Proud and disappointed.

Those two words describe how Rochester football coach Gene Matsook felt after the Rams' season ended with Friday's 16-0 loss to Clairton in the WPIAL Class A semifinals.

"It's obviously disappointing to see our season come to an end, but I'm not disappointed with our effort," Matsook said. "I'm very proud of these kids. This is the ninth time in 11 years that we've made it to the semifinals. That's a great tribute to the program."

Rochester finished the season with a 10-2 record. The Rams only other loss came Oct. 24 to Monaca, 17-0.

"Our only losses were to the two teams in the WPIAL title game," Matsook said. "We had a season the kids should be proud of.

The losses to Clairton and Monaca were the only games in which Rochester's offense was shut down. The Rams averaged 36.2 points per game in their other 10 games.

"We just couldn't get anything going on offense," Matsook said of the Clairton game. "Injuries on the offensive line really slowed us down. We played most of the game without two starters, guard Eric Roberts and tackle Aaron Parker."

Roberts attempted to play with a high ankle sprain, but pulled himself out of the game after two plays. Parker suffered an injury in the first quarter, returned later in the game, but the injury kept him from playing to his ability.

"Depth is always an issue when you're coaching at a small school," Matsook said. "The kids who filled in for Eric and Aaron did a fine job, but it's almost impossible to replace a pair of all-conference linemen in the middle of a playoff game."

With Roberts and Parker out of the picture, Clairton shut down Rochester's offense. The Rams had only 37 yards of total offense in the first half and finished with only 87 yards.

"We tried to mix it up, but couldn't get anything going," Matsook said. "I have to give Clairton a lot of credit. [Clairton] played a great game defensively."

Rochester's running game never got off the ground, as Chad Pennington had only 21 yards on eight carries and Bryan Beightley had 34 yards on 21 carries. Pennington finished the season with 906 yards and 11 touchdowns on 149 carries. Beightley concluded his season with 521 yards and four touchdowns on 89 carries.

"I expected a defensive battle," Clairton coach Tom Nola said. "This is the fifth year in a row that we've played and all five have been close games. Three were decided by three points or fewer. Fortunately, we've won three of the five."

It was Clairton's third consecutive win against Rochester. Clairton beat the Rams, 16-13, in the 2006 title game. The two teams also met in last year's quarterfinals, and Clairton won 20-19.

"Clairton had a great game on defense, but our defense also turned in an impressive performance," Matsook said. "We held them to one offensive touchdown and one big play."

The big play was a 46-yard run by little-used fullback Eddie Ball, which came late in the first half on Clairton's only touchdown drive. The long run by Ball came on a second-and-13 from the Clairton 8. The timely run moved the ball into Rams territory and got the Bears out of a jam.

"We lined up in the wrong formation on that play," Matsook said. "It was a mental mistake. We had a player out of position and [Ball] ran to where our guy should have been. It was a critical play, because it got them out of a hole."

Five plays later, Bears quarterback Andrew Carrington scored on a 5-yard run to give Clairton the lead with 33 seconds left in the first half.

"It would have been a different game if we held them at the end of the first half," Matsook said.

Clairton scored its only other points on a 37-yard interception return by Deontae Howard with 59 seconds left in the game. Rams quarterback Brandon Gray completed only three of 16 passes for 28 yards and was intercepted twice.

"We lost to a very talented team," Matsook said. "It will be interesting to see who wins the championship game."