WARREN, Pa. – There is plenty still to be decided in the District 9 Class 1A boys playoffs.
Elk County Catholic-North Clarion and Otto-Eldred-DuBois Central Catholic are the semifinal matchups, but the teams that lost in the quarterfinal round remain alive for the fifth PIAA playoff spot that District 9 receives.
Here’s a look at the matchups.
Class 1A Semifinals
(1) Elk County Catholic vs. (5) North Clarion at Clarion U., 7:30 p.m.
Records: Elk County Catholic 20-5; North Clarion 16-8
Top Players: ECC – Luke Jansen 11.6 ppg., Charlie Briendel 11.4 ppg., Jordan Wasko 10.8 ppg.; North Clarion – Aiden Hartle 16.2 ppg., Collin Schmader 15.0 ppg. Josh Daum 6.7 ppg.
Winner Gets: 2 Otto-Eldred/3 DuBois Central Catholic winner
Notable: ECC avenged last season’s playoff loss to Clarion with a 51-36 quarterfinal win as Briendel scored 22 points. Zeelan Hargenrader scored a career-high 20 points for North Clarion in their 61-54 quarterfinal win over Cameron County.
(2) Otto-Eldred vs. (3) DuBois Central Catholic at Clarion U., 6 p.m.
Records: Otto-Eldred 21-2; DCC – 17-7
Top Players: Otto-Eldred Gavin Jimmerson 14.6 ppg., Landon Francis 12.8 ppg., Austin Cousins 8.5 ppg.; DCC – Alex Srock 20.1 ppg., Andrew Green 7.5 ppg., Jalen Kosko 7.2 ppg.
Winner Gets: 1 ECC/5 North Clarion winner
Notable: Otto-Eldred went on a 13-0 third-quarter run to pull away from Union in the quarterfinals. DCC beat Johnsonburg for the third time this season to advance to the semifinals.
Class 1A Consolation Semifinals
(8) Clarion at (4) Cameron County, 7 p.m.
Record: Clarion 13-11; Johnsonburg 11-13
Top Players: Clarion – Christian Simko 18.0 ppg., Devon Lauer 10.0 ppg., Dawson Smail 8.9 ppg.; Cameron County – Hayden Brown 18.9 ppg., Camdyn Allison 10.7 ppg., Alan Erickson 6.3 ppg.
Winner Gets: 7 Union/6 Johsonburg winner
Notable: Lauer led Clarion with 10 points in their quarterfinal loss to ECC, while Brown had 25 for Cameron County in their setback to North Clarion.
(7) Union at (6) Johnsonburg, 7 p.m.
Records: Union 12-9; Johnsonburg 11-13
Top Players: Union – Caden Rainey 14.6 ppg., Payton Johnston 12.3 ppg., Dawson Camper 8.7 ppg.; Johnsonburg – Jake Lobaugh 8.9 ppg., Jefferson Freeburg 8.4 ppg., Luke Zimmerman 6.3 ppg.
Winner Gets: 8 Clarion/4 Cameron County winner
Notable: Johnston scored 22 points in Union’s quarterfinal loss to Otto-Eldred, while Isaiah Jackson had 16 points for Johnsonburg in their quarterfinal game against DCC.
