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HYDE — The weather might have been dreary but that didn’t dampen Clearfield’s Homecoming and Alumni Night festivities Friday, as the Bison celebrated the special night with a 28-6 win against Somerset — a victory that pulled Clearfield back to the .500 mark
on the season at 4-4.

Clearfield jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead on a night were turnovers plagued both teams at times, perhaps due to the wet conditions at times. Those proved to be all the points Clearfield needed on a night where its defense bent at times but never really broke.

Somerset did cut that 14-0 lead in half early in the second quarter, but it was all Clearfield from there. The Bison added a third touchdown with 4:00 left in the first half and then scored again on their first possession of the third quarter on a 40-yard touchdown pass by Dylan Foust to Elijah Glunt just 2:50 into the second half. Tucker Scott’s fourth extra point set the eventual final score at
28-6, as neither side found the end zone again in the game.

Foust played a role in three of the Bison’s four touchdowns in the win. He scored on a 67-yard run to open the scoring and added a 14-yard TD pass to Noah Troxell to add to the one to Glunt.

When the dust settled, Foust had 12 carries for 100 yards on the ground with the one score and completed 7 of 14 passes for 109 yards with the two TDs and no interceptions.

Ryan Ludwig gave the Bison a second 100-yard rusher, as he hit that number on the nose as well on 15 carries while scoring once in the second quarter on a 5-yard run. Glunt had three catches for 68 yards and Troxell had three grabs for 36 yards. Both of them had a TD catch and a second-half interception that helped preserve the Bison victory.

All told, the Bison outgained the Golden Eagles, 378-254, with Clearfield finishing with a 269-57 advantage on the ground.

Sonny Diehl was crowned Clearfield’s Homecoming queen at halftime of the game. Senior football player Brayden Wills had already been tabbed Clearfield’s Homecoming king prior to Friday night's festivities.

Clearfield got the ball to start the game and picked up an initial first down before having to punt. Somerset in turn picked up a pair of first downs on its first possession before the Bison forced a turnovers on down at their own 33.

The Bison wasted little time finding the end zone the second time it had the ball, as Foust called his own number on first down. He ran a QB draw up the middle and raced untouched 67 yards for a score. Scott's kick made it 7-0 with 4:29 to play in the opening quarter.

Clearfield's defense then forced a quick punt before the teams turned it over on back-to-back plays with each side recovering a fumble. The Bison wound up with the ball at the Somerset 45 after that sequence and went back to work.

A 15-yard catch by Glunt and a 14-yard rumble by Ludwig quickly put Clearfield in the end zone. Foust hit Troxell for an 11-yard score two plays later as the Bison went 14-0 with 1:02 left in the first quarter.

The teams then traded punts early in the second quarter before Somerset cashed on on its biggest play of the game — a 71-yard touchdown pass by Garret Reese to Gavin Berkey, who appeared to tip the ball to himself while guarded closely by a Bison. Once he secured the ball on the rebound, he raced to the end zone. Clearfield blocked the extra point and led 14-6.

Berkey had four catches for 117 yards on the night, while Reese completed 13 of 31 passes for 197 yards with the TD and two interceptions.

The Bison tried to answer right back and promptly drove from their own 43 down to the Golden Eagle 21, thanks in large part to runs of 20 and nine yards by Ludwig. Clearfield then called Jayce Brothers number out of the back field and he appeared headed for a 21-yard touchdown run. However, he fumbled just before the goal line, and the Eagles recovered the loose ball in the end zone for a touchback.

Somerset couldn't capitalize though, as the Bison defense stepped up and forced a quick turnover on downs when they stuffed Reese on a QB sneak on a fourth-and-1 play. That huge stop gave Clearfield the ball at the Somerset 29.

And, it took the Bison just five plays to find the end zone, with Ludwig capping the short drive with a 5-yard touchdown run with 4:00 to play in the half. Scott's kick made it 21-6. The Bison took that score to the break.

Somerset got the ball to open the second half, but the Bison defense forced another three-and-out. Clearfield started at its own 26 after a 35-yard punt and needed just three plays to hit paydirt.

Ludwig ripped off a 34-yard run on the first play, then Foust and Glunt connected for a 40-yard TD two plays later. Glunt made a nice leaping grab across the middle on the play, then made a nice cut to the outside to evade a defender before racing to the end zone. Scott's kick put Clearfield up 28-6 just 2:50 into the third.

Those proved to be the last points of the game though, as the defenses took over and came up with a couple big plays for each side.

Clearfield was forced to punt on two of its next three possessions and turned it over on downs in between. Meanwhile, the Bison defense forced two turnovers on downs and got interceptions from Troxell and Glunt on Somerset's last four possessions.

The Bison reserves eventually ran the final 5:16 off the clock with one last drive that saw them pick up three first downs. Paxton Parada had three carries for 23 yards on that final drive, while Haden McCracken had five for eight but lost eight yards on his final two carries of the game.

Clearfield returns to action next Friday night at home against Bishop Guilfoyle.