The opening week of the District 9 high school football schedule kicks off this weekend.
Some 13 games make up the schedule with 11 games Friday night and two more Saturday.
What’s new? What’s changed? What hasn’t changed? Who are the teams to beat? Who are the top players? Some of that might be answered below:
It’s the second year of the two-year cycle for PIAA classifications, so it’s the same three-region setup as last year while we’ll get a new, or not, setup for the next two seasons depending on how teams might re-classify.
As a review:
— Region 1: 1. Central Clarion, 2. Karns City, 3. Punxsutawney. Other teams: Bradford, Brookville, DuBois, Moniteau, St. Marys.
Central Clarion was picked in the Media Day Coaches Poll earlier this month one year after the Wildcats weren’t picked to finish in the top three. But they were young last year and return this year with much of their roster intact, so the coaches might have this top three correct. Once again, Bradford and DuBois are Class 4A, Punxsutawney and Bradford are Class 3A, and Karns City, Brookville, Central Clarion and Moniteau are Class 2A.
— Region 2: 1. Brockway, 2. Port Allegany, 3. Brockway. Other teams: Kane, Keystone, Ridgway, Smethport, Union/A-C Valley.
Last year, the Coaches Poll went with the Bulldogs, Gators and Rovers and it finished Gators, Bulldogs with Union/A-C Valley finishing third after beating Brockway in a head-to-head tiebreaker with both finishing 4-3 in region play. Expect the Rovers, Gators and Rovers to finish in some type of order again this year.
— Region 3: 1. Coudersport, 2. Cameron County, 3. Otto-Eldred and Elk Co. Catholic. Other teams: Bucktail and Sheffield.
The Falcons and Red Raiders shared last year’s region title, so the Coaches Poll went similar by picking them 1-2 this year while the rest of the finish reflected a somewhat balanced region setup.
RULES CHANGE OF NOTE — For those who attend high school football games with any regularity, and pay attention, they know that penalty enforcement differs from the higher levels — NFL and college — on some flagged plays.
For example, offensive holding flagged behind the line of scrimmage would be stepped off at the spot of the foul. Now, it’ll be marked off starting at the line of scrimmage. So a 10-yard holding penalty will be a 10-yard holding penalty, not 10 yards from the spot of the foul.
PLAYOFF SETUP — Once again at the District 9 level, all seeding will be done by a committee, so it’s not any point system or math equation. The D9 classification setup:
CLASS A — Up to eight teams will start the postseason starting in Week 11. There are 12 Class 1A teams in D9: Brockway, Cameron County, Coudersport, Curwensville, Elk County Catholic, Keystone, Otto-Eldred, Port Allegeny, Redbank Valley, Sheffield, Smethport and Union/A-C Valley.
CLASS 2A — Up to four teams can enter the postseason and there are only six Class 2A teams in the district, so it’ll likely be whomever has a winning record or decides to go with seeding up to the committee. The teams are Brookville, Central Clarion, Kane, Karns City, Moniteau and Ridgway.
CLASS 3A — Clearfield, Punxsutawney and St. Marys will be involved with District 6 as in years past. That format hasn’t been finalized.
CLASS 4A — DuBos and Bradford are the only schools from D9 that’ll be involved in a sub-regional.
THIS WEEK’S GAMES
All games Friday unless listed otherwise:
Region 1
Central Clarion at Brookville
It’s the third time the Wildcats and Raiders have meet since the beginning of last season. The Wildcats swept the Raiders in the season-opener (42-7) and then the District 9 Class 2A Championship game (35-0) for the co-operative program’s first district title before finishing 10-2.
The Wildcats return a solid group of players, led by junior quarterback Jase Ferguson who threw for 2,727 yards and 33 touchdowns while rushing for 521 yards and seven TDs. He’s at 4,347 yards and 51 TDs passing so far with two varsity seasons remaining.
The Raiders, 6-6 last year, have senior quarterback Charlie Krug back on the field after an injury against the Wildcats in last year’s opener ended his season. He threw for over 2,000 yards as a sophomore.
Punxsutawney at Bradford
The Chucks with head coach Alan Nichol travel to play the Owls, who haven’t won since beating the Chucks 59-34 late in 2019. The Owls, 0-10 last year, and head coach Jeff Puglio carry a 29-game losing streak into the season.
The Chucks, who beat the Owls 56-0 last year on their way to a 6-5 season, return their top receiver in senior Noah Weaver (35-458, 7 TDs) with senior Landon Martz (258 yards, 2 TDs) and junior Griffin White (264 yards, 4 TDs) are the top rushers returning. Seniors Mason Nesbitt and Martz were the top two tacklers on defense.
Owls junior quarterback Talen Reese threw for 2,068 yards and 12 TDs.
DuBois at Karns City
The Beavers head to Butler County to take on the Gremlins after beating them 28-7 at home last year to start the season.
Beavers head coach T.J. Wingard, whose team finished 5-6 last year, has his sophomore quarterback and son Trey back after he finished last year as the starter. He threw for 749 yards and 7 TDs. Senior Kaden Clark (25-199, 4 TDs) and junior Nathan Kougher (21-276, 3 TDs) are the top returning receivers with Garrett Nissel (27-174, 2 TDs) the top returning rusher. Junior Carter Wilson and Nissel ranked 2-3 in tackles on defense.
Head coach Joe Sherwin’s Gremlins were 6-5 last year. Sophomore Nathan Hess (66-284, 6 TDs) is the Gremlins’ top returning rusher
St. Marys at Moniteau
The Dutch travel to West Sunbury to face a Moniteau squad that they beat 47-14 in the opener in St. Marys last year on their way to a 7-4 season that ended with a 13-7 loss to Clearfield in the D9 Class 3A final.
Dutch head coach Chris Dworek has his leading rusher back in senior Matthew Davis (96-686, 4 TDs). Davis was also the second-leading tackler on defense with 87 stops.
Moniteau head coach Bob Rottman’s team is coming off a 2-8 season. He’ll look at senior running back Logan Campbell to lead the run-heavy offensive attack.
Region 2
Ridgway at Port Allegany
The defending region and Class 1A champion Gators host the Elkers, whom they beat 30-6 last year in the opener.
Head coach Justin Bienkowski’s Gators, 12-2 after reaching the PIAA second round before a shootout loss to Union-New Castle, lost most of their skill players to graduation, but they’ll be anchored by both lines that return intact led by senior Miska Young and junior Carson Neely. Senior Peyton Stiles (40-210, 2 TDs rushing; 38-400, 1 TD receiving) is the top returning skill player.
Coach Mark Heindl’s Elkers were 2-8 last year. Senior quarterback Cam Larkin threw for 1,016 yards and nine TDs. Senior Luke Zimmerman ran for 501 yards and 7 TDs. Rocco Delhunty is the leading tackler returning to the defense that lost its top four tacklers.
Redbank Valley at Smethport
The Bulldogs travel to face the Hubbers, whom they beat 53-8 at home last year. The Bulldogs went on to finish 9-2 while Smethport finished 1-8, losing its final seven games.
Head coach Blane Gold’s Bulldogs have sophomore Braylon Wagner at quarterback after he threw for over 800 yards in four starts. Drew Byers (163-754, 5 TDs) led the team in rushing while Mason Clouse (23-376, 4 TDs) and Ashton Kahle (21-397, 9 TDs) are the returning top receivers. Seniors Caden Adams and Brandon Ross were two of the top three tacklers on defense.
Brockway at Kane (Saturday, 1:30 p.m.)
The Rovers visit Kane which debuts its brand-spanking new artificial turf field. Last year in Brockway, also turfed, the Rovers edged the Wolves 28-25.
With head coach Jake Heigel, the Rovers have junior Brayden Fox returning to quarterback with over 5,000 career passing yards after throwing for 2,611 yards and 33 TDs last year. They also have senior running back Jendy Cuello, who ran for 1,410 yards and 12 TDs.
Head coach Keaton Rounsville takes over a Wolves squad coming off a 3-7 season. Key players back include senior quarterback Kyle Zook (1,027 yards, 7 TDs), running back Sam West (77-383, 5 TDs) and receiver Dan Anderson (15-180).
Union/A-C Valley at Cameron County
Dan Reed, a former Falcon Knights assistant and past head coach at Keystone, takes over Union/A-C Valley which heads to Emporium to face the Red Raiders. Last year, the Falcon Knights won at home, 27-14.
The Falcon Knights returning quarterback duo of senior Brody Dittman and junior Owen Bish who combined to throw over 1,100 yards and nearly 400 yards.
For the Red Raiders, head coach Ryan Neyman has his senior quarterback Maddox Baughman (630 yards, 4 TDs) and leading rusher in sophomore Malakai Zucal (100-597, 3 TDs) and top tackler in junior Landon Farren (62 tackles),
Region 3
Elk Co. Catholic at Otto-Eldred
The Crusaders and new head coach Tim Pearson head to Duke Center. Last year, the Crusaders beat the Terrors twice during the regular season, 35-30 in the opener in St. Marys and 49-6 four weeks later at Otto.
Crusaders senior Noah Cherry ran for 1,110 yards and 21 touchdowns.
For the Terrors, senior quarterback Andrew Schenfield threw for 2,188 yards and 28 TDs while junior Hunter led the team with 589 yards rushing with eight TDs. Most of Schenfield’s top receiving targets return, led by juniors Manning Splain (45-747, 10 TDs) and Ray’Shene Thomas (30-667, 9 TDs).
Bucktail at Sheffield (Saturday, 1:30 p.m.)
Frank Sutliff’s Bucks make the two-plus hour trip to Warren County Saturday afternoon to take on the Wolverines. The two met twice last year with the Bucks winning both, 42-12 and 42-22. Those were the only two wins for the Bucks, who finished 2-8.
The Wolverines, coached by Mike Barr, finished 0-8 last year and head into the season with a 19-game losing streak dating back to their last win, a 22-14 victory over Port Allegany in 2019.
Non-Region
Keystone at Coudersport
The host Falcons, coached by Frank Brown, host the Panthers who beat the Falcons 38-18 in Knox last year.
Coudersport, which finished 6-4, has senior Gavyn Ayers back after he missed most of the season with an injury. He threw for 199 yards and ran for 129 yards in four games. Also back is top rusher in junior Ethan Ott (132-788, 7 TDs).
The Panthers, 7-5 last year with head coach Todd Smith, have junior quarterback Drew Keth (757 yards, 10 TDs) back. The top returning receiver is Drew Slaugenhaupt (14-343, 2 TDs).
Other
Tyrone at Clearfield
Head coach Myles Caragein at the helm, replacing the district’s all-time winningest coach Tim Janocko. The Bison were 8-4 last year.
This year, the Bison are part of the Laurel Highlands East 2 division that also includes Philipsburg-Osceola, Bellefonte, Penns Valley and Bald Eagle Area, all former foes in the Mountain League. Tyrone used to be as well, but the Golden Eagles are in another division with Central-Martinsburg, Bellwood-Antis, Bishop Guilfoyle and Huntingdon. But non-division games are part of the new schedule, so the Bison will also face Huntingdon and Central-Martinsburg on the schedule along with new foes Forest Hills and Richland.
Bison junior Brady Collins was an all-district selection after running for 1,495 yards and 15 TDs last year. Senior Will Domico is back at quarterback after an injury-filled season last year that saw him throw for 546 yards. Senior Carter Chamberlain ran for 581 yards and 10 TDs.
Tyrone, which beat the Bison 21-14 last year, finished 7-3. The Golden Eagles have quarterback Ashton Walk (1,651 yards passing, 22 TDs) returning.
Curwensville at Meyersdale
Golden Tide head coach Jim Thompson’s team was 3-7 last year, including a season-opening 34-18 win at home against Meyersdale. The Tide finished with five straight losses.
The Tide lost most of their offensive production to graduation, much of it with quarterback Dan McGarry, who passed for 2,000 yards and rushed for 1,000 yards. Senior lineman Ethan Siegel is the top returning tackler.
The Red Raiders finished 2-7. Senior quarterback Drake Sellers threw for 442 yards in shared action behind center.
