WEST SUNBURY — When Clarion-Limestone and Moniteau met Friday night in a KSAC matchup, one thing was guaranteed: One of the teams would walk off the field with its first win of the 2009 campaign.

In last week's openers, Redbank Valley edged C-L 20-19 while Clarion manhandled Moniteau 46-14.

Obviously smarting from the 32-point loss to Clarion in the opener, the Warriors pulled away with 23-unanswered points in the second quarter before cruising to a 44-26 win over the Lions.

"The thing is last week we just didn't play a complete football game," said C-L coach Todd Smith. "Last week, we played a great first half, and then we fell off in the second half when we allowed Redbank to come back on us and we lost by one point.

"This week was just the opposite for us. We didn't play real well in the first half, but I thought we came out and played real hard in the second half. I feel we are really close and I think if we can get in the win column, this team can do some real good things.," Smith added.

Although the Lions rushed for a net of zero yards, they did have a lot of success through the air, as Dan Miller completed 11 of 32 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns.

After a first-week loss, many times a win in the following week's game can be a springboard for the remainder of the season. Although that might be the case for the Warriors, coach Jeff Campbell and his crew are taking it game by game.

"We hope so, but we take one game at a time," said Campbell. "We know we have a very tough game next week at Punxsutawney. We are going to use this (win) to hopefully take some momentum into that game."

The Lions stunned their hosts when Zach Kemmer took the opening kickoff 87 yards for the game's first score.

Kemmer's quick strike didn't faze the Warriors, who answered with a pair of touchdowns on a 7-yard run by James Shope and a 13-yard pass from Kyle Armagost to Zach Wheeler.

Not to run away and hide, C-L tied the game 15 seconds into the second period when Jonathan Pezzutti hauled in a 16-yard scoring aerial from Miller, but that is when the roof caved in on the Lions.

Forced deep into their own territory in punt formation, the snap went over the punter's head and out of the end zone for a safety.

"Clarion-Limestone is a good football team, but I think the safety and the quick scores definitely gave us the momentum," said Campbell. "We thought it was going to be a tough game and it was. There is no clear-cut favorite in the league this year. The teams are pretty even."

Following the errant snap, the Moniteau defensive unit took control of the game for the next 10 minutes as it turned the ball over to the offense and Shope responded by ripping off three touchdown runs of 16, 20 and 20 yards in a span of 3:09 before the Lions picked up their third score of the night on the final play of the first half.

Although playing with a heavy heart due to the death of his grandfather, Shope finished his outstanding night with 155 yards on 22 carries and the four scores.

"He is a good running back and he went through some tough times this past week when his grandfather passed away," explained Campbell. "Last week, I don't know if his head was really in the game, but I know one thing. His head was definitely in the game tonight."

After the wild first half that saw the two teams combine for 57 points, there was no scoring in the third period before each team picked up a touchdown in the final period to set the final.