BROOKVILLE – Brookville will try to buck history Friday night when it travels to Offutt Field in Greensburg to take on Jeannette in the opening round of the PIAA Class AA Playoffs.

The District 9 champion Raiders (11-1), winners of 10 straight, will try to become just the third D9 Class AA team to win a state playoff game when they face the WPIAL Champion Jayhawks ( 12-1).

District 9 Class AA teams are just 2-15 in PIAA Playoff games and have never advanced past the second play date. The last District 9 Class AA team to win a state playoff contest was Brockway in 2002.

The Raiders task won’t be an easy one against a Jeannette squad that has won 10 in a row by an average of 33.2-13.1. The Jayhawks, who were inexplicably the ninth seed in the WPIAL Playoffs, ran through the postseason beating Laurel (22-14), Aliquippa (19-14), Brentwood (47-28) and finally Greensburg Central Catholic (24-14) in the WPIAL Title game last Friday.

If Brookville is going to stop Jeannette it will have to contain the Jayhawks do-everything junior quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

Pryor, who has already received a number of NCAA Division I scholarships from the likes of Ohio State, Pitt, West Virginia, Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn State including some in both football and basketball, is like no player Brookville has faced this season. He is a 6-foot-6, 220-pound junior who is a star on both the football field and basketball court and can beat teams with both his arm and his legs.

He is the leading passer and rusher for Jeannette having gone 79 of 136 passing for 1,426 yards and 13 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,392 yards and 23 scores.

Behind Pryor’s athleticism, the Jayhawks are averaging 33.5 points per game this season and have been held under 20 just twice including once in a 7-2 regular-season finale against Greensburg Central Catholic that was marred by bad field conditions. During the postseason, Jeannette is averaging 28 points per game.

Pryor’s top target is 6-foot-2 senior Davonte Shannon. Shannon had 26 catches for 371 yards and seven touchdowns going into the WPIAL title game.

Jordan Hall was adding 12 catches for 257 yards and three scores, while Kenny Grant had seven catches for 108 yards and two scores and Mike Matt five grabs for 137 yards and a touchdown. TJ Burns also had five grabs for 103 yards and a touchdown prior to the WPIAL title contest.

While Pryor is the leading rusher, the Jayhawks have four other backs who have played key roles this year.

Sophomore fullback James Derry is the leading rusher among the running backs. Going into the WPIAL title contest he had 76 carries for 500 yards and two touchdowns.

Hall was adding 29 carries for 296 yards and four touchdowns, while Matt had 46 carries for 285 yards and two scores. Jerry Harris was contributing 37 totes for 203 yards and five touchdowns.

Jeannette’s offensive line has decent size averaging 5-foot-11, 242 pounds across the front and is one of the reasons the Jayhawks average 317 yards per game including 215 on the ground.

Jason Marquis, a 5-foot-11, 270-pound junior tackle is the biggest member of the line.

While Brookville doesn’t have one player like Pryor, the Raiders have a balanced offense that features two 1,000-yard rushers, a 1,000-yard passer and a 700-yard receiver.

Max Kutz is the fourth leading rusher in District 9 with 1,363 yards and 13 touchdowns while averaging 8.5 yards per carry.

Joe Galbraith gives the Raiders two backs in the Top 10 in rushing with 1,090 yards and 10 scores on the season, which ranks him seventh in D9.

Quarterback Shane Heschke takes pressure off the backs by completing 57.3 percent of his passes (67 of 117) on the year for 1,234 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions. He is fifth in District 9 in passing.

Heschke can also beat teams with his legs having run for 481 yards and nine scores on the year, which ranks him 26^th in D9 in rushing and fourth among D9 quarterbacks.

Tyler Ross, a 6-foot-4 senior, is Heschke’s top target with 39 catches for 741 yards and nine scores, which ranks third in D9 in receiving.

Senior Eli Morres, a 6-for-6, 275-pound tackle, leads an experienced offensive line that averages 6-foot-3, 255 pounds.

That line is a big reason why the Raiders led District 9 in total offense (398.8 yards per game) and are third in rushing offense (274.1 yards per game).

Brookville’s defense, which is allowing 14.5 points per game, is led by Levi Singleton’s 107 tackles and four sacks. Alex Kerr is adding 75 stops, four sacks and three interceptions, while Justin Smith had 55 tackles, six sacks and a pick.

Morres leads the team with nine sacks while adding 54 tackles, while Kutz has 49 stops and six sacks. Ross leads the secondary with five interceptions while picking up 49 tackles, and Brett Mohney has four picks, 37 tackles and two sacks. Galbraith contributes 46 stops, two sacks and three tackles.

NOTES – Brookville is 1-5 all-time in the PIAA Playoffs but 0-4 in its last four games. The Raiders lone win was a 23-14 victory over Wilmington in the Class AA first round in 1994. Brookville then lost to Forest Hills 14-13 in the second round that season … The Raiders last appearance in the PIAA postseason was in 2003 when it lost 28-12 to Grove City … This is Jeannette’s first ever PIAA playoff berth … The Jayhawks last won a WPIAL title in 1983, five seasons before the start of the PIAA Playoffs … Kutz and Galbraith are the first 1,000-yard rushers for Brookville since Doug Miller accomplished the feat in 1995.