FIRST HALF OF 2001 SEASON HAS PROVEN TO BE EXCITING, ENTERTAINING AND SURPRISING

DuBOIS – Believe it or not half of the 2001 football season is in the books, and the playoff races are starting to shape up. Below is D9Sports.Com's District 9 Midseason football report.

The report is broken into three parts with the first part taking a quick look at each conference, the second part taking a look at the playoff picture in Class A, Class AA, Class AAA and Class AAAA and the third part taking a look at the top players half way through the 2001 season.

Smethport seems to be the team to beat in the AML North. The Hubbers are 5-0 on the season and have outscored their opponents 171-46. Smethport has also beaten pre-season favorite Coudersport 32-6.

The only team that now stands in the way of the Hubbers and the AML North title and a trip to the AML Title game is Sheffield. The Wolverines host Smethport Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Sheffield is 4-1 this season with the Wolverines lone loss coming 21-12 to Cameron County two weeks ago. But Sheffield also has the toughest part of its schedule ahead of it with Smethport this week and Coudersport next week.

Sitting in a tie for second place with Sheffield is Coudersport (4-1). But with a loss to Smethport, the Falcons will need Sheffield to beat Smethport if they want any shot at a chance to go to the AML Title game.

Behind the top three the AML North has a sharp fall off with the remaining four teams combining to win a total of three games.

Youngsville is the fourth-place team in the conference with a 2-3 record. The Eagles have beaten two win-less teams in Otto-Eldred and Eisenhower while losing to Cameron County, Sheffield and Curwensville. With Coudersport and Smethport looming on the horizon, Youngsville is going to need to start playing better if they hope to finish above .500.

Following Youngsville is Port Allegany, last season's AML North champions. The Gators have fallen on hard times this season going 1-4 with the lone win coming over Otto-Eldred. Port Allegany has been outscored 162-46 on the season.

In a tie for last place in the AML North are Eisenhower and Otto-Eldred both with identical 0-5 record. Both teams have come about those win-less marks in basically the same way, little defense and even littler offense. The Knights of Eisenhower have been outscored 138-25 this year, while the Terrors of Otto-Eldred have been outpaced 164-24.

One of these teams is assured of a win when the two meet Oct. 12 at Otto-Eldred.

While the AML North appears to be a three-team race, the AML South is a lot close with four teams within a game of the top spot and six teams within two games of first place.

The current front runners with 4-1 marks are Brockway and last year's AML South champion Curwensville.

The Rovers lone loss came at the hands of Smethport 21-6 in Week One, but Brockway has since rolled off four wins in a row and have outscored their opponents 100-34 in those wins.

Curwensville, meanwhile, is a missed two-point conversion from being unbeaten this year. The Golden Tides lone loss came 27-26 in overtime to Ridgway in Week Two. Trailing by seven in the overtime, the Golden Tide scored a touchdown to bring the game within a point and then elected to go for the two-point conversion and the win. Brooks Collins, though, was stopped short of the end zone handing Curwensville the loss.

The AML South title very well could be determined when the Golden Tide visit Brockway Oct. 12.

Two teams, Johnsonburg and Cameron County, are one game back of Brockway and Curwensville with 3-2 records.

The Rams two losses, though, have come to Brockway and Curwensville making it very difficult for them to leap frog those teams into first place.

Cameron County, meanwhile, has lost to Johnsonburg and Elk County Catholic. The Red Raiders, however, still hold their own destiny in the AML South with both Curwensville and Brockway left on the schedule. Cameron will travel to Curwensville Friday night and will host Brockway Oct. 19.

Following Johnsonburg and Cameron County with identical 2-3 records are Elk County Catholic and Ridgway.

The Crusaders of ECC broke a three-game skid with an impressive 33-6 win over Cameron County last Friday. But with losses to Brockway, Curwensville and Coudersport gaining ground in the AML South is going to be a tough road to sled.

Ridgway, meanwhile, broke a two-game losing streak with an 18-13 win over Kane Friday night. The Elkers, though, looked destined to play the role of spoiler with Johnsonburg and ECC left on the schedule.

Sitting in last place in the AML South is perhaps a surprising team in Kane. The Wolves went to the District 9 playoffs a year ago and returned a healthy number of starters. But Kane has struggled in 2001 going 1-4 with the lone win coming 28-7 over winless Eisenhower.

The D9 League is looking like it might be a three-team race between Bradford, DuBois and Clearfield once again this season. The three teams tied for the league title last season and that possibility still looms large this year.

Bradford has to be considered the front-runner, however, with a 5-0 overall record and a 3-0 league mark. The Owls have already beaten Clearfield this year and their only real D9 League test remaining is an Oct. 12 date with DuBois. If the Owls can get past the Beavers, they have a real shot at a 9-0 regular season with Bellefonte being the toughest test after DuBois.

DuBois, meanwhile, has lost two in a row after starting the year 3-0. The Beavers are 3-2 this season and 2-0 in the D9 League. DuBois controls its own destiny in the conference with a home game against Bradford Oct. 12 and a road game at Clearfield Oct. 26.

Clearfield is 4-1 on the season and 2-1 in the D9 League. The Bisons only loss was a 13-7 set back at Bradford in Week One. Clearfield has gotten its record with a lot of hard work and a little luck winning two of its games by a total of seven points.

Behind the top three teams in the D9 League, the league becomes a little more of a guessing game with St. Marys, Brookville and Punxsutawney.

St. Marys is 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the league this year. The Dutchmen's two wins have come over A-C Valley and Brookville, two teams with a combined record of 1-9.

Brookville and Punxsutawney bring up the rear in the D9 League with identical 0-5 overall records and 0-3 D9 League marks. The Blue Raiders have been outscored 167-25 this year, while the Chucks have been outscored 169-60. The two teams meet Oct. 19 at Punxsutawney.

Karns City is definitely the team to beat in the KSAC this year. With a 5-0 overall and 5-0 KSAC record, the Gremlins hold a 1 1/2 game lead over its nearest competitor Clarion-Limestone with a win over the Lions already in the books.

Behind Karns City is C-L with a 4-1 overall record and a 3-1 KSAC mark. The Lions picked up probably their biggest win in three years with a 30-20 victory at Clarion last Friday night.

A surprising Keystone team stands in third place in the KSAC with a 3-2 overall and a 3-2 KSAC record. The Panthers, though, have lost to both teams in front of them Karns City and C-L.

Two teams, Redbank Valley and Clarion, are tied for fourth place in the KSAC with 2-2 records. The Bobcats get the nod over the Bulldogs thanks to a win in Week Two, but Clarion is struggling right now having lost two games in a row after starting the season 3-0. Redbank Valley, meanwhile, broke a three-game slide with a win over A-C Valley Friday night leaving the Bulldogs at 2-3 on the season

In a tie for sixth place are a surprising West Shamokin team (2-3 overall, 2-3 KSAC) and Moniteau (2-3, 2-3). The Wolves of West Shamokin have already won two more games than last season with wins over Moniteau and A-C Valley. They also lost a heartbreaker 23-20 to Redbank Valley in Week One.

Moniteau, meanwhile, has lost three games in a row after opening the season a surprising 2-0.

Behind West Shamokin and Moniteau are two teams just trying to stay afloat in A-C Valley and Union.

The A-C Valley Falcons are 1-4 overall and 1-3 in the KSAC this year. Their lone win was a 57-28 triumph over Union. But if you take away the Union game the Falcons have been outscored 132-49.

Union, meanwhile, is 0-5 overall and 0-4 in the KSAC. The Golden Knights have been outscored 219-48 this year.

In the Class A playoff chase, nine teams still have a realistic shot at nabbing one of the four playoff spots.

Two of those spots will go to the top team from the KSAC and the top team from the AML with the other two sports going as open wild cards to the rest of the district.

The AML's top team can be determined in a couple of ways. The easiest way to gain the AML automatic berth is to win the AML Title game. But if the title game isn't won by a Class A team then the team with the best overall record from the first eight games of the season is chosen. If two teams are tied then a tiebreaker system is used.

With the current formula, Smethport is in the best position to get the automatic berth. At 5-0 the Hubbers can all but clinch the AML North title with a win over Sheffield Friday night which would assure Smethport a berth in the AML Title game.

Even if Smethport were to lose the AML Title game to another Class A team, the Hubbers perfect or near-perfect regular-season record would be good enough to get them to the playoffs at least as a wild card.

Coudersport, meanwhile, is also in good shape for making the playoffs. If the Falcons can win out they are assured of playoff spot as least as a wild card.

In the AML South, Curwensville can assure itself of a playoff spot by winning the remainder of its games.

C-L looks to be in the best spot in the KSAC. All the Lions have to do is win out and the Lions will have the KSAC spot in the District 9 playoffs.

But while the Lions control their own destiny in the KSAC, the Redbank Valley Bulldogs also hold a lot of their own fate in their hand.

If the Bulldogs would win out and Keystone would beat Clarion in the final game of the season Redbank Valley would be the KSAC's Class A representative.

In order for Keystone to represent the KSAC, the Panthers would need to win the remainder of their games and then have C-L lose twice to get the automatic bid.

For Clarion to get the automatic berth the easiest thing for them would be to have C-L lose twice while winning the remainder of their games. The Bobcats could also form a three-way perfect triangle if Redbank Valley wins the rest of its games and C-L only loses to Redbank Valley. That would tie Redbank Valley, C-L and Clarion for the top spot invoking a tie-breaking formula that is unavailable at this point.

If either Coudersport or Curwensville falter once it could open up a scramble between Johnsonburg, Cameron County, Keystone, Clarion and Redbank Valley for the final wild card or both wild card slots. In the end the Gardner Point tie-breaking system might have to be used. As things stand right now, the Gardner Point rankings would benefit the teams in the AML South first followed by the KSAC teams and then the AML North teams.

In Class AA, Karns City and Brockway look to have two of the four sports sewed up. The remaining two spots might not even be filled depending on whether schools allow sub-.500 teams to go to the playoffs.

The current top contender for the remaining slots is Moniteau with the 2-3 record while Brookville (0-5) and Port Allegany (1-4) have to be considered long shots at best.

There are also four spots open in Class AAA with Bradford and Clearfield looking like sure bets to go to the playoffs. After that it could once again come down to schools deciding weather or not to allow sub-.500 teams to participate in the playoffs.

The top contender would be St. Marys with a 2-3 record while A-C Valley at 1-4 has to be considered a long shot at best.

With DuBois being the only Class AAAA team in the district, the Beavers have to qualify for the District 6 playoffs. Currently, they are in third place ahead of Hollidaysburg (2-3) and Central Mountain (0-5) and behind Altoona (5-0) and State College (3-2)

Twelve players have positioned themselves after five weeks as front runners in the D9Sports.Com District 9 Football Player of the Year race.

The players are Kyle Cathcart of Clarion, Derek Marshall of DuBois, Adam Black of Keystone, Erik Fuhrer of Karns City, Billy Graham of Karns City, Tyler Smith of Kane, Dan Fox of St. Marys, Dave Richards of Clearfield, Jeff Shostak of Smethport, Francis Jovenitti of Johnsonburg, Ron Geist of Redbank Valley and Bobby Telesz of Keystone.

Cathcart is the district’s current rushing leader with 882 yards rushing on 115 carries while scoring 12 touchdowns.

Marshall is fourth in the district in rushing with 625 yards on 83 carries and three touchdowns while playing against all Class AAAA and Class AAA teams.

Black is the district’s top passer going 67-for-133 for 1,131 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Fuhrer is third in the district in passing going 29-for-51 for 578 yards and eight touchdowns despite missing the first week of the season with an injury and sitting out parts of other games because of the margin of Karns City leads.

Graham, who also doesn’t get to play very many full games because of Karns City’s dominance, is the sixth leading rusher in District 9 with 81 carries for 577 yards. He is tied with Cathcart for the district touchdown lead with 12.

Smith is the district’s second leading passer just behind Black. He is completing 62.4 percent of his passes (69-for-109) for 997 yards and eight touchdowns.

Fox is right on Catchart’s heels as the No. 2 runner in District 9 with 127 carries for 722 yards and five touchdowns.

Richards is 12^th in the district with 395 yards rushing while scoring seven touchdowns but he has also caught 10 passes for 103 yards and has returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.

Shostak is the player who makes Karns City’s option attack go. He has rushed for 335 yards (missing one game in the stats) and seven touchdowns while also being the sixth best passer in the district with 448 yards thrown for. He has gone 28-for-57 passing and has tossed seven touchdown passes.

Jovenitti has been key to Johnsonburg’s early success ranking fifth in the district with 602 yards rushing while scoring nine times. He has also caught seven passes for 110 yards and a score.

Geist is the district’s third leading rusher with 648 yards on 109 carries while scoring five times.

Telesz is the district’s top receiver with27 catches for 560 yards and 11 touchdowns.

In the Rookie of the Year category, Hayden Johnston of C-L and Jeremy Sickeri of Brockway are the current front runners

Johnston, a freshman, platoons at quarterback for the Lions and has gone 11-for-34 passing for 214 yards and three touchdowns while also throwing an interception. He has also rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. On defense he starts at middle linebacker and is the key to the C-L defense in the middle.

Sickeri, a sophomore, is eighth leading rusher in District 9 with 511 yards on 114 carries while scoring three touchdowns.

In the Coach of the Year race Smethport's Carl DeFilippi, Clarion-Limestone's Clyde Conti and Keystone's Dan Reed and Johnsonburg's Bob Vallone lead the pack.

DeFilippi, after a taking a year off coaching, has returned Smethport to the elite levels of District 9. The Hubbers are 5-0 and almost a shoe-in for the District 9 Class A Playoffs after finishing a disappointing 6-3 last season and out of playoff-contention.

Conti has led his Lions to a 4-1 start that included a huge win over Clarion last week. Once again despite an undersized team both in stature and numbers, Conti is getting the most out of his players. With no one superstar and a rotating quarterback Conti uses everything he has including smoke and mirrors sometimes to get wins year in and year out.

Reed has taken a team that hasn’t had a winning record since 1997 and turned it into one of the front runners in the KSAC with a 3-2 mark. Only a holding call at the end of regulation in the C-L game kept the Panthers from being 4-1 and being in the front-runners spot for the KSAC bid in the District 9 playoffs.