If you’re a fan of offense, then Week 0 of the PA high school football season had everything you could’ve asked for.

There were a lot of District 9 defensive coordinators who probably had nightmares after some of the offensive fireworks from the opening week of the season. Nine of the 22 D-9 teams in action scored at least 34 points in Week 0, with four teams — Coudersport (71), Brookville (69), Bradford (60), and Smethport (54) — cracking the 50-point barrier.

It was a combination of opening-week sloppiness on defense and a few lopsided matchups. But it also speaks to the amount of offensive talent that will be on display in the 2018 season.

Here are a few other takeaways from the opening week of the season:

New format already making an impact

It didn’t take long for the new alignment in District 9 to have an impact compared to past seasons.

Smaller schools — particularly those in the north — were able to start their seasons with big wins, a feat that proved all-but impossible in the old AML with North versus South matchups that frequently turned into blowouts.

Teams like Coudersport, Smethport, and Otto-Eldred have 1-0 records for the first time in a while. On the flip side, Bradford and Kane — members of the old AML South were able to feast on smaller teams early last season — lost a pair of close contests to Brookville (69-60) and Moniteau (14-13), respectively, to start the year.

While fans should still expect to see some lopsided scores along the way — and there were quite a few in Week 0 — it seems reasonable to expect that, on the whole, there will be far more closely-contested games than in the past few seasons.

Crowded race atop Large School Division

After defeating Bradford in an historic shootout, Brookville remains the prohibitive favorite in the Large School Division.

But the Raiders will have plenty of challengers to fend off.

Despite the loss, the Owls showed that they can hang with the big boys down South. Reigning Class AA Champion Clarion looked the part in a 40-6 rout over Punxsutawney. Both Brockway and Karns City figure to be tough outs after the Rovers edged the Gremlins 27-24.

And Ridgway, who lost a lot of talent after back-to-back Class A titles, looked awfully good in a 42-0 victory over St. Marys.

That list doesn’t include Kane, who suffered its first regular-season loss in four years but still has plenty of talent from the group that won three-straight AML titles.

All told, the race for the Large School title will be a fascinating one to watch.

Big 3 in Small School North look as advertised

Otto-Eldred, Coudersport, and Smethport were, in no particular order, considered the top teams to watch in the Small School North Division coming into 2018.

That trio did little to make anyone think otherwise after their performances in Week 0.

All three teams earned their first wins handily: Coudersport blanked Cameron County 71-0, Smethport rolled over Sheffield 54-6, and Otto-Eldred handled Port Allegany 34-6.

The individual talent on offense for all three teams was on display in each game.

Stephen Kelly and Hayden Keck both ran for three touchdowns in a shutout victory in which the Falcons didn’t even attempt a pass; Smethport’s Blake Kinner scored four touchdowns, Grant Ognen threw for three, and Nathan Hollowell, Noah Lent, and Braedon and Bryent Johnson all contributed big plays as well; and Cole Sebastian accounted for four touchdowns in the Terrors’ win with brother Chase (94 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Cameron Magee (105 yard, 1 touchdown) adding big days in the receiving department.

Needless to say, it could be difficult to hand out postseason awards with this much talent at the skill positions.

All three matchups between this trio — Otto-Eldred at Smethport on Sept. 21; Otto-Eldred at Coudersport on Oct. 5; Smethport at Coudersport on Oct. 19 — will be must-see games.