Clearfield's Cruise Kerr (63) tackles Strong Vincent's Darrell Brooks during the first quarter on Saturday. The Bisons fell to the Colonels, 34-14. (Photo by Chris Wechtenhiser)

The Bisons, who opened their season with a 35-28 loss to DuBois, more than held their own Saturday night against Erie Strong Vincent in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA playoffs.

But in the end, Clearfield couldn't match the Colonels' speed and fell 34-14 to the second-ranked Class AAA team in the state.

The 20-point difference on the scoreboard does not tell the story, however, as Clearfield trailed by only a touchdown (21-14) early in the fourth quarter and went into the halftime break deadlocked 14-14.

"Our kids played well. Our kids played real well," Clearfield head coach Tim Janocko said. "I'm very proud of them. We competed with what is supposed to be the number two team in the state, and we had them on the ropes."

Clearfield had Strong Vincent on the ropes despite giving up 394 rushing yards to the Colonels, thanks in large part to an opportunistic defense that forced four fumbles - recovering two.

But four touchdown runs by Deonte Flemings, including second-half dashes of 43, 11 and 51 yards were the key for the Colonels.

Flemings led Strong Vincent with 166 yards on 13 carries, while Darrell Brooks (19-124) and Emari Tangle (11-118) also eclipsed the 100-yard plateau.

The Colonels got the ball on the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards in eight plays with Flemings covering the final 17 for his first touchdown. Shane Hurlbert's extra point gave Strong Vincent the 7-0 lead just 2:59 into the contest.

But Clearfield answered with its own touchdown drive that covered 61 yards in seven plays. Quarterback Jarrin Campman hit Brandon Sass for a 21-yard touchdown pass to finish off the series.

Campman was chased out of the pocket on the play, rolled to his right and found Sass, who made a nice catch in traffic in the corner of the end zone. The extra point was not attempted as the snap sailed over the holder's head.

The pair also hooked up earlier in the drive for a 31-yard connection on a third-and-19 play. On that pitch-and-catch, Campman lofted a ball down the middle of the field to a streaking Sass, who caught it and got drilled by a Colonel defensive back, but still managed to keep possession.

Strong Vincent came right back with another 8-play scoring drive. This time, the Colonels went 68 yards with the capper being a 17-yard Brooks run. The PAT gave Strong Vincent a 14-6 lead with 1:35 left in the first quarter.

The Colonels converted a fourth-and-13 play from the Bison 43-yard line to keep the drive alive as quarterback D.J. Barney found tight end Brandon Marlow wide open in the flat for a 26-yard gain. It was Barney's only completion of the game.

Clearfield moved the ball near midfield on its next possession, but the drive stalled and the Bisons punted back to Strong Vincent, which went three-and-out and booted the ball right back to Clearfield.

The teams again traded punts with Clearfield coming out of the change of possession with the ball at its own 49-yard line.

A play later, the Bisons were in the end zone.

Jarrin Campman threw the ball behind the line of scrimmage to Sass, who caught the ball, set his feet and delivered a strike to a wide-open Trey Campman.

The Bison receiver waltzed into the end zone untouched for a 51-yard score, and Jarrin Campman ran in the 2-point conversion to knot the game at 14-14 with 2:09 left in the first half.

Strong Vincent drove the ball all the way to the Bison 17-yard line on the ensuing series, but Tangle coughed up the ball after a 7-yard run and Cruise Kerr jumped on the loose football to end the threat.

The Bisons got the ball to start the second half and moved to their own 49-yard line, converting a fourth-and-inches play along the way. But on the first play after moving the chains, Jarrin Campman's pass was picked off by Marlow at the Strong Vincent 31-yard line.

The Colonels only needed three plays to go 69 yards, with Flemings following Tangle's 31-yard gain with his 43-yard score. After the PAT, Strong Vincent led 21-14 with 7:52 left in the third quarter.

Clearfield went three-and-out on its next series, and the Colonels took over at the Clearfield 43-yard line after a Parker Herrington punt.

Strong Vincent moved all the way to the Bison 5-yard line before Flemings was dropped for a 14-yard loss by Josh Rippey on first-and-goal. Derek Danver followed Rippey's big defensive play with one of his own, cutting down Brooks for a 1-yard loss before he was able to turn the corner on a sweep.

On third-and-goal, Flemings mishandled the ball again and Nick Redden pounced on it, snuffing out the Colonels' scoring opportunity.

Clearfield tried to get something going on the following drive and looked to have a first down when Jarrin Campman hit Rippey in the flat.

But a Strong Vincent defender put his helmet on the ball when making the tackle and it squirted backward where Kerr recovered it behind the first down line, forcing a Bison punt on the first play of the fourth quarter.

"We had the first down and the kid put his helmet right on the ball, and we had to punt," Janocko said. "We had something going there and were only down seven points."

The Colonels scored five plays later on Flemings' 11-yard run and held a 27-14 advantage after Danver blocked Hurlbert's extra point attempt.

Clearfield moved the ball into Strong Vincent territory on its next drive, but Jarrin Campman was unable to connect with Trey on fourth-and-5 from the Colonel 36-yard line, turning the ball over on downs.

Just three plays later, Flemings burst right through the middle of the Bison defense for his 51-yard touchdown to put the finishing touches on his night and the Colonels' win.

"We were only down by seven points in the fourth quarter, but just had a couple plays not go our way," Janocko said. "Things just didn't go our way. But we were right there. We had our shots."

Jarrin Campman finished the game with 51 yards rushing on 23 carries and was 4-of-11 for 79 yards through the air. Isiah Morgan ran 12 times for 37 yards. Trey Campman had two receptions for 81 yards, while Sass had two catches for 52 yards.

Clearfield finished its memorable season with a record of 10-3.

"It says a lot for our program and the steps we've taken," Janocko said. "We're to the point now where we're playing with the top teams in the state and we're competing. We just have to keep working. There are some kids who had some great careers here, and I'm very proud of them.

"I can't say enough about our kids and my assistant coaches. We had a great game plan, and I thought we competed very well."

Strong Vincent moved to 13-0 on the season. The Colonels face Thomas Jefferson in the PIAA Western Semifinals. Thomas Jefferson defeated Blackhawk, 34-14, Saturday night.

NOTES: Campman ended his senior season with 1,374 yards passing and 1,321 yards rushing. He threw 13 touchdown passes and scored 26 rushing touchdowns ... Morgan amassed 1,595 yards on the ground and scored 20 times ... Trey Campman led the team with 49 receptions for 665 yards. Sass was second in receptions (20) and receiving yards (435), and also completed two passes for 93 yards and a score ... Clearfield's 14 points is the second-highest amount given up by Strong Vincent this season. The Colonels allowed 20 points to General McLane in Week 1 and surrendered 14 to Cathedral Prep, Meadville and now, Clearfield ... Strong Vincent's 34 points represents its second-lowest scoring output of the season. It scored just 28 last week in a shutout of Cathedral Prep.

Erie Strong Vincent 34
Clearfield 14

Score By Quarters
Strong Vincent            14            0            7            13-34
Clearfield                     6            8            0             0-14

First Quarter
SV-Flemings 17 run, (Hurlbert kick), 9:01.
C-Sass 21 pass from J. Campman, (conversion failed), 5:05.
SV-Brooks 17 run, (Hurlbert kick), 1:35.

Second Quarter
C-T. Campman 51 pass from Sass, (J. Campman run), 2:09.

Third Quarter
SV-Flemings 43 run, (Hurlbert kick), 7:52.

Fourth Quarter
SV-Flemings 11 run, (kick blocked), 9:56.
SV-Flemings 51 run, (Hurlbert kick), 5:31.

TEAM STATISTICS             SV                         C
Total First Downs           19                   11
Rushes-Yards               47-394             37-86
Comp-Att-Int                1-5-0               5-12-1
Passing Yards               26                   130
Total Plays-Yards          52-420             49-216
Fumbles-Lost               4-2                   1-0
Punts-Avg                    2-37                 4-26.75
Penalties-Yards            3-25                 3-15

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Strong Vincent-Flemings 13-166, Brooks 19-124, Tangle 11-118, Team 1-(-1), Miller 1-(-3), Barney 2-(-10).
Clearfield-J. Campman 23-51, I. Morgan 12-37, T. Campman 1-(-1), Team 1-(-1).

Passing
Strong Vincent-Barney 1-of-5, 26 yds.
Clearfield-J. Campman 4-of-11, 79 yds., TD, 1 Int.; Sass 1-of-1, 51 yds., TD.

Receiving
Strong Vincent-Marlow 1-26.
Clearfield-T. Campman 2-81, Sass 2-52, Rippey 1-(-3).