Although Week 1 of the PA high school football season didn’t feature many nail-biters, it had plenty of big games and results that have begun to set the landscape of football in District 9 for 2018.
Just one of the weekend’s 13 games involving D-9 was decided by less than a touchdown, with eight teams winning by 20 points or more.
Nevertheless, there were plenty of compelling storylines to come out of Week 1, with some teams certainly feeling good about the direction they are headed while others will make some major adjustments in practice this week.
Here are a couple takeaways from the second week of the high school slate:
Parity across the board
With just two games played, it isn’t all that surprising that all teams remain within striking distance of one another. However, it’s tighter than usual so far in 2018. In the Small School South, Redbank Valley sits atop the division at 2-0 (1-0 in division). The other five teams in that division are all at 1-1. Elk County Catholic, which had an impressive upset win over Curwensville in Week 0, was a victim of a second half collapse against Coudersport and join that group of teams at .500. Meanwhile, teams like Keystone and Curwensville bounced back from disappointed losses to also move to 1-1.
It’s more of the same in the Large School Division. In that 10-team grouping, five schools have a 1-1 mark. Brockway, Ridgway and Clarion are the lone teams to escape the first two weeks of the season without a loss.
Big names shine again
Plenty of top offensive players put their talents on full display again on Friday. Despite his team putting up just 14 points against St. Marys, Bradford’s Donny Pattison had another big game out of the backfield. After leading his team in rushing and scoring three touchdowns in the Owls 69-60 Week 0 loss, Pattison racked up 151 yards on 13 carries that included an 81-yard touchdown against the Dutch. Pattison is part of a three-man backfield for the Owls that has worked well through two weeks.
A little further south, another back carried his offense to victory. After leading ECC by just two points at halftime, Coudersport running back Steve Kelly got hot in the second half and had another solid performance. Last year’s All-AML running back selection had 161 yards and two touchdowns against the Crusaders, and already has over 280 yards on the ground in 2018.
In Ridgway, the offense continues to make big plays via the passing attack. After two passing touchdowns of over 50 yards in Week 0, the Elkers rode the passing game again to a 34-6 victory over Kane. Quarterback Paul Gresco connected with Daunte Allegretto on touchdown passes of 27 and 77 yards. Allegretto also had a 59-yard touchdown catch last week against St. Marys and is quickly establishing himself as one of the top receiving threats in the district.
Small School North race heats up
The race atop this division is going to get even better as the season progresses, but it’s already quite fascinating just two weeks in. There’s a clear top half of teams with Coudersport (2-0, 1-0), Smethport (2-0,1-0) and Otto-Eldred (1-1, 1-0) all of which have weapons on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
The Terrors suffered their first loss of the season against Redbank Valley, 31-8, but should be able to rebound with this Friday’s matchup against Cameron County. The Red Raiders are one of the three teams at the bottom half of that division that are struggling through rebuilding seasons. Port Allegany, Sheffield and Cam County have combined to go 0-6 so far with just 42 points total in those games.
Smethport, which posted a huge win over Clarion-Limestone on Friday, host Port Allegany this weekend. The Hubbers have had one of the more balanced offensive attacks in D-9 this season with Grant Ognen having a fine season at quarterback and the duo of Nate Hollowell and Blake Kinner continuing to make big plays in the backfield. In their Week 1 win over Clarion-Limestone, the Hubbers rallied from an 18-14 fourth quarter deficit and took the lead on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Ognen to Hollowell. The first matchup between those top three teams comes in Week 4 when Otto travels to Smethport.
Different this time around
One of the area’s best rivalries had a different feel to it Friday, and it wasn’t just because of the final score. The Elkers came out with their first win over Kane in several years, but it also was another sign pointing to the changing of the guard atop the District 9 hierarchy.
Kane, which had gone undefeated in the regular season since 2014, has had to replace longtime head coach Todd Silfies as well as all of its top playmakers from last year. It was certainly a tall task, and the Wolves are struggling to find their footing with back-to-back losses to begin the year. First-year head coach Jim Hillman doesn’t get any help from the schedule with Kane facing a tough matchup against Bradford this Saturday.
Ridgway, meanwhile, was expected to suffer through the beginning of the season with its new-look roster as well, but has instead romped its first two opponents. The Elkers have outscored St. Marys and Kane by a combined 78-6 margin and have seemingly been able to withstand the roster turnover well under longtime head coach Mark Heindl. The aforementioned passing attack has deservedly gotten most of the attention for Ridgway, but the team also has a strong running game and a stout defense that has allowed just a one-yard touchdown score so far. Ridgway has a chance to start 3-0 with a matchup against Moniteau (1-1, 1-1) this week.
