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By Chris Rossetti

BROCKWAY – Didn’t we just do this?

That’s the question posed by a lot of people when it comes to the District 9 Class AAA championship game at 7 p.m. Friday night in Brockway between top-seeded Clearfield (8-2) and second-seeded St. Marys (6-4).

Yes and no is the answer.

Yes, these two teams did meet last week in a game won handily 29-6. But no, that game didn’t mean as much as this one did. That’s because this one is for all the marbles.

Clearfield is trying to win its seventh District 9 title and its sixth in Class AAA, while St. Marys is trying to take home a District 9 championship for the first time in its history.

The Bisons have played in nine of the 10 District 9 Class AAA championship contests since 1998, but they missed last year’s title game after suffering a 30-14 loss to St. Marys in the semifinals.

The Dutch, have also become much more of a regular to the championship contest making their third appearance in the game in the last four years. Last season, St. Marys dropped a 17-0 decision to Bradford, while in 2005 the Dutch lost 21-18 to Clearfield, which was the Bisons last District 9 title.

So how much can be read into Clearfield’s dominance in last week’s meeting?

Maybe a lot, after all, the Bisons limited the Dutch to 164 yards of total offense and didn’t allow a St. Marys score until late in the fourth quarter.

Then again, maybe it doesn’t mean anything at all. Last season, Clearfield won the regular-season meeting 28-13 in mid-October only to watch St. Marys come back a couple of weeks later and stun the Bisons in Clearfield.

And in 2005, St. Marys beat Clearfield 40-22 Oct. 21 only to lose to the Bisons 21-18 in the D9 title game three weeks later.

WHEN ST. MARYS HAS THE BALL

St. Marys’ offense this season has been a ground-oriented attack with nearly 80 percent of all the Dutch’s plays and 76 percent of all their yards coming on the ground.

The ground game has been effective helping St. Marys average just over 25 points a game, and the Dutch have scored 20 or more points eight times this season.

The ground attack has been evenly distributed among three different backs.

Kevin Hoy is the leading rusher with 595 yards and a team-high 13 touchdowns on 101 carries. Shane Krise is adding 87 totes for 551 yards and eight scores, while Mitchell Straub has 83 carries for 521 yards and five touchdowns.

When the Dutch go to the air it’s with the arm of first-year starting quarterback Greg Simchick, who has thrown all 95 of St. Marys’ passes this year. Simchick is completing nearly 55 percent of those aerials (52 of 95) for 666 yards and four touchdowns while also throwing six interceptions.

St. Marys’ offense will have to contend against a Jekyll and Hyde Clearfield defense.

The Bisons are allowing 20.8 ppg this season but have allowed three separate opponents to six or fewer points this season while five Clearfield foes have scored 25 or more points.

WHEN CLEARFIELD HAS THE BALL

A couple of things always seem to hold true when talking about Clearfield offenses over the years.

First, the Bisons will scores points. That’s no different this year. Clearfield is averaging 37.1 ppg and has scored at least 35 points seven times.

Second, Clearfield can throw the ball. That also hasn’t changed. Senior quarterback Jarrin Campman is 86 of 136 (63.2 percent) for 1,140 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He is actually a dual threat running for 913 yards and 18 touchdowns. He scored three rushing touchdowns in the win over St. Marys last week.

Jarrin Campman’s favorite target is his younger brother Trey, who has 43 catches for 520 yards and four touchdowns. Brandon Sass is adding 17 grabs for 343 yards and four scores.

Clearfield has also benefited on offense from a healthy Isiah Morgan.

After a sensational sophomore season that saw him rush for 1,130 yards and 13 touchdowns, Morgan was beset by injuries last season and gained 379 yards while scoring five touchdowns.

This year he is back and healthy and leads District 9 in rushing with 1,416 yards on 178 carries while scoring 19 touchdowns. He has two 300-yard games on the season and five 100-yard contests. But he hasn’t gone over 100 yards since he ran for 304 in the Bisons win over Central-Martinsburg three weeks ago. He did have 72 yards and a score in last week’s win.

The Bisons are going against a tough St. Marys’ defense that allows 14.7 ppg and has shutout four opponents while allowing less than 10 points five times.

As the defense goes, so goes the Dutch. In St. Marys’ six games, the Dutch have allowed a grand total of 22 points. But in the four loses, St. Marys’ is allowing an average of 31.3 ppg and allowed 57 points in back-to-back loss to Central-Martinsburg and Clearfield to close out the season.

NOTES – The winner gets the Pittsburgh City League (District 8) champion, which will be either Brashear or Perry.