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District 9 Class 1A Boys’ Basketball Semifinal Previews


HYDE, Pa. – It’s a District 9 Class 1A boys’ semifinal doubleheader from Clearfield High School Wednesday night.

(Photo of ECC’s Carter Lindemuth. Photo by Jared Bakaysa of JB Graphics. See more of Bakaysa’s work here)

Action gets underway at 6 p.m. when fifth-seeded A-C Valley takes on top-seeded and defending champion Elk County Catholic. Play continues at 8 p.m. with third-seeded Cameron County battling second-seeded Clarion-Limestone.

(5) A-C Valley vs. (1) Elk County Catholic

When: 6 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 26
Where: Clearfield High School
Records: A-C Valley 16-7; ECC 24-1
How They Got Here: A-C Valley upset Johnsonburg, 71-65; ECC beat Austin, 69-18.
Leading Scorers: A-C Valley: Levi Orton (23.1 ppg), Eddie Stevanus (13.2 ppg), Eli Penny (6.8 ppg), Tanner Merwin (5.5 ppg); ECC: Regis Wortman (14.2 ppg), Mark Kraus (10.6 ppg), Leo Gregory (6.3 ppg), Will Uberti (5.5 ppg), Carter Lindemuth (5.2 ppg)
About A-C Valley: The Falcons pulled off the upset of Johnsonburg, who some thought could challenge ECC for the title, by scoring 23 points in the final four minutes led by a pair of 3-pointers from Broc Weigle, who scored 11 points, only his second double-digit performance of the year. It was the Falcons first playoff win since 2013, and A-C Valley is in the semifinals for the first time since 2006 when they lost to the eventual state champions, ECC, 70-50. A-C Valley hasn’t won a D9 title since winning in Class C in 1973 … Orton, who had 30 points in the win over Johnsonburg, is the second-leading scorer in D9 this season and has scored 1,132 career points in just his junior season … Stevanus has a shot at 1,000 career points and currently sits at 939 … A-C Valley has won five in a row and six of seven entering play Wednesday night.
About ECC: The Crusaders are the defending champions in D9 1A and have qualified for the title game in each of the last four seasons – winning three of them. This is the eighth straight year ECC has reached the Class 1A semifinals, and since moving from Class 2A to Class 1A in 1999, the Crusaders have reached the semifinals in 21 of those 22 seasons while winning 12 D9 titles and a PIAA championship (2006) during that stretch … ECC’s lone loss came at DuBois Jan. 29, and the Crusaders have won seven in a row since then … Seven different ECC players have led the team in scoring in a game this season.
Game Tidbits: This is the fifth all-time matchup between ECC and A-C Valley with the Crusaders winning the first four which occurred in 1984, 1989, 2004 and 2006. The last three were in the D9 Class 1A semifinals. The winner gets the winner of the C-L/Cameron County game in the championship contest Saturday at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym. The loser plays the loser of the C-L/Cameron County game in a consolation game in which both teams move onto to the PIAA playoffs.

A-C Valley postseason information is brought to you by: Levi’s Lawncare (814-758-0878) • The A-C Valley Booster Club • Delta Contracting & Design/Ace Concrete & ExcavatingBurford & Henry Real Estate ServicesTin Town Metal WorksState Representative Donna Oberlander (Paid for by Friends of Donna Oberlander)

(3) Cameron County vs. (2) Clarion-Limestone

When: 8 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 26
Where: Clearfield High School
Records: Cameron County 19-4; C-L 20-4
How They Got Here: Cameron County beat North Clarion, 54-44, in the quarterfinals; C-L beat Otto-Eldred, 72-58, in the quarterfinals
Leading Scorers: Cameron County: Dino Brown (17.6 ppg), Caden Beldin (16.1 ppg), Hayden Brown (9.6 ppg), Dylan Guisto (7.9 ppg); C-L: Hayden Callen (19.9 ppg), Deion Deas (19.1 ppg), Curvin Goheen (8.9 ppg), Jordan Hesdon (6.5 ppg), Mitch Knepp (5.4 ppg)
About Cameron County: The Red Raiders are back in the semifinals for the third time since 2015 and the first time since losing to ECC two years ago in the semifinals … Cameron County is looking for its first trip to the title game since 2015 when it came in second. The Red Raiders haven’t won a D9 title since 1973 … The Red Raiders are rolling right now having won 14 of 16 including rallying to beat North Clarion in the quarterfinals. That stretch includes a win over Coudersport, who was the No. 2 seed in the 2A playoffs … The Red Raiders rank fourth in D9 in points allowed per game giving up 41.0 ppg.
About Clarion-Limestone: The Lions are in the semifinals of either 1A or 2A for the fifth time since 2012, but C-L has only advanced to the title game once during that stretch. That was in 2015 when they won their first championship since 1961 … Deas (1,524 career points) and Callen (1,156 points) are both over 1,000 points in their career with Callen doing so in his junior season. Callen is the third Callen brother to reach 1,000 points at C-L joining brothers Dan and Ian in the club … C-L is the highest-scoring team in D9 averaging 66 points per game … The Lions only losses since Jan. 1 are two Keystone twice and to Ridgway. Their other loss was to West Shamokin.
Game Tidbits: This is a rematch of the 2015 D9 championship game won by C-L, 72-53, as the RJ Laugand-led Lions beat the Nate Sestina-led Red Raiders … The winner plays the winner of the ECC/A-C Valley game in the championship game Saturday at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym. The loser plays the loser of the ECC/A-C Valley game in a consolation game that sees both teams advance to the PIAA playoffs.

Cameron County postseason information is brought you by: Team MinardPotter County Family CampgroundClose’s Lumber Company

Clarion-Limestone postseason information is brought to you by: Delta Contracting & Design/Ace Concrete & ExcavatingBurford & Henry Real Estate ServicesTin Town Metal WorksState Representative Donna Oberlander (Paid for by Friends of Donna Oberlander)

Full coverage of District 9 teams in the basketball postseason can be found here.

D9Sports.com’s District 9/PIAA basketball playoff coverage Powered by Lezzer Lumber is brought to you by:

Lezzer LumberDelta Contracting & Design/Ace Concrete & ExcavatingTeam MinardFran Morelli Sales & ServiceBurford & Henry Real Estate ServicesPotter County Family CampgroundClose’s Lumber CompanyTin Town Metal WorksState Representative Donna Oberlander (Paid for by Friends of Donna Oberlander)120 Pub and Grub in ClearfieldCampbell Bus Lines