CLARION, Pa. (D9Sports) — All one had to do was look at the jumping up and down on the Clarion-Limestone sideline Friday night to know how special this one was for the Lions.

(Photo: C-L players with the Black & Blue Brawl Trophy after the game. Photo by Chris Rossetti)

After 14 long years and 15 straight defeats, the Lions finally slayed the dragon that is their neighborhood rival beating Clarion, 62-28, in the third annual edition of the Black & Blue Brawl Presented by exploreClarion.com at Clarion University’s Memorial Stadium.

C-L players get the Black & Blue Brawl trophy from EYT Sports Editor Chris Rossetti.

“I think it is huge,” C-L’s fifth-year head coach Dave Eggleton, who beat the Bobcats for the first time as the Lions head man, said. “It’s huge for my group of seniors to be able to end their senior regular season with a win against Clarion. (Clarion) is a great program. I have a lot of respect for the program. It’s just a huge win for us, and I think it is going to be a huge win moving into the playoffs. It’s kind of a catapult going in.”

With the backdrop of this possibly being the final game in a rivalry that has played every year but one — 1979 — since 1972 — the schools had a combined junior high football team this year and there are ongoing talks of merging the varsity squads as soon as next season — it was once again the Austin Newcomb show for the Lions.

The C-L junior running back, who last week became the second back in D9 history to rush for over 400 yards when he turned in a 416-yard performance in a win over Curwensville, was back at it again against the Bobcats totaling 416 yards of offense and seven touchdowns.

Newcomb rushed for 374 yards on 30 carries while scoring six times and added one catch for 42 yards and a touchdown.

“That’s pretty good,” Eggleton said. “I don’t even know what to say. You can’t put it into words. The things he can do are just unbelievable. And our o-line just kind of mauled kids again tonight and just got after it. When they are blocking like that, and Austin is making the extra guy in the box miss, it’s hard to stop.”

Listen to all of Eggleton’s thoughts on the victory.

Newcomb found hole after hole after hole behind C-L’s offense line of seniors Jim Gunning, Justin Goodman and Matt Coleman and juniors Mitch Knepp and Ben Smith. That group, as a collective, was named the Hager Paving Player of the Game for the Lions.

“I have been with these guys for three, four years now, eight years overall,” Gunning talking on behalf of the senior linemen, said. “It just means a lot to do it right beside your brothers on the field and off the field..”

Watch the C-L seniors, including Gunning, quarterback Colby Himes and running back Ayden Wiles, talk about what the victory means to them.

The game was a high-flying affair from the start, and the two teams not only combined for the most points ever scored in the rivalry with 90 but also amassed over 900 yards of combined offense (925) including 554 by the Lions (8-2).

Before the game was two minutes old, C-L led 14-0. And by the time the teams were 4:55 into the contest, it was 22-7 Lions.

A short kickoff and runs of 28 and 21 yards by Newcomb right out of the gate set up a 3-yard touchdown run by the C-L junior, who went over 2,000 yards on the season with 2,172 (to go with 553 yards receiving), just 1:19 into the contest.

Clarion then fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and the Lions went right back to work this time scoring on a 6-yard Ayden Wiles run 1:55 into the game.

C-L answered right back with a 14-yard Newcomb run to make it 22-7 with 7:05 left in the opening 12 minutes.

But Clarion again had the answer from a Minich, this time Sam Minich, who caught a 27-yard scoring pass from Archer Mills to make it 22-14 C-L at the end of the first quarter.

Sam Minich finished with seven catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns also pulling down a 32-yard pass from Cal German early in the third quarter that cut a 36-22 C-L halftime lead to 36-28. Sam Minich was named Clarion’s Hager Paving Player of the Game.

But that is really getting ahead of ourselves, as the German to Minich scoring pass came after a wild second quarter that saw three more scores — two from Newcomb and one from Archer Mills.

Newcomb scored on a second 3-yard run before Mills answered with a 12-yard scramble of his own that came two plays after it looked like C-L had stopped the Bobcats on downs only to see the Lions called for roughing Mills on an incomplete fourth-down pass.

Mills then used his legs to get the Bobcats (6-4) within eight, 30-22, with the 12-yard scamper.

Not to be outdone, C-L answered late in the half when Newcomb slipped behind the Clarion defense for the 42-yard scoring pass, the only completion of the night for Himes, who only threw the ball twice.

That touchdown, which put the Lions ahead 36-22 at the break, came a couple of plays after it appeared Clarion had regained possession of the ball around midfield on a fumble. But one of the officials inexplicably ruled the C-L runner down. Then, after a lengthy discussion, the officials deemed it to be a no play to the delight of the C-L faithful and the chagrin of the Clarion fans.

In the third quarter, after Clarion had gotten back into the game on the German to Sam Minich touchdown pass, C-L took over scoring the game’s final four touchdowns, including three from Newcomb.

First, the speedster who wears No. 2 and patterns his game after his all-time favorite player Walter Payton, broke free for a 48-yard scoring run right up the gut.

It was then Wiles’ turn to find paydirt again with the senior scoring from 21 yards out with two minutes left in the third quarter.

Wiles finished the night with 13 carries for 62 yards leaving him 21 yards shy of 1,000 on the season.

It was more of the same in the fourth quarter with Newcomb scoring on runs of 15 and 74 yards 42 seconds apart.

EXTRA POINTS

CLARION-LIMESTONE 62, CLARION 28

Score by Quarters

C-L 22 14 14 12 — 62
Clarion 14 8 6 0 — 28

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

CL — Austin Newcomb 3 run (run failed), 10:41.
CL — Ayden Wiles 6 run (Newcomb run), 10:05.
C — Logan Minich 54 run (Archer Mills kick), 9:52.
CL — Austin Newcomb 14 run (Newcomb pass from Colby Himes), 7:05.
C — Sam Minich 27 pass from Archer Mills (Mills kick), 2:50.

Second Quarter

CL — Austin Newcomb 3 run (Ayden Wiles run), 7:33.
C — Archer Mills 12 run (Logan Minich pass from Mills), 2:09.
CL — Austin Newcomb 42 pass from Colby Himes (pass failed), 1:29.

Third Quarter

C — Sam Minich 32 pass from Calvin German (pass failed), 7:36.
CL — Austin Newcomb 49 run (run failed), 6:36.
CL — Ayden Wiles 21 run (Newcomb run), 2:00.

Fourth Quarter
CL — Austin Newcomb 15 run (run failed), 9:42.
CL — Austin Newcomb 74 run (pass failed), 9:00.

TEAM STATS

C-L-Stat-Clarion
23-First Downs-18
52-Rushes-34
512-Rushing Yards-206
1-3-0-Completions-Att-Int-14-21-2
42-Passing Yards-165
554-Total Yards-371
0-0-Fumbles-Lost-3-1
1-42-Punts-Avg.-2-20
4-44-Penalties-Yards-6-45

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: C-L — Austin Newcomb 30-374, Ayden Wiles 13-62, Kyle Bottaro 7-70, David Wiles 1-3, Jason Ganoe 1-3. Clarion — Archer Milles 10-76, Logan Minich 9-74, Cutter Boggess 5-24, Colton Zacherl 4-22, Camden Boggess 3-9, Sam Minich 3-1
Passing: C-L — Colby Himes 1-for-2, 42 yards, 1 TD; Austin Newcomb 0-for-1. Clarion — Archer Mills 12-for-17, 111 yards, 1 TD, 1 Int.; Calvin German 2-for-4, 54 yards, 1 TD, 1 Int.
Receiving: C-L — Austin Newcomb 1-42. Clarion — Sam Minich 7-123, Logan Minich 3-21, Drew Wrhen 1-9, Ethan Burford 1-6, Camden Boggess 1-3, Andrew Guth 1-3.
Interceptions: C-L — David Wiles, Ayden Wiles.