BROOKVILLE-MONITEAU MEET AGAIN IN D9 PLAYOFF; RAIDERS, WARRIORS TO COMPETE IN CLASS AA SEMIFINAL CONTEST SATURDAY NIGHT AT CLARION UNIVERSITY

By Chris Rossetti

CLARION – Brookville vs. Moniteau, District 9 Class AA playoffs, if it feels like we’ve been here and done this before it’s because we have.

When the two teams meet on the turf at Clarion University’s Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday in the D9 Class AA semifinals, it will mark the fifth time since 2004 the two teams will have met in the D9 postseason.

For Brookville, the Raiders will be trying to erase some playoff demons while Moniteau will try to continue its recent postseason dominance against the Jefferson County school.

Moniteau has won the past three playoff games against Brookville and owns a 3-1 lifetime postseason record against the Raiders. That includes a 55-7 thrashing two years ago, the last time Brookville was in the postseason.

But in order to continue that dominance, the Warriors are going to have to avenge a home loss early in the season to Brookville.

The Raiders traveled to Moniteau Sept. 17 and came away with a 19-14 win that saw all the scoring happen in the first half. Moniteau had a chance to win the game late reaching the Brookville 33 before being stopped on downs at the 31 with 30.7 seconds left.

Ryan Kerr had a monster game for Brookville that night rushing for 189 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Steven Kennedy ran for a score and threw for a score.

Kyle Armagost had a pair of scoring passes for Moniteau while passing for 139 yards and rushing for 119.

Get use to those three teams because they account for the bulk of each team’s offense.

Kerr has rushed for 1,235 yards and 13 touchdowns on 194 carries this season while also being one of the top defensive players for Brookville with 75 tackles, three sacks and a fumble caused.

Kennedy, in his first year as the starting quarterback, has completed 59 of 111 passes for 913 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. He is also second on the team in rushing with 706 yards and 10 scores on 93 carries.

One additional player to watch out for on both sides of the ball for Brookville is senior receiver/linebacker Jared Heschke. The school’s all-time leading receiver, Heschke has 31 catches for 503 yards and five touchdowns this year. He is also one of the top defensive players in District 9 with 136 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions and two fumbles caused.

Armagost is one of the best players in District 9 period and has already achieved a rare 1,000-yard passing, 1,000-yard rushing seasons something only believed to be accomplished by Clearfield’s Jarrin Campman in District 9 history.

He is 74 of 162 passing for 1,268 yards, 10 touchdowns and nine picks and has run for 1,154 yards and 14 touchdowns on 191 carries. 

Freshman running back Dustin Geagan along with wide outs Zach Sloan and Ethan Pry compliment Armagost.

Geagan has rushed for 644 yards and six touchdowns on 97 carries while also catching 17 balls for 261 yards and three touchdowns and is definitely one of the front runners for D9Sports.com District 9 Rookie of the Year.

Sloan, who sat out the second half of the Brookville game with an injury,, has 22 catches for 251 yards and three scores despite missing two other games because of an injury, while Pry, who missed three games, has 24 catches for 593 yards and four scores.

The winner of the semifinal game gets a rested Brockway team in the championship contest. The Rovers got a bye into the title game when Karns City elected not to enter the playoffs.

NOTES – Moniteau has never won a District 9 title … Brookville has won six District 9 titles, including five in Class AA and one in Class AAA. The Raiders last title came in 2006, which is also the last time Brookville won a playoff game.