By Rich Rhoades

One week deeper into the high school football postseason, two District 9 teams head out of the district while the Class A semifinals will determine next week’s finalists.

In Class AAA, the Clearfield Bisons travel to downtown Pittsburgh to take on City League champion Brashear on Friday while in Class AAAA DuBois meets McDowell at Edinboro University Saturday night in a Region 6-8-9-10 semifinal game.

In the District 9 Class A semis on neutral fields, Cameron County faces Coudersport Friday night in Bradford while Clarion and Elk County Catholic also play Friday in Brockway.

Here’s a closer look at this week’s games:

FRIDAY

CLASS A

Elk County Catholic (7-3) vs. Clarion (7-4), Varischetti Field, Brockway, 7 p.m. (top)

Driving Directions; ECC Roster; ECC Stats; Clarion Roster; Clarion Stats

This matchup pits one of the longest tenured head coaches in Larry Wiser of Clarion (21^st year) against rookie head coach Travis Skrzypek of Elk County Catholic.

The Bobcats and Crusaders became the first teams to win as lower seeds in the first round since the Class A playoffs were expanded to eight teams starting in 2004.

Both teams are also somewhat similar in style: power running with a physical defense leading the way. Both teams are also coming off wins against teams they lost to during the regular season. Clarion beat Redbank Valley 19-0 after losing to the Bulldogs in triple-overtime during the regular season. Elk County Catholic avenged its regular-season loss to the Golden Tide with a 27-24 double-overtime win last week, the Crusaders third overtime win this season.

The Bobcats are led by the trio of Kevin Grejda, Bubba Rue and Jon Kemmer. All three combined for 275 yards of rushing in last week’s shutout. Rue (720 yards), Kemmer (702) and Grejda (369) have accounted for most of the team’s 217 yards rushing per game. The three are also the team’s top three tackles, led by Rue’s 125 stops. Grejda has 12.5 sacks.

Don’t overlook freshman quarterback Brandon Heeter. Coach Wiser has opened up the playbook more for him as the season has gone along. Last week, he completed 5 of 6 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown, just enough to keep defenses honest.

The Crusaders beat Curwensville despite gaining just 153 yards, but that hasn’t been out of the ordinary for Coach Skrzypek’s team. ECC came into the postseason ranked 20^th in total offense and scoring in the district, easily the worst among all D9 playoff teams.

Running back Ricky Pearsall leads the team in rushing with 546 yards, followed by Kyle Gerber (321), Tom Marconi (290) and Josh Catalano (286). Quarterback Joe Jacob, who scored the game-winning touchdown last week, has passed for 332 yards and four touchdowns.

Defensively, Catalano, at linebacker, leads ECC in tackles with 100. Defensive end Eric Higgins leads the team with five sacks.

This is just the second-ever meeting between the teams. Clarion beat ECC 20-16 in the first round of the 2005 playoffs.

The Bobcats are trying to reach the district final for the seventh time. Their only title came in 1997.

The Crusaders, coming off their first playoff win in 13 years, are trying to get to the District 9 Class A Championship game since the first and only other time in 1995 when they lost to Smethport in the final.

Coudersport (8-2) vs. Cameron County (10-1), Parkway Field, Bradford, 7 p.m. (top)

Driving Directions; Coudersport Roster; Coudersport Stats; Cameron County Roster; Cameron County Stats

Believe it or not, the winner of this heated rivalry game will take over the lead in the all-time series. Thanks to two straight Cameron County wins, the first time that’s happened since the 1960s, the all-time series stands at 30-30-3.

Earlier this year, the Red Raiders need a late defensive stand to hold off the Falcons for a 13-7 win in Emporium. That basically gave Cameron its second straight Allegheny Mountain League-North Division title.

Neither team has been tested much since that Week 5 encounter, especially Coudersport, which comes into the game on a five-game winning streak. Cameron County’s only bump on the road since then was a 7-6 loss to Kane in the AML title game two weeks ago.

Last week, the Red Raiders amassed 600 yards of rushing in a 57-22 rout of Keystone in the quarterfinals while Coudersport ousted Johnsonburg, 31-8.

Cameron County, under head coach Tony DeFillipi, is the third-leading running team in the district, averaging 248 yards per game. Three backs are over 600 yards for the season, led by Randy Schatz (766 yards). Last week’s 290-yard, 4-TD performance lifted Andy Lippert’s season yardage total to 712. Andrew Kesterholt has rushed for 634 yards.

Quarterback Jason Blose has nearly rushed for more yards than he’s passed — 365 vs. 460 — and has attempted only 70 passes.

While Andy Beer is Blose’s top target (9 catches, 205 yards), he’s clearly the team’s leading defender at defensive end where he leads the team in tackles with 75 and sacks with 10.

Coudersport, although still run-oriented, is a bit more balanced. Last week’s win was defensive-oriented, however, as the Falcons gained only 213 yards, but helped cause seven Rams turnovers, including five interceptions of Rams quarterback Ren Yonker. Brett Whitman returned one of the picks 55 yards for a touchdown in the Falcons’ 17-point second quarter.

Whitman is one of a handful of playmakers for the Falcons. He’s rushed for 420 yards, caught 16 passes for 317 yards and passed for 427 yards, and ranks third on the team with 44 tackles. Tim Thomas leads the team with 888 yards rushing while quarterback Eric Babcock, who threw two TD passes last week, has thrown for 670 yards and eight scores. Nate Minor (20 catches, 341 yards) is his top receiving target.

Defensively, linebackers Zach Buckler (106 tackles) and Chris Symans (65) rank 1-2 on the team in tackles.

The Falcons are trying to get back to the championship game for the third time in four years. They won back-to-back titles in 2005-2006. History is on their side if they can get past Cameron County. The Falcons have won in every championship game they’ve appeared in, also winning in 1994 and 2001.

The Red Raiders lost in last year’s final to Kane. In their only other championship game appearance, they won their only district title in a 13-6 win over Clarion in 1999.

CLASS AAA

Clearfield (9-2) vs. Brashear (10-1), Cupples Stadium, Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. (top)

Driving Directions; Clearfield Roster; Clearfield Stats

For the Clearfield Bisons, the trip to Cupples Stadium for the third time in six seasons may not bring up some bad memories considering the Bisons don’t have to play Perry.

That’s the team that handed the Bisons a 12-9 loss in 2004 and a 61-0 drubbing in 2002.

This time around, it’s the Brashear Bulls, a traditional Class AAAA team that’s usually at the top of the Pittsburgh City League. Last week, Brashear beat Perry for the second time this year, 26-20, to claim its second straight league title, the first time the Bears have done that in 20 years.

The Bisons advanced to this game that’s called a “Play-In” game by beating St. Marys last week in the District 9 final. In that game senior quarterback Jarrin Campman kept his name on the short list for Player of the Year honors by accounting for over 300 yards of offense, rushing for 175 yards and four touchdowns and throwing for 109 yards and two touchdowns.

That performance might have put him in territory that no other District 9 quarterback has ever gone. Campman now has passed for 1,249 yards and rushed for 1,087 yards, becoming what is believed to be the first 1,000-1,000 QB in district history.

He’s not alone on the playmaker list for the Bisons. Running back Isiah Morgan leads the team with 1,486 yards rushing and Trey Campman, Jarrin’s younger brother, has caught 45 balls for 560 yards.

Defensively, linebacker Josh Rippey (70 tackles) and defensive back Scott Nishida (66) rank 1-2 in tackles.

The Bulls have some playmakers of their own. Junior quarterback Henri Chatman has passed for 1,291 yards and 16 touchdowns and junior running back Bruce Patterson has rushed for 967 yards and 14 scores. Their top receiver is junior Manasseh Garner with 43 receptions for 586 yards. (Statistics don’t include their last two games).

In last week’s win over Perry, senior James Reed scored all four touchdowns, three of them running and one of them on an interception return. He had four interceptions in the game.

Brashear’s lines are anchored by twin brothers John Wetzel (OT-DT, 6-foot-6, 285 pounds) and Dave Wetzel (OG-NG, 6-foot-2, 280 pounds).

Friday’s winner advances to play the District 10 champion — Strong Vincent or Cathedral Prep — on Nov. 21 or 22 at a site and time to be announced.

SATURDAY

CLASS AAAA

DuBois (5-5) vs. McDowell (7-3), Sox Harrison Stadium, Edinboro University, 7 p.m. (top)

Driving Directions; DuBois Roster; DuBois Stats

The DuBois Beavers are in the postseason for the first time since 2005 when they take on District 10’s Erie McDowell Saturday night at Edinboro University.

The Beavers and Trojans lock up for the first time since 2005 when the Beavers stunned then-state ranked McDowell, 33-21, in Erie. Later that year, the Beavers lost to Cathedral Prep, 42-35, in the state playoffs.

This one is called a PIAA Region 6-8-9-10 semifinal game with the winner advancing to next week’s regional final against State College or Central Mountain. From there, the regional champion meets the WPIAL (District 7) champion.

The Beavers will try to end a three-game losing streak against a very strong Erie McDowell squad that has played a difficult schedule. The Trojans have lost to the WPIAL’s Seneca Valley, McKeesport and Gateway, the current top-ranked Class AAAA team in the state by the Pennsylvania Football News.

The Trojans feature a powerful running game, led by senior quarterback A.J. Fenton who has rushed for 1,455 yards and 17 touchdowns while throwing for 667 yards and 10 scores. Senior running back Alex Schmude has rushed for 1,346 yards and 14 touchdowns.

The Beavers are led by 1,000-yard running back Garrett Malmgren (167 carries, 1,051 yards, 11 TDs) and senior quarterback Kyle Bish, who’s thrown for 312 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 481 yards and five TDs since taking over for injured starter in Week 4. Malmgren is also the team’s top receiver with 18 receptions for 252 yards and three touchdowns.

Senior linebacker Less Miller is the team’s top tackler with 62 stops. Senior defensive end Andrew Gordon has 57 tackles and leads the team with five sacks.

Head coach Jason Shilala’s squad is looking for its first playoff win in 12 years. The Beavers last won a postseason game in the 1996 District 6-9 Class AAAA playoffs in a 24-0 shutout of Hollidaysburg. They’ve lost four playoff games since then.