By Rich Rhoades

They played each other three times last year and it’ll be at least two more times this year, starting this week.

The quirky schedule of the Allegheny Mountain League rears its head this week when it features two 8-0 teams — Port Allegany and Brockway — in a non-division matchup Saturday afternoon in Port Allegany.

Next Saturday, the Rovers travel north again to take on the Gators for the second straight year in the Allegheny Mountain League Championship game since both won the South and North divisions respectively once again.

The AML usually reserves its final week of divisional play for the week prior to the championship game, but the league went with this plan in anticipation of the PIAA changing the football playoff calendar. But things did not change and the luck of the draw had division winners playing each other the week before the title game, creating an awkward finish to the regular season.

Port Allegany beat Brockway three times last year en route to the AML title and District 9 Class A championship. After winning at Brockway, 56-27, in the AML title game, the Gators knocked the Rovers out of the playoffs with a 49-21 win in the semifinals at Bradford.

This year, a third meeting wouldn’t happen until the finals since the AML title game loser would bounce into the other side of the bracket with potentially current unbeaten Clarion.

See the district playoff picture below.

While the Gators’ scoring barrage led by record-breaking quarterback Matt Bodamer has been well chronicled, the Rovers are putting up some big numbers as well. Both teams are in the top 10 in the state in scoring average with the Gators at 53.1 points per game ranking second behind Aliquippa (53.9). Brockway ranks ninth at 46 points per game.

Conversely, the Rovers have given up some points, including 30 or more in four wins. Brockway, no doubt, will have to firm up its defense against Bodamer’s pass-happy offense that churns out a whopping 492 yards of offense per game.

Obviously, most of that comes from the passing game as Bodamer has thrown for 2,443 yards and 36 touchdowns to go against just three interceptions. He’s completed nearly 74 percent (141-of-191) of his passes.

Bodamer now owns the record for most career touchdown passes with 121 and is second only behind former Brockway quarterback Derek Buganza in the state for career passing yards with 9,440. He’s 312 yards shy of tying Buganza’s record mark of 9,752, so it’s very likely he’ll find that record in the next two weeks.

Bodamer is also 87 yards shy of rushing for 2,000 career yards. He’s run for 36 career touchdowns as well.

Bodamer’s receiving crew includes senior Tyce Miller, who now owns the district record for touchdown receptions and career yardage. He’s caught 52 passes for 949 yards and 14 touchdowns this year and his district-record totals up to this point stand at 2,589 yards and 32 touchdowns.

Senior Nick Conway is closing in on a 1,000-yard season as well with 42 catches for 836 yards and 13 touchdowns.

While the Gators have given up far fewer points than the Rovers — only 10.1 points per game — their defense hasn’t been tested until perhaps this week. The Rovers aren’t too shabby of an offensive unit either, averaging 424 yards per game. They have a sophomore quarterback at the helm. Alec Shaffer-Doan has passed for 1,865 yards and 23 touchdowns, both totals second in the district behind Bodamer.

The Rovers signal-caller is coming off a 6-TD passing effort against Johnsonburg last week. His top two receiving targets are Jacob Perrin (53 catches, 822 yards, 10 TDs), who ranks third in the district in yardage behind Port’s two receivers, and Anthony Benson (27 catches, 555 yards, 7 TDs).

Brockway also sports a 1,000-yard rusher in Chad Melillo (1,012 yards, 16 TDs), who ranks fourth in the district.

In the other AML game Saturday afternoon, Curwensville (6-2) visits Sheffield (2-6). Tide running back Zach Tibbens (1,132 yards, 14 TDs) is the third-leading rusher in the district. The Tide are currently in the sixth spot in the Class A playoff standings, battling Elk County Catholic for the fifth spot with two games left. The sixth seed in the bracket will get the AML Championship game runner-up while the fifth seed will likely travel to Union in the first round of the playoffs.

Friday night, Smethport (4-4) tries to remain in playoff contention when it hosts Ridgway (1-7). Hubbers quarterback Clay Schuler has passed for 804 yards and leads the team in rushing with 452 yards. Coudersport (3-5) is playing for its playoff life in Class A when the Falcons travel to Kane (5-3). Mitch Freeman (739 yards, 11 TDs) is Coudersport’s top rusher while quarterback Ethan Hite has passed for 739 yards. Kane quarterback Sean Jordan (1,265 yards, 15 TDs) ranks fourth in the district in passing yardage while running back Jonah Smith (940 yards, 8 TDs) is poised to go over the 1,000-yard mark. In St. Marys, Elk County Catholic (6-2) hosts Otto-Eldred (2-6). Brock McCullough (749 yards, 7 TDs) leads the Crusaders running game.

Elsewhere in District 9:

Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference

Both division races will be settled this week. In the Large School, Karns City (5-3) travels to Brookville (6-2) in a game that will also go a long way in determining the seeding order in the Class AA playoffs. If the Raiders beat the Gremlins, they’ll share the Large School Division title with Karns City and Punxsutawney, if Punxsutawney beats Moniteau, since all three teams finished 1-1 against each other to create an unbreakable tie. If Brookville wins and Punxsutawney loses to Moniteau then the Raiders would win on virtue of the victory over Karns City.

The Raiders should have junior running back Zach Vroman (847 yards, 4 TDs) back in the lineup. He left last week’s game in the first quarter with an injury. He’s the team’s top rusher, but junior Brodie Zacherl (686 yards, 5 TDs) ran for a career-high 187 yards filling some of the void left by Vroman last week. Raiders quarterback Cameron Yard has passed for 476 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for 600 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Karns City has rebounded well after losing 1,000-yard rusher Glenn Toy to a season-ending knee injury. Quarterback Tyler Kepple has passed for 629 yards and rushed for 331 yards. Wyatt Everetts leads the Gremlins in rushing with 508 yards.

Also on the Large School is Moniteau (1-7) heading to Punxsutawney (4-4) as the Chucks continue to battle Bradford for the second and final Class AAA playoff berth.

In the Small School Division, 8-0 Clarion looks to clinch its third straight title when it travels to A-C Valley (3-4). A Falcons upset win would also create a three-way tie for the title with Union and the Bobcats.

But A-C Valley, which has never won a conference title, hasn’t beaten the Bobcats, who are seeking their 13^th conference crown since 1951, since 1998 and the status of Falcons quarterback Kevin Kaufman is uncertain after an injury two weeks ago. He’s passed for 994 yards and eight touchdowns.

Clarion, which has won all 14 Small School Division games it has played and 16 straight conference games going back to the old KSAC, averages nearly 400 yards of offense with a balance attack led by running back T.J. Armstrong (561 yards, 12 TDs), Damien Slike (521 yards, 6 TDs) and Camron Kirkland (472 yards rushing, 288 yards receiving) out of the backfield. Quarterback John Katis has passed for 945 yards and 12 touchdowns, his top receiving target being Cody Hearst (20 catches, 441 yards, 6 TDs).

Also on the Small School docket, Union (7-1) hosts Keystone (2-6) and Redbank Valley (0-8) visits Clarion-Limestone (0-8) in a game that will knock the district’s winless team list down to one. Redbank Valley is trying to avoid the first winless season in school history in its season finale, while C-L is looking to break a school-record 17-game losing streak. Redbank Valley is already assured its worst season since going 1-9 in 1951.

In other KSAC-related games, St. Marys (4-4) could do its Large School rival Punxsutawney a big favor if it could travel to Bradford (3-5) and beat the Owls. Dutch running back Alex Feldbauer (1,342 yards, 18 TDs) is still the district’s leading rusher, although DuBois’ Garrett Brown is closing fast with two less games played.

District 10 Region 5

While Bradford hosts St. Marys in a non-conference game, the still-unbeaten DuBois Beavers (8-0) host Meadville (4-4) trying to keep pace with fellow conference unbeaten Slippery Rock, which plays a rejuvenated Oil City team coming off a win at Karns City last week. While that showdown is next week also at home, the Beavers need to take care of the Bulldogs first.

Meadville has scored 98 points in the last two games, including a 42-28 win over Bradford last week. The Bulldogs are a running team with just 46 pass attempts all season. Junior Ryan Harkness has rushed for 909 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Beavers rank fourth in the state in scoring at 51.4 points per game with as balanced of an offense as a team could get. DuBois has passed for 1,571 yards and rushed for 1,569 yards. Leading the way are sophomore quarterback Gabe French (1,288 yards, 14 TDs), running back Garrett Brown (1,211 yards, 18 TDs), and receivers Bryson Paulinellie (26 catches, 425 yards, 9 TDs), Garrett Miles (26 catches, 268 yards) and Jared Baummer (13 catches, 268 yards).

The Beavers’ defense is quietly having a solid season. Linebacker Shane Marshall is averaging 11.7 tackles per game with a team-high four sacks.

St. Marys is led by District 9’s leading rusher Alex Feldbauer (1,342 yards, 18 touchdowns) while Bradford is paced by multi-talented quarterback Matt Yurkewicz.

Mountain League

The 8-0 Clearfield Bison end their regular season with a breather against winless Philipsburg-Osceola (0-8), which has yielded some of the highest point totals of the year and is among the worst in the state at giving up 44.3 points per game.

Junior quarterback Christian Lezzer is on the verge of adding his name to the short list of District 9 QBs who have rushed and passed for 1,000 or more yards in the same season. He’s passed for 1,013 yards and 13 touchdowns while rushing for 904 yards and 14 touchdowns. On defense at outside linebacker, he leads the team with 8.5 sacks.

Junior Tyler Stratton is closing on 1,000 rushing yards with 845 along with nine touchdowns. Trey Jordan has caught 23 passes for 802 yards with 12 touchdowns.

A win by the Bison would secure the team’s seventh undefeated season overall and second in three years. The others were 2010, 2004, 1998, 1994, 1955 and 1939.

PLAYOFF OUTLOOK

Class A

Six teams have clinched playoff spots so far. Brockway, Port Allegany, Elk County Catholic and Curwensville have clinched the automatic berths out of the AML. The KSAC automatic berths are still up for grabs, but at the very least Clarion and Union have secured wild-card spots and at least one of them is guaranteed a top-two KSAC spot.

The way the KSAC boils is that Clarion is the top seed with a win over A-C Valley which would also make Union the No. 2 seed and leave A-C Valley possibly fighting for a wild-card spot. But if A-C Valley beats Clarion and Union loses to Keystone, then A-C Valley has the top spot and Clarion the No. 2 spot with Union sliding in as a wild card. If A-C Valley and Union both win creating a three-way tie at the top of the division, it is not known how that would break out. A question was posed to Larry Wiser, Clarion’s head football coach and athletic director two weeks ago, but he wasn’t sure how the breakdown happened in a three-way tie.

Confused yet? It gets a little stranger because A-C Valley is also in the race for a at least a wild-card spot. Here are the simplest breakdowns for the wild card.

Smethport gets in this week with a win over Ridgway OR a loss by Coudersport to Kane OR an A-C Valley loss to Clarion.

A-C Valley gets in with a win over Clarion AND a Coudersport loss to Kane.

Coudersport clinches a berth with a win over Kane AND an A-C Valley loss to Clarion.

Losses by both Coudersport and A-C Valley would leave Coudersport needing help to get in, while A-C Valley would still control its own destiny by beating West Shamokin in Week 10. Two A-C Valley losses and a loss by Coudersport could end up creating a massive tie with a bunch of teams at 3-6.

Remember that teams are only securing berths to the playoffs. Individual schools can decline a playoff berth (i.e. a losing record when school policy demands winning record).

Class AA

It’s Karns City, Brookville, Kane and St. Marys in that order right now as all four teams have secured playoff berths. How they wind up ordered for seeding is still very much up in the air with two weeks to go for three of the four teams. Kane wraps up its schedule this weekend. That could hurt the Wolves in the point standings as far as moving up goes.

For instance, the Raiders could finish anywhere from the top seed to fourth, but they could clinch the top seed with a win over Karns City and along with some help elsewhere — a loss by Punxsutawney, Franklin or Marion Center in their games.

Karns City can hold the top seed with a win over Brookville this week, while neither St. Marys nor Kane can get the No. 1 seed.

Class AAA

Go to this link on the site.

Class AAAA

While the DuBois Beavers are at the top of the District 6-9 Regional standings with 810 points and secured a playoff berth, it’s still not certain who the Beavers may face in their playoff opener in Week 11. State College (6-2, 720 points), Mifflin County (4-4, 450 points) and Central Mountain (3-5, 270 points) make up the rest of the field. Mifflin County and/or Central Mountain may or may not go to the playoffs if they finish under .500.

State College could still catch the Beavers in the standings if the Little Lions win their final two games and DuBois loses one of its remaining two games with Meadville or Slippery Rock. The Little Lions finish with Mifflin County and Cumberland Valley.