By Todd Hummel

For The Daily Item

COAL TOWNSHIP -- The pain was evident in their eyes and maybe the only bright spot for the Shikellamy seniors was the fact that they didn't give up in Friday night's first-round PIAA Class AAA game with Clearfield.

However when this Braves' senior class is able sit back and reflect in a few months they will realize what they accomplished for their school and hometown.

But that's little consolation this morning after Shikellamy let an early lead slip away in the second quarter as the Bison exploded for five consecutive touchdowns in a 42-26 victory at Kemp Memorial Stadium at Shamokin High School.

"(The seniors) whole goal as freshmen was to turn this program around. They did their part; they did all they could do for this program. Now it's up to the rest of the kids not to let it go by the wayside," Shikellamy coach Sam Stroh said. "This can't be a two great years and back to the same-old, same-old here. I don't think it will be. We have some kids with some pride and some kids that see what's possible.

"If we stay positive and the kids work hard, I think we have an opportunity. I told them, 'you know you can play at this level, now, you have a chance to get back here, but we're really going to have to work in the offseason.'"

Clearfield won a school-record 13th game and improved to 13-0. They will take on the No. 1-team in Class AAA, Allentown Central Catholic, a 54-14 winner over Abington Heights, next Friday night in the Class AAA quarterfinals. Shikellamy finishes the season at 9-4.

The Braves got off to a slow start, going three-and-out on their first possession, while the Bison marched right down the field. After a short Shikellamy punt gave them the ball on the Braves' 48, it took the Bison five plays to score. Quarterback Curtis Frye snuck in from the 1 with 9:05 left in the first to take a 7-0 lead.

Shikellamy answered quickly as Dominick Wolfe (16 carries, 137 yards) broke free on a 59-yard TD run with 8:13 left. The Braves defense forced the Clearfield offense to punt on back-to-back possession before the Shikellamy offense gave them the lead. Quarterback Garrett Pope broke free after being stopped at the line scrimmage and ran 56 yards for a touchdown and a 14-7 advantage with a little over a minute left in the first quarter.

After Clearfield punted again, the wheels came off for the Braves. Pope got hurt after a handoff and Tyler Pratt was forced to play quarterback for a play. Then, when the Braves were forced to punt deep in their own territory, Clearfield's Andrew Redden blocked the kicked, picked it up at the 12 and returned for a touchdown to tie the game at 14-14.

But the Braves' troubles weren't over. A block in the back call on the ensuing kickoff pinned them deep in their own territory. There was a mishandled handoff and Clearfield's Beau Swales recovered the fumble on the 15. Two plays later, the Bison took the lead for good when Derek Morgan hit Brandon Hogue with a 12-yard TD on a halfback-option pass.

"It's the old lesson, you can't make those kind of mistakes against a good football team. The wheels just came off" Stroh said. "We had the blocked punt, the fumble and a couple penalties put us in bad field position."

Clearfield added another score before halftime to take a 28-14 lead when Frye hit Derek Danver with 22-yard TD pass. The Bison added two more scores in the third, a 25-yard TD catch by Redden and two-yard Morgan TD run, to open up a 42-14 advantage with less than minute left in the third quarter.

The Braves didn't roll over though even after they were forced to punt on their next possession. Wolfe ripped the ball out of Clearfield running back Christian Lezzer's hands and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 42-20 with 10:07 left in the game. Then after a Bison punt, the Braves marched 71 yards in five plays, capped by Wolfe's 20-yard TD run with 5:10 left, to make 42-26.

Mike Yoder then executed a perfect onside kick, which bounced off a Clearfield up-man and bounced back towards the Braves, but Shikellamy was called for offsides. Clearfield recovered the next onside kick ending the Braves' chances.