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By Rich Rhoades
While the Allegheny Mountain League
Championship game heads a smallish 11-game Week 10 schedule —
see separate
story on Brockway-Cameron County — there are some
significant regular-season finales on the docket for this week.
As far as the playoffs go, here is the
rundown by classification going into the weekend:
CLASS A
Cameron County, Curwensville, Elk County
Catholic and Port Allegany have earned berths from the Allegheny
Mountain League while Redbank Valley and Clarion are the teams
with the automatic berths in the Keystone Shortway Athletic
Conference.
Coudersport (4-5) clinched one of the wild
card berths but multiple sources Thursday said the Falcons won't
enter the postseason because of a sub-.500 record putting the
wild card spot up for grabs between
Johnsonburg (4-5), Kane (4-5) and Smethport (4-5).
Had Johnsonburg not scheduled its
non-conference game with Keystone this Friday, the Rams would be
in on the points race over Kane and Smethport, but even though Kane
and Smethport are idle,
Johnsonburg’s game with Keystone counts and will cost the Rams a
postseason berth if they lose. A Johnsonburg win would make
the Rams the seventh seed with the eighth seed coming down to
Kane or Smethport - it appears Kane would get in based on the
points' system (Head-to-head isn't one of the tiebreakers). If
Johnsonburg loses, then Kane and Smethport would each get in
with only seeding left to be determined - Kane most likely would
be the seventh seed and Smethport the eighth seed.
The other wrinkle in the seeding for the
playoffs is how Cameron County (7-2) fares in the AML Championship
game against Class AA Brockway (9-0). A Red Raiders win secures the
top Class A seed (the AML top Class A seed is pre-seeded No. 1
this year), but a loss to the Rovers would drop them clear down
to the No. 5 slot (AML No. 3 seed) since their regular-season
AML record is worse than Curwensville (8-1) or Elk County Catholic
(7-2).
Remember that although teams receive a
playoff berth, they can elect to not enter the playoffs.
Projected seeding (based on district’s
pre-seeded bracket this year):
1. Cameron County or Curwensville, 2.
Clarion or Redbank Valley, 3. Curwensville or Elk County
Catholic, 4. Clarion or Redbank Valley, 5. Cameron County or Elk
County Catholic, 6. Port Allegany, 7. Coudersport or
Johnsonburg, 8. Coudersport or Kane.
CLASS AA
Defending champion Karns City (3-6), which will
finish with a losing record for the first time since going 2-7
in 1995, will not enter the playoffs. That’s the first time the
Gremlins haven’t done that since 1996.
That leaves top-seeded and unbeaten
Brockway, second-seeded Brookville (7-2) and Moniteau
(5-4) in a likely three-team bracket since no other Class AA
team is close to having a winning record.
The first round would be next week, pitting
Moniteau against Brookville presumably at a neutral site.
CLASS AAA
Punxsutawney went into the week needing to
beat winless West Shamokin or have Bradford lose to DuBois to
secure one of the two final spots for next weekend’s championship game.
Clearfield, also unbeaten, is in. But the Chucks got an
early Christmas present when West Shamokin forfeited the game
Thursday due to a lack of players. Because it was West
Shamokin's decision to not play the game, Punxsy gets the win
and with it the likely playoff spot opposite Clearfield in the
championship game.
CLASS AAAA
The DuBois Beavers (4-5) hold the top spot
in the District 6, 9, 10 sub-regional rankings. All four teams,
including Strong Vincent (4-5), Central Mountain (4-5) and State
College (3-6) own losing records, yet all are guaranteed a
playoff spot in a tournament that allows up to four teams.
Central Mountain, however, is believed to need to beat Jersey
Shore Friday night or it won't enter the postseason based on a
school .500 rule.
If all enter and the current standings hold
up, the Beavers would face State College in next week’s
semifinal round with Strong Vincent playing Central Mountain.
If DuBois wins to claim the top seed and Central Mountain
doesn't enter, the Beavers would get a bye.
Here’s a closer look at this week’s games:
Clarion (5-4) at Karns City (3-6)
A Bobcats win and a Bulldogs loss at
Brookville earns them a top AML seed (second overall) in the
Class A playoffs.
Clarion hasn’t won at Karns City since a
20-14 win in 1999, losing five games at the Butler County school
since then. The Gremlins have beaten the Bobcats five straight
times and eight of the last nine games. Clarion’s last win over
Karns City was a 13-7 decision at home ion 2004.
Redbank Valley (5-4) at Brookville (7-2)
As stated above in the Clarion-Karns City
game, the Bulldogs are the top KSAC seed in the Class A playoffs
if they beat the Raiders or Clarion loses to Redbank Valley.
Bulldogs quarterback Brandon Bain has
passed for 1,058 yards and 13 touchdowns against two
interceptions. Raiders quarterback Steven Kennedy is closing in
on a 1,000-yard passing season with 829 yards and running back
Ryan Kerr ranks fifth in the district with 1,159 yards.
Johnsonburg (4-5) at Keystone (2-7)
It’s a must-win game for the Rams.
Quarterback Andrew Nortum is closing in on 1,000 yards at 934
with 12 touchdowns. His top receiver Joe Holmberg ranks sixth in
the district with 583 receiving yards to go with 39 catches,
which leads the district. Keystone quarterback Mitchell Rearick
has passed for 957 yards and rushed for 358 yards.
Bradford (7-2) at DuBois (4-5)
It’s the first meeting between long-time
District 9 League rivals since 2007. The Beavers haven’t beaten
the Owls since 2005.
Bradford’s Pat Pascarella is second in the
district with 1,566 yards rushing while teammate Mark Havers has
put together a solid year with 738 yards on the ground. DuBois
is looking to get Shawn Newpher over 1,000 yards as he sits at
914 going into Friday. Beavers quarterback Sean Sleigh has
passed for 1,235 yards and eight touchdowns.
Punxsutawney (9-0) at West Shamokin (0-9) -
Forfeited to Punxsutawney
The win extends Punxsy's regular-season win
streak to a school-record 18 straight breaking the previous mark
of 17 set in 1963-64. Meanwhile, West Shamokin has now lost 34
straight dating back to a Wee 4 win over A-C Valley in 2007. The
Chucks 10-0 regular season is their first unbeaten regular
season since 1977 when they also were 10-0.
Clearfield (9-0) at Huntingdon (6-3)
The Bisons are trying to finish off their
fourth perfect regular season since 1994 with the other 10-0
seasons being 1998 and 2004).
Moniteau (5-4) at Grove City (9-0)
The Warriors face a stiff challenge in a
trip to Grove City, a team that’s coming off a 45-7 rout of
DuBois last week.
Clarion-Limestone (1-8) at Ridgway (0-9)
What’s the over-under on this game? The
Elkers (47.4 ppg.) and Lions (47.6 ppg.) rank 597th
and 598th respectively out of 602 teams in the state
in points given up this year. There is a bigger difference in
the offenses, however, as the Lions have outscored the Elkers,
138-47. Going back to last year, the Elkers have lost 15 of
their last 16 games, the only win coming in a season-ending
20-13 win at C-L.
Otto-Eldred (1-8) at Cowanesque Valley (0-9)
The Terrors travel to Westfield in Tioga
County to finish the season against the Indians for the seventh
straight season. Otto has won the previous six meetings.
SATURDAY
Union (3-6) at Sheffield (1-8)
The Golden Knights are trying to win four
games in a season for the first time since going 5-4 in 1997.
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