STRATTANVILLE, Pa. – There are three District 9 Class 2A boys’ quarterfinal games on tap for Wednesday, Feb. 22 (a fourth, the Otto-Eldred/Curwensville matchup, has been postponed until Thursday).
Here is a quick breakdown of each matchup
(7) Kane (10-12) at (2) Clarion-Limestone (22-2)
Winner gets: Winner of Port Allegany/Karns City game
Kane leading scorers: Ricky Zampogna (15.0 ppg), Landon Darr (9.1 ppg), Sam Lundeen (8.9 ppg), Scott Szymanski (6.8 ppg), Dane Anderson (6.2 ppg)
C-L leading scorers: Jordan Hesdon (14.8 ppg), Riley Klingensmith (11.6 ppg), Jase Ferguson (10.4 ppg – has missed past 6 games with an injury) Alex Painter (7.9 ppg), Tommy Smith (7.3 ppg), Jack Callen (6.3 ppg)
Notable: The game features one of D9’s newest coaches – first-year Kane head coach Cory Darr – against the third longest-tenured coach in D9 – Joe Ferguson of C-L. Only ECC’s Aaron Straub and Keystone’s Greg Heath have coached longer than Ferguson, who has guided the Lions for 17 seasons going 281-135 including the 2015 D9 1A title … Kane enters the postseason having gone 5-2 in its last seven games. That followed a seven-game losing streak by the Wolves between Dec. 28 and Jan. 21 … Ricky Zampogna (17.4 ppg last 7 games) and Landon Darr (10.6 ppg last 7 games) have led the way during the recent stretch of success while Dane Anderson (8.7 ppg last 7 games) has really raised his level of playing during the streak … C-L won its seventh KSAC title with a 51-46 win over Karns City Saturday. That turned around an 18-point loss to the Gremlins nine days earlier at Karns City. That loss broke a 17-game winning streak for C-L … The Lions have had to overcome adversity having lost their best overall player, Jase Ferguson, to an elbow injury Feb. 1. Ferguson has missed six games in a row and his status for the postseason is up in the air. Alex Painter (11.5 ppg last 6 games) and Jack Callen (10.3 ppg last 6 games) have stepped up their games in Ferguson’s absence.
(6) Port Allegany (13-7) at (2) Karns City (20-4)
Winner gets: Winner of Kane/Clarion-Limestone game
Port Allegany leading scorers: Drew Evens (10.1 ppg), Braylon Button (8.5 ppg), Blaine Moses (7.0 ppg), Jarrod Funk (6.1 ppg), Jett Rudding (5.7 ppg), Noah Archer (4.8 ppg)
Karns City leading scorers: Taite Beighley (14.3 ppg), Micah Rupp (10.5 ppg), Shane Peters (9.5 ppg), Jacob Callihan (9.2 ppg), Hobie Bartoe (7.2 ppg), Braden Grossman (5.0 ppg)
Notable: After a highly successful football season that saw Port Allegany reach the PIAA Class 1A semifinals, the Gators took a while to get their basketball legs starting the season 4-5. Since then, it has been a strong finish for Port Allegany with the Gators going 9-2 since Jan. 13 … No one player has stood out during that stretch with four of them – Drew Evens (9.5 ppg), Braylon Button (8.5 ppg), Blaine Moses (8.4 ppg), and Jarrod Funk (7.2 ppg) – taking turns leading Port Allegany … Karns City lost in the KSAC title game to Clarion-Limestone Saturday, 51-46, and lost two of three meetings with the Lions this year … The Gremlins only other loses have come to Clarion (third seed in D9 1A) and D9 3A champion Brookville … The loss to C-L broke a nine-game win streak for Karns City … Hobie Bartoe is a player to watch for the Gremlins, as he is averaging 10.0 ppg in his last nine games after averaging 5.1 ppg through his first 12 contests.
(5) Redbank Valley (11-11) at (4) Ridgway (16-7)
Winner gets: Winner of Curwensville/Otto-Eldred game
Redbank Valley leading scorers: Owen Close (14.0 ppg), Mason Clouse (10.2 ppg), Braylon Wagner (7.5 ppg), Kieran Fricko (6.3 ppg), Aiden Ortz (5.6 ppg), Cam Wagner (4.0 ppg)
Ridgway leading scorers: Aaron Sorg (14.4 ppg), Jack Benninger (10.1 ppg), Alex Merritt (7.7 ppg)
Notable: This is a rematch of last year’s D9 2A title game won by Ridgway, 41-38, although very few of the key players from that game return with Aaron Sorg the lone Ridgway player back who scored in that game (9 points) and Owen Close (8 points) the lone player back from Redbank Valley who scored in that contest … Redbank Valley has overcome some adversity this season including having played the last handful of games without head coach Emmanuel Marshall, who was in a car accident – Marshall is recovering but his status for the postseason is questionable. In Marshall’s absence, assistant coach Jake Dougherty, a star on the Bulldogs PIAA 2A quarterfinal team in 2015, has taken the reigns with help from Dan Ion … Redbank Valley has also played five games this year without leading scorer Owen Clouse going 0-5 in those games meaning they are 11-6 when Clouse plays … With so many new players, it was a slow start for the Bulldogs who were 2-8 on New Year’s Day. They then ran off seven straight wins before Owen Clouse was injured causing a three-game losing streak. With Clouse back, Redbank Valley closed the regular season by winning two in a row … Ridgway not only had to replace the bulk of its scoring from last year but also saw long-time head coach Tony Allegretto step down. Allegretto’s long-time assistant Eric Herzing took over, and the Elkers started 4-3 before running off four straight wins. But those wins were followed by a 3-game losing streak. However, starting Jan. 24, Ridgway has been on a roll winning 8 of 9 with the only loss coming in heartbreaking fashion to Elk County Catholic in the AML Title Game Saturday, 31-29, in overtime. That game ended on a shot by ECC that clearly left the player’s hands after the final horn in overtime but was counted … A big part of the Elkers success in the second half of the year has been finding a third scorer … After averaging 6.6 ppg through his first 14 games, Alex Merritt has averaged 9.4 ppg over his last nine. That has taken the pressure off Aaron Sorg and Jack Benninger, who carried the load for the most part through the first half of the season.
