WEEK NINE DISTRICT 9 FOOTBALL WRAP-UP

Oct. 27-28

Last updated: 10/30/06 10:39:12 PM

EAST PITTSBURGH – Nick Johnson ran eight times for 80 yards and three touchdowns to lead visiting Bradford to a 51-0 win at WPIAL Class AA East Allegheny Saturday afternoon.

Johnson led a balanced offensive attack that saw five players run for 24 or more yards and the Owls (7-2) ran for 258 and six touchdowns as a team. E.J. Moore had seven carries for 67, Taylor O’Brien chipped in with 53 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, while Jim Milbrandt had three carries for 31 yards and two touchdowns. O’Brien also returned an interception 88 yards for a score, and Steve Butler hit a 25-yard field goal.

SHEFFIELD – Nick Sipes ran 21 times for 132 yards and four touchdowns to lead Curwensville to a 50-6 win at Sheffield Saturday afternoon.

With the four scores, Sipes now has 77 career touchdowns and needs three more to tie Clearfield’s Dave Richards for the all-time District 9 lead. He also upped his District 9-leading career rushing total to 5,411 yards.

Shawn Sopic added two carries for 61 yards and a touchdown and was 1-for-2 passing for 34 yards and a touchdown pass to Jesse Hoover.

Jamie Renninger scored Sheffield’s lone touchdown on a 1-yard run midway through the fourth quarter with Curwensville leading 50-6. Eric Blum led the Wolverines with six carries for 40 yards , while Michael Bryant added 12 carries for 27 yards.

Curwensville out gained Sheffield 311 yards to 67.

SMETHPORT – Defensive and special teams carried visiting Elk County Catholic to a 26-6 win over Smethport Friday night.

ECC (4-5 overall, 4-5 AML South) limited Smethport (0-9, 0-9 AML North) 179 yards of offense while also blocking two punts – both by Bobby Imbrogno.

The Crusaders, meanwhile, used a balanced offensive attack to get four touchdowns including two in the second half after taking a 12-6 halftime lead. ECC passed 114 yards and ran for 100 yards.

Andy Herbstritt was 6-for-15 passing for 114 yards while also running for a 2-yard touchdown. Eric Mastrogiacomo led the ground attack with 14 carries for 49 yards and a touchdown, while Brad Meholic added eight totes for 35 yards. Nick Brennen had two catches for 32 yards and also had an 8-yard offensive fumble recovery for a touchdown.

Tom Cooney led Smethport with 22 carries for 117 yards and one touchdown.

Even with the win, ECC was eliminated from playoff contention thanks to Clarion’s win over Moniteau.

With the loss, Smethport suffered its first winless season since going 0-8-1 in 1947. The last time the Hubbers didn’t have a win or a tie was 1944 when they were 0-7.

PORT ALLEGANY – Behind a balanced attack Brockway knocked off Port Allegany 22-6 Saturday afternoon in Port Allegany.

Armando Fortunato ran 10 times for 67 yards and a touchdown, Dillon Park added 14 carries for 54 yards and a score and Anthony Varischetti threw for 42 yards and ran for 14 to lead the Rovers (5-4 overall, 5-4 AML South).

Brockway led 8-6 at the half with all the points coming in the first quarter before Jesse Ward recovered a fumble in the end zone in the third quarter to make it 14-6. Fortunato then put the game away with a 12-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Chad Saltsman (17 carries, 60 yards; 1 catch, 14 yards) led Port Allegany, which was hurt by five turnovers (3 fumbles, 2 interceptions). Derick Morey (9 carries, 12 yards, 4-for-14 passing, 60 yards, 1 Int) scored the Gators (2-7, 2-7 AML North) lone touchdown on a 1-yard run.

SHARPSVILLE – Behind Shane Heschke’s 177 yards of total offense, visiting Brookville rallied from a 7-6 halftime deficit to get a 24-7 win over District 10’s Sharpsville Friday night.

Heschke ran 11 times for 79 yards and two touchdowns and was 4-for-8 passing for 98 yards and a touchdown.

Joe Galbraith’s 14-yard run 42 seconds into the second half gave Brookville the lead for good at 12-7, but it took an 8-yard pass from Heschke to Max Kutz and a 46-yard run by Heschke in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

Kutz ran 15 times for 61 yards and in the process became the first Raider back since Doug Miller in 1995 to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing mark. Kutz now has 1,049 yards on the season. Galbraith added 15 carries for 52 yards and the score.

The Raiders outgained Sharpsville 289 yards to 75. Sharpsville’s lone score came on a 1-yard run by Tim Siege in the first half. Josh Taylor led the team with 12 carries for 45 yards.

Brookville still has a shot at the No. 1 seed in the District 9 Class AA playoffs if they beat Clarion next week and Karns City loses to Forest Hills.

CLEARFIELD – Clearfield clinched a share of the D9 League title with a 31-0 win over visiting Punxsutawney Friday night.

The Bisons (7-2 overall, 4-1 D9 League) are Tri-Champions of the league with Brookville and Bradford. Clearfield beat Brookville but lost to Bradford, which lost to Brookville creating the unbreakable three-way tie.

Isiah Morgan ran 20 times for 133 yards and two touchdowns to lead Clearfield. Tyler Kirkwood added 12 carries for 74 yards and a score, while Adam Jury caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Janocko, who was 7 of 9 passing for 67 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Zach Smith was 3-for-14 passing for 77 yards to pace Punxsutawney (3-6, 2-3), while Kevin Zambory was 2-for-6 passing for 44 yards. Ryan Williams caught three passes for 99 yards for the Chucks.

COUDERSPORT – Coudersport tuned up for its AML Title defense with an 18-0 shutout of visiting Kane Friday night.

Chris Cavallari had 93 yards rushing on 18 carries and caught two passes for 18 yards and a touchdown to pace the Falcons (9-0 overall, 9-0 AML North). It was the fourth straight shutout for Coudersport, which has five shutouts on the season. The Falcons haven’t allowed a touchdown in 17 quarters since Port Allegany’s Chad Saltsman scored on a 3-yard run in the third quarter of a 28-7 Coudy win Sept. 29. Overall, Coudersport has allowed just that one touchdown in the past 24 quarters while allowing 37 points (4.1 ppg) all season.

Coudersport’s defense limited Kane (3-6) to 61 total yards of offense including 31 on the ground. Dustin Moran ran seven times for 27 yards, while Deryk Smith had two catches for 27 yards.

The Falcons return to action next Saturday when they host Curwensville, a team they beat 20-12 in Week One, in the AML Title Game.

DUKE CENTER – Ridgway scored 33 unanswered points including 27 in the second half to get a come-from-behind 39-13 win at Otto-Eldred Friday night.

The Terrors (3-6 overall, 3-6 AML North) led 13-6 in the second quarter following a 20-yard touchdown pass from Travis Bair to Anthony Marrone.

But Ridgway (6-3, 6-3 AML South) closed the gap to 13-12 at halftime on an 82-yard scoring toss from Nick Dickant to Jerico Weitzel.

Weitzel then scored three second-half touchdowns including one with 55 seconds left and the game out of hand to finish the comeback.

Ridgway took the lead on a 55-yard run by Weitzel to open the second half. Weitzel then returned an interception 72 yards for a 26-13 Elker lead before scoring on a 45-yard run against the Terror reserves with under a minute to play.

Weitzel, who ran for 187 yards on 16 carries and two catches for 104 yards, had five touchdowns on the night including three rushing also scoring on a 13-yard run in the second quarter.

Dickant was 2-for-4 passing for Ridgway with the one touchdown.

Bair was 13-for-25 passing for 196 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions to lead Otto. He also ran nine times for 40 yards and a touchdown. Eric Freer had four catches for 104 yards, while Marrone had three for 43 and the score. Kurtis Breese caught six passes for 49 yards, while Tod Chaffee ran 12 times for 38 yards.

YOUNGSVILLE – Brian Tamburlin ran 22 times for 258 yards and five touchdowns to lead visiting St. Marys to a 43-7 win over Youngsville Friday night.

Tamburlin scored on runs of 31, 9, 22, 76 and 24 yards while helping the Dutchmen (2-7) outgain Youngsville 319 to 109.

The game was tied at 7-7 late in the first quarter when Tamburlin scored the first of his five touchdowns on a 31-yard run with 34 seconds left in the quarter.

Tamburlin then gave the Dutch a 21-7 halftime lead on a 9-yard run with 3:22 left in the first half.

The senior added three more touchdowns in the second half to seal the win.

Kurt Baumgratz got St. Marys first scored on a 19-yard pass from Bryan Dempsey, who was 3-for-4 passing for 25 yards.

Hunter Martin (8 carries, 20 yards) scored Youngsville’s lone touchdown on a 5-yard run with 1:35 to go in the first quarter. Joe Reed ran 17 times for 79 yards to pace the Eagles.

EMPORIUM – Calvin Grumley returned a punt 58 yards for a touchdown and threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to John Yonkers to help Johnsonburg rally from a 7-0 halftime deficit to get a 13-7 win at Cameron County Friday night.

The victory secures the fourth seed and a home game in the upcoming District 9 Class A Playoffs for the Rams (7-2 overall, 7-2 AML South), who will meet … Cameron County (6-3, 6-3 AML North) in the first round in two weeks.

Grumley was 11-for-14 passing in the game for 158 yards, 1 touchdown and one interception. But His punt return with under two minutes to play in the third quarter closed the Rams gap to 7-6.

Then midway through the fourth quarter, Cameron County attempted to punt on fourth-and-2 at the Johnsonburg 35 but a bad snap resulted in a 29-yard loss giving Johnsonburg the ball at the Cameron County 36.

Two plays later, Grumley connected with Yonker for the game-winning score with just 6:58 to play.

A 23-yard pass from Jordan Crane to Abram Zoschg late in the first quarter gave Cameron County a 7-0 halftime lead. The Red Raiders had 106 yards in the opening 24 minutes but were held to 23 in the second half.

Johnsonburg was held to 135 yards of offense including negative 23 rushing by Cameron County, and the Red Raiders forced five turnovers (4 fumbles, 1 interception).

Yonker had six catches for 84 yards and the touchdown for the Rams, while Judd Zilcosky had four catches for 65 yards.

Crane was 7-for-19 passing for 84 yards, one touchdown and one interception to pace Cameron County with Zoschg catching one pass for 23 yards and the TD and running four times for 24 yards. Pat Catalano ran 10 times for 39 yards.

KARNS CITY – Karns City wrapped up its first outright KSAC title since 2001 with a 42-0 shutout of visiting Union Friday night.

The Gremlins (9-0 overall, 7-0 KSAC) became the first KSAC team to get through the conference schedule unblemished since Clarion-Limestone went 8-0 in the conference in 2003. The last two seasons have seen ties for the conference title with two teams having one loss in 2004 and three teams including Karns City having one loss last year. Prior to 2004, the KSAC champion was unbeaten in conference play for nine straight seasons.

Markus LaVan led a balanced Gremlin attack with six carries for 56 yards and two touchdowns, while Josh Stimac had seven carries for 53 yards and a score. Matt Endlish also ran for a touchdown for the Gremlins, while Stephon Conto returned a punt 36 yards and Chris Reeves caught a 21-yard scoring pass from Anthony Stimac.

Endlish was 4-for-8 passing for 98 yards, while Stimac was 1-for-2 for 21 and the score. Reeves had two catches for 46 yards and the touchdown, and Mike McConnell had one for 57 yards.

Union (2-7, 1-6) had 102 yards of total offense led by 40 yards rushing by Colby Davis and 36 from Trent Switzer. Starting quarterback Zach Himes didn’t play for the Knights.

NEW BETHLEHEM – Jake Smith accounted for five touchdowns to lead Redbank Valley to a 48-12 win over visiting Clarion-Limestone Friday night.

It was the Bulldogs (7-2 overall, 6-1 KSAC) first win over the Lions (2-7, 2-5) since 1999.

Smith was 5-for-9 passing for 118 yards, two touchdowns and one interception and ran for two touchdowns as well despite having negative 13 yards rushing on the night.

Alex Bladel added 16 carries for 151 yards and a touchdown for the Bulldogs while also catching one pass for 36 yards.

Brent Rhoades had a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown for the Lions, who also got a 74-yard touchdown run by Harry Cooper. Cooper led the Lions with seven carries for 78 yards, while Dan Miller was 5-for-12 passing for 52 yards and two interceptions. Rhoades had two catches for 25 yards and Jones two for 28.

C-L finishes the season 2-7 overall and 2-5 in the KSAC its lowest win total since going 1-7-1 in 1987 and the first time the Lions have been below .500 in the KSAC since going 4-5 in 1997.