By Rich Rhoades       

With seven teams separated by two losses in the District 9 Class A playoff race, there is plenty of potential for movement in seedings for the eight-team tournament.

Right now, Cameron County (6-0) is the lone unbeaten just ahead of 5-1 Redbank Valley, Curwensville, Elk County Catholic and Johnsonburg. Considering that the Red Raiders have beaten Curwensville in double overtime and 4-2 Coudersport by six points, it’s tight at the top.

The big game of the week in the Class A playoff standings is Curwensville hosting Elk County Catholic Friday night. It’s one of 15 Friday night games on this week’s schedule.

It’s been a good season for the Crusaders under first-year head coach Travis Skrzypek. They’ve already equaled last year’s win total (5-6 last year) and have done it mostly with defense.

Since a 29-16 season-opening loss to Coudersport, the Crusaders have won five in a row, including two in overtime against Smethport and Kane. Last week, ECC held off Brockway’s air show and won 30-26.

ECC does it mostly on the ground with Kyle Gerber’s 320 yards rushing leading the way. Josh Catalano (239 yards, 1 TD) and Ricky Pearsall (209, 3 TDs) have also contributed. Quarterback Joe Jacob has completed only 17 of 57 passes for 205 yards with one touchdown.

Defensively, the Crusaders are led by Catalano’s 54 tackles. Eric Higgins and Bobby Imbrogno each have three sacks while Pearsall has two interceptions.

Curwensville might be the biggest challenge the Crusaders have had this year so far. The Golden Tide’s only loss came to Cameron County and they also won at Coudersport.

Head coach Andy Evanko’s squad has the playmakers.

Quarterback David Kalgren has passed for 880 yards and 11 touchdowns, rushed for 107 yards and has 40 tackles and seven interceptions on defense, including three last week against Ridgway.    

Running back Jed Greslick has rushed for 517 yards and four scores while Jesse Hoover has caught 26 passes for 439 yards and six touchdowns. Last week against Ridgway, Hoover returned a punt and kickoff for touchdowns while Kalgren scored on an interception return.

While the game is certainly a key playoff race matchup, it’s just as important or more in the race for the Allegheny Mountain League’s South Division. Curwensville, ECC and Johnsonburg are all tied at 5-1.

Among the other 5-1 Class A teams, Johnsonburg will try to bounce back from being blasted by Kane when it travels to Brockway. The Rams will have to contend with the district’s leading passer in yardage in sophomore Derek Buganza.

While Buganza has passed for 1,638 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, the Rovers’ defense is having trouble stopping opposing offenses which are averaging almost 35 points per game.

Another Class A contender, Clarion (4-2), will be the underdogs at home against unbeaten Karns City Friday night at Clarion University. The Gremlins are on a 26-game Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference winning streak and have won three straight times vs. the Bobcats.

Karns City quarterback Anthony Stimac is coming off last week’s RRR Roadhouse D9Sports.com District 9 Player of the Week honor running for over 200 yards against Redbank Valley last week. He’s rushed for 415 yards and passed for 421 yards. Clarion is led by running backs Jon Kemmer (343 yards, 7 TDs) and Bubba Rue (377 yards, 4 TDs).

In other AML games Friday, Cameron County hosts Port Allegany (2-4) and Coudersport (4-2) hosts Otto-Eldred. Ridgway (2-4) hosts Kane (4-2) and Smethport hosts Sheffield in one of two games this week matching up winless teams.

Since the final game of the 2004 season, Sheffield has lost 33 of 35 games with both wins coming against Smethport the last two seasons. The Wolverines are on a 10-game losing streak while the Hubbers have lost nine straight games and 23 of their last 24 games. Smethport’s only win last year came against Otto-Eldred.

The other battle of 0-6 teams is in the KSAC where Union hosts A-C Valley. The Falcons have lost 28 straight games dating back to their last win — against Union — back in 2005. The Golden Knights have won just three games since the 2006 season and two have been against the Falcons.

In other KSAC games, unbeaten Moniteau (6-0) hosts Brookville (3-3), Punxsutawney (2-4) travels to Redbank Valley (5-1), another Class A contender, and Keystone (2-4) hosts Clarion-Limestone (1-5).

Believe or not, and assuming the team that grabs the No. 8 spot in the Class A playoffs elects to go to the postseason, the Keystone-Clarion-Limestone game could have major playoff implications. Keystone is currently the eighth seed, but in a virtual tie with Ridgway and Port Allegany. C-L, with a win, would put itself in that battle for the eighth seed.

The 5-1 Clearfield Bisons, a contender in the highly contested Mountain Athletic Conference’s Nittany Division, host 1-5 Penns Valley. The Bisons are edging closer to having a 1,000-yard rusher and passer. Isiah Morgan has rushed for 809 yards and 10 touchdowns while quarterback Jarrin Campman has passed for 861 yards (62-of-101, 61.4 percent completion percentage) and eight touchdowns and rushed for 525 and 10 scores. Not to be outdone, Jarrin’s younger brother Trey has 365 yards receiving and three touchdowns on 32 catches.

DuBois and St. Marys have non-conference games. The Beavers (4-2) travel to Chestnut Ridge (3-3), a Class AA team from District 5. St. Marys (4-2) hosts Indian Valley (2-4).

Bradford (5-1) has a big game on the road this week at unbeaten Strong Vincent (6-0) in a District 10 Region 6 game. The Colonels are the top-ranked Class AAA team in the state according to the Pennsylvania Football News and in the Top 20 overall in Pennsylvania according to MaxPreps.com. They’re averaging over 330 yards rushing a game with Darrell Brooks (532 yards, 8 TDs) and Jordan Ferraro (469 yards, 7 TDs) leading the way. Strong Vincent has given up 6.6 points per game.

The Owls rely similarly on the run, but just don’t have the huge numbers of Strong Vincent. Pat Pascarella (419 yards, 4 TDs), Mark Havers (411 yards, 10 TDs) and Mike Pascarella (369 yards, 5 TDs) are the Owls’ workhorses.