By Rich Rhoades

All eyes, at least in the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference, will be turned to Butler County Friday night as KSAC undefeated heavyweights Moniteau and Karns City square off in Karns City.

Both at 7-0, the Warriors and Gremlins will try to gain the upper hand in the battle for the KSAC title and the top seed for the upcoming District 9 Class AA playoffs.

While that’s clearly the headliner game amongst the 15 games this weekend — 12 on Friday and three on Saturday — there are some other key matchups with conference and playoff implications.

In the Allegheny Mountain League’s South Division, Johnsonburg (5-2) hosts first-place Curwensville (6-1) while Brockway (3-4) travels to Kane (5-2) in a key Class AA playoff picture matchup.

Clearfield faces another heavyweight unbeaten team at home this week when the Bisons (6-1) host Martinsburg-Central (7-0) in a game that will decided first place in the Mountain Athletic Conference-Nittany Division.

Back in Butler County, the clash of the titans on artificial turf has all kinds of talented players and history as a backdrop to this one. Karns City has a 17-game regular-season unbeaten streak and 27-game KSAC winning streak while Moniteau is 7-0 for the first time since its 8-0 start way back in 1959.

The Gremlins have history on its side as they’ve won 20 of the past 22 games between the teams and has lost just once during the regular season to the Warriors (2003) since 1989. Moniteau knocked off the Gremlins in the 2005 Class AA semifinal playoffs for its last win over Karns City.

Talent abounds on both sidelines. For Karns City, senior quarterback Anthony Stimac leads the way. He’s passed for 486 yards and rushed for 481 yards, combining to throw or run for 15 touchdowns. Other Gremlins to watch are running backs Markus LaVan (386 yards, 3 TDs) and Jake Wagner (203 yards), slot back Josh Callender (324 yards rushing, 81 yards receiving). Callender, who rushed for 185 yards in last week’s 13-0 win over Clarion, and another running back Josh Stimac, have missed time with injuries. Stimac could be back this week.

Senior quarterback Tyler Armagost leads Moniteau. He’s passed for 1,374 yards and 15 touchdowns this year along with 279 yards rushing and five TDs. He’s a three-year starter with over 4,000 yards passing. Junior receiver Tony Campbell is his top target. He’s caught 27 passes for 676 yards and 11 touchdowns. Junior running back James Shope has rushed for 533 yards and nine TDs.

If Karns City wins, it will win its fourth straight KSAC title, or three straight outright crowns. The Gremlins shared the 2005 title with Clarion and Clarion-Limestone. A Moniteau win would put the Warriors closer to their first KSAC title, but they would have to win at Redbank Valley next week to clinch the title outright. A Bulldogs win would create an unbreakable three-way tie.

Also in the KSAC Friday night, Clarion (4-3) visits Clarion-Limestone (1-6) in their annual backyard brawl. It’s the 39^th meeting between the teams and Clarion leads the all-time series, 21-17, with four straight wins over the Lions. The Bobcats haven’t beaten C-L five straight times since a 10-game streak from 1978 to 1987.

In other KSAC games, Keystone (3-4) visits Brookville (3-4) in a game featuring two teams trying to get into the Class A and AA playoffs respectively. Redbank Valley (6-1) travels to A-C Valley (0-7) and Punxsutawney (2-5) hosts Union (1-6).

In the AML Friday night, the big game is in Johnsonburg where the Rams will try to end a two-game losing streak and turn the already tight South Division race into a more tight situation if they can beat Curwensville.

After starting 5-0, the Rams have lost two straight. Perhaps home cooking will help. The Rams finish the regular season with two home games after playing five of their first seven games on the road. A win over the Tide could create a four-way tie for first place if Kane would beat Brockway and Elk County Catholic (5-2) wins at home Saturday night against Ridgway (2-5).

Curwensville’s only loss has come in a double-OT setback to Cameron County. The Golden Tide could clinch the South with a win if Brockway beats Kane. That would leave only Elk County Catholic with two losses, assuming it beats Ridgway, but since the Tide beat ECC, next week’s game at Kane wouldn’t matter because of the head-to-head tiebreaker.

At Kane Friday night, the Wolves host the Rovers in a game that may be more of a must-win scenario for the Rovers. Kane, Brockway and Brookville are all competing for the two remaining playoff spots behind Karns City and Moniteau in Class AA.

The other Friday night AML game has Otto-Eldred (0-7) hosting Smethport (1-6).

Saturday in the AML, the other games have unbeaten Cameron County (7-0) heading to Sheffield (0-7) and Port Allegany (2-5) hosting Coudersport in 1:30 p.m. starts. The Ridgway-ECC game starts at 7 p.m. at Dutch Country Stadium in St. Marys.

In the MAC-Nittany, it’s going to be an interesting fight to the finish for the division title with three weeks to go. Clearfield and Central-Martinsburg are the lone unbeatens in division play at 5-0 while Tyrone and St. Marys are 4-1. After this week, Central visits St. Marys and Tyrone while Clearfield visits Huntingdon and hosts St. Marys.

The Bisons are led by senior quarterback Jarrin Campman and senior running back Isiah Morgan. Campman has passed for 809 yards and 8 TDs and rushed for 605 yards and 11 TDs. Morgan (975 yards, 13 TDs) has rushed for 771 yards the last four games. He’s averaging 9.2 yards per carry.

The Central-Martinsburg Dragons feature running back Lucas Runk (998 yards, 8 TDs) and quarterback Derek Forshey (707 yards, 7 TDs).

In another MAC-Nittany game, St. Marys (5-2) hosts Philipsburg-Osceola (2-5) as the Flying Dutchmen will try to keep pace with not only the top of the division standings, but the other District 9 Class AAA teams (Clearfield and Bradford) trying to claim one of just two playoff spots.

Speaking of Bradford, the Owls (5-2) will try to shake off last week’s lopsided loss to state-ranked Strong Vincent with a home game against 6-1 North East, a Class AA team from District 10. Two weeks ago, North East beat Fairview 28-14, the same team that handed Bradford its season-opening loss in a 16-6 decision.

DuBois (5-2) hosts traditional Pittsburgh City League powerhouse Perry (7-1). The Commodores’ only loss this year came in a season-opening loss to Brashear, a team that DuBois had split with in two games the previous two years.