PORT ALLEGANY WILL TRY TO DETHRONE C-L FROM ITS DISTRICT 9 CLASS A TITLE 

D9 CLASS A PLAYOFF HOME

By Chris Rossetti

BROCKWAY – One way or another history will be made Friday night in Brockway when defending champion Clarion-Limestone (10-0) battles Port Allegany (9-1) for the District 9 Class A football championship.

A Lions win will make C-L only the second school in District 9 to win back-to-back Class A football titles joining Smethport (1991-92; 1995-96).

A Gator win would be the first District 9 championship of any kind for Port Allegany.

Most if not all of the pressure will be on C-L, who enters the game as the prohibitive favorite after knocking off Ridgway 54-0 one of last week’s semifinal games.

"If you don’t win this week, last week doesn’t mean anything," C-L head coach Todd Smith said. "Last week was a great effort and it gave our kids the confidence to know how good they can play. But if we come out and don’t play that way this week and lose it was all for nothing.

"All I know is that Port Allegany is a good football team. They played really well against a good Coudersport team, and they are 9-1 on the season. They do a lot of things very nicely."

While C-L was rolling a week ago, Port Allegany pulled out a hard-fought 10-9 win over Coudersport, a team that had beaten the Gators 21-14 earlier in the season. The game was decided on a 24-yard Trevor Sena field goal with less than two minutes to play.

"C-L has a talented bunch of kids," Port Allegany head coach Bob Haskins, who is going for win No. 100 in his career (99-89-1 in 21 seasons) said. "We have to be ready to play. Personally I don’t care what people think of us. We are 9-1 and beat a decent Coudy team to get here. We will do our best, and that is all anyone can expect."

History might be on Port Allegany’s side, as six other teams beside Smethport have made it back to the playoffs the year after winning a title only to fall short of a championship including C-L (1991) and Curwensville (2002) who both lost in the championship game.

But Smith isn’t worried about history. In fact he believes the experience his team gained in reaching the PIAA quarterfinals last year will to their benefit in this year’s District 9 title game.

"We have a lot of the same players back," Smith said. "I think the kids liked the success last year and enjoyed it. They want to be there again. That is really the driving force behind them. They want to be successful. I am impressed with the maturity and the willingness they have to come in ever week and prepare like they do."

The Lions have enjoyed more than their fair share of success over the years reaching the District 9 playoffs in 11 of the past 14 years including the last four years straight. During that stretch, C-L has built an impressive 37-6 record and has won 21 straight games against District 9 opponents.

"I think history helps us prepare for seasons and helps us throughout the season," Smith said. "But I can’t say it is something that effects us in the playoffs. The only thing that might help us (in the playoffs) is the experience our kids have. They know what to expect and how to prepare. Our kids understand they have to be focused for every game."

While the Lions have been enjoying success the last four seasons, Port Allegany has been up and down. Four years ago the Gators made it to the District 9 Class AA playoffs only to be crushed by Karns City. In 2001, Port dropped to 2-7 but rebounded to go 6-3 last year winning its final five games. This season the Gators have continued the momentum gained last year winning all but one game.

"We are not great coaches," Haskins said. "The only way we can get to the playoffs or have a good season is with good kids. We struggled against some good teams last year, made some adjustments on both sides of the ball and the kids took it from there."

Overall, Port Allegany is making its fourth appearance in a District 9 title game despite not even picking up the school’s first district playoff win until last week. In 1988 the Gators lost 14-12 to East Brady in the Class A title game. Then in 1996 Port Allegany fell 7-0 to Redbank Valley in the Class AA championship tilt and the following season the Gators lost 13-9 to Karns City in the Class AA title game.

Overall, Port Allegany has a 1-4 District 9 playoff record while Clarion-Limestone is 5-7 including 3-3 in title games.

Both teams come into the game with high-powered offenses. C-L is averaging 34.7 points per game, while Port Allegany scores 29.1 ppg. The Lions are averaging a District 9 leading 368.3 yards per game, while the Gators rank fourth in the district averaging 336.5 yards per game.

That isn’t where the similarities end. C-L is averaging 244 yards per game on the ground and 124.3 in the air having rushed the ball 409 times and thrown it 125 times this season. The Lions attack features five different players who have gained at least 250 yards of offense this season.

The Gators are averaging 244.1 yards per game on the ground and 92.4 in the air. Port Allegany has rushed the ball 496 times and passed it 106. The Gators have four players who have gained at least 250 yards of offense.

C-L’s offense starts with junior quarterback Hayden Johnston who ranks fifth in the District 9 in passing and 28^th in rushing. He has gone 72-for-124 passing for 1,147 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions. Johnston has also carried the ball 91 times for 509 yards and seven touchdowns. Last week he was 13-for-15 passing for 209 yards and two touchdowns while running nine times for 158 yards and three touchdowns.

"The offense all starts with Hayden," Smith said. "He is an outstanding leader who can run and throw the ball. He does everything well, and when we need a big play I just trust having the ball in his hands."

Johnston isn’t the Lions only weapon, as C-L also has a 1,000-yard rusher and a 500-yard receiver.

Senior Brendan Huwar broke the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second straight year with a 160-yard performance on 21 carries last week to go with two touchdowns. On the season he has 204 carries for 1,145 yards and 18 touchdowns and ranks third in District 9 in rushing.

Another senior, Brad Beggs, has 38 catches for 572 yards and 15 touchdowns while also rushing 24 times for 168 yards and a score. The sixth leading receiver in District 9, Beggs is coming off one of his best games of his career with 10 catches for 147 yards and a touchdown. He also had an interception.

"If Hayden or Brad or Brendan were on different teams were they were the only start getting the ball, they would be a lot more noticed," Smith said. "They compliment one another and cheer one another on."

In addition the big three, the Lions also benefit from having a core of younger players contribute including sophomores Tuffy Brooks (22 carries, 203 yards, 1 touchdowns; 15 catches, 265 yards) and Neil Reynolds (15 carries, 117 yards, 1 touchdown, two catches, 27 yards, 1 touchdown) and freshman Scott Davis (23 carries, 107 yards, 1 touchdown; seven catches, 149 yards).

The Lions offensive line of Sheldon Champion, Dave Eggleton, David Ferguson, Dan Jeannerat and Ron Frances has also done an outstanding job allowing C-L to average 6.6 yards per play including 5.7 per rush.

"C-L can run and throw the ball equally well," Haskins said. "They have an outstanding quarterback and good running backs and receivers. They also play solid defense."

Haskins also raved about the Lions team speed, something Ridgway coach Mark Morelli said was the big difference in the semifinal game.

"Clarion-Limestone will go a ways in the playoffs before they find a team that matches their overall speed," Haskins said. "I do know we are a lot quicker than Ridgway though."

Claude Haskins, the district’s leading rusher, leads the Port Allegany offense. Haskins has performed the rare feat of throwing, running and catching touchdowns this season. He has rushed 253 times for 1,476 yards and 17 touchdowns while adding 11 catches for 179 yards and two scores. He is also 1-for-2 passing for 65 yards and a touchdown, and he owns the school record for rushing yards in a season. Last week he had a monster game despite being questionable for most of the week with an injury. He ran 40 times for 204 yards and a touchdown while also catching two passes for 19 yards.

"Claude and the offensive line have done a great job all year," Bob Haskins said. "People say we are one dimensional. We are because they don’t stop him. I’m sure their game plan is to stop Claude. We will see if they can do that."

The offensive line Bob Haskins talks so highly about includes Brett Williams (who was suspend from last week’s game because of an incident in the Elk County Catholic game in Week Nine), Chad Glasgow, Brian Neal, Calvin Freeman, Mark Wilcox and Fran Ludwig.

"I think Haskins is real comparable to (Steve) Saul (of Moniteau)," Smith said. "He runs hard and has quick feet. He is able to make people miss. He is deserving of being one of the top backs in the district. He has been impressive.

"I don’t think you totally shut down someone like that. You just try to limit what he does. We know they have other weapons, but Haskins is the key player for them."

Port Allegany’s other weapons include sophomore Bobby Nichols (93 carries, 535 yards, 6 touchdowns), senior Jeremy Niece (17 catches, 446 yards, 7 touchdowns) and senior Jeremy Tanner (46 carries, 293 yards, 2 touchdowns)

The Gators use a two-headed quarterback in the persons of junior Craig Flint and sophomore Willie Bova. The two have combined to go 43-for-102 for 829 yards, 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Flint is 25-for-56 for 485 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions, while Bova is 18-for-46 for 344 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions.

"I think we can throw the ball," Bob Haskins said. "We may have to rely on it more Friday night."

Trying to stop the two-high powered offenses will be strong defenses. C-L is allowing just 5.8 points per game and no team has scored more than 12 points on the Lions this year. In fact, C-L has allowed eight points or fewer in eight of its 10 games with three shutouts. Johnston is one of the leaders on the defense and is one of the top defensive players in District 9.

"He is just so good at anticipating things," Smith said. "Sometimes he just sees things before they happen. He is good at flying to the football, and he always seem to make great plays liking stripping the ball or intercepting passes. He is always around the football making something happen."

Port Allegany’s defense has been nearly as strong allowing 12.2 points per game this season and allowing less than 15 points in eight of the 10 games. The Gators have one shutout.

Haskins (92 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 ½ sacks) and Tanner (47 tackles, 9 sacks) are the leaders on that defense.

"Claude is a good linebacker," Bob Haskins said. "We have played much better in the secondary, and Jeremy Tanner has had an outstanding year at the defensive end position."

NOTES: The winner of the District 9 title will play the winner of the District 10 title game between Cochranton and West Middlesex in the first round of the PIAA playoffs next weekend. The game is tentatively set for Clarion University’s Memorial Stadium … Smethport has won the most District 9 Class A titles with five while C-L is second with three. With a win, the Lions would become just the fifth District 9 school with four or more District 9 championships since the tournaments were started in 1987 joining Smethport (6), Karns City (5), Brookville (4) and Clearfield (4). Karns City and Clearfield each have a chance to add to that number this season … C-L won titles in 1990, 1993 and 2002 … Overall, C-L has been in the playoffs 11 times in the last 14 years going 5-7 overall and 3-3 in championship games … The 54-point win last week by C-L was the largest playoff win in District 9 history while the 54 points scored were the third most in a District 9 playoff game.