-time, five behind his brother Ryan (2013-2016) for first all-time.

2019 Season Recap

The Bison have finished their 2019 season with a record of 9-3.  All offensive statistics have been updated through the end of the 2019 season.  Defensive statistics will be updated when 2019 stats are finalized.  All team statistics and averages have been figured using the 11 games the Bison actually played, excluding the forfeit win over Philipsburg-Osceola.  Total points (365), however, include the two points earned by the forfeit.

The 2019 season closes with senior Brett Zattoni finishing his career as the seventh all-time leading rusher in Clearfield history with 2,618 yards and fifth by total carries (465).  Zattoni topped the 1,000 yard mark for the second time, joining Christian Lezzer, Dave Richards, Josh Harbold, Isaiah Morgan, Seth Caldwell, and Stu Wiggins as the only Bison running backs to record two 1,000 yard seasons.

Junior Jake Lezzer has moved into a tie with his brother Ryan (2013-2016) for third all-time in receptions with 115.  Jake is 15 behind the all-time leader Trey Campman (2007-2009) (130).  Lezzer is also now third all-time in receiving yards with 2,115, just 239 behind Wes Dahlem (1991-1994) for most all-time in Clearfield history.

Sophomore quarterback Oliver Billotte’s 442 passing yards against Penns Valley set an all-time record for most in a single game, crushing Isaac Rumery’s record by 70 yards.  Billotte now has 2,000 career passing yards, giving him the 15^th most in Clearfield history.

The 2019 season also saw the Bison capture the program’s 600^th win (a forfeit against Philipsburg-Osceola).  Clearfield has now won 602 games.  A link to the all-time wins list has been added to the Miscellaneous section of the website, however that list is only current through the end of the 2017 season.

Coach Janocko continues to move up the all-time wins list.  His record now sits at 284-114-3.  The link to the all-time coaching wins list can also be found under the Miscellaneous section, and is current through the end of last season (2018).

A Program History tab has also been added.  This section of the site will work to incorporate historical data compiled by www.clearfieldfootball.org.

Statistical Updates

All statistics are current through the end of the 2018 season.  All categories will be updated again at the conclusion of the 2019 season.

Team, Individual Stat Updates

Team statistics have been updated through the end of the 2015 season.  The update that will include the current season will take place after 2016 ends for the Bison.

Individual statistics will also be updated following the completion of the 2016 season, but here is a snapshot of current individual statistics through Week 9 of this season unless otherwise noted.  Clearfield’s Week 9 statistics are not in MaxPreps as of the time of this post; all statistics for 2016 shown below come from MaxPreps and the P-O game story from The Progress.

Seth Caldwell

Career: 747 carries (1st all-time), 4,176 yards (93 behind Christian Lezzer for 2nd all-time), 40 rushing TDs (2 behind Jarrin Campman for 4th all-time).  Seth has gained 4,417 total yards from scrimmage in his career (3rd all-time) and has scored 45 total touchdowns (4th all-time).

Ryan Lezzer

Career: 100 receptions (23 behind Wes Dahlem for 2nd all-time), 1,882 receiving yards (79 behind Trey Campman for 2nd all-time), 22 receiving TDs (1 behind Brian Kaspick for 2nd all-time).  Ryan is 73 yards away from becoming the first Bison with three seasons of 500+ receiving yards.  He is also 151 rushing yards from becoming the first Bison to ever gain 1,000 career receiving yards and 1,000 career rushing yards.  He has 2,731 yards from scrimmage (8th all-time) and has scored 36 career touchdowns (9th all-time).  Defensively, he holds the school record with 16 career interceptions.

Matt Collins

Career: 311 tackles (school record).  Collins set a school record for single-season tackles with 167 in 2015 and has 121 so far in 2016, the fourth-most in a season in school history.  With more tackles this season, Collins will hold the school’s top two seasons for tackles.  His 23 tackles in last year’s playoff loss to Johnstown set the school’s single-game record, besting the 22 tackles by Seth Ford in 2012 against Punxsutawney.

Micah Heichel’s 7 catches for 190 yards against Central marked the 4th-highest receiving yardage total in school history.  His 606 yards this season (through Week 8) are the 18th-highest in single-season history.

Isaac Rumery now has 1,323 passing yards in 2016, the 17th-highest single-season total for a Bison.  His 311 passing yard game against Central stands as the 5th-most in Clearfield history.

Mason Royer has 163 career tackles, placing him 16th on the all-time list.

With 65 tackles this season, Steven Sawyer has now gone over 100 career tackles (113).

 

D5/6/8/9 Semifinals: Clearfield (9-1) vs. Johnstown (5-5)

Clearfield squares off against Johnstown in the District 5/6/8/9 Subregional semifinals Friday night at the Bison Sports Complex.  This is the fifth time in six years that the Bison and the Trojans have met in the playoffs, with Clearfield winning each of the previous four matchups.  The two teams also met in 1919 and 1924, both Johnstown wins (6-3 and 17-0, respectively).

The Bison are currently 9-1 this season.  Here’s how each of its opponents have fared over the last 10 weeks:

WEEK 1 – vs. Fort Hill (MD) – 49-14 L

The Sentinels currently sit at 8-1 on the year and will play Northern – which is based in the wonderfully named Accident, MD – this week in the Maryland state playoffs.  Fort Hill’s only loss this year was in Week 2, a 48-41 loss to Keyser (WV), the team Clearfield lost to in last year’s season-opener.  The Sentinels are outscoring their opponents this year by an average of 43-16.

WEEK 2 – vs. Penns Valley – 42-18 W

Penns Valley finished another tough season, going 2-8.  The Rams beat Bald Eagle (32-20) and P-O (26-7), but struggled defensively, giving up 40 or more points five times and allowing 75 points in a season-opening loss to Juniata.  Penns Valley allowed over 36 points per game.

WEEK 3 – @ Central – 19-8 W

The Scarlet Dragons enter this weekend as the top overall seed in District 6 AA and will face Forest Hills Friday night.  Clearfield was Central’s only loss, and the 9-1 Dragons have outscored opponents this year by an average of 43-11.  Removing its loss to the Bison, Central has averaged 46.8 points per game in its nine wins.

WEEK 4 – vs. Huntingdon – 50-23 W

The Bearcats enter the playoffs at 6-4 and will take on Tyrone this weekend in the first round of the D6 AA playoffs.  Huntingdon is 4-2 since its loss to Clearfield on September 25th, and senior running back Jon Wagner has rushed for over 1,300 yards and 22 touchdowns this year.

WEEK 5 – @ Brockway – 28-7 W

At 8-2, the Rovers will face Elk County Catholic in the first round of the D9 A playoffs Friday night.  Brockway’s two losses came to Clearfield and Kane (21-14) in consecutive weeks.  They are allowing just over 11 points per game in 2015.

WEEK 6 – @ Bellefonte – 42-7 W

Bellefonte wrapped up its second-straight 3-7 season last week with a 43-7 win over rival Bald Eagle Area.  The Red Raiders went 3-0 against Centre County teams and 0-7 against all others.

WEEK 7 – vs. Tyrone – 34-17 W

Tyrone finished in third place in the Mountain League at 8-2, losing only to league champion Clearfield and 9-1 Central.  The Golden Eagles will host Huntingdon Friday night in the first round of the D6 AA playoffs and are on a three-game winning streak, including one over AAAA Central Mountain.

WEEK 8 – vs. Bald Eagle Area – 49-12 W

The Eagles finished 1-9, defeating only winless P-O by a 14-0 score.  Offense was a big problem for Bald Eagle Area, as they averaged only 7.9 points per game.  They also allowed 40 or more points six times.

WEEK 9 – @ Philipsburg-Osceola – 56-17 W

P-O ended its second-straight winless campaign with a 42-0 loss to Bellwood-Antis last week.  Over the past three seasons, the Mounties are just 1-29.  In 2015, they were outscored by a total of 415-58.

WEEK 10 – vs. Punxsutawney (D9 AAA Championship) – 56-8 W

Despite being just 3-6 in the regular season, the Chucks entered the D9 AAA playoffs and were hammered by the Bison last week.  Punxsy beat Moniteau, Brookville and A-C Valley this season for its only wins.  In their two season-ending games, the Chucks were outscored by Karns City and Clearfield by a combined score of 118-14.

NOTES

• Counting last week’s win over Punxsutawney in the District 9 AAA championship game, Clearfield is now 24-23 all-time in playoff games.
• The Bison now have at least 9 wins in 7 of its past 8 seasons.  A win Friday would give Clearfield its sixth 10 win season during that span and 12th overall.
• Trojans quarterback Jeremy Updyke has passed for over 2,100 yards and 19 touchdowns this season.  For his career, Updyke has thrown for 5,233 yards and 52 touchdowns.
• Many of Updyke’s passes are thrown to junior Exree Loe, who has caught 46 passes for 904 yards and 8 touchdowns this season.
• Johnstown and Clearfield have no common opponents, but the Trojans have played the Subregional’s second-seeded team, Somerset.  The Eagles edged Johnstown by a score of 12-7 on October 2nd.
• The Trojans have lost three of their last four games, but many games have been close.  Three of Johnstown’s five losses have come by a combined 10 points and another loss came to defending Class A state champion Bishop Guilfoyle.  Last week’s 21-18 loss to Cambria Heights assured Johnstown the 4th seed in the Subregional; a win would’ve moved them up to the 3rd seed.
• With 2,226 career passing yards, Bison quarterback Cody Spaid is just 70 yards behind Jeff Kavelak (1984-86) for 11th in program history.  Kavelak graduated as Clearfield’s all-time leader in passing yards.
• The Bison have six players who have rushed for at least 100 yards this season.
• Seth Caldwell’s 3,088 career rushing yards put him just 32 yards behind Isiah Morgan (2006-08) for fourth all-time.  With 529 career carries, Caldwell is already just 57 behind Christian Lezzer’s school record of 586.
• Junior Matt Collins extended his own school record to 144 tackles this season in last week’s win.  Senior Christian Rumery now has 107, marking just the second time since 1993 that two Bison have had over 100 tackles in the same season.  Beau Swales (115) and Robbie Myers (107) did so in 2011.
• Johnstown’s all-time record is 644-405-56.  The Bison currently stand at 565-461-38.

District 9 Championship: Clearfield (8-1) vs. Punxsutawney (3-6)

Friday’s District 9 AAA championship game will feature Clearfield and Punxsutawney in the 91st meeting between the two schools.  The Bison own a 44-43-3 all-time edge in the series, which dates back to 1924.  In last year’s D9 title, Clearfield beat Punxsy, 35-8, on its way to its fifth straight championship.  The last team to win a D9-AAA title was Punxsutawney, which did so in 2009 by virtue of a 34-28 win over the Bison.  A win Friday would give Clearfield its sixth consecutive district championship and its 14th overall.

Clearfield has won the past five district title games by an average score of 38 to 7.  Friday’s game will have no bearing on the state playoffs other than serving as an additional chance for both teams to accrue points for the District 5/6/8/9 Subregional playoff.  Punxsutawney has been mathematically eliminated from the playoff race, but a Clearfield win would wrap up the top seed in the subregional, which begins next week.  The Bison are currently leading the points race with 960.  A look at the other teams in the four-team subregional playoff:

• Somerset  (830 pts) – The Eagles are currently the second-seed and sit 130 points behind Clearfield.  They face undefeated and state-ranked Bishop Guilfoyle Friday; they would pass the Bison for the top seed with a win and a Clearfield loss to Punxsutawney.  They cannot fall lower than the second seed no matter what happens Friday night.
• University Prep (520 pts), Johnstown (480 pts) – University Prep fell to Brashear, 7-6, last week in the City League playoffs and does not have a game scheduled for this week.  Deciding the third and fourth spots in the subregional will fall solely on Friday’s Johnstown vs. Cambria Heights game.  A win by Johnstown means University Prep will play at Clearfield next weekend, barring the unlikely scenario of both a Somerset win and a Bison loss.  A loss by the Trojans sends them to Hyde, instead.  Whoever ends up with the third seed will most likely play at Somerset.  Johnstown enters the game 5-4, while Cambria Heights is 4-5.

NOTES

• Punxsutawney is currently riding a three-game skid that has seen them get shutout by St. Marys and then allow 109 total points in losses to Clarion-Limestone and Karns City.  On the season, the Chucks have been outscored by an average of 28.7 to 19.0.
• Friday’s game wasn’t set in stone until a little over a week ago when the Chucks confirmed that they would participate in the tournament.  With only three teams in D9-AAA and Bradford owning just one win this year, it was unclear whether the district would have a championship game this year.  That, coupled with the fact that the game has no real bearing on the state postseason, cast Friday’s game in doubt to some extent.
• The Chucks are led by senior quarterback Ryan Jones, who has thrown for 1,267 yards and rushed for 393 more.  No other Punxsutawney player has eclipsed 200 yards rushing this season.  Jones has a hand in 13 of the Chucks’ 23 offensive touchdowns this season and has intercepted 3 passes on defense.
• After finishing the 2015 regular season at 8-1, the Bison have won 56 of their last 60 regular season games (93%) dating back to midway through the 2009 season.
• Clearfield now has 334 points scored this season, giving them the 12th highest single-season total in school history.
• Friday’s 56-17 win over Philipsburg-Osceola was the 7th time a Bison team had scored exactly 56 points in a game.  Four of those occurrences have come against P-O.
• With his 8 tackles against P-O, Matt Collins now has the school’s all-time record for tackles in a season.  He currently has 132 with at least two games left to play.
• Seth Caldwell now has 515 career rush attempts, making him the fourth player in school history to have at least 500 (Christian Lezzer, Dave Richards, Isiah Morgan).  Caldwell currently has 2,905 career rushing yards, putting him just 95 away from becoming the 5th player in Clearfield history with at least 3,000.
• Ryan Lezzer is now tied for 11th with Todd Shaw (1999-2002) with 70 career receptions.  His 1,308 receiving yards rank 9th and his 16 career receiving touchdowns put him in a four-way tie for sixth place.
• Cody Spaid is just three passing yards away from tying Christian Lezzer (2010-2013) for 12th in career passing yards.  His 24 career touchdown passes tie him with Tanner Kelly (2001-2004) for 10th.
• A win over Punxsutawney on Friday would give Clearfield its sixth-straight season of at least 9 wins.
• Check out more info on this game via the D9Sports.com preview.