To run in the October 31st Bucks County Herald
CB West’s Ryan Clemens, listed at 5’6”, continues to be the biggest playmaker on the field.
Late in the first quarter of Friday’s archrivalry game against CB East (4-6, 2-5 SOL National), Clemens pounced on a Patriot fumble at the West 8.
One play later, Clemens raced for 21 yards, the opening salvo of a 10 play, 92 yard drive capped by a two yard touchdown from…Clemens….with the point after kicked by…Clemens.
Clemens booted five PATs in West’s 35-7 win.
“We played our brand. We executed up front really well,” said West head coach Rob Rowan. “I think Ryan is the best back in the league and he continues to put that on display each week. We want to be sound in all three phases of the game and I think we were tonight.”
West (8-2, 6-1 SOL National) opened with an 80 yard drive, ending in quarterback Noah Miller’s 20 yard touchdown. Clemens’ plunge made it 14-0 and the Bucks entered halftime up 21-0 after Miller’s 22 yard scramble set up Vance Morelli’s three yard touchdown run.
Miller hit speedster Devin McGowan- once on a pass in the flat and once on a slant- for two more West second half touchdowns.
“Anytime you’ve got a guy like Devin, you’re almost guaranteed 20 yards every time he touches the ball. We have full confidence in him to carry that load,” Miller praised. “I have full trust in him.”
Mike Price, East’s standout running back pressed into emergency quarterback duty out of the wildcat due to starter Logan Simkiss’ injury, raced 34 yards late in the fourth quarter for East’s lone score.
“We knew they would challenge us offensively with some things that we hadn’t seen and I was proud of how our defense, after that first drive, settled in. They caught us off guard at first,” Rowan offered, “and we cleaned things up a bit.”
Price, who went over both 1,000 and 1,100 yards last week in East’s win against Pennridge, picked up 134 yards on 23 touches.
Clemens rushed for 147 yards on 16 carries while Miller added 77 on nine lugs. West averaged over 10 yards per carry.
“Honestly, it was preparation,” credited West co-captain and offensive lineman Finn McGowan. “What I liked the most is that we never gave up. We finished nearly every drive. The scoreboard showed that and we’re most proud of that.
“That’s part of the mix too,” Finn McGowan added, “when we see them tired and making mistakes. We emphasize that.”
“That’s the CB West way: we like to run the ball. When we’re running the ball 40 or 50 times, you may only get two passes but you let it ride,” added Miller, who completed five of six passes for 54 yards. “Tonight was a great night throwing the ball. Sometimes you get openings like you get on the second touchdown.”
The Bucks bring a five game win streak into District playoffs, which start on Friday; they have allowed just 44 points during that span. West was seeded third in 6A at press time, with final playoff pairings to be determined on Sunday.
The win extends West’s winning streak over East to seven. “The coaches don’t need to say much on Rivalry Week,” Miller explained. “They know we’re going to go into that game with a ton of energy because it’s a massive rivalry, a rivalry we love to play.”
