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Lock Haven football walks off Clarion in homecoming game, 38-35

By HENRY HUBER 7 min read

LOCK HAVEN - Stepping on the field goal for his first field goal of the game, there were plenty of reasons for Lock Haven sophomore Caden Bauer to feel pressure. A 37-yard field goal is something he'd proven capable of, with a career high of 42 yards to his name. But never in his young career had he logged one at the buzzer.

Nonetheless, all the reps taken in practice week after week paid off when they mattered most. Lining up for a kick directly down the middle, motivated by his teammates' efforts to put him in that spot, Bauer pictured those reps as he positioned himself, eyed the snap and hold and sent the ball right down the center of the goal posts, clinching a hard-fought win for the Bald Eagles in front of a packed home crowd.

As Bauer ran towards the opposing end zone, avoiding celebratory tackles from his teammates, the Lock Haven faithful was finally gifted a chance to catch its breath. A rollercoaster of a homecoming game had concluded in victory, as Lock Haven edged out Clarion, 38-35, to improve to 3-2 and notch its second straight win in PSAC West play.

"It's my first one, so my head's everywhere," said Bauer when discussing the kick. "Our operation showed up today, did a great job. I'm proud of the boys, got to give them so credit too, especially the offense for getting me in range."

"As a true freshman coming on last fall, he's really done an unbelievable job perfecting his craft, and he loves this. Much credit to him," said Battaglia on Bauer.

"We found a way to win, and that's the last thing I tell the guys before we leave the locker room every game. It doesn't matter what it takes to find a way to go 1-0 today, so just super proud they're able to find a way."

After Clarion notched 14 unanswered points to tie it at 35-35 with 41 seconds to go, most in attendance at Hubert Jack Stadium on Saturday anticipated overtime. However, the Bald Eagles chose the aggressive route and never doubted it for a second, especially when a Clarion penalty on the ensuing kickoff set them up near midfield.

In a game where he connected with nine different receivers and surpassed 350 passing yards, Robert Footman Jr. trusted his top guys on the eventual game-winning drive. Two passes to Mekhi Watson (8-97, TD) netted Lock Haven two quick first downs as it breached the Clarion 30. And an eight-yard pass to Justin Roberts (5-116) got it in Bauer's range.

"They're awesome; they're playmakers," said Footman on Watson and Roberts. "At the end of the day, my job is to get them the ball, and they make the plays. That's the bottom line of it."

That turnover from lost win in regulation to momentous, walk-off victory wasn't the only dip in Saturday's rollercoaster.

Behind early offensive struggles and issues stopping Clarion quarterback Jase Ferguson, the Bald Eagles faced a 21-7 deficit midway through the second quarter. Ferguson netted close to 200 yards by the end of the Golden Eagles' third drive, as Clarion scored touchdowns on each of its first three possessions, and Bald Eagle went three straight drives without a score.

However, after allowing six straight conversions on third down, Lock Haven forced back-to-back incompletions to end that streak before turning a Troy Miller interception into great field goal position on the following drive. Footman turned that field position into an 18-yard touchdown to Mekhi Watson two plays later, and their last drive of the half foreshadowed their game-winning drive two quarters later.

With less than two minutes to go, the Bald Eagles ran the two-minute drill to perfection, traveling 80 yards down the field in eight plays. The drive was capped off by an 18-yard connection from Footman to Ezequiel Johnson, which saw Footman avoid multiple rushers before finding Johnson open in the back of the end zone.

"I knew that play was meant for him to get the ball. It was just a matter of how," said Footman on the play. "Once I saw that he was getting a little tangled up at the line, I was like, 'Okay, I'm going to have to extend this a little bit.' But I knew he was going to get the ball."

While Lock Haven still went into halftime down 21-20, it went into the break with momentum and came out of it with adjustments that helped translate it into a lead. The Bald Eagles scored touchdowns on two of their first three drives of the second half. And defensively, they held Clarion scoreless until the fourth.

Ferguson still finished just three yards short of 350 passing yards with four total touchdowns. But following Clarion's third touchdown drive, Lock Haven forced 14 incompletions on the redshirt freshman's next 18 passes, a huge contributing factor in holding the Golden Eagles scoreless for almost 30 minutes of play.

"He's an unbelievable player. Really, really good quarterback," said Battaglia on Ferguson.

"He was really attacking our seams a lot early in the game, so I thought the defensive staff did a good job taking away those seam balls and making him use his second and third reads, which he wasn't doing. The more we were able to make him go through his progressions, hang on to the football, the better chance we had at defending the pass."

Those factors made all the difference as Lock Haven used 28 unanswered points to turn a 14-point deficit into a 35-21 lead. Clarion fired back, but that proved to be enough of a cushion to put the Bald Eagles in position to win it late, which they capitalized on in exciting fashion.

With the win, Lock Haven has now opened its first season in the PSAC West with two division wins. It heads into the second half of the regular season with plenty of momentum, momentum which it'll look to build on against the top team in the division in IUP (5-0).

"We're just going to keep it rolling, keep the energy high," said Footman. "Knowing where this team can go, I think everyone is starting to really see it and believe it as well, and half the battle starts with belief."

Lock Haven 38, Clarion 35

Clarion 14 7 0 14 – 35

Lock Haven 7 13 7 11 – 38

1st Quarter

C – Jase Ferguson 2 run (Ty Woods kick), 13:34.

LH – Ezequiel Johnson 2 run (Caden Bauer kick), 7:34.

C – Ferguson 12 run (Woods kick), 2:03.

2nd Quarter

C – Ferguson to Austin Van Huss 20 pass (Woods kick), 8:40.

LH – Robert Footman Jr. to Mekhi Watson 17 pass (Bauer kick), 3;47.

LH – Footman Jr. to Watson 18 pass (PAT missed), :23.

3rd Quarter

LH – Tucker Teats 4 run (Bauer kick), 9:22.

4th Quarter

LH – Footman Jr. to Teat 17 pass (Justin Roberts run), 9:20.

C – Avante George 2 run (Woods kick), 7:44.

C – Ferguson 1 run (Woods kick), :41.

LH – Bauer 37 field goal, :00.

TEAM STATISTICS C LH

First Downs 24 29

Rushes-yards 26-81 34-140

Passing yards 348 369

Comp-Att-Int 20-43-1 32-44-3

Total yards 429 509

Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-0

Penalties-yards 4-50 8-67

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS 

RUSHING: Clarion, Jase Ferguson 12-49, 3 TDs; Avante George 11-30, TD; Tyreeck Hall1-4; Davon Jones 1-1. Lock Haven, Ezequiel Johsnon 17-73, TD; Tucker Teats 4-31, TD; Robert Footman Jr. 8-20; Careem Hathcock 5-16.

PASSING: Clarion, Jase Ferguson 20-43-1 330 yards, TD. Lock Haven, Robert Footman Jr. 32-44-3 369 yards, 3 TD.

RECEIVING: Clarion, Austin VanHuss 7-185, TD; Davon Jones 7-74; Tsirell Curry 3-56; JaTawn Williams 2-22, Griffin LaRue 1-11. Lock Haven, Justin Roberts 5-116; Mekhi Watson 8-97, TD; Ezequiel Johnson 2-33, TD; Connor Foltz 4-33; Jayvon Tucker-Scott 3-24; Deion King 2-24; Tucker Teats 3-17, TD; Jaiden Huntington 3-16; Careem Hathcock 2-9.

INTERCEPTIONS: Clarion, Najhir Kibidor 2; Cameron Thomas 1. Lock Haven, Troy Miller 1.

RECORDS: Clarion, 3-2 (1-1 PSAC). Lock Haven 3-2 (2-0 PSAC).

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