CLARION-KEYSTONE; CLEARFIELD-BROOKVILLE HIGHLIGHT WEEK TWO OF THE 2007 SEASON 

WEEK 2 PREVIEW - Sept. 7-8

By Rich Rhoades

It’s the lightest scheduled week of the regular season until Week 10 as 13 games make up Week 2 of the District 9 high school football season. Twelve games will be played Friday night with one afternoon game scheduled for Saturday.

Strangely enough, not one of the 13 games features two 1-0 squads and only two games have 0-1 teams squaring off.

The hottest matchup of the week is probably Clarion (1-0) traveling to Keystone (0-1) in a Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference game in Knox. The Bobcats, coming off an easy 40-0 win over A-C Valley, will be tested on the road against a Keystone team that lost a tough 13-12 game at Redbank Valley.

Clarion hasn’t lost in Knox since 1997 but is coming off a 14-7 loss to the Panthers last year on its adopted home turf at Clarion University. Keystone’s early-season gauntlet continues, so getting a win on the board is important. The Panthers play the four other expected KSAC frontrunners in the first five weeks.

Clarion quarterback Adam Bevevino passed for two touchdowns while running back James Seidle ran for 109 yards and three touchdowns against A-C Valley.

Keystone quarterbacks Ben Black and Dan Reed combined for 268 yards passing. Black tossed for 219 yards before he was injured and Reed nearly led the Panthers on a game-winning drive late, but was intercepted inside the Redbank Valley 5 in the final seconds. Black’s injury wasn’t considered serious.

Another exciting game could take place in Clearfield when the 0-1 Brookville Raiders travel to face the Bisons (1-0) in what use to be a D9 League game. Conference realignment has made it a non-conference matchup this year, but if it is anything like last year’s 39-35 come-from-behind win by Clearfield at Brookville this would could be well worth the money. That win a year ago helped earn the Bisons a share of the D9 League title when things shook out in the end.

While most of the key players from that game are gone, some return, like Raiders quarterback Shane Heschke and running back Joe Galbraith and Bisons running back Isiah Morgan.

Brookville is trying to shake off a turnover-laden (six in all) 29-20 loss to Philipsburg-Osceola while Clearfield is coming off a 20-14 win over Bald Eagle Area.

Back in the KSAC, Union (0-1) visits Redbank Valley (1-0) in the 75^th meeting between the next-door rivals. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 43-28-3 and have won nine in a row since its last loss to the Knights in 1997. Clarion-Limestone (0-1) visits A-C Valley (0-1). The Lions have also beaten the Falcons nine straight times since a loss in 1997.

In the Allegheny Mountain League, a few games bring some interest. Ridgway (1-0) hosts Brockway (0-1). The Elkers’ star running back Jerico Weitzel left the game in the first half with a shoulder injury in last week’s win over Smethport. His status is “week to week” according to head coach Mark Morelli. It was reportedly the same shoulder Weitzel hurt during the baseball season. Ridgway will try to break a seven-game losing streak against the Rovers, who were shut out last week by Cameron County in Frank Varischetti’s debut as head coach.

In other AML divisional games Friday, Curwensville (0-1) hosts Elk County Catholic (1-0). The Golden Tide will try to bounce back from their worst loss in 15 years in last week’s 48-0 rout at Coudersport. Johnsonburg (0-1) visits Kane (1-0) in the 91^st meeting between neighbors. Johnsonburg leads the series 48-41-1. In the AML North, Coudersport (1-0) travels to Otto-Eldred (0-1) for its 81^st meeting against the Terrors owning a 12-game winning streak against them. Cameron County (1-0) hosts Smethport (0-1). The Red Raiders will try to beat the Hubbers for the third time in a row and that hasn’t happened in almost 70 years. Cameron beat Smethport four straight times from 1935 to 1938.

In the only Saturday game on the schedule in the AML North, Sheffield (0-1) visits Port Allegany (1-0).

The lone D9 League game features longtime rivals DuBois (0-1) hosting Punxsutawney (0-1) in the first varsity game on the new artificial turf at E.J. Mansell Stadium. The Chucks, who beat DuBois 21-20 last year, haven’t beaten the Beavers twice in a row since sweeping two games in 1991. It’s the 92^nd meeting as DuBois holds a 56-32-3 advantage.

In the other non-conference games, Moniteau (1-0) visits St. Marys (0-1). The Warriors are led by junior quarterback Tyler Armagost, last week’s District 9 Player of the Week. He passed for 233 yards and five touchdowns in a 39-6 win over Clarion-Limestone.

Karns City plays the only non-District 9 opponent this week when the Gremlins (1-0) travel to Hermitage to take on the District 10 Hickory Hornets (0-1), who lost to Class A Western Beaver 13-7 last week. Last year, Karns City beat Hickory at home in a 28-25 overtime classic.

Bradford is off this week.

NUMBERS GAME — Last week’s 46-32 shootout won by Port Allegany over Johnsonburg was the highest scoring game in D-9 since … last year’s opening week when Bradford romped over Clearfield 56-35 … Coudersport head coach Paul Simcoe now sits just three wins shy of 200 in his career. He would be the first District 9 coach to reach the 200-win plateau … Last week Kane beat Sheffield 55-0. The 55 tallies were the most in the game for the Wolves since Sept. 16, 2005, when they best Ridgway 55-7, and were just 29 shy of their entire season total of 84 from last year.