PIAA Class AA Playoff Home

By Chris Rossetti

PUNXSUTAWNEY – The opening round of the PIAA Class AA playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday night in Punxsutawney features two teams – Brockway and Slippery Rock – who don’t have a history but two coaches – Ray Reckner and Clyde Conti – who do.

Reckner, Brockway’s mentor, and Conti, Slippery Rock’s mentor – use to play each once a year when Conti was head coach at Clarion-Limestone and Reckner’s Rovers were playing in the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference.

"First off I want to congratulate Ray and his kids for winning District 9," Slippery Rock head coach Clyde Conti said. "Ray and I became pretty good friends in the early 1990’s. I think we have a very good relationship. When I was at C-L we always had good games with Brockway. Ray is a very good coach and a good person."

"Clyde is a real good guy," Reckner said following the title game win. "We go back a long way. He is a real good guy.

"I know he knows what I do, and I know what Clyde knows. It should be a very good football game."

The two rivals and friends have not met since 1998, Brockway’s last season in the KSAC before moving to the AML. Since that time, Conti has taken the head job at Slippery Rock, and in his first year guided the Rockets (8-3) to their first-ever District 10 Class AA title with a 17-7 win over Sharon last week.

"Sharon is a great football team," Conti said. "We were very fortunate to win the game. They are probably the best football team I have ever beaten."

Reckner, meanwhile, guided the Rovers (7-4) to their first District 9 Class AA title since the 1987 season with a 14-7 come-from-behind win over Karns City last week.

"We were real please with our effort," Reckner said following the Karns City game. "These kids (our seniors) have worked real hard the last three years. I have to give the kids a lot of credit. I don’t know what got in them the last three weeks. They are playing real well right now."

The two teams run similar offenses with Brockway using the Double Wing and Slippery Rock using the multiple attack offense that uses a lot of Wing-T formations.

The Rovers have had an up-and-down season having started the year with three straight wins then dropping four of five before winning their last three games.

Slippery Rock, meanwhile, started the year 0-2 and have since won 8 of 9 with the only loss being a 13-10 defeat to Sharon during the regular season.

"We made some changes in game three," Conti said. "We went down to Wilmington and were down 14-0 in the first half. We came back and won in overtime. I thought that was the key. We started to build from that game and won some close games." Quarterback John Himes directs the Rovers offense. Himes is 62-for-128 passing this season for 883 yards and nine touchdowns while throwing eight interceptions. He has also scored five rushing touchdowns.

"John has done a great job at quarterback," Reckner said. "We have shown we can throw the ball very efficiently. It has been a real plus for our offense. We are a more balanced football team."

Jeremy Sickeri, Jon Cantafio, Seth Rhed and Andy Martino lead the Brockway ground game.

Sickeri has rushed 188 times for 922 yards and 10 touchdowns. Cantafio has toted the ball 116 times for 426 yards and three touchdowns. Rhed has 51 carries for 315 yards and two scores, and Martino has 65 carries for 301 yards and seven touchdowns.

Tom Bussard, Rhed and Sickeri are the leading receivers for the Rovers.

Bussard has a team-high 25 catches for 527 yards and five scores. Rhed has 10 grabs for 109 yards, and Sickeri has 11 catches for 74 yards and a touchdown.

For most of the season Mike DeCola ran the Slippery Rock attack at quarterback. But in the first Sharon game Oct. 18, DeCola was injured and hasn’t played since then. Before he was hurt he was 30-for-72 passing for 560 yards and five touchdowns.

His replacement, freshman Ben Collins is 5-for-18 passing for 118 yards and two touchdowns. He threw both touchdowns in Slippery Rock’s opening round playoff win over Northwestern.

"Ben got thrown into the first Sharon game at halftime when the game was tie at seven,’ Conti said. "I thought he played well in the second half of that game. And since then he has helped us beat Mercer and win two playoff games. I have confidence in Ben as a quarterback. We threw the ball in both of our playoff games. He is a very bright boy, and he is our quarterback. You don’t make excuses when you lose somebody. You just keep moving and do the best you can."

Slippery Rock’s ground game is led by two backs who are nearing the 1,000-yard plateau – Dan Christensen and Travis Sarver.

Christensen has rushed 106 times for 839 yards and three touchdowns despite missing basically two games with an injury.

Sarver, meanwhile, has carried the ball 215 times for 987 yards and 10 scores.

"Both backs are products of the single-back system they used last year," Conti said. "Dan was the starter at the beginning of the season, and Travis took over in the middle of the year. In our system we have room for a number of backs in our backfield."

Conti said Sarver is a power runner, while Christensen is a good athlete who the Rockets try to get out into open space.

"Both backs are very coachable," Conti said. "They have been main cogs to our offense, and there is room for both of them."

The leading receivers for the Rockets are Rich Lee, Mike McCaffrey and Christensen.

Lee has 11 catches for 213 yards and two touchdowns, McCaffrey has 12 grabs for 356 yards and four scores and Christensen has seven catches for 93 yards and a touchdown.

"These kids have gone through a lot," Conti said. "They have had to learn a new system. They have had to deal with coaches who aren’t at the school. But they might as well learn young because you go through an awful lot in life. You have to learn to let things go."