Saltsburg Ends C-K's Season

The 2019 high school football season for the Claysburg-Kimmel Bulldogs came to an end Saturday, Nov. 9.

At fourth-seeded Saltsburg for a District 6 Class 1A quarterfinal game, the fifth-seeded Bulldogs were dealt a 39-14 setback.

While Saltsburg improved to 8-3 overall and earned a spot in the district semifinals – against top-seeded Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic – C-K’s season ended at 8-4.

“Of the four teams in the top of District 6, I thought Saltsburg matched up best with us,” C-K coach Matt Bilchak said. “We knew they had similar athletes to us, and had some success early in the game. We had concerns about their pass rush and attempted to make some adjustments to compensate.

A big reason that Saltsburg advanced to the semifinals was the running of Angelo Bartolini, as he rushed for 203 yards and three touchdowns in the Trojans’ first-ever home playoff game.

C-K scored on its first possession of the game, as Seth Musselman found the end zone on a 12-yard run. The Bulldogs were unable to concert the two-point conversion attempt.

After Saltsburg took the lead with 53 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, the Bulldogs’ Kobe Harr scored on a 32-yard run just 17 seconds later. Harr added the two-point conversion attempt to make it 14-7.

Saltsburg scored two touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 19-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Two more touchdowns in the third quarter pushed the Trojans’ lead to 32-14. Saltsburg added a late touchdown to close the scoring.

“To Saltsburg's credit, they played a great game and earned the right to move on,” Bilchak said.

Saltsburg outgained C-K by a 401-199 advantage, including 275-107 on the ground.

Harr led C-K with 71 yards rushing on 11 carries. He also caught two passes for 38 yards. Musselman added 11 carries for 55 rushing yards.

C-K’s Corey Chamberlain completed eight of his 17 pass attempts for 92 yards and two touchdowns.

“Looking at the entire season, I was pleased at the overall growth of our program,” Bilchak said. “I'm seeing a lot of positive change in the attitude and culture of our team.

“I hope we continue working together in the offseason building more team chemistry and pulling more people into the offseason conditioning program.”