2010 DISTRICT 9 CLASS A SEMIFINALS

Predications

By Chris Rossetti

BROCKWAY – Two new, two old. That is the makeup of the District 9 Class A semifinals being held at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday at Brockway’s Frank Varischetti Field.

It’s the new in the first game with sixth-seeded Port Allegany taking on second-seeded Redbank Valley at 1 p.m.

Port is in the semifinals for the first time since coming in second in 2003 and is looking for its first-ever D9 title, while Redbank Valley is making just its second Class A semifinal appearances and is looking for its first trip to a District 9 title game since losing the 2004 Class AA championship to Brookville. The Bulldogs own three Class AA titles but none since 1996.

The nightcap, though, features a fair of teams used to making the semifinals and winning titles.

Fourth-seeded Cameron County is in the semifinals for the fourth straight year and is looking for their third title-game appearance during that span. Cameron won the 2008 championship and was runner-up in 2007. It’s the Red Raiders fifth trip to the semifinals since 1999 and they are looking for their third title (2008, 1999).

Top-seeded Curwensville is making its second straight trip to the semifinals and it’s seventh since 2000. The Golden Tide are looking for their fifth trip to the District 9 title game since 2000 with titles coming in 2000 and 2004.

NO. 6 PORT ALLEGANY (6-4) vs. NO. 2 REDBANK VALLEY (6-5)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov 20

Where: Brockway’s Frank Varischetti Field (Directions)

Rosters: Port Allegany; Redbank Valley

Stats: Port Allegany; Redbank Valley

Schedule: Port Allegany; Redbank Valley

How they got here:

Port Allegany: Won the longest game in District 9 history, 47-40 in four overtimes, at Elk County Catholic last week. It’s the longest game in District 9 history. Seth Lowery’s 4-yard touchdown run followed by Matt Bodamer’s interception sealed the win. Lowery had 151 yards rushing and four touchdowns in the game, while Bodamer was 11 of 19 passing for 166 yards and a touchdown.

Redbank Valley: Shutout Kane 15-0 with Brandon Bain throwing a 29-yard touchdown pass to Keaton Delp and also scoring on a 1-yard run. Redbank had only 178 yards of total offense with Bain accounting for 97 of it. He ran for 45 yards and was 8 of 13 passing for 52 yards. The Bulldogs survived four turnovers – three lost fumbles and an interception – to win the game.

About Port Allegany: Bodamer, only a sophomore, passes the offense. He is completing 61.3 percent (87 of 142) of his passes for 1,770 yards and 20 touchdowns while throwing six interceptions. He ranks second only to Brockway’s Derek Buganza in passing yards in District 9 and his 20 passing touchdowns are second only to Buganza’s 21. He has also run for 484 yards and 10 touchdowns and has over 3,000 yards passing (3,009 yards) and 30 passing touchdowns (34) in his young career.

Lowery is closing in on 1,000 yards rushing and had 887 yards and eight touchdowns on the season with Camrin Stuckey adding 27 catches for 635 yards and 11 touchdowns. Lowery ranks 11^th in District 9 in rushing with Stuckey ranking sixth in receiving and first in touchdown catches.

About Redbank Valley: Bain makes the Redbank Valley offense hum. He is 89 of 164 passing (54.3 percent) for 1,240 yards and 15 touchdowns against four interceptions while also rushing for 430 yards and four touchdowns. He ranks seventh in District 9 in yards passed for.

Keaton Delp is the leading receiver with 29 catches for 643 yards and 10 scores. He ranks fifth in District 9 in yards received and his 10 touchdown catches are tied for second in District 9.

A question mark for the Bulldogs is the availability of running back Caleb Delp, who was hurt two weeks ago against Brookville and didn’t play against Kane. Caleb Delp, who also missed a game earlier in the season with an injury, has rushed for 791 yards and 11 touchdowns while catching 13 passes for 169 yards and a score. If Caleb Delp doesn’t play, Kyle Lee takes a more prominent role in the offense. Lee has 67 carries for 323 yards and three touchdowns while catching 10 balls for 119 yards and a score.

All-time series: This is just the second meeting between Redbank Valley and Port Allegany with Redbank beating Port 7-0 in the 1996 District 9 Class A title game.

No. 5 CAMERON COUNTY (8-3) vs. NO. 1 CURWENSVILLE (9-1)

When: 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov 20

Where: Brockway’s Frank Varischetti Field (Directions)

Rosters: Cameron County; Curwensville

Stats: Cameron County; Curwensville

Schedule: Cameron County; Curwensville

How they got here:

Cameron County: Overcame a 6-0 deficit at Clarion to take a 19-6 lead and then forced a late Bobcat fumble deep in Red Raider territory to get a 19-13 win. Jason Blose (188 yards) and Andrew Fragale (114 yards) each ran for over 100 yards and a touchdown helping Cameron run for 296 yards as a team.

Curwensville: Built a 21-0 lead and then held off Smethport to get a 29-18 win. The Golden Tide actually watched the lead get cut to three, 21-18, by the end of the third quarter before a long kickoff return helped swing the momentum back to them.

Alex Holland had 140 yards rushing and two touchdowns for Curwensville, and the Tide defense forced six Smethport turnovers – three fumbles, three interceptions – in the victory.

About Cameron County: The Red Raiders overcame a 0-2 starts by winning seven straight to take home their fourth straight AML North title. But for the fourth year in a row, Cameron County lost in the AML Title game, this time to Brockway, before rebounding with an opening-round playoff victory.

Blose, who was the starting quarterback each of the last two seasons, is now the primary running back for the Red Raiders and has 1,385 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns while Fragale adds 609 yards and eight scores. Blose ranks fifth in District 9 in rushing.

Zach Austin has taken over at quarterback and has gone 42 of 107 for 597 yards, five touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

About Curwensville: Holland, the leading rusher in District 9, is closing in on a 2,000-yard season. He has 1,982 yards and 24 touchdowns and would be the first District 9 back to go over 2,000 yards in a season since Curwensville’s Nate Sipes had 2,511 yards in 2004. The only other District 9 runner with a 2,000-yard season since 2000 is Clearfield’s Dave Richards who had 2,506 yards in 2002.  

Zach Dimmick is chipping in 437 yards rushing and eight scores for the Golden Tide with quarterback Hunter McCracken going 33 of 71 for 515 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. Shane Hoover and Shea Best lead the receiving corps with 17 catches and six touchdowns each. Best has a team-high 373 receiving yards with Hoover adding 290.

All-time series: Curwensville leads 11-6 but the series is tied at 5-5 since Curwensville entered the AML in 1999. The last three games have been decided by a grand total of 10 points with Cameron County winning twice in overtime since 2008 – 19-18 in 2009, 23-20 in 2008. Curwensville won the AML Title game last year with 6-0 win over Cameron County. The two have never played in the District 9 playoffs.