Clemens excels at all three phases; Central Bucks West beats Pennridge 38-7

PERKASIE – When fans hear the name Ryan Clemens for Central Bucks West, they immediately turn to his running back abilities. However, on Saturday night against Pennridge, Clemens was the perfect definition of a “do-it-all” player. Clemens was flawless in all three phases of the game as his Bucks pulled away from Pennridge 38-7 in Suburban One National Division action.

“I have been on record before but in my seven years coaching at CB West, Ryan is the best all-around football player we had,” Bucks head coach Rob Rowan said. “He is exceptional, he does everything, and he does it all at a high level.”

Clemens amassed 260 yards on the ground on 24 carries, equating to 10.8 yards a pop, and three touchdowns. He made a 22-yard field goal in a key spot of the third quarter while also going a perfect 5-of-5 on extra point attempts. Oh, by the way, he also made a diving interception in the fourth quarter.

“I am at a loss for words honestly how tonight went,” Clemens said. “I am proud of my guys for stepping up and especially having a couple teammates injured. Our two guards and wing playing for the first time played great. We need to clean some things up but all-around I thought it was a great game.

The Bucks (6-2, 4-1) powered through Pennridge (4-4, 2-3) with an overwhelming rushing attack that totaled 432 yards off 44 attempts. Quarterback Noah Miller set the tone on the first CB West drive of the game by scampering 62 yards untouched down the left sideline to give the Bucks the initial 7-0 lead.

“To have a guy like Noah help guide the offense is special,” Rowan said. “Ryan and Noah have been a heck of a 1-2 punch and I think the most impressive thing is that while what they do on the field is tremendous, who they are off the field is even more impressive, so its no surprise that it translates to the field.

The Rams initially punched back as they used a 58-yard kick return from Chase Marshall to gain good field position on its next drive. Quarterback Noah Keating hit Marshall in stride for a 30-yard touchdown pass two plays after the return to level the score at seven with 5:50 left in the first quarter.

Central Bucks West had its next drive in Pennridge territory stopped when Miller was sacked by Trevor Fuhs and fumbled that was recovered by the Rams. Pennridge converted a 4th-and-8 on its ensuing drive and made it down to the Bucks 24-yard line. However, Keating was intercepted at the 1-yard line by Louie Cipollo.

“We have been needing to get better in coverage defensively and I felt like we did that tonight,” Clemens said. “We did not make many adjustments after Pennridge initially scored because we knew it was a simple mistake and a simple fix.”

Backed up at its own 1-yard line, Clemens hit the gap on the left side of the line and went 91 yards down to the Rams 8-yard line. Two runs later from Miller put the Bucks back in front for good at 14-7 with 9:55 left in the second quarter.

The Bucks got the ball to start the third quarter and held the ball for 8:55 which ended with Clemens knocking through a 22-yard field goal that made it 17-7. Central Bucks West advanced to the Rams 1-yard line but was stopped twice on the goal line before a delay of game penalty thwarted a 4th-and-Goal conversion chance.

“We have a high standard, and we will always push for that standard,” Rowan said. “We need to learn how to finish drives especially when we are on the 1 and 2-yard line. It is a lot of self-inflicted penalties and that is something we have talked about since week one with the guys that we need to get better in those situations.”

Miller flew through the middle of the line of scrimmage at the end of the third quarter and had a 72-yard touchdown until a block in the back penalty negated the score. The Bucks were only backed up to the Rams 18-yard line following the penalty which set up the first of three touchdowns from Clemens in the fourth quarter that made it 24-7. Pennridge fumbled on its next possession inside its own 10-yard line to set up Clemens second touchdown before he put the cherry on top to his night with a 52-yard score at the 6:45-mark.

Following Cipollo’s interception to start the second quarter, the Bucks defense limited Pennridge to just 38 of its 135 total yards of offense. The Rams loss sends them closer to the bubble of the District 1 6A playoff picture and they will travel to take on Central Bucks East next Friday in a game they have to have.

The Bucks turn their attention to a defining showdown next Friday night at home with North Penn that has both Suburban One and District 1 6A playoff positioning implications. The Knights sat second in the power rankings while the Bucks were sixth prior to Saturday’s games.

“Seeing our new guys succeed with the injuries to starters that we have has me encouraged about our stretch run,” Rowan said. “Everyone has to deal with injuries, and I just want us to keep getting better. That is what our guys want, and I tell them every week is that I want them to find out how good they can be. The only way that is going to work is that we show up every day of the week and we need to hit the ground running at practice and have a great week in preparation for North Penn.”

Scoring summary

Team statistics

Individual statistics

RUSHING

CB West: Clemens 24-260, Miller 12-162, McGowan 3-11, Todd 1-5, George 1-3, McGuire 3-(-9)

Pennridge: Dougherty 9-39, Rowe 4-19, Leuthe 4-6, Ferguson 2-6, Keating 8-(-7), Swanson 1-(-7)

PASSING

CB West: Miller 2-6-0–26

Pennridge: Keating 8-16-2–79

RECEIVING

CB West: Cipollo 1-18, Todd 1-8

Pennridge: Marshall 5-55, Clontz 3-24

INTERCEPTIONS

CB West: Cipollo