Back in late June and early July, Todd Silfies and Mark Heindl were coaching side-by-side, sharing coaching styles, tips and strategies.
That was back when the two were preparing their Allegheny Mountain League team — Kane’s Silfies as the head coach and Ridgway’s Heindl as one of his assistants — to play in the second annual Frank Varischetti All-Star Football Game against a team made up of all-stars from the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference.
The AML team ran Kane’s no-huddle, spread offense under the direction of Tyler Smith, Kane’s offensive coordinator, while Silfies called the shots on defense. Having one of a half-dozen rival head coaches who stopped through the week of practices possibly pick up or lift play calls and ideas wasn’t a concern to Silfies.
“We’re not really too concerned with being secretive,” Silfies said then.
Tonight, both Silfies and Heindl will lead defending District 9 champion teams into Kane’s Paul R. Miller Stadium in a game that has major divisional and district playoff implications. For the undefeated Wolves (7-0, 3-0 AML South), fresh off a 56-24 win over Bradford High last week, has a chance to clinch its third straight AML South title and continue its 28-game regular season win streak. Ridgway (5-2, 1-2 AML South) narrowly lost 14-11 to Brockway last week, but a win keeps the Elkers in the top two of the D-9 Class A playoff race.
By many accounts, Kane and Ridgway were the two preseason favorites to take the South. Both hard-hitting, defensive-minded teams, the Wolves eked out a win in Ridgway last year in the closest of the team’s 13 wins. It would come as little surprise for another close game to transpire tonight.
“Kane-Ridgway is a special type of game,” Silfies said last Friday after his Wolves topped Bradford High. “It’s a different type of rivalry because of the incredible respect we have between programs and so we’re excited about playing them. They’re excited about playing us because I’ve always said I like to compete against and impress my friends. Coach Heindl is definitely one of my friends.”
Kane, under Smith’s system, average 52.7 points per game, a mark that’s third-best in the state as quarterback Reed Williams has thrown for 17 touchdowns — eight of which have gone to receiver Ray Maze.
As much as the Wolves can spread the ball out, the offense still runs a bulk of its sets through senior running back Erik DeLong, who’s up to 902 yards on the season (with 15 touchdowns on 10.9 yards per carry) and 3,604 for his career.
The sledding shouldn’t be as easy going this week as the Elkers give up just 8.4 points per game, albeit despite the absence of all-star linebacker Joey Elinski, who suffered a spinal cord injury in Week 2 against Sheffield.
As far as district playoff implications — which are determined by power points — Kane and Ridgway have clinched spots in the postseason.
Kane is at 880 points, ahead of Brookville (6-1, 800), Clarion (6-0, 780) and Brockway (6-1, 680) in the four-team Class AA tournament.
In the eight-team Class A tournament, Curwensville, with its head-to-head win over the Elkers last week, is first at 6-1 with 750 points, while Ridgway is second at 650. Following those two are a logjam of teams ranging from 4-3 Coudersport and Otto-Eldred (440) to 2-5 Smethport (210). Currently, there are only six teams in Class A with records at .500 or better, though some teams may opt out of postseason play due to school policy.
