There are plenty of times in this job where local athletes, or teams, make us eat our words.
Such was the case Friday night for the beginning of the 2019 high school football season. I had picked Port Allegany and Elk County Catholic to each lose in their Week 0 matchups to Otto-Eldred and Curwensville, respectively.
Neither did, and in fact both schools looked rather impressive in pulling off two season-opening victories that highlighted Friday’s slate of games for local schools.
Here are some of the other big storylines from the opening night of games.
Good times keep rolling: A nine-month hiatus from the end of last season didn’t slow down the area’s best teams as Coudersport, Smethport and Ridgway each rolled in convincing fashion on Friday. Maybe the most impressive of the bunch was the Hubbers’ 40-0 win over Sheffield. Smethport had its best season in nearly two decades last year and didn’t lose a game until the District 9 Class A title game last November, but had to replace most of their playmakers on both sides of the ball entering this campaign.
Instead of stumbling out of the gate, Smethport gashed the Wolverines for 375 yards of total offense that was highlighted by a 197-yard, five-touchdown performance from quarterback Noah Lent. If Lent can play anywhere close to that level consistently this season, it’ll go a long way in replacing what the Hubbers lost on offense.
Ridgway, meanwhile, erased an early six-point deficit to score 42 consecutive points en route to a dominant victory over St. Marys. The Elkers defense, which has long been Mark Heindl’s staple at the Elk County school, put up another stingy performance that saw the Dutch lose 57 yards on nine sacks. On offense, Ridgway had five players find the end zone.
And then there’s Coudersport — which went 8-5 a season ago, but won the D-9 Class A title — knocking off Union/A-C Valley 30-8. The Falcons didn’t particularly throttle the Falcon Knights in any category, but they held Union to just 130 yards of offense and seven first downs. Quarterback Hayden Keck picked up 160 total yards from scrimmage and a score.
About those surprises: There’s nothing quite like an upset victory to get the high school football season rolling, and Port Allegany delivered just that on Friday. Winners of just two games a season ago (Sheffield and Cameron County), the Gators knocked off Otto-Eldred 14-12 in Justin Bienkowski’s debut game in his second stint as head coach. Josh Rees scored both Port A touchdowns, and finished with 190 yards total. Most impressively, however, was that the Gators D — one of the worst in the District a year ago — limited what will be a potent O-E offense, and picked off its quarterback, Cole Sebastian, three times.
Elk County Catholic, meanwhile, entered Friday’s meeting against Curwensville as the underdogs mostly because of its roster, or lack thereof. The Crusaders only have 19 kids on their team, but when one of them is Stephen Bobby and you can play lights-out defense, it doesn’t really matter. Bobby ran for 178 yards and three scores and ECC not only got a big season-opening ‘W’, but also avenged last year’s playoff loss to the Golden Tide.
Kane makes statement: Of course, every team that struggled to a losing mark the previous season makes it a mission to say that things around their football program have changed. On Friday, Kane backed up its words with a commanding 46-19 victory over Moniteau. As part of a humbling 2-7 record a season ago, the Wolves lost 14-13 in the opening week of the season to the Warriors. This year, Kane wasted no time showing its improvements by jumping out to a 39-9 halftime lead. Junior quarterback Zuke Smith threw for three scores and ran in another, while teammate Teddy Race had two touchdowns and 64 yards rushing. The outburst was a welcome sign for head coach Jim Hillman, who saw his offense crack the 30-point mark just once a season ago. Kane doesn’t get much time to celebrate, however, as the Wolves host Ridgway this Friday. The Elkers won that matchup 34-6 last year.
Owls get stiff dose of reality: It’s only one game, and the result wasn’t all that surprising considering the team had to replace so much from a season ago, but Friday’s 51-0 loss to Brookville was certainly discouraging for Bradford. As I mentioned in my postgame coverage, Bradford was done no favors by the schedule-makers in having to play the Raiders and their explosive offense in Week 0. If the Owls had a Punxsutawney or a St. Marys on their schedule, the conversation may have been different. Nevertheless, the defense struggled to contain a mobile quarterback and the offense got in its own way far too many times with turnovers and penalties.
The encouraging thing for Bradford is that it had gotten off to a 2-3 start last season before rolling for four straight victories and earning a trip to the playoffs. The season is still very young, but the Owls have a lot of work to do in righting the ship quickly.
Looking ahead: Perhaps the best part of the Week 0 results for area football fans is that it sets the stage for plenty of intriguing questions and matchups this Friday. Can Otto-Eldred bounce back at home against a talented Redbank Valley squad? Can Kane prove that its offensive explosion against Moniteau wasn’t a fluke in matching up against Ridgway this week? Can Bradford quickly rebound from its Brookville loss against St. Marys on the road? And, finally, what 1-0 team stays unbeaten between Elk County Catholic and Coudersport. The best part about the new league format that went into effect last year has been the quality of matchups each week, and despite being so early in the season, Week 1 is a prime example.
