You know you’re having a great football season at the high school level when you’re still playing after some college teams have finished.
That’s the case for both the Coudersport Falcons and Ridgway Elkers, as the District 9 Class A and AA champs, respectively, prepare for their PIAA quarterfinal contests this afternoon.
If either team wants to continue their already-great 2018 campaigns, they’ll have to get past two of the toughest squads the Keystone state has to offer.
Coudersport (8-4) vs. Farrell (12-0), at Slippery Rock University, 1 p.m.
After a midseason stretch that saw them lose four of six, the Falcons have been soaring through November, outscoring Redbank Valley, Clarion-Limestone, and Smethport by a combined margin of 118-26 en route to the Class A Championship.
Coudy capped off their ‘revenge’ tour with a 44-7 beatdown of their longtime rivals from Smethport to clinch the program’s first district title since 2006.
Unsurprisingly, the Falcons were led by senior running back Stephen Kelly, who gashed the Hubbers for 330 yards and five touchdowns, bringing his season totals to 1,746 yards and 28 scores.
Coudersport lost a close 12-8 contest to West Middlesex the last time it made the PIAA tourney. The year before, the Falcons defeated Kennedy Catholic 48-42 in a double overtime thriller to advance to the state final four before losing to Duquesne 33-2.
It would be hard to find a tougher opponent for the Falcons to begin PIAA play against than the District 10 champs from Farrell.
Ranked number one in the state by MaxPreps, the Steelers haven’t just gone undefeated this year — they’ve utterly destroyed other teams, outscoring the opposition by a stunning 635-81 margin for the course of the season.
That dominance has carried over into the postseason, as the Steelers are coming off a 56-8 rout of District 5 champion Shade last Sunday.
The Steelers are powered by a dynamic set of ‘triplets’ on offense.
Quarterback Kyi Wright has 1,390 passing yards and 25 TDs to just one interception, while also racking up 465 rushing yards and 11 TDs.
Running back Christian Lewis has 1,922 rushing yards with 25 total TDs, while wideout Jourdan Townsend has 984 yards on 57 catches and 19 TDs, with another four scores coming on the ground.
Farrell made it to the state championship game in 2015. It won back-to-back titles in 1995 and 1996.
Ridgway (11-1) vs. Wilmington (11-1), at Karns City, 1 p.m.
While Coudy has waited more than a decade to get back to the state tourney, the Elkers should be plenty familiar with PIAA action.
Ridgway is coming off its third consecutive District 9 title and its first as a Class AA program. The Elkers’ road hasn’t been quite as smooth as Coudersport’s: Ridgway had to win a pair of come-from-behind slugfests against Moniteau in the semifinals (15-7) and Brockway (14-7) in Monday’s title game.
The championship victory was especially dramatic, as running back Matt Dush scored on a six-yard run with just 25 seconds left in regulation to give Ridgway the victory over the Rovers.
As has been the case for the last few years, the Elkers have ridden their dominant defense throughout the 2018 season. Ridgway is allowing just 10 points per game and has held the opposition to single digits eight times. The Elkers rely on creating big plays with their defense, forcing 30 turnovers to date (2.5 per game).
Big 30 Defensive Player of the Year Evan Furlong is back at linebacker to lead Ridgway’s ‘D’ after missing several games earlier this year due to injury. Daunte Allegretto (seven interceptions) and Chase Pontious (60 tackles, 2.5 sacks) join Furlong as All-Big 30 selections on defense.
Ironically, the Elkers lost to Farrell in each of their previous two PIAA contests, falling 36-0 last year and 20-7 in 2016.
In order to secure the program’s first-ever PIAA victory, Ridgway will have to get past District 10 champion Wilmington.
The Greyhounds, who are ranked number five in the state by MaxPreps, were last year’s Class AA runners-up, falling to Southern Columbia 48-0 in the state title game.
Wilmington’s only loss this season came against — guess who? — Farrell by the score of 31-19. The Greyhounds defeated D-5 champ Chestnut Ridge last week in a 40-33 nailbiter to punch their ticket to the quarterfinals.
Outside of those two games, Wilmington has been dominant this year, scoring 48 points per contest while allowing just 13.
The Greyhounds are led by a strong run game headlined by Cam Marett, who enters today’s contest with 1,507 yards on the ground and 18 TDs. Ethan Susen provides a solid number two option with 731 yards and 13 scores of his own.
Quarterback Robert Pontius adds 472 rushing yards and 15 TDs, while also throwing for 1,195 yards through the air with 13 TDs and five interceptions.
