STATE COLLEGE — Another year, another District 9-District 6 matchup in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA football playoffs.

This year’s edition features District 9 champion Bradford (8-2) against District 6 champion Huntingdon (11-0) Friday night at State College’s Memorial Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

If Bradford head coach Steve Ackerman has his way, the recent trend will continue in this annual first-round battle. District 9’s teams have won the last three meetings, including Clearfield’s 41-12 rout of Indian Valley last year.

Prior to that, it was the Owls’ triumphing over Huntingdon (38-14) in 2001 and Central Cambria (35-7) in 2000. District 6 won the matchups in 1998 when the current bracketing originated with Huntingdon beating Clearfield, 68-34, and Bellefonte downing Clearfield, 27-10, in 1999.

The Owls probably don’t need historical confidence to bolster their effort against the highly regarded Bearcats, who come into the game ranked 10^th in the state by the Harrisburg Patriot-News. Bradford is healthy after limping into the postseason with a two-game losing streak and a handful of key players dealing with injuries.

That all ended last week in Bradford’s 44-30 win over Clearfield in the District 9 Championship game in Clarion. The Owls trailed the Bisons, 14-9, at halftime before exploding for 35 second-half points, including three touchdowns in a three-minute span in the fourth quarter.

Leading the way was senior wingback Sean Hvizdzak, who rushed for 195 yards after being limited to eight yards in the first half. Hvizdzak scored five touchdowns, two of them on a pair of 85-yard kick returns.

Hvizdzak leads a run-oriented Owls offense with 1,208 yards and nine touchdowns. Hvizdzak now has four returns for touchdowns, three kick and one punt this year.

Bradford, which averages a District 9-best 283 yards rushing per game, also gets contributions from fullback Dave Snyder (774 yards, 11 TDs) and wingback Aaron O’Toole (635 yards, 6 TDs). Bradford has attempted just 44 passes all season. Quarterback Mike Austin has thrown for 229 yards and four touchdowns with eight interceptions.

Huntingdon reached the PIAA playoffs after beating Johnstown last week, 9-6, in the D-6 finals.

Huntingdon is led by do-it-all senior Geoff Kozak. As quarterback, Kozak has passed for 1,419 yards and 15 touchdowns. He’s rushed for 488 yards and eight touchdowns. Kozak is also a strong defensive player at cornerback and is a good kicker as well.

Kozak played a key role in last week’s win over Johnstown, scoring on a 2-yard TD run and kicking a 26-yard field goal that broke a 6-6 tie late in the first half.

Senior Jerrod Smith is the team’s top rusher with 1,132 yards and 11 touchdowns. He and Kozak account for over 75 percent of the team’s rushing yardage.

Kozak’s top receiving threats are junior Matt Young (630 yards, 9 TDs), Smith (254 yards, 2 TDs) and junior Brandon Spayd (248 yards, 2 TDs).

The Owls and Bearcats share one common opponent. Bellefonte beat Bradford, 20-7, while Huntingdon defeated Bellefonte, 27-0.

Huntingdon won its 600^th game in team history earlier this season against Tyrone.