CLARION — Facing Clarion with all hands on deck is tough enough. Put your best player in street clothes and the mission becomes near impossible.

Union junior quarterback Lane Cicciarelli had to sit out Thursday’s game against the Bobcats with an ankle injury. Clarion feasted on the Golden Knights’ undermanned offense, holding Union to just 50 total yards in a 62-0 KSAC-Small football victory at Clarion University’s Memorial Stadium.

Cicciarelli, who has passed for 661 yards and nine touchdowns this season, injured his left ankle in last week’s loss to Karns City.

“We taped it up last week and he came back into the game,” said Union coach Dave Louder. “But it swelled up this week. He was heart-broken about not being able to play tonight.”

Senior Brett Trithart started at quarterback against Clarion and Cody Stockdill also saw time in the game, but the duo combined to complete just one of 10 passes, including an interception.

“Brett knows the offense well, but he is usually a slot guy for us,” Louder said of Trithart (5-foot-7, 143 pounds).

Making matters worse for Union was the poor field position the Knights found themselves in early on. The best starting position in their first three possessions was their own 13-yard line.

Meanwhile, the undefeated Bobcats (5-0, 3-0) began their first three drives in Union territory and it yielded 17 points, as Ian Corbett’s five-yard scoring run and four-yard touchdown reception from quarterback John Katis were sandwiched around Antonio Troese’s 24-yard field goal.

Union’s defense responded by forcing a punt on Clarion’s fourth and fifth possessions.

The Knights’ deepest penetration in the game came early in the second quarter when Stockdill connected with Chet Carmichael on a 30-yard pass play, which set Union up at Clarion’s 34. But on fourth-and-6 from the 30, Stockdill’s pass near the left sideline fell incomplete and the Bobcats took over on downs.

Clarion blew the game open with 24 points in the second period as Damien Slike scored on touchdown runs of four and 26 yards, Corbett added a 16-yard run and Troese kicked a 23-yard field goal on the final play of the first half, which gave the Bobcats a 41-0 lead.

“Union switched into a number of different defenses and it was a guessing game there for a while,” said Bobcats’ coach Larry Wiser. “But we were able to make some things happen on the perimeter and that settled things down for us.”

Katis, a two-year starter, is now just 63 yards shy of breaking Clarion’s career passing yardage mark. He ended Thursday’s contest with 11 completions on 18 attempts for 193 yards.

“He’s made some outstanding throws,” said Wiser. “His leadership has been big for us.”

Union (1-4, 1-2) has now dropped four straight games since a season-opening win over A-C Valley.

The Knights next host Kennedy Catholic next Friday, hopefully with Cicciarelli back under center.

“We’re starting back at square one,” said Louder. “It’s a clean slate, but I believe we will have to run the table to have a shot at making the playoffs.”

Clarion 62, Union 0

Union 0 0 0 0 — 0

Clarion 17 24 21 0 — 62

U C

3 First Downs 23

29-20 Rushes-Yards 40-335

30 Passing Yards 193

1-10-1 Comp.-Att.-Int 11-18-0

50 Total Yards 528

3-2 Fumbles-Lost 2-0

5-24 Penalty Yards 7-55

First Quarter

C — Ian Corbett 5 run (Antonio Troese kick), 8:42

C — Troese 24 field goal, 4:57

C — Corbett 4 pass from John Katis (Troese kick), 2:07

Second Quarter

C — Damien Slike 4 run (Troese kick), 5:30

C — Corbett 16 run (Troese kick), 2:28

C — Slike 26 run (Troese kick), 1:35

C — Troese 23 field goal, :00

Third Quarter

C — Corbett 48 run (Troese kick), 11:10

C — Slike 45 run (Troese kick), 6:33

C — Tyler Allen 2 run (Troese kick), 2:03

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Union, Brandon Greenawalt 8-10, Dylan Shirey 1-2, Dugan Gallagher 9-21, Brett Trithart 4-0, Eric Seary 1-2, Cody Stockdill 3-(-6), Cole Morris 2-(-15), Drew Marsh 1-6. Clarion, Damien Slike 15-145, Ian Corbett 6-86, Tanner Corbett 4-61, Destin Strauser 1-2, Tyler Allen 3-20, Ben Babington 3-26, Taylor Smith 1-(-1), Caleb Bailey 4-2, Brendan Miller 2-(-2), Team 1-(-4).

Passing: Union, Brett Trithart 0-3-0-0, Cody Stockdill 1-7-30-1. Clarion, John Katis 11-18-193-0.

Receiving: Union, Chet Carmichael 1-30. Clarion, Damien Slike 1-17, Cody Hearst 5-105, Ian Corbett 2-15, Ethan Straffin 2-46, Tanner Corbett 1-10.