DISTRICT 9 CLASS A PLAYOFF OUTLOOK

Predications

(8) Keystone at (1) Cameron County

WHEN/WHERE: Friday, Nov. 7, Cameron County High School, Emporium (Directions)

WINNER PLAYS: Coudersport or Johnsonburg Nov. 14 or 15 in semifinals at neutral site.

GAME NOTES: The Cameron County Red Raiders are back at it again, chasing after a district title that they came within one win of a year ago, losing to Kane in the championship game. Keystone sneaked in as the eighth and final seed and will be a definite road underdog when they head to Emporium. Last year, Cameron County also played Keystone in the first round, beating the Panthers, 28-0.

ABOUT THE KEYSTONE PANTHERS

Roster; Stats; Schedule

HEAD COACH: Jason Nellis

2008 RECORD: 3-7

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 0-2     

TOP PLAYERS: QB Dan Reed (85-of-186, 949 yards, 14 TDs, 8 Ints.; 125 carries, 527 yards, 6 TDs rushing); WR Ben Black (43 receptions, 591 yards, 7 TDs); RB Zach Smith (83 carries, 567 yards, 8 TDs); Brett Zuck (31 receptions, 284 yards, 3 TDs); LB Kyle Jones (59 tackles).

NOTABLE: No team in District 9 has given up more points than the Panthers, who head to the playoffs with a losing record. Keystone gives up 41.7 points per game, which wasn’t helped in Week 10’s 63-32 loss to Brockway. Keystone, however, has a couple of playmakers in quarterback Dan Reed and receiver Ben Black. Against the Rovers, Black caught an amazing 18 balls from Reed for 272 yards, probably a district record in at least receptions. … The Panthers haven’t won a playoff game since their back-to-back district titles 20 years ago in 1988 and 1989.

PREVIOUS DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES/LAST: 6/2007 - Class A

DISTRICT TITLES/LAST TITLE: 2/1989 -Class AA

ABOUT THE CAMERON COUNTY RED RAIDERS

Roster; Stats; Schedule

HEAD COACH: Tony Defilippi

2008 RECORD: 9-1

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 2-0

TOP PLAYERS: RB Randy Schatz (99 carries, 603 yards, 7 TDs); RB Andrew Kesterholt (103 carries, 591 yards, 4 TDs); RB Andy Lippert (102 carries, 422 yards, 6 TDs); RB Jason Blose (77 carries, 346 yards, 8 TDs); WR-DE Andy Beer (9 receptions, 205 yards, 3 TDs; 69 tackles, 6 ½ sacks).

NOTABLE: After going 11-2 last year and losing to Kane twice in the AML Championship game and Class A title game, the Red Raiders are back again. Even though they lost to Kane again in the AML title game, the Red Raiders won’t have to deal with the Class AA Wolves in the postseason. Cameron County is a running team, averaging 213 yards rushing per game, and only one team in the district team has thrown fewer passes this year than the Red Raiders. Cameron passed three close tests during the regular season, beating Kane, Curwensville and Coudersport by a combined 10 points before losing to Kane in the AML final.

PREVIOUS DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES/LAST: 3/2007 - Class A

DISTRICT TITLES/LAST TITLE: 1/1999 - Class A

(7) Clarion at (2) Redbank Valley

WHEN/WHERE: Friday, Nov. 7, Redbank Valley High School, New Bethlehem (Directions)

WINNER PLAYS: Curwensville or Elk County Catholic, Nov. 14 or 15 at neutral site.

GAME NOTES: Considering their first go-around earlier this season, this is probably the best first-round matchup of the Class A playoffs as Clarion will try to avenge a triple-overtime 28-21 loss to the Bulldogs back on Sept. 26. This is the 83^rd meeting between these two teams, but the first-ever playoff meeting. Clarion leads the all-time series, 41-36-5, but Redbank Valley has won three straight and hasn’t lost to the Bobcats in New Bethlehem since 2000.

ABOUT THE CLARION BOBCATS

Roster; Stats; Schedule  

HEAD COACH: Larry Wiser

2008 RECORD: 6-4

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 1-1

TOP PLAYERS: RB-LB Bubba Rue (121 carries, 627 yards, 6 TDs; 115 tackles); RB-LB Jon Kemmer (93 carries, 623 yards, 11 TDs; 100 tackles, 3 sacks); RB-LB Kevin Grejda (68 carries, 266 yards, 7 TDs; 95 tackles, 11 sacks); QB Brandon Heeter (29-of-55, 291 yards, 5 TDs, 4 Ints.); WR Jarrod Carpin (17 receptions, 379 yards, 5 TDs).

NOTABLE: The Bobcats beat everyone below them in the KSAC standings and lost to everyone above them, but obviously played Redbank Valley tough along with Moniteau and Karns City. Clarion is certainly a physical and dangerous team, revolving around the play of Rue, Kemmer and Grejda. … The Bobcats are back in the postseason after a one-year hiatus. Their last playoff win came in 2005 when, as the second seed, they advanced to the Class A Championship game and lost to Clarion.

PREVIOUS DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES/LAST: 11/2006 - Class A

DISTRICT TITLES/LAST TITLE: 1/1997 - Class A

ABOUT THE REDBANK VALLEY BULLDOGS

Roster; Stats; Schedule

HEAD COACH: Brandon Rapp

2008 RECORD: 7-2

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 2-0

TOP PLAYERS: RB-LB Alex Bladel (176 carries, 1,044 yards, 16 TDs; 68 tackles, 4 sacks); QB Shiloh Buchleitner (47-of-111, 853 yards, 10 TDs, 8 Int.); WR Kasey Haines (16 receptions, 319 yards, 3 TDs); WR-LB Jerrett Magagnotti (12 receptions, 281 yards, 5 TDs; 4 Ints.); Pat Goheen DL (40 tackles, 6 sacks)

NOTABLE: As Bladel goes, so go the Bulldogs? In Redbank Valley’s two losses to Moniteau and Karns City, Bladel rushed for a combined 36 yards on 27 carries. Bladel ran for 106 yards and threw a touchdown in the win over the Bobcats. He ranks second in the district in rushing and has gained 3,335 in his career. … This is the fifth straight season in the playoffs for the Bulldogs and the third in as many seasons in Class A. The Bulldogs have won their first-round game the last two years against Elk County Catholic and Keystone, but lost in the semifinals to Cameron County and Curwensville by a combined score of 66-7. Last year, the Bulldogs lost to Cameron County in the semis, 34-0.

PREVIOUS DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES/LAST: 11/2007 - Class A

DISTRICT TITLES/LAST TITLE: 3/1996 - Class AA

(6) Elk County Catholic at (3) Curwensville

WHEN/WHERE: Saturday, Nov. 8, Curwensville  (Directions)

WINNER PLAYS: Clarion or Redbank Valley, Nov. 14 or 15 in semifinals at neutral site.

GAME NOTES: It’s a rematch of a pretty good game back on Oct. 10 also in Curwensville when the Golden Tide beat Elk County Catholic, 22-12. The Crusaders haven’t won a playoff game since 1995. Curwensville, the eighth seed a year ago, won district titles in 2000 and 2004. The Golden Tide reached the 2006 finals before losing to Coudersport.

ABOUT THE ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC CRUSADERS

Roster; Stats; Schedule

HEAD COACH: Travis Skrzypek

2008 RECORD: 6-3

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 0-3

TOP PLAYERS: RB-DB Ricky Pearsall (92 carries, 464 yards, 4 TDs; 33 tackles, 3 Int.); RB Kyle Gerber (79 carries, 320 yards, 2 TDs); RB-LB Josh Catalano (77 carries, 280 yards; 91 tackles); RB Tom Marconi (67 carries, 258 yards, 1 TD); TE-LB Glenn Eshbach (11 catches, 129 yards, 1 TD; 81 tackles); QB Joe Jacob (26-of-84, 320 yards, 4 TDs;

NOTABLE: There’s nothing fancy about the Crusaders, just a hard-nosed team under first-year head coach Travis Skrzypek. ECC doesn’t pass much and ranks dead last in the district in passing yardage. The Crusaders rank 20^th in total offense and scoring, easily the worst among all playoff teams in the district. But defensively, the Crusaders have only given up 129 points in nine games.

PREVIOUS DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES/LAST: 5/2007 - Class A

DISTRICT TITLES/LAST TITLE: None

ABOUT THE CURWENSVILLE GOLDEN TIDE

Roster; Stats; Schedule

HEAD COACH: Andy Evanko

2008 RECORD: 7-2

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 3-1

TOP PLAYERS: QB-DB David Kalgren (82-of-142, 1,337 yards, 15 TDs, 8 Ints.; 52 carries, 192 yards, 2 TDs; 59 tackles, 9 Ints.); RB Jed Greslick (133 carries, 695 yards, 7 TDs; 16 receptions, 173 yards, 2 TDs); WR Jesse Hoover (39 receptions, 681 yards, 8 TDs); RB Ben McGary (81 carries, 398 yards, 3 TDs); LB Cory Bloom (112 tackles); DB Sam Gardner (93 tackles); WR-LB Andrew Starr (14 receptions, 226 yards, 1 TD; 73 tackles)

NOTABLE: No playoff team with as much yardage per game is as balanced as the Golden Tide this year. Actually, Curwensville hasn’t had this balanced of an offense in a long time. Kalgren has been among the best performers in the district this season, having a hand in 18 of the team’s 32 touchdowns along with his nine interceptions on defense. Hoover’s receiving yardage rank third and touchdowns rank second in the district. Kalgren ranks third in passing yardage and TD passes.

PREVIOUS DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES/LAST: 6/2007 - Class A

DISTRICT TITLES/LAST TITLE: 2/2004 - Class A

(5) Johnsonburg at (4) Coudersport

WHEN/WHERE: Saturday, Nov. 8, Coudersport  (Directions)

WINNER PLAYS: Cameron County or Keystone, Nov. 14 or 15 in semifinals at neutral site.

GAME NOTES: These teams haven’t met this year, but have some playoff history against each other. Coudersport beat Johnsonburg in the 2006 semifinals, the last time the Rams made the playoffs. Johnsonburg, coming off a 1-8 season, won its first five games before limping to the regular-season finish line. The Falcons have won four straight since a 13-7 loss to Cameron County. The Rams won five straight to start the season before losing three of their final four games. Johnsonburg hasn’t beaten Coudersport since 1991.

ABOUT THE JOHNSONBURG RAMS

Roster; Stats; Schedule

HEAD COACH: Tom Launer

2008 RECORD: 6-3

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 1-1

TOP PLAYERS: QB-DB Ren Yonker (61-of-121, 880 yards, 9 TDs, 9 Ints; 77 carries, 636 yards, 6 TDs; 36 tackles, 4 Ints.); RB-LB Zane Zelehoski RB-LB (113 carries, 662 yards, 5 TDs; 74 tackles, 11 sacks); TB-LB Craig Carrow (23 carries, 106 yards, 2 TDs; 32 receptions, 562 yards, 4 TDs; 39 tackles, 3 Ints., 2 Ints.); RB-LB Mark Myers (75 carries, 276 yards, 6 TDs; 106 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 Int.); Steve Carnasali OG-DL (46 tackles, 6 sacks).

NOTABLE: The Rams ripped through an easy portion of the AML’s North Division to start the season 5-0, but ran into some problems with some of their South Division rivals. A regular-season ending 21-0 win over Elk County Catholic helped steady the ship as the Rams will try to win at Coudersport. … Yonker has had a hand in 17 of the team’s 35 touchdowns.

PREVIOUS DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES/LAST: 5/2006 - Class A

DISTRICT TITLES/LAST TITLE: 1/1987 - Class A

ABOUT THE COUDERSPORT FALCONS

Roster; Stats; Schedule

HEAD COACH: Brendan Hathaway

2008 RECORD: 7-2

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD:

TOP PLAYERS: RB-DB Tim Thomas (120 carries, 800 yards, 13 TDs; 16 receptions, 194 yards, 2 TDs); Brett Whitman QB-WR-DB (29-of-54, 409 yards, 3 TDs, 5 Ints.; 55 carries, 412 yards, 5 TDs; 15 receptions, 308 yards, 2 TDs); RB-LB Zach Buckler (54 carries, 382 yards, 3 TDs; 90 tackles, 2 sacks); WR Nate Minor (18 receptions, 316 yards, 3 TDs); Eric Babcock QB-DB (34-of-63, 617 yards, 6 TDs, 1 Int.; 4 interceptions)

NOTABLE: The Falcons are making their eighth straight playoff appearance and they’ve won their first-round game in the last four years of the eight-team Class A playoff format, including back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006. The Falcons have also won titles in 1994 and 2001. … Quarterbacks Whitman and Babcock have each seen significant time behind center all season.

PREVIOUS DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES/LAST: 12/2007 - Class A

DISTRICT TITLES/LAST TITLE: 4/2006 - Class A