By Rich Rhoades

RIE – Will the first time be a charm for District 9 Class A champion Kane?

Or will it be for Mercyhurst Prep?

Both undefeated teams are coming from the same angle when they face off in the first round of the PIAA Class A state playoffs at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Erie.

Last weekend, both teams won their first district title. Friday, Mercyhurst Prep edged Mercer 21-19 for its first District 10 championship. Saturday, Kane beat Cameron County 14-6 to claim its first-ever D9 title.

Prep (13-0) and Kane (13-0) are ranked No. 3 and No. 4 respectively in the state by the Pennsylvania Football News.

The Lakers and Wolves differ somewhat in their offensive approach.

Prep brings two 1,000-yard rushers into the game in Joe Jelinek (1,169, 4 TDs) and Bill D'andre (1,003, 16 TDs). Quarterback Marshall Huntsman has thrown just 85 passes (6.5 per game) for 678 yards and nine touchdowns.

Kane, on the other hand, is one of the most balanced teams in D9 rushing for 2,344 yards and passing for 2,025. Quarterback Zach Anderson leads the way. He’s passed for 2,019 yards and 21 touchdowns, completing over 59 percent of his passes.

Last week, Anderson completed 9 of 18 passes for 139 yards with a touchdown and interception. He was also sacked seven times by an aggressive Cameron County defense, especially early in the game.

But Anderson endured and got some help from running back Dustin Moran, who rushed for 88 yards on 21 carries and scored on a 30-yard interception return that basically sealed the game for Kane. Mike Punk caught his TD pass to give the Wolves the lead late in the third quarter. Moran is the leading rusher for the Wolves and second-leading rusher in District 9 with 1,208 yards and 23 touchdowns on 219 carries (5.5 per carry).

Matt Mix (413 yards, 4 TDs) and Punk (334, 6 TDs) will also get some carries. When Anderson goes to the air, he spreads it out to John Bizzak (20 catches, 577 yards, 7 TDs), Mix (29-395-5), Deryk Smith (25-371-1), Moran (16-263-3), Punk (10-180-4) and D.J. Horton (9-159-0).

While Kane is coming off its lowest offensive output of the season, the Wolves are still averaging 36.8 points per game. Kane is also the district’s stingiest defense, giving up only 7.8 points per game. In the last six games, five of them against playoff teams, the Wolves have allowed just 32 points.

Mercyhurst Prep, on the other hand, has squeezed by in the postseason. The Lakers beat Linesville (21-20), Farrell (21-20) and Mercer (21-19) by a combined four points to win the D10 final.

Last week in the D10 final against Mercer, Jelinek rushed for 144 yards on 14 carries and scored on a 74-yard run on the team’s first offensive play of the game. Nick Arrigo caught a 40-yard TD pass from Huntsman and made an interception late in the game to secure the team’s first-ever title.

The District 9 vs. District 10 matchup in the first round of the PIAA Class A playoffs has been an interesting one.

D9 leads the first-round encounters, 9-7. Last year, West Middlesex’s last-second 12-8 win over Coudersport broke D9’s four-game winning streak (Clarion-Limestone wins over West Middlesex in 2002 and 2003, Curwensville over Sharpsville in 2004 and Coudersport over Kennedy Catholic in double OT in 2005).

Last year, Prep went unbeaten in the regular season, then lost to Sharpsville in the semifinals. Kane was 3-7.

Saturday’s winner will play either District 5 champion North Star (9-2) or WPIAL champion Serra Catholic (13-0) in the next round. Those two meet Friday night at Yough High School. Serra is the top-ranked team in the state.