DISTRICT 9 CLASS A PLAYOFF OUTLOOK

1. Coudersport (10-0)

2. Redbank Valley (7-3)

3. Curwensville (8-2)

4. Johnsonburg (7-2)

5. Cameron County (6-3)

6. Ridgway (6-3)

7. Keystone (6-4)

8. Clarion (5-5)

WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m. Nov. 10; CARP in Coudersport

WINNER PLAYS: Winner of Johnsonburg/Cameron County game Nov. 17 or 18

GAME NOTES: This is a rematch of last year’s District 9 Class A title game that Coudersport won 31-7 at Clarion University’s Memorial Stadium … This is only the third time the teams have ever met on the football field with Clarion beating Coudersport 22-6 in the D9 Class A semifinals in 1997 … This is Clarion’s first ever trip to Coudersport for football and the Bobcats first opening round road playoff game since a 53-14 loss at Smethport in 1998 … While Clarion has never played a football game in Coudersport, a lot of the Bobcats players were members of Clarion’s basketball team last year that lost a playoff game at Coudy.

HEAD COACH: Larry Wiser

2006 RECORD: 5-5 overall, 4-3 KSAC (Tied for 3^rd place)

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: 53-45 (.541); 2^nd among Class A playoff teams

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 0-2

TOP PLAYERS: Brad Rapp (131 carries, 820 yards, 9 TDs; 64 tackles), Larry Stout (79 carries, 622 yards, 6 TDs), Adam Bevevino (56-for-129 passing, 890 yards, 13 TDs, 3 Ints; 99 yards rushing, 2 TDs), Tyler Schwab (21 catches, 297 yards, 5 TDs), James Seidle (13 catches, 321 yards, 4 TDs; 61 tackles, 2 Ints), Jeff Wiant (46 tackles, 4 sacks).

NOTABLE: Clarion has never won a road playoff game … The Bobcats have never won more than one game in a row this season while never losing more than one … Clarion has faced a tough schedule with six of its10 opponents playing in the postseason … Clarion struggled in those games going 1-5 with the lone win coming against Moniteau 26-7 two weeks ago … The Bobcats haven’t done well in close games going 1-3 in games decided by 10 points or less … Clarion has been a more wide open offense than in the past getting 30 percent of its yards through the air … Clarion has two super runners in Rapp and Stout. Rapp did most of his damage in Weeks One through Six (735 yards, 8 TDs) before getting hurt against Southern Columbia in Week Eight. Stout filled in admirably with 442 yards and four touchdowns in the past four games. Both are now healthy … Clarion has played one of the tougher schedules in District 9 and three of its five loses have come to teams – Karns City, Southern Columbia and Brookville – who are a combined 28-2.

PREVIOUS DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES/LAST: 10/2005 – Class A

DISTRICT TITLES/LAST TITLE: 1/1997 – Class A

HEAD COACH: Paul Simcoe

2006 RECORD: 10-0 overall, 9-0 AML North (1^st place)

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: 36-49 (..424); 7^th among Class A playoff teams

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 4-0

TOP PLAYERS: Chris Cavallari (215 carries, 1,398 yards, 15 TDs; 9 catches, 119 yards, 2 TDs; 41 tackles, 9 sacks)), Boomer Wetzel (21-for-52 passing, 389 yards, 5 TDs, 5 Ints), Justen Kinder (17-for-50 passing, 178 yards, 2 TDs, 1 Int), Logan Hathaway (11 catches, 226 yards, 4 TDs; 4 Ints), Drew Levavasseur (80 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 Ints), Kody Frederick (51 tackles, 10 sacks), Isaac Cary (59 tackles, 5 sacks), Colton Corey (39 tackles, 4 Ints)

NOTABLE: The Falcons are the defending D9 Class A Champions and are making their sixth straight appearance in the postseason … Cavallari has been a real surprise this year. The senior had just 29 carries for 248 yards last season and was expected to share time with Sam Decker this year. But an early season, nagging injury made Cavallari the main man and he has responded by accounting for 51.4 percent of Coudersport’s offense … Wetzel was the starting quarterback coming into the season after being the starter during last season’s D9 title run, but he has ended up splitting time with Kinder this year … The Falcons are 0-1 in title defense losing in the 2002 playoffs after winning the ’01 title. Coudersport didn’t make the playoffs in 1995 after winning the ’94 championship … Coudersport has won 22 straight games against District 9 opponents last losing to C-L in the 2004 Class A semifinals … The Falcons have been all about defense this year allowing just 43 points in 10 games (4.3 per game) while allowing just two touchdowns and 13 points in their past seven games. Prior to allowing a fourth quarter TD to Curwensville in the AML Title game, Coudy had gone 20 quarters without allowing a touchdown and still have allowed just two touchdowns in the past 28 quarters.

PREVIOUS DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES/LAST: 10/2005 – Class A

DISTRICT TITLES/LAST TITLE: 3/2005 – Class A

WHEN: 7 p.m. Nov. 10

WINNER PLAYS: Winner of Curwensville/Ridgway game Nov. 17 or 18

GAME NOTES: This is the second meeting of the season for Keystone and Redbank Valley. The Bulldogs won the first one 13-0 in Week One in New Bethlehem holding Keystone to 190 yards of total offense. All the scoring game in the second half. Alex Bladel led Redbank Valley with 165 yards and one touchdown in his first game as a varsity player.

HEAD COACH: Jason Nellis

2006 RECORD: 6-4 overall, 4-3 KSAC (Tied for 3^rd place)

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: 51-48 (.515); 5^th among Class A playoff teams

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 1-1

TOP PLAYERS: Derek Swartfager (180 carries, 786 yards, 12 TDs; 13 catches, 139 yards, 1 TD; 47 tackles), Ben Black (61-for-132 passing, 981 yards, 10 TDs, 11 Ints; 3 rushing TDS), Mike Switzer (22 catches, 420 yards, 5 TDs; 14 carries, 140 yards, 1 TD), Alex Rowan (20 catches, 371 yards, 3 TDs; 16 carries, 119 yards, 2 TDs), Luca Montana (9 carries, 60 yards, 2 TDs; 64 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 Ints), Matt Bashline (63 tackles, 6 sacks), Adam Dechant (61 tackles, 5 sacks), Drew Myers (53 tackles, 4 sacks), Kyle Rhoads (4 catches, 74 yards, 2 TDs; 51 tackles, 2 Ints)

NOTABLE: Keystone is making its first postseason appearance since 1997 and is looking for its first postseason win since winning the D9 Class AA title in 1989 and going to the PIAA Class A title game that season … The Panthers are assured of their first winning season since going 6-3 in 2002 … Ben Black and Dan Reed started the season splitting time at QB before Black took the job … Keystone has offensive balance throwing for 1,146 yards and running for 1,298 … The Panthers have had an up-and-down season on the ground rushing for over 200 yards three times but being held under 100 six times.

PREVIOUS DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES/LAST: 4/1997 – Class A

DISTRICT TITLES/LAST TITLE: 2/1989 – Class AA

HEAD COACH: Ed Wasilowski

2006 RECORD: 7-3 overall, 6-1 KSAC (2^nd place)

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: 52-46 (..531); 3^rd among Class A playoff teams

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 2-0

TOP PLAYERS: Alex Bladel (169 carries, 1,241 yards, 14 TDs; 12 catches, 204 yards, 2 TDs), Jake Smith (73-for-156 passing, 977 yards, 12 TDs, 9 Ints; 98 carries, 397 yards, 7 TDs), Jerrett Magagnotti (16 catches, 202 yards, 3 TDs), Mike Booher (27 catches, 309 yards, 3 TDs), Dan Jordan

NOTABLE: The Bulldogs are making their first-ever appearance in the D9 Class A Playoffs after making it nine times in Class AA … Overall, this is Redbank Valley’s third straight season in the playoffs … Bladel became just the third sophomore since 2000 to run for 1,000 yards … Fellow Bulldog Ron Geist (1,190 yards) accomplished the feat in 2000 and Curwensville’s Nick Sipes (1,772 yards) did it in 2004 … Bladel and Smith have accounted for 98.6 percent of Redbank’s offense this year … As Smith goes so does Redbank Valley. In the Bulldogs seven wins, he is 44-for-96 (45.8%) for 653 yards, 11 TDs and 5 Ints. In the three loses, he is 29-for-60 (48.3%) for 324 yards, 1 TD, 4 Ints … This is the 10^th anniversary of Redbank Valley’s last D9 title. In 1996 they knocked off Port Allegany 7-0 to win the Class AA title. Since then, the Bulldogs are 1-4 in postseason games.

PREVIOUS DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES/LAST: 9/2005 – Class AA

DISTRICT TITLES/LAST TITLE: 3/1996 – Class AA

WHEN: 7 p.m. Nov. 11

WINNER PLAYS: Winner of Redbank Valley/Keystone game Nov. 17/18

GAME NOTES: This is the second meeting between the teams this year. Curwensville beat Ridgway 21-8 Oct. 20 in Ridgway behind 138 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Nick Sipes. The Golden Tide held Ridgway’s Jerico Weitzel to 45 yards and the Elkers to 128 total yards of offense. This is the first playoff meeting between the two schools … Curwensville has won three straight over Ridgway by a combined score of 154-15 including a 78-0 drubbing in 2004 … Ridgway’s last win came 37-36 in 2003.

HEAD COACH: Mark Morelli

2006 RECORD: 6-3 overall, 6-3 AML South (3^rd place)

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: 36-50 (.419); 8^th among Class A playoff teams

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 0-2

TOP PLAYERS: Jerico Weitzel (169 carries, 1,110 yards, 13 TDs; 20 catches, 298 yards, 3 TDs; 72 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 Ints), Nick Dickant (36-for-73, 530 yards, 4 TDs, 4 Ints; 53 carries, 149 yards, 3 TDs), Elliott Pontious (45 carries, 160 yards, 2 TDs; 30 tackles, 1 Int), Andy Aiello (37 carries, 203 yards, 1 TD; 4 catches, 68 yards), Dan Lindgren (55 tackles, 9 sacks), Troy Betts (48 tackles, 4 sacks).

NOTABLE: The Elkers have rebounded nicely from a couple of down years to make the playoffs for the first time since 2003 … Weitzel has been a big reason for the turnaround. The junior, who transferred to Ridgway last spring, has accounted for 1,440 of the Elkers 2,305 yards this season (62.5 percent) while scoring 16 of Ridgway’s 24 offensive touchdowns … Ridgway’s last appearance in the D9 playoffs did not end pretty. The Elkers were rolled over by Clarion-Limestone 54-0 … Ridgway is 1-4 in the postseason since winning the 1989 title with the lone win coming in a mid-week play-in game in 1999 over Coudersport … Morelli became the winningest coach in school history this year with 56 wins. He is 56-41 in his 10^th season at Ridgway.

PREVIOUS DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES/LAST: 5/2003 – Class A

DISTRICT TITLES/LAST TITLE: 1/1989 – Class A

HEAD COACH: Andy Evanko

2006 RECORD: 9-1 overall, 8-1 AML South (1^st place; AML Champions)

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: 44-41 (..518); 4^th among Class A playoff teams

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 4-1 or 5-1 (If ECC makes it)

TOP PLAYERS: Nick Sipes (262 carries, 1,577 yards, 25 TDs; 6.8 tackles per game, 1 sack, 1 Int), Shawn Sopic (33-for-77 passing, 636 yards, 5 TDs, 4 Ints; 91 carries, 605 yards, 5 TDs; 3.6 tackles per game, 6 Ints), Brandon Hess (79 carries, 388 yards, 4 TDs; 6 catches, 123 yards, 1 TD), Jesse Hoover (14 catches, 245 yards, 2 TDs), Dave Kalgren (5.3 tackles per game), Nathan Russell (5.2 tackles per game, 5 sacks), Philip Michaels (4.1 tackles per game, 4 Ints).

NOTABLE: The Golden Tide are making their third straight appearance in the District 9 Class A Playoffs and their fifth and seven years. Curwensville has made three District 9 championship games since 2000 winning in 2000 and 2004 and losing in 2001 … Sipes is the all-time leading rusher in District 9 history with 5,553 career yards. He is one of just 41 runners in state history to reach 5,000 career yards. Sipes is also closing in on the D9 touchdown record. He has 78. Clearfield’s Dave Richards holds the mark with 80 … Sipes’ career has overshadowed a very good career by senior quarterback Shawn Sopic, who has led the Tide to a record of 31-8, one AML Title, three AML South titles and one District 9 Class A title since taking over as the starting quarterback in Week 6 of his freshman season. During that time, he is 126 of 294 passing for 2,165 yards, 25 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. He also rushed 226 times for 1,255 career yards and 17 touchdowns … Curwensville has won 28 of its past 33 games against District 9 opponents with four of those five loses coming to Coudersport … Overall, the Tide have won 31 of their past 37 games.

PREVIOUS DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES/LAST: 4/2005 – Class A

DISTRICT TITLES/LAST TITLE: 2/2004 – Class A

WHEN: 7 p.m. Nov. 11

WINNER PLAYS: Winner of Coudersport/Clarion game Nov. 17 or 18

GAME NOTES: This will be the second consecutive game against each other for these two teams. Two weeks ago at Cameron County, Johnsonburg won 13-7 to se cure the fourth seed and thus the home game this time around. In that game, the Rams needed two second half touchdowns to erase a 7-0 halftime leading including a 59-yard Calvin Grumley punt return for a score. Johnsonburg has now won seven straight over Cameron County last losing 56-14 in 1999, which was the last time the Red Raiders were in the postseason.

HEAD COACH: Tony Defilippi

2006 RECORD: 6-3 overall, 6-3 AML North (2^nd place)

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: 43-43 (.500); 6^th among Class A playoff teams

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 0-3

TOP PLAYERS: Cameron Clingan (68 carries, 486 yards, 4 TDs; 3 catches, 51 yards), John Malizia (54 carries, 33 yards, 5 TDs; 62 tackles, 3 sacks), Patrick Catalano (40 carries, 243 yards, 3 TDs; 45 tackles, 4 sacks), Abram Zoschg (26 carries, 197 yards, 4 TDs; 5 catches, 180 yards, 4 TDs), Jordan Crane (28-for-70 passing, 652 yards, 11 TDs, 7 Ints), Marcus Mullens (54 tackles, 4 sacks).

NOTABLE: This is just the second District 9 playoff appearance for Cameron County and its first since 1999. The Red Raiders are hoping things go as well as they did that year when they won the District 9 Class A title … Offense is the story for Cameron County. When it wins it averages 35.8 ppg. When it loses it averages 14 ppg. That offense has no superstars just a bunch of hard-working players. The top rusher, Clingan, hasn’t cracked 500 yards, yet as a team the Red Raiders average 231.2 yards per game on the ground. They had eight players with 100 or more yards rushing this season including four with 200 or more. Also, 13 different players have scored touchdowns this year on offense. Cameron was hurt by the loss of Cash Grimone, who is no longer on the team. He had 235 yards on just 22 carries, a 10.7 yard per carry average.

DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES/LAST: 1/1999 – Class A

DISTRICT TITLES/LAST TITLE: 1/1999 – Class A

HEAD COACH: Tom Launer

2006 RECORD: 7-2 overall, 7-2 AML South (2^nd place)

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: 50-37 (..575); 1^st among Class A playoff teams

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 2-2

TOP PLAYERS: Calvin Grumley (73-for-159 passing, 1,043 yards, 8 TDs, 13 Ints; 119 carries, 411 yards, 8 TDs; 45 tackles, 1 sack, 5 Ints), Jesse Dennis (73 carries, 353 yards, 3 TDs; 21 catches, 314 yards, 2 TDs), John Yonker (26 catches, 415 yards, 5 TDs; 18 carries, 61 yards, 2 TDs; 47 tackles, 6 Ints), Mark Myers (58 tackles, 4 sacks), Zane Zelehoski (58 tackles, 8 sacks, 1 Int), Judd Zilcosky (16 catches, 191 yards, 1 TD; 27 carries, 76 yards; 51 tackles, 7 sacks), Chad Whippo (45 tackles, 5 sacks).

NOTABLE: It’s fitting that the Rams are in the postseason this year considering they won the first-ever District 9 Class A title 20 years ago beating Clarion 20-6 in 1987 … That title, though, wasn’t a sign of things to come, as Johnsonburg made the playoffs just twice over the next 17 years … The Rams did make it last year, and this marks the first time the program has made the postseason in back-to-back years … Johnsonburg is looking to win a playoff game for the first time since beating Clarion 10-7 in the 1996 semifinals. It is 0-2 since including a 42-14 loss to Clarion-Limestone last year … Grumley, already a basketball star, has become a football star this year and the main offensive weapon for Johnsonburg. He is the leading passer and rusher on the team and has accounted for 66 percent of the Rams offense … Johnsonburg is about as balanced on offense as a team can be with 1,102 rushing yards and 1,092 passing yards … After a torrid offensive start that saw them scored 32.8 ppg in their first four contests, the Rams have struggled to score down the stretch averaging 11.8 ppg in their final five games … Defense has been the one consistent for Johnsonburg this year. They have allowed more than seven points just twice and have two shutouts while allowing 8.2 ppg.

PREVIOUS DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF APPEARANCES/LAST: 4/2005 – Class A

DISTRICT TITLES/LAST TITLE: 1/1987 – Class A