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D9 Class AAA
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Game Preview
By Rich Rhoades
Now that it’s November, the weather is
turning for the worse and the games are getting much more
important.
While most of the 14-game weekend schedule
is still regular season, there are a few postseason-style
matchups with the District 9 Class AAA Championship game in
Brockway Friday night with unbeaten Clearfield taking on
Bradford and the Allegheny Mountain League Championship game
Saturday afternoon in Port Allegany with the Gators hosting the
Brockway Rovers.
See the separate game preview stories.
Otherwise, the feature matchup of the week
is at DuBois’ E.J. Mansell Stadium where the 8-0 DuBois Beavers
host the 8-1 Slippery Rock Rockets with the District 10 Region 5
title on the line.
The Beavers have had just one unbeaten
regular season, going way back to 1952, so head coach Frank
Varischetti’s squad will have that milestone to chase as well.
However, the Beavers are gearing up for postseason success.
DuBois hasn’t won a playoff game since 1996.
But first things first as the Beavers take
on a Rockets squad in a big-time contrast in styles.
For DuBois, it’s the spread passing game
led by sophomore Gabe French, but most of the headlines have
gone to senior running back Garrett Brown. He’s piled up a
district-best 1,570 yards rushing with 22 touchdowns in just 6 ½
games. French has passed for 1,391 and 17 touchdowns with fellow
sophomore Bryson Paulinellie (28 catches, 443 yards, 9 TDs) his
top receiving target.
Conversely, the Rockets are an
old-fashioned option running team with quarterback Ryan Currie
leading the way. He’s rushed for a team-high 659 yards and 16
touchdowns while passing for 425 yards. Frank Conlon has gained
471 yards with four scores and Joey Meyer ran for over 100 yards
in last week’s 28-13 win over Oil City.
Slippery Rock’s lone loss came to Grove
City in
a 42-20 loss in Week 6. DuBois beat Warren, 39-13, in Week 8.
PLAYOFF SCENARIOS
Class A
Five of the eight spots are locked in going
into this weekend, meaning that just two quarterfinal matchups
are set in stone for next weekend:
Smethport (No. 7 seed) at Clarion (No. 2)
Elk County Catholic (No. 5) at Union (No.
4)
The number one seed goes to the Allegheny
Mountain League champion that will be determined Saturday,
either Port Allegany or Brockway. The AML title game loser will
be the No. 3 seed. That means No. 6 seed Curwensville plays the
loser of Saturday’s championship game.
The AML champion may or may not have a
quarterfinal round opponent. If A-C Valley wins Friday, it will
land the eight spot with a 4-5 record and most likely accept a
playoff berth. However, an A-C Valley loss would give
Coudersport the No. 8 spot and it’s not a guarantee that those
Falcons would want to play Port Allegany — if the Gators beat
Brockway — again after losing to the Gators, 70-8, earlier this
year.
Class AA
Karns City is the top seed, but will have
to see what St. Marys does this weekend to find out if there
will be a semifinal game to play. If the Dutch lose to
Bellefonte, St. Marys Athletic Director Terry Straub confirmed
that they would not go to the playoffs.
The other semifinal is set with Brookville
and Kane. The only question is where the game could be played.
If the district decides to go neutral field with the game, then
this weekend’s games are rendered moot. However, if a home field
is going to be used, then both teams could still be the second
seed and earn home-field advantage.
Kane leads Brookville in the points
standings, 660-630. The Raiders could score 40 points from teams
they beat earlier this year winning this weekend while the
Wolves have 30 points available from three teams they beat. It
appears unlikely the Raiders can catch Kane, considering Kane’s
teams it beat are all favored. If Ridgway beats
Clarion-Limestone, Kane cannot finish below Brookville.
Class AAA
Bradford must beat Clearfield in the
District 9 Class AAA Championship game to land a spot in the
Districts 5-6-8-9 Regional playoffs that begin next week.
Clearfield has secured the top seed in the four-team bracket
while District 8 (City League) school University Prep will be
the fourth seed. Somerset is 20 points up on Punxsutawney for
the second seed.
So unless the Owls upset the Bison, the
matchups are set with Clearfield taking on University Prep and
Somerset meeting Punxsutawney. Both games will be played at
neutral sites.
Class AAAA
DuBois currently holds the top spot in the
four-team standings with 980 points with State College (890,
7-2), Mifflin County (460, 4-5) and Central Mountain (400, 4-5)
rounding out the field.
With all four teams in action, plenty of
movement could occur in the standings. DuBois and State are
assured a top two seed.
In games with postseason implications:
A-C
Valley (3-5) at West Shamokin (2-7)
The Falcons can clinch a playoff berth if
they can beat an old KSAC rival in West Shamokin in Rural Valley
Friday night. It would be A-C Valley’s first trip to the
playoffs since 1999 when it was a Class AAA team due to its
co-operative agreement with Cranberry.
West Shamokin ended its 46-game losing skid
in Week 3 with a 25-6 win over Riverview and the Wolves have won
eight games in nine seasons since leaving the KSAC. The last
time the teams met were non-conference matchups won by West
Shamokin in 2006 and 2007.
Falcons quarterback Kevin Kaufman (1,039
yards passing, 8 TDs) went over the 1,000-yard milestone last
week.
Brookville (6-3) at Clarion (9-0)
The Raiders and Bobcats square off for the
60th time at Clarion University. While Clarion has
secured the No. 2 seed for the Class A playoffs, the Raiders
would land the No. 2 seed with a win. The Bobcats are trying to
go 10-0 in the regular season for the first time ever and turn
in their sixth unbeaten regular season in their history, the
last being 2000.
Clarion’s balanced attack features
quarterback John Katis (1,123 yards passing, 15 TDs) and leading
rusher T.J. Armstrong (686 yards, 13 TDs). Camron Kirkland has
1,221 all-purpose yards, including 904 yards of total offense
with 542 yards rushing and 382 yards receiving. Damien Slike has
rushed for 579 yards and six scores.
The Raiders are a running team, led by two
800-yard rushers in Zach Vroman (870 yards, 4 TDs) and Brodie
Zacherl (828 yards, 6 TDs). Quarterback Cameron Yard has passed
for 550 yards and passed for 650 yards.
Bellefonte (2-7) at St. Marys (4-5)
The Dutch must win if they’re going to
accept the fourth and final Class AA playoff berth. The Dutch
boast the second-leading rusher in the district in Alex
Feldbauer (1,427 yards, 20 TDs).
The Red Raiders have lost six straight
games, including a 49-14 loss at Clearfield in Week 6.
Quarterback Jordan Fye has passed for 908 yards and five
touchdowns, his top receiver being Nick Leiter (40 catches, 604
yards going into Week 9).
Punxsutawney (5-4) at Northern Bedford (8-1)
The Chucks may have their hands full in
Loysburg, Bedford County, when they take on a Panthers squad led
by junior quarterback Blake Over. He’s passed for 1,705 yards
with 14 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. The Panthers will
likely be the second seed in the District 5 Class A playoffs
that begin next week.
Chucks quarterback Garrett Zimmerman has
passed for 820 yards and 10 touchdowns. Running backs Jamie Bush
(677 yards) and Christian Falgout (663 yards) share the load out
of the backfield.
Here is a look at the other Week 10 games:
Union (8-1) at Cambridge Springs (3-6)
While the Knights are locked in as the No.
4 seed in the Class A playoffs, they wouldn’t mind heading into
the postseason with a 9-1 record. They take on a Cambridge
Springs team coming of a 61-18 loss to Mercyhurst Prep. The
teams met in season openers from 2005-07 with Cambridge Springs
winning two of the three games, including a 27-7 win in 2007.
Knights quarterback Brody Shick is closing
in on a 1,000-yard passing season with 967 yards to go along
with 11 touchdowns.
Karns City (6-3) at Marion Center (3-6)
The Gremlins may or may not have a bye week
waiting for them next week depending on St. Marys’ postseason
plans, so they’ll try to go out on a sharp note with a trip to
Indiana County to take on District 6’s Marion Center.
Gremlins quarterback Tyler Kepple is coming
off a strong performance in last week’s win at Brookville. For
the season, he’s rushed for 430 yards and passed for 743 yards.
Clarion-Limestone (0-9) at Ridgway (2-7)
There’s a chance that the winner of this
game could help determine home-field advantage for the
Brookville-Kane Class AA semifinal game, but otherwise it’s a
matchup featuring two teams trying to end the season on a
positive note. A player on each team has an outside shot at a
1,000-yard season. C-L quarterback Christian Bakewell has thrown
for 813 yards and seven touchdowns while Ridgway running back
Zac McKnight has rushed for 813 yards on six carries.
This is the fourth straight year the teams
have met at the end of the season with Ridgway winning the first
three, including 35-0 last year. While the Elkers snapped a
seven-game losing streak last week against Smethport, the Lions
are on a team-record 18-game losing streak. They’ve never
finished 0-10 in a season and their only other winless full
season — they were 0-4 in their first season in 1971 — was a 0-9
1979 season that included five forfeits.
Eisenhower (7-2) at Cameron County (2-7)
It’s the first meeting between former AML
partners since Eisenhower’s last year in the league in 2003 when
it won 23-7. Eisenhower running back John Pascuzzi has rushed
for 1,376 yards and 14 touchdowns, including 291 yards and 4 TDs
in last week’s 67-26 win over Youngsville.
Penns Manor (8-1) at Keystone (2-7)
The Comets of District 6 have won eight
straight games since a season-opening loss to Northern Cambria.
They boast one of the top ground-gainers in the region in
quarterback Danny Ferens, who’s rushed for 1,492 yards and 26
touchdowns while passing for 510 yards and eight TDs.
Otto-Eldred (2-7) at Cowanesque Valley (2-7)
The Terrors travel to Westfield to take on
the Indians of District 4 in their annual end-of-season matchup.
Otto has won nine straight against the Indians, including a 44-6
win last year at home.
Sheffield (2-7) at Youngsville (1-8)
It’s the first meeting between the longtime
Warren County rivals since 2009 and just the third since
Youngsville left the AML after the 2003 season. Youngsville won,
17-16, in 2009 while Sheffield won, 14-7, in 2008. It’s the 91st
meeting between the teams and Sheffield leads the series that
ran unbroken from 1923 to 2003, 48-34-8.
The Eagles, 10-1 last year but losers of
seven straight games going into Friday, have given up 40 or more
points in six games this year, including 67-26 loss last week to
Eisenhower.
Wolverines quarterback Shaquan Wright is
poised to go over 1,000 yards passing. He’s thrown for 946 yards
with seven touchdowns.
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