Clarion rips Falcons in opener
CLARION — A-C Valley began the 2007 football campaign with a new head coach and a new offense.
Unfortunately for the Falcons, the results on the field remained the same.
Clarion scored 33 first-quarter points on the way to a 40-0 victory in the KSAC opener for both squads.
"We knew we would have to play a perfect game tonight to have an opportunity to win," said A-C Valley coach Gary Pinkerton. "We just made a lot of mental mistakes and there were a lot of missed assignments and it seemed like it took us a quarter before we were ready to play the game."
The Bobcats' offense looked in mid-season form on the opening drive of the game as they marched 77 yards on four plays.
Tailback James Seidle finished the drive by slashing eight yards through the Falcon defense for the score.
A key play on the Clarion touchdown march was a 50-yard run by fullback Jon Kemmer that put the ball at the A-C Valley 17-yard line.
Kemmer had three carries for 75 yards.
A-C Valley's Joe Petkavich returned the ensuing kickoff 66 yards to the Clarion 21-yard line.
However, the Falcons' drive stalled at the Bobcats' 27 when Tom Bell was dropped in the backfield by Kemmer.
Three plays later, the Bobcats found the end zone when Seidle broke through the A-C Valley defensive front and raced 85 yards down the left sideline for the score.
Seidle, a 6-foot-1, 182-pound senior, had 94 yards on four carries and tallied three touchdowns — all in the opening quarter.
"(Seidle) is fast," said Clarion coach Larry Wiser. "He is an outstanding back, it's just the matter of getting him out there and seeing if he can take the punishment."
The Clarion passing game got into the scoring barrage with 5:32 left in the first quarter when Adam Bevevino threw a perfect pass to Jake Fleeger for a 35-yard score.
Bevevino completed 6-of-8 passes for 60 yards and two scores.
A-C Valley was without the services of its three-year starting quarterback Brad Rembold, who was out of the lineup with of appendicitis.
Luke Walker replaced the ailing Rembold, completing 6- of-10 passes for 32 yards and one interception.
"When you lose a three-year starter at quarterback, it has to affect you," said Pinkerton. "We are out there trying to do quarterback by committee. "
A bright spot for the Falcons was the receiving of tailback Mike Himes, who had six receptions for 32 yards.
The Falcons managed 11 yards of total offense for the entire game and had minus-19 yards of offense in the first half.
