RELEASE DATE: 9/17/05
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Clarion             15        Mansfield         12

Mountaineers suffer heart-breaking 15-12 loss at Clarion, despite heroic effort

CLARION – Dave Murzynski’s one-yard plunge with 22 seconds remaining capped off a 73-yard drive in the final two minutes to send Mansfield to a heartbreaking 15-12 loss in a PSAC cross-over contest Saturday night, Sept. 17, at Memorial Stadium.

“I couldn’t be prouder of these players than I am tonight,” said head coach Jim Shiffer, “They played their hearts out for 60 minutes and deserved better. They (Clarion) may have scored on our defense in the last two minutes, but that defense kept them off the board for the first 58 minutes. And that was an outstanding effort by that group of guys.”

The Mountaineer defense, much maligned after giving up a school record 88 points to California, played with inspiration and confidence in a remarkable turnaround throughout the game.

After a scoreless first quarter, Clarion managed to get on the score board when Matt Morris picked up a blocked punt and returned it 2 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was good, giving Clarion a 7-0 lead with 8:30 remaining in the first half.

Mansfield came out of the locker room fired up and the defense held Clarion to a three and out in the first series of the second half. The Mountaineers took over on their own 49 yard line and benefited from three straight encroachment penalties called on Clarion. Junior Ozzie Mathis then out-leaped a defender in the right hand corner of the end zone to pull down a 30 yard touchdown pass from quarterback John Hengehold. The extra point attempt was blocked, and Mansfield trailed 7-6 at 12:25 mark of the third quarter.

The Mountaineers took their first lead of the season midway through the fourth quarter when Hengehold hit Tyrone Robinson over the middle and Robinson outran three defenders for a 46 yard touchdown. The Mountaineers were stopped on the two-point conversion try, but took a 12-7 lead.

The Mountaineers looked as if they had the game in hand when they started a drive from their own 34 yard line and covered 47 yards while eating up 4:26 on the clock. The drive was highlighted by Poohbear McNeal’s 42 yard run on a 3^rd and 25. With just over 2 minutes to play, the Mountaineers attempted a 36 yard field goal that was blocked and recovered by Clarion at their own 30 with 2:07 to play.

Despite having no time outs, Clarion managed to drive 70 yards and converted on a 4^th and 1 with 1:09 line at the Mansfield 29 yard line.

Mansfield had one last chance to win and Hengehold hit Ozzy Mathis at the 10 yard line with 6 seconds left, but the pass was ruled out of bounds.

Although the Mountaineer offense scored the points, it was the defense that kept Mansfield in the game the entire night. Senior linebacker Jason Zeigler senior defensive end Keith Slezak were outstanding the entire evening. In the first half, Zeigler recovered a fumble in the end zone, stopping one Clarion drive and blocked a field goal to end another drive. Slezak recorded a team-high 11 tackles, broke up three passes, forced a fumble, and had a sack.

Redshirt freshman Marc Hunsberger also had 11 tackles while Andre Turner added 9 and Wes Bear 7.

McNeal rushed for 129 yards on 27 carries, marking the 16^th time in 22 collegiate games he has gone over the century mark. Hengehold completed 13 of 31 attempts for 208 yards and 2 touchdowns, but was intercepted three times. He also rushed for 25 yards. Freshman Tyrone Robinson caught 3 passed for 86 yards and a touchdown, while Mathis had three catches for 41 yards and a touchdown.

The Mountaineers, who have lost two of their three games by a touchdown or less, now host Kutztown in their PSAC East home opener at Karl Van Norman Field this Saturday, Sept. 24.