D9SPORTS.COM ANNOUNCES DISTRICT 9 FOOTBALL AWARD WINNERS FOR 2004 SEASON

Curwensville, which finished 12-1 and made it to the PIAA Class A semifinals before losing to Rochester, have three players and a coach honored this season

Head coach Andy Evanko is the District 9 "Coach of the Year", senior running back Nate Sipes is the "Player of the Year", senior offensive linemen Brad Sopic and Sean Farley are co-"Offensive Linemen of the Year" and Sopic is the "Defensive Player of the Year."

Also being honored are Bradford kicker Kyle Macfarlane as "Special Teams Player of the Year", Brookville sophomore Max Kutz as "Rookie of the Year" and Clarion-Limestone senior Hayden Johnston for "Performance of the Year".

The game of the year is the Oct. 22 Clarion-Limestone-Redbank Valley contest won by C-L 42-41 in overtime.

This is the fifth year D9Sports.com has given out the football awards.

The fifth-year coach might have had a hint of 2004’s success when his young Golden Tide squad finished the 2003 campaign with three straight victories to finish off a 4-6 season.

This year, it was lights out as the Golden Tide picked up where they left off an

blasted their way to their second Allegheny Mountain League title and District 9 Class A championship.

Along the way, the Tide averaged 44.5 points per game, tying for first in the state. They gave up 7.5 points per game, tying them for fifth in the state and their average point differential of 37 points per game led the state. Curwensville did it with power with a record-setting running game that amassed 5,247 yards and 72 touchdowns.

Curwensville won its first-ever PIAA state playoff game with a 34-6 romp over District 10 champion Sharpsville. Then the Tide’s 15-game winning streak and quest for a berth in the state championship game came up one win short with a 20-12 loss to WPIAL champion Rochester in the Western Region finals.

Evanko’s five-year coaching record is 42-14.

When asked whether he favorite football or wrestling in a mid-season interview, Sipes settled with a tough answer of wrestling. Of course, Sipes is a defending PIAA champion. What he accomplished on the football field makes one wonder how good is he at wrestling.

Sipes rushed for a District 9-record 2,511 yards, breaking Clearfield’s Dave Richards’ mark of 2,506 set in 2002. Sipes also finished with 37 touchdowns.

In his 282 carries, the 6-foot, 219-pound Sipes averaged a whopping 8.9 yards per attempt, showing the ability to run by, over and through defenders all season long. In the postseason, Sipes turned it up another notch by gaining 825 yards and scoring 12 touchdowns in four games, turning in rushing performances of 239, 207, 268 and 122 yards. His 268-yard effort against Sharpsville in the first round of the state playoffs also included him scoring all five of his team’s touchdowns.

Sipes ran for over 200 yards four other times, including a season- and career-high 301 yards and five touchdowns in Curwensville’s 51-22 rout of Kane on Oct. 1.

Sipes was named to The Associated Press and Pennsylvania Football News Class A all-state team as a first-team running back.

For his career, Sipes finished with 3,227 career rushing yards and 44 touchdowns.

When a team rushes for 403.6 yards per game, amassing over 5,247 yards rushing and paving the way for two 1,000-yard rushers, including a record-setting season by Nate Sipes, something had to go right on the offensive line.

Senior center Brad Sopic (6-foot-5, 225 pounds) and senior guard Sean Farley (5-foot-11, 220) share the honor as linemen of the year, anchoring a line that dominated defenses all year long.

The Golden Tide’s line, led by Sopic and Farley, blocked for the Sipes brothers -- Nate and Nick – helping them each turn in big seasons. As mentioned above, Nate Sipes rushed for a record 2,511 yards while sophomore Nick managed to grind out 1,772 yards. As a team, the Tide averaged a gaudy 8.3 yards per carry.

Sopic and Farley got all-state recognition by The Associated Press, Sopic a first-team selection and Farley a second-teamer. The Pennsylvania Football News accorded the same honors to both players.

He’s back. The 6-foot-5 Sopic caused enough havoc on the defensive side of the ball to garner a second award.

At defensive end, Sopic dominated offensive lines and helped his teammates pick up some big numbers with the attention he got from opposing team’s game plans. Sopic racked up a team-best 9.5 sacks and ranked third on the team with 57 tackles.

Sopic did it when it counted the most. He recorded three sacks and nine tackles in the Tide’s state playoff win over Sharpsville and made six tackles against Rochester.

Though he was just one cog in the Tide’s defensive machine, Sopic’s performance on the line helped Curwensville allow just 7.5 points per game.

Though he’s listed at 5-foot-10, 200 pounds, the Owls senior wore number 54. That indicated his status as an offensive lineman where he started at center. His work as a kicker and punter, however, earned him postseason recognition.

Macfarlane’s leg strength was apparent in his kicking and punting. He made 5 of 8 field goals, making kicks from distances of 45, 37, 29, 36 and 26 yards. Macfarlane made 24 of 29 point-after kicks and he averaged 56.4 yards per kickoff with 11 touchbacks on 46 kicks.

As a punter, Macfarlane averaged 37.3 yards per punt on 34 attempts. His work as a punter earned him Class AAA all-state recognition by the Pennsylvania Football News as the second-team punter.

This is the second straight year Macfarlane has won the award. 

Kutz’s contributions helped key a Raiders’ revival when it meant the most. The 5-foot-11, 184-pound sophomore turned into a valuable performer as the season wore on with the Raiders turning a losing season into a District 9 Class AA Championship finish.

Part of a running back committee approach from head coach Chris Dworek, Kutz rushed for 441 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. In the Raiders’ 42-15 rout of Redbank Valley in the District 9 Class AA title game, Kutz rushed for a career-high 145 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns.

Defensively, Kutz was also part of a linebacker rotation. At outside linebacker, he ranked fourth on the team with 69 tackles. He was second on the team with three sacks along with an interception and a fumble recovery. His season-high 12 tackles came in the Raiders’ semifinal round playoff victory over Brockway.

What can you say about Johnston’s performance in C-L’s 42-41 overtime win over Redbank Valley Oct. 22.

Well you can start and end by saying that he played the entire second half with a torn spleen.

Johnston, who thought he just had the flu, put up the performance of a lifetime in what turned out to be his final high school football game.

First, with C-L trailing 28-27 with 2:23 to play, Johnston hit Scott Davis with an 80-yard touchdown pass, and then Johnston found Davis with the two-point conversion toss to put the Lions ahead 35-28.

Then, after Redbank Valley scored in the final minute to force overtime, Johnston hit Erik White with a 10-yard scoring strike to give C-L a 42-35 lead that stood for good.

Johnston was 9-for-18 passing in the game for 233 yards and four touchdowns, while also running 12 times for 89 yards. The win capped a perfect regular-season career for Johnston at quarterback. He finished 25-0 in the regular season as a starting QB and an amazing 32-2 overall as a starting quarterback for the Lions.

In the game that produced the performance of the year, C-L kept its regular-season unbeaten streak alive at 34 games with a dramatic overtime win at New Bethlehem against the Redbank Valley Bulldogs.

C-L led 27-12 early in the third quarter before watching Redbank Valley (5-3 overall, 4-2) come all the way back to take a 28-27 lead with 3:17 left in the game on a 10-yard Skyler Smith run.

But the fun was just beginning, as the two teams combined for four more scores in the final 2:30 of regulation and overtime.

First, it was the Lions going back ahead 35-28 on an 80-yard scoring pass from Hayden Johnston to Scott Davis and a two-point conversion pass from Johnston to Davis with 2:23 left in the game.

But Redbank Valley answered right back scoring on an 18-yard run by Bryce Miller with 36 seconds left to close the gap to 35-34. But the Bulldogs were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on the touchdown for spiking the ball, forcing a 35-yard game-tying extra point attempt by Brock Shaffer. Shaffer came through nailing the kick to tie the game at 35 and force overtime.

C-L got the ball first in the extra session and need just one play to go ahead scoring on a 10-yard pass from Johnston to Erik White. Brent Rhoades’ extra point made it 42-35.

Redbank Valley answered with an 8-yard run by Brandon Johnston on its second play of its overtime possession to make the score 42-41. But Shaffer missed the extra point wide right to give C-L the win.

Johnston had a monster game for the Lions despite not playing defense in the second half. But in a Michael Jordan-like performance, Johnston went 9-for-18 passing for 233 yards and four touchdowns. Johnston, who never lost a regular-season game as a starting QB, added 12 carries for 89 yards.

White also had a big game for the Lions running six times for 83 yards and a score and catching six passes for 120 and two touchdowns. Davis added three catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Overall, C-L racked up 430 yards of offense.

Redbank Valley, meanwhile, was putting up the offensive numbers as well amassing 368 in the game meaning the two teams combined for 798 yards of total offense.