By Rich Rhoades

With seven 3-0 teams in District 9 football so far in the early season, it’s the most teams to get off to that fast of a start since the same amount of teams began with the same record back in 2003.

This year, three Allegheny Mountain League-South Division teams Brockway,  Curwensville, Elk County Catholic, two Keystone Shortway Athletic-Large School Division teams in Punxsutawney and Brookville, and Bradford and Clearfield are all 3-0.

None of those teams face each other, although Clearfield locks up with unbeaten Indian Valley in its Mountain Athletic Conference-Allegheny Division opener.

Here’s a look at this week’s matchups, by conference:

ALLEGHENY MOUNTAIN LEAGUE

Coudersport (2-1) at Brockway (3-0)

It could be a preview of the Allegheny Mountain League Championship game in the final week of AML cross-over games this week. Brockway quarterback Derek Buganza continues his march through the record books as he goes into the game tied with Clearfield’s Chad Kroell with a District 9-record 79 career TD passes. With 7,705 career passing yards, he ranks fifth in the state. He’s just 60 yards shy of fourth-place D.J. Lenehan of Wilson Area. Only four QBs in state history have reached 8,000 yards, with Wilson’s Tyler Smith (8,000), Downingtown East’s Pat Devlin (8,162) and Lancaster Catholic’s Kyle Smith (8,545) making up the top three.

This year, Buganza has passed for 948 yards and 14 touchdowns. Receiver Kyle Braun leads the district with 17 catches for 313 yards. Mike Vervoort has rushed for 238 yards and caught 15 passes for 291 yards.

The Rovers are averaging 555 yards per game, including 237 rushing yards per game. Last year, Brockway gained just 94.8 yards rushing per game. Defensively, the Rovers are giving up 385 yards per game and have yielded over 200 yards passing in two games.

Coudersport, a run-oriented offense, averages 215 yards on the ground. Mitchell Freeman (54 carries, 303 yards) and Kory Majot (22-181) lead the Falcons.

Port Allegany (1-2) at Elk County Catholic (3-0)

The Crusaders, coming off a come-from-behind 26-21 win over Coudersport last week, are looking to start a season 4-0 for the first time since 1996. They feature the district’s second-leading rusher in Ricky Pearsall (509 yards, 9 TDs).

The Gators will be playing an unbeaten team from the AML-South for the third straight week, coming off losses to Brockway and Curwensville. Quarterback Matt Bodamer is a distant second to Buganza in passing yardage with 554 yards and six touchdowns. Seth Lowery leads the team in rushing  (235) and tackles on defense (24). Camrin Stuckey (10 catches, 250 yards) is the top receiver and shares the district lead with three interceptions.

Other games: Unbeaten Curwensville hosts Otto-Eldred (0-3). The Golden Tide’s Alex Holland ranks third with 489 yards in a district-leading 68 carries. … Cameron County (1-2) hosts Ridgway (0-3) and Smethport (1-2) hosts Kane (1-2) while Johnsonburg (2-1) travels to Sheffield (1-2) in a Saturday afternoon contest.

KEYSTONE SHORTWAY ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Redbank Valley (3-0) at Moniteau (1-2)

The games don’t count in the division standings in another week of matchups between Large and Small School division teams as unbeaten Redbank Valley will put its perfect record on the line in its trip to Moniteau in an interesting matchup. Two of the Bulldogs’ three wins have come against struggling A-C Valley and Union, but they did beat Karns City. The Gremlins beat Moniteau, 28-26, in their season-opener.

Bulldogs quarterback Brandon Bain has completed 60 percent of his passes for 323 yards and has rushed for 145 yards. Running back Caleb Delp has rushed for 254 yards and has 101 yards receiving.

Moniteau quarterback Kyle Armagost has accounted for six of his team’s eight touchdowns. He’s rushed for 354 yards and passed for 269 yards.

St. Marys (1-2) at Clarion (2-1)

With Clearfield, Bradford and Punxsutawney off to strong starts and only two Class AAA playoff spots allotted, two losses might already be too many for the Flying Dutchmen, so there is little room for error when they head to Clarion University Friday night.

Regardless of postseason implications, this could be another toss-up encounter. Justin Quiggle leads the Dutch with 207 yards while fullback Kevin Hoy, a 1,500-yard rusher last year, tries to shake off an early-season ankle injury.

Clarion is led by quarterback Danny Walters, who’s rushed for 246 yards and passed for 179 yards. Marcus Smerker (230) and Kris Burkhart (202) have both rushed for over 200 yards. The Bobcats have lost last year’s RRR Roadhouse D9Sports.Com Rookie of the year, defensive lineman T.J. Armstrong, to a season-ending hand injury.

Other games: Unbeaten Brookville will try to make it a 4-0 start for the first time since 2003 when it hosts A-C Valley (0-3) in a Saturday afternoon Homecoming game, the Raiders’ first regular-season day home game since 1991. The Falcons have lost 43 straight games. … Unbeaten Punxsutawney hosts Clarion-Limestone (1-2) as the Chucks haven’t been 4-0 since starting 1990 at 7-0. The Chucks’ current regular-season winning streak of 12 straight games is the longest since 13 wins from the end of 1976 through an unbeaten 1977 season. The longest streak in team history is 17 straight wins from a perfect 10-0 1963 into 1964. … Keystone (1-2) hosts Karns City (1-2) as the Gremlins will try to avoid their first 1-3 start since 2004. … Union (0-3) will search for its first win of the year when the Golden Knights travel to District 10 to take on unbeaten Maplewood (3-0).

MOUNTAIN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

ALLEGHENY DIVISION

Clearfield (3-0) at Indian Valley (3-0)

The Bisons travel to Reedsville to take on the Warriors, who are coming off a 26-22 win over Bald Eagle Area. Clearfield walloped BEA, 49-14, in Week 2.

As usual, the Bisons boast some strong numbers as quarterback Curtis Frye has completed 39 of 55 passes for 536 yards (third in D9) with five touchdowns. Derek Morgan is sixth in the district in rushing (336 yards) and Derek Danver ranks second with 16 receptions for 243 yards, which ranks fifth.

Defensively, the Bisons have been strong as well. They’ve surrendered 57 and 54 yards of offense respectively in wins over Central-Martinsburg and Penns Valley and yield just 120 yards per game.

Indian Valley is led by running back Mitch Fultz (511 yards) and quarterback Cody Heane (22-of-31, 388 yards).

DISTRICT 10-REGION 5

DuBois (1-2) at Franklin (2-1)

The DuBois Beavers have the distinction of playing a team with a winning record that’s coming off a 91-12 loss to Grove City.

Franklin trailed Grove City 24-0 after the first quarter and 71-6 at halftime after the Eagles put up 47 points in the second quarter. It’s the Knights’ worst loss since a 104-0 blowout to Warren way back in 1915.

Franklin lost 35-31 to Slippery Rock in Week 2, one week before the Beavers eked out a 28-19 win at Slippery Rock. Shawn Newpher leads the Beavers with 248 yards rushing.

DISTRICT 10 REGION 6

Bradford (3-0) at Fort LeBoeuf (1-2)

The unbeaten Owls head to Waterford to take on Fort LeBoeuf after rolling up some big numbers in their first three games where they’ve outscored opponents 147-51 and have scored at least 47 points in each game.

The Owls’ Pat Pascarella leads the district with 642 yards rushing.

Fort LeBoeuf, after beating Harborcreek to start the season, has lost to Strong Vincent and Warren. Those two teams are a combined 5-1.