Just how well is the football cooperative agreement working between long-time rivals Ridgway and Johnsonburg?

The schools, bitter Elk County rivals which met every season from 1901 until the teams combined as just Ridgway prior to the 2013 season, have the Elkers in the state playoffs for the first time, as they face Farrell (9-3) tonight at 7 at Slippery Rock University.

“It’s tremendous,” ninth-year head coach Mark Heindl said. “It’s brought football back in both communities. Since the co-op, every year it garners more and more support.”

In recent years, the Ridgway community has come out in droves to support the boys basketball team’s recent string of success, but winning like the Elkers (10-2) have had on the gridiron this year – the team won its first District 9 title since 1989 last week – has energized not only Ridgway, but Johnsonburg as well.

“It’s not even the feeling in Ridgway – it’s in Johnsonburg as well,” Heindl said. “It’s a big milestone for the program. It’s a positive for things to come.”

That success might have some staying power as well. The Ridgway middle school and ninth grade teams, which also co-op with Johnsonburg, each completed back-to-back undefeated seasons this fall.

The Elkers had a Thanksgiving walk-through on Thursday, which was a program goal to be practicing this late in the season.

“We told our kids today [to] enjoy every moment of it,” Heindl said.

Meanwhile on the other sideline, the two-time state champion Steelers bring with them a wealth of big-game experience, including a run to last year’s Class A title game. Farrell, which topped Kane last year in this same quarterfinal round, is 6-0 all-time against District 9 schools in the state playoffs.

“They’re very fast, very physical,” Heindl said. “They’re only suiting up 27 kids. They bring a lot of big-game experience, especially last year in the state finals. We’re going to have our hands full.”

Farrell relies on a run-heavy attack with four players having gained at least 280 yards on the ground. Dual-threat sophomore quarterback Kyi Wright has thrown for more than 1,200 yards (17 touchdowns, five interceptions, 62.6 completion percentage) and run for 350 yards and a score. Wright is also a ballhawk on defense with four picks.

The Elkers might see a heavy dose of Christian Lewis and Brandon Chambers out of the backfield due to the season-ending injury to all-time leading rusher (3,067 yards) Braxton Chapman, a senior. Chapman was carted off during last week’s 30-0 rout of Conemaugh Township because of, according to coach Jarrett Samuels to The Sharon Herald Thursday, a torn ACL.

The presumed backfield shuffling might play into the strength of Ridgway – the Elkers give up a paltry 8.1 points per game and allow just 1.8 yards per carry. While Farrell goes for more than 300 yards per game, the Elkers allow just 148 yards and are led by a pair of junior 100-tackle players in Joey Elinski (108) and Neil MacDonald (101).

One would think the Ridgway defense would be the key for the Elkers to advance to the western finals. Instead, it’s the flip side of the ball that Heindl is keying on for tonight.

“We stressed to our guys all week ball control and long, sustained drives to keep them off the field,” Heindl said. “Just to keep them off the field and keep them off rhythm is going to be a key to our football team.”

MacDonald is the leader of the offense, rushing for more than a thousand yards and 12 touchdowns. Junior quarterback Johnny Mitchell has thrown for nearly 700 yards (10 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 51.2 completion percentage), but is capable when calling his own number to the tune of 488 yards and nine touchdowns. Elinski and Jacob Zimmerman also receive carries for the Elkers, while MacDonald and Josh Raubenstrauch are the top targets through the air.

A win for Ridgway would not only be historic for the program, but one for the senior class who were freshman in the first year of the co-op in 2013. The seniors won an Allegheny Mountain League title in 2014 and a district championship this year.

So what’s the Ridgway coaching staff’s message to their team prior to the game?

“We try to stress to them we’re here for a reason, it’s not by luck,” Heindl said. “You punched your ticket to the playoffs just like Farrell did.”