Fifteen District 9 football teams have entered the postseason and eight are in action this weekend as the playoffs begin.

Three Class A games -- Elk County Catholic at Clarion-Limestone on Friday and Port Allegany at Clarion and Smethport at Coudersport on Saturday -- along with a preliminary round game in Class AA with Brookville visiting Moniteau comprise this week’s schedule.

In Class A, top-seeded and unbeaten Curwensville (9-0) gets a first-round bye and will play the Port Allegany-Clarion winner next week. In Class AA, top-seeded and two-time defending champion Brockway (8-1) received a bye and will play the Moniteau-Brookville winner. Second-seeded Redbank Valley and third-seeded Karns City meet next week.

The Class AAA Championship game is set for next Friday, Nov. 12, at Clarion University between unbeaten Clearfield (9-0) and Bradford (6-3).

The DuBois Beavers (6-3) enter the postseason for the first time since 2001 when they play McDowell or Cathedral Prep Saturday, Nov. 13, at Slippery Rock University at 1:30 p.m.

There are a handful of Week 10 regular season games Friday night. Ridgway (2-7) visits St. Marys (1-7), Union (0-9) hosts District 10’s Lakeview (6-3), Otto-Eldred (3-6) visits District 4’s Cowanesque Valley (1-6) and Sheffield (3-6) meets longtime rival Eisenhower (5-4) at Warren High School.

Injuries have played a part in both teams’ season. The Lions lost senior Hayden Johnston to a spleen injury before last week’s loss to Redbank Valley, snapping their 34-game regular season winning streak.

The Crusaders lost leading rusher Anthony Tettis to an injury during their week six win over Johnsonburg and have lost two of three games since, scoring just six points. They’ve been shut out two straight weeks in losses to other Class A playoff teams Port Allegany and Curwensville.

ECC averaged 178.5 yards per game rushing with Tettis and 66 yards per game since, so there’s no doubt the Crusaders need to find an offensive spark. They’ll look to a running back committee for yardage that includes Scott Meholic, Anthony Mastrogiacomo, John Stager and Nick Buchheit. QB Kyle Mahoney has passed for 548 yards.

The Lions still have big-play capability without Johnston. Scott Davis, who stepped into the QB position, will continue to develop into that role. Erik White and Tuffy Brooks are also dangerous offensive threats.

The winner meets the Coudersport-Smethport winner next week.

Brookville is a better team now than in the beginning of the season with a handful of players suspended for an off-field incident, but the Raiders are still the underdog against a Moniteau squad flying high after it ended C-L’s winning streak last week on the road.

Moniteau’s Matt Schandelmeier has rushed for 1,018 yards and the Warriors will feature him against a Raiders defense that’s allowed 203 yards on the ground per game. Quarterback Garth Kohlmeyer’s top target is Eric Hilliard.

A young Raiders squad has played a moderately tough schedule as six of the nine teams they’ve faced, including Moniteau, are in the playoffs. Senior QB Nick Heschke has passed for 726 yards and leads the team with 303 yards rushing.

Friday’s winner gets top-seeded Brockway next week.

Clarion gets the favorite’s nod in the matchup and its trip to Clearfield two weeks ago could help them once the postseason begins. Running back Chris McSwain needs only eight yards to reach 1,200 for the season. Manny Carpin has over 700 yards combined rushing and receiving yards and when QB Sean Wolf throws, it’s usually a touchdown as 10 of his 34 completions have been for touchdowns.

Port Allegany is led by its own 1,000-yard back Cody Anderson, who rushed for 183 yards last week against Elk County Catholic.

It’s the 97^th meeting of this history D-9 football rivalry and it’s the third time these teams have met twice in a season with the second meeting being a playoff game.

Coudersport beat Smethport, 21-20, in the 1994 championship game and Smethport beat Coudersport in the 1990 Class AA title game, 19-0.

The Hubbers lead the all-time series, 57-35-4, but the Falcons have won the last three meetings, including a 27-14 win on Oct. 8.

In that first meeting, Coudersport dominated statistically, outgaining Smethport, 441-110. David Babcock ran for 110 yards, quarterback John Gerhart completed 10 of 13 passes for 156 yards and receiver Rob Cavallari caught seven balls for 158 yards. Smethport’s Mike Mitchell rushed for 114 yards.

Coudersport must be confident after giving unbeaten Curwensville a tussle in last week’s 26-14 loss in the Allegheny Mountain League Championship game.

There is plenty of tradition in the Class A playoff field as five teams have combined for 13 of the 17 Class A titles awarded since 1987: Smethport (5), Clarion-Limestone (3), Coudersport (2), Curwensville (2) and Clarion (1).

All-time D-9 playoff records (excluding state playoffs): Smethport (11-5 in 11 trips to the playoffs), Clarion-Limestone (7-7 in 11 appearances), Coudersport (4-6, eight appearances), Clarion (3-6 in seven appearances), Curwensville (3-1 in two trips), Elk County Catholic (1-2 in two trips) and Port Allegany (1-5, five trips).

Handley intercepted five passes in Ridgway’s 41-14 win over Cameron County last Friday. That tied a state record originally set way back in 1933 by Pottsville’s Matt Whitaker.

Handley, the D9Sports.Com Player of the Week, amassed over 200 all-purpose yards (two kickoff returns, receiving, interception returns). He also made 19 tackles from his safety position.

It wasn’t Handley’s first success on defense. He had two interceptions coming into the game and now has seven for the year.

"We have been trying some different combinations on defense and he just started playing safety for us," Ridgway head coach Mark Morelli said. "Adam has been a solid defensive player for us all year and he has a knack for seeing the entire field from that safety position … He definitely has been a bright spot for us this year."

Handley has had a limited role offensively -- 48 yards rushing and 43 yards receiving on four catches -- but he’s been a key contributor. He was the Elkers’ punter and punt returner before an ankle injury limited him in that role.

By the way, the national record for interceptions in a game is … nine.

Clarion-Limestone senior Hayden Johnston, the reigning D9Sports.Com Player of the Year has returned to school and begun his rehabilitation process from a spleen injury suffered in C-L’s game against Redbank Valley two weeks ago according to his family. In a release sent to local media outlets, the family thanked the local community for its support of Hayden.