WEEK THREE PREVIEW STORIES

Sept. 13-14

Week Two might have been one of the wackiest weeks District 9 football has seen in a long time with controversial endings, huge upsets, close games and an overtime affair.

So what lies ahead in Week -- Three Probably more of the same. With 14 of the 15 games on the slate being between District 9 teams only, conference battles should be heated as we come to the 1/3 of the way mark in 2002.

The two featured games this week come from the AML where at the end of the week a clear-cut front-runner could emerge or mass confusion could reign. The featured games are surprising Kane at Ridgway and Coudersport at Curwensville. To see full game previews on those games, please click on the game below.

For more information on the remaining 13 games, please look at the capsule previews located beneath the two game-of-the-week links.

FRIDAY SEPT. 13

Coudersport (1-1 overall, 1-1 AML North) at Curwensville (2-0 overall, 2-0 AML South) 7:30 p.m.

Kane (2-0 overall, 2-0 AML South) at Ridgway (1-1 overall, 1-1 AML South) 7:30 p.m.

Otto-Eldred suffered a potentially serious blow in their 35-14 loss to Sheffield last week when starting quarterback Joey Drake went down with a shoulder injury. Drake won't play this week, and his status for the remainder of the season is still in question.

Drake was 9-for-19 passing for 133 yards and two touchdowns in his first 1 1/2 games before getting hurt. His replacement is Brian Freer, who is 6-for-15 passing for 163 yards and three interceptions this year.

Freer will rely on top wingback Josh Barnish to help him carry the load.

After an exciting overtime win against Johnsonburg in Week One, Youngsville came back to earth last week being shutout 35-0 by Smethport.

The Eagles top weapon is running back Jeremy Blum, who ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Johnsonburg.

In a battle of Warren County, District 10 schools playing in District 9, Sheffield travels to Eisenhower with both teams coming off wins last week. Sheffield beat Otto-Eldred 35-14, while Eisenhower stunned heavily favored Coudersport 21-14.

District 9's top quarterback through two weeks, Nik Obenrader, is the spark that makes the Sheffield offense go. Obenrader is 13-for-32 passing for 410 yards and six touchdowns on the season, while adding an additional 19 yards rushing and two scores.

Obenrader's top receiver is Robin Copley, who has caught four passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns. Jimmy Mosher leads the ground game with 117 yards rushing on 21 carries.

The quarterback-wide receiver tandem of Jacoby Curtis and Ryan Irwin pace Eisenhower. Last week, Curtis was 11-for-25 passing for 149 yards and a score and ran for 47 more yards, while Irwin caught five passes for 114 yards and one touchdown.

A week ago, Smethport rebounded from a hard opening-day loss to Elk County Catholic by pasting Youngsville 35-0, while Port Allegany lost a heart breaker 7-6 at Cameron County.

Smethport will go as far as quarterback Mike Mitchell can carry it. Mitchell is the third leading rusher in District 9 this year with 31 rushes for 249 yards and two touchdowns. He is also 7-for-19 passing for 98 yards with 78 of the yards coming last week.

A quartet of players lead Port Allegany including quarterback Craig Flint (11-for-32 passing, 148 yards, 2 TDs), wide receiver Matt Rankin (4 catches, 116 yards, 2 TDs), and running backs Adam Rohrer (29 carries, 127 yards) and Claude Haskins (21 carries, 102 yards).

This game features two teams with different mindsets this season.

Brockway, fresh off an exciting 21-20 overtime win against Ridgway, entered the season with hopes of its first AML South title, while Johnsonburg, coming off a 53-0 loss to Kane, is in a rebuilding year.

Quarterback John Himes, who gives Brockway a passing threat not often seen in the northern Jefferson County town, leads the Rovers. Himes is the ninth leading passer in the district having thrown for 241 yards and two touchdowns. He has completed an amazing 75 percent of his passes (15-for-20) in the first two weeks. Himes has also rushed for two scores.

Himes' favorite target is Tom Bussard, the sixth leading receiver in the district. Bussard has caught eight passes for 156 yards and a touchdown.

The Rovers can also run the football with Jeremy Sickeri (28 rushes, 107 yards, 1 TD) and Jon Cantafio (21 rushes, 76 yards, 1 touchdown leading the way).

The districts' fourth leading passer, Greg Wonderly (24-for-55, 381 yards, 2 touchdowns) leads the way for the Rams. His top target is Eric Iorfido, the third leading receiver in District 9, who has caught five passes for 165 yards and one touchdown. Running back Quentin Shreffler (32 rushes, 147 yards, 2 touchdowns) leads the ground game.

This could be a key early season game in the AML South with the winner still very much in the race for the conference crown and the loser having a little bit more of a battle.

Cameron County is coming off a 7-6 win over Port Allegany last week, while Elk County Catholic suffered a 21-0 loss at Curwensville.

Quarterback Kyle Vogt and wide receiver Scott Aikens pace the Red Raiders.

Vogt is 16-for-33 for 336 yards and three touchdowns, while Aikens in the top receiver in the district with eight catches for 253 yards and two touchdowns.

Ted Cherry (26 carries, 152 yards, 1 TD) and Shane Funair (34 carries, 109 yards, 1 TD) lead the Crusaders ground game, while Bob Pearsall (15-for-32, 160 yards, 1 TD) captains the aerial attack.

This game is big for both teams but for different reasons.

For Bradford, the Owls are still in search of their first win of the 2002 season after losing to Clearfield in Week One and Olean (NY) in Week Two.

On the other hand, Punxsutawney is looking to make a statement that the Chucks are the team to beat in the D9 League this season after topping DuBois last week.

Quarterback Jake Long (24 carries, 90 yards; 9-for-16 passing, 142 yards) leads the Owls offense which also includes running back Sean Hvizdzak (15 rushes, 113 yards, 2 TDs) and Shawn Colligan (5 catches, 103 yards).

Senior quarterback Joe Martin (31 rushes, 99 yards, 1 TD; 22-for-32, 401 yards, 1 TD) is the spark that makes the offense go. But Martin has plenty of help including running backs Zack Bernat (6 carries, 114 yards), Dustin Guidash (23 carries, 81 yards, 2 TDs, 8 catches, 128) and Kory Blose (19 rushes, 78 yards) and wide receivers Kyle Barilar (6 catches, 135, 1 TD) and Andy Snyder (2 catches, 88 yards).

These two teams had very different results a week ago.

Brookville is coming off a stunning 26-18 upset of heavily favored Clearfield, while DuBois was shutout 34-0 by Punxsutawney.

Quarterback Cole Cook (23-for-37, 293 yards, 1 TD) and D9Sports.Com District 9 Football Player of the Week Corey Santoriello (12 catches, 163 yards, 1 TD; 4 carries, 83 yards, 1 TD) pace the Blue Raiders.

Running back Vance Newell (27 carries, 75 yards), quarterback Joe Wanson (5-for-19, 56 yards) and wide receiver Ryan Samanka (3 catches, 71 yards) pace the Beavers who are still looking for their first offensive touchdown of the season.

Clarion-Limestone is looking to continue its run through the KSAC when it travels down Route 28-66 to NuMine to face the Wolves of West Shamokin.

C-L, coming off a sloppy 21-14 win over St. Marys last week, is led by sophomore quarterback Hayden Johnston (6-for-14, 78 yards, 2 TDs; 24 rushes, 148 yards, 1 TD), fullback Ben Brooks (29 carries, 217 yards, 1 TD), tailback Brendan Huwar (31 carries, 134 yards, 3 TDs) and tight end Harley Doane (3 catches, 43 yards, 1 TD).

Quarterback Trevor Henderson (7-for-20, 119 yards; 21 rushes, 217 yards, 1 TD) and running back Steven Cupec (46 rushes, 188 yards, 3 TDs) pace West Shamokin.

Keystone enters this game without a quarterback at 100 percent, while Moniteau is looking to continue its unbeaten start.

In last week's 39-28 loss to Karns City, the Panthers lost all three of their quarterbacks (Billy Colwell, Buck Neely and Justin Bifano) to injuries. Bifano is out this week, while Neely is probable and Colwell questionable.

Both Neely (23 rushes, 131 yards; 8-for-24, 187 yards, 2 TDs) and Colwell (24 rushes, 120 yards, 2 TDs; 4-for-13, 58 yards, 2 TDs) are key to both the running game and passing game for Keystone. The top receivers for the Panthers are Bobby Telesz (4 catches, 149 yards, 2 TDs) and Barry Swartzfager (2 catches, 45 yards, 1 TD).

Running backs Ben Elliott (20 carries, 106 yards, 3 TDs) and Steve Saul (27 carries, 117 yards, 1 TD), quarterback Clay Kohlmeyer (11-for-23, 131 yards) and wide out Pat Rumbaugh (6 catches, 71 yards) pace Moniteau

In a key early season game in the KSAC, Redbank Valley heads south by southwest to Karns City to face the Gremlins.

A week ago, Redbank Valley got a 15-14 win over Clarion, while Karns City rebounded from an opening-season loss to Clarion-Limestone to beat Keystone 39-28.

The Bulldogs are led by running back Ron Geist, the top rusher in District 9. Geist has rushed 54 times for 296 yards and 4 scores this season.

Karns City is paced by running back Matt Carnahan (25 carries, 214 yards, 4 touchdowns) and quarterback Erik Fuhrer (20-for-39, 255 yards, 1 TD).

Both teams are coming off disappointing losses last week.

Union dropped a 21-14 decision to Moniteau when they allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown following the game-tying score, while Clarion felt the officials might have robbed them of a win over Redbank Valley when they ruled a two-point conversion good in a 15-14 Redbank win.

The Golden Knights are led by their dual quarterback rotation of Zach Toven (11-for-25, 163 yards, 1 TD) and Adam Milanovich (7-for-14, 91 yards, 1 TD). The top receivers for Union are Darren Laughlin (5 catches, 80 yards, 2 TD), Dennis Shay (6 catches, 41 yards) and Jon McKinney (3 catches, 57 yards).

Clarion suffered a couple of key injuries in the loss to Redbank Valley and will be without wide receiver B.J. Roth. One of the Bobcats two quarterbacks, Joel McNeil, was also injured in that game. He is questionable for the Union contest.

The Bobcats defense has been a key in the first two week limiting their opponents to only 22 points in the first two games while scoring two defensive touchdowns on interception returns.

On offense, running backs Dave Larson (23 carries, 137 yards, 1 TD) and Ambrogio Giambanco (15 carries, 114 yards, 1 TD) lead the way. Quarterback Jamie Arner is 9-for-22 passing for 82 yards.

Clearfield heads outside of District 9 into District 6 to meet Indian Valley Friday night.

Last week the Bisons were stunned 26-18 by Brookville, while Indian Valley rolled over North Pocono (District 2) 47-0.

Quarterback Michael Sayers (24-for-43, 377 yards, 2 TDs), running back Dave Richards (45 carries, 278 yards, 4 touchdowns; 9 catches, 158 yards, 1 TD) and wide receiver Todd Shaw (6 catches, 61 yards) lead Clearfield.

Indian Valley led 21-0 at halftime and then outscored North Pocono 20-0 in the third quarter to put the game away last week. The Warriors out rushed North Pocono 431-43. In Week One, Indian Valley defeated West Perry 22-14. The Warriors outgained West Perry 346 yards to 112 with Derek Weaver gaining 111 yards rushing on 14 carries.

St. Marys came with an eyelash of upsetting Clarion-Limestone last week falling 21-14, while A-C Valley held a 14-0 lead on West Shamokin before bowing 24-14.

Running back Doug Surra (28 rushes, 156 yards, 1 TD) paces St. Marys, while quarterback Corey Clawson (5-for-6 passing for 68 yards, 14 carries for 44 yards against West Shamokin) leads the Falcons.