With Friday and Saturday’s football games, we’ve officially crossed into the second half of the Allegheny Mountain League.
So the playoff picture should be clearing up pretty well, shouldn’t it? Well, that depends on what division of the AML you’re looking at.
In the North, preseason front-runners Otto-Eldred (3-3 overall) – the defending division champions – and Coudersport (3-3 overall) are both 2-0 through two weeks of division play, while Smethport (2-4 overall) is also riding a two-game win streak.
One of the teams – Coudersport or Smethport – won’t be undefeated in the North after Friday, as the Falcons travel to Smethport for what figures to be a close matchup.
Otto-Eldred, which put its big-play offense on full display Saturday at Sheffield, draws a road matchup with Cameron County (0-6 overall).
In the other matchup on Friday, one team is destined to get its first victory as Sheffield travels to Port Allegany.
In the AML South, things are a bit clearer – but murky at the same time.
Kane, as expected, is undefeated at 6-0.
Bradford High, Ridgway, Brockway and Curwensville are all right behind at 5-1.
But then again, all 5-1 teams aren’t created equally.
All signs – at least the signs I’m following – point to the AML South being a three-horse race between Kane, Bradford High and Ridgway.
And yes, I think the Owls are for real, if healthy (That’s a big “if” looking back at last year’s injury-riddled campaign.). As far as I’m concerned, Jeff Puglio’s proved themselves as contenders during the first two weeks of the season. Sure, the team rolled up a lot of points on probably inferior opponents, but I was more impressed with the way the Owls defense played.
Unlike last year, I thought Bradford High figured out how to play smash-mouth, fast and physical defense that is the hallmark of teams in the AML.
Ridgway’s coaching and defensive style will always have the Elkers in the discussion for league and district championships.
And then there’s Kane. The Wolves haven’t lost a game to a D-9 opponent in 34 outings dating back to 2015 and boast a senior-laden attack.
They’ll grace the turf at Parkway Field on Friday night attempting to spoil Bradford High’s homecoming. Last year in Kane, the Wolves won, 41-0.
If the Owls want to stay in the conversation after losing to Ridgway on Friday, they’ll do themselves a favor and knock off the Wolves.
That might be easier said than done, as Kane averages a cool 428 yards of total offense and is as hard a team to score against as there is in District 9.
Roster numbers talk
As we’re midway through Year Two of the Bradford-in-the-AML discussion, there’s still skepticism as if the Owls belong in the league.
The argument then always ends up moving to school size – the Owls are Class AAAA while a team like Ridgway is Class A. Having that many more players to choose from gives Bradford High an advantage on the field, some might say.
But that doesn’t always tell the full story. In fact, it’s far from it.
The Owls’ roster on MaxPreps lists 41 athletes, a healthy number for a high-school football team. Cameron County, comparatively, has 22 and is one of the smallest football-playing schools in Pennsylvania without a cooperative agreement.
But a team like Ridgway – which has a co-op with Johnsonburg – lists 55 on its roster. Kane, which gets a couple players from their co-op agreement with East Forest, lists 50 players in grades nine through 12 on its roster.
