Suspense. And a little bit of parity.
With five games decided by two touchdowns or less, Week 4 was by far the most competitive two days of play in District 9 football so far this season. And, in what may be a season-low, the second half running clock needed to be used in only three games.
The results of those close matchups featured the five remaining unbeaten teams staying perfect, and the divisional races only getting tighter. Here are the top storylines from a fun weekend on the D9 gridiron:
Sheffield returns to the ‘W’ column: It took 23 games and parts of three seasons, but the Wolverines’ long losing skid finally game to an end with a 31-20 victory over Cameron County Saturday afternoon. Sheffield quarterback Aujamier Slappy-Washington had a monster game with three touchdown passes — all of 50 yards or longer — and finished with 348 total yards. Slappy-Washington has put together a fine season for the Warren County school, helping Sheffield score 58 points over its last two games and getting weapons Mirhan Prince (51-yard touchdown Saturday) and Caden Smead (three touchdowns against Cameron Co.) involved in the offense.
The Wolverines scored a total of 38 points in 2018.
With Sheffield’s win, Cameron County now has the longest losing streak in District 9 at eight games.
Keck’s brilliance: The junior quarterback’s performance was featured on the front page of Saturday’s Era, but it certainly qualifies for another mention here. Hayden Keck, who guided the Coudersport Falcons to a D9 Class A title a season ago, had six touchdown passes — two through the air, two rushing and two interception returns — to pace a 55-0 victory over Port Allegany.
With two rushing scores in Coudy’s last game against Sheffield, Keck has led the Falcons to 116 total points in the past two games as they’ve rolled to a 4-0 record. Keck has attempted only 16 passes and 39 runs, but that’s primarily because of the lopsided scores in the second half. Expect his numbers, and his standout year, to only get better in more competitive games.
Getting overshadowed by the brilliance of Keck and a trio of a 100-yard rushers on offense has been the Coudy defense. That unit has suffocated opposing teams to just 14 total points through four games. The Falcons head on the road to face Curwensville (1-4) and Otto-Eldred (1-4) in each of the next two weeks before two critical games against Smethport and Redbank Valley.
Big showdowns looming: To look back at Week 4 also means you’ll need to look ahead at this Friday’s huge divisional matchups. In the Large School circuit, Clarion travels to Kane in a battle of the last two unbeatens. Both teams are fresh off of 35-point thrashings of their opponents, and have been able to win in a variety of ways this year. The key to the game may be whichever team is able to limit the big plays of the other.
In Kane’s 35-0 victory over Punxsutawney last week, Jake Alcorn scored on a 95-yard interception return, a 65-yard punt return and two rushing touchdowns. Alcorn has arguably been the most explosive player in District 9 this season, and has helped the Wolves pull out victories in games where their pass offense has struggled.
Clarion, on the other hand, has overpowered teams on both sides of the ball and are fresh off a 49-14 rout against St. Marys. The Bobcats also boast D9’s leading rusher in Austin Newcomb, who has totaled 617 yards on just 55 attempts for 12 touchdowns. Clarion toppled Kane 35-7 in last year’s meeting, but the Wolves are much improved in 2019. Expect this one to be a high-scoring game that isn’t decided until late.
Small School unbeatens: In a matchup equally as large in importance and playoff positioning, Smethport (4-0) travels to New Bethlehem to face Redbank Valley (5-0). The Bulldogs have a run-heavy offense, with four players totaling at least 120 yards so far this season, and have also passed for 451 yards.
But on the other side of the field is a staunch Hubber defense, which has allowed just three rushing touchdowns on the year and limited Otto-Eldred’s explosive aerial attack on Friday. Offensively, Smethport has been able to control the clock with its run-first offense with quarterback Noah Lent. Smethport is well-disciplined, and very rarely makes mistakes on either side of the ball. The Hubbers topped RV 20-7 in last year’s meeting, and the point total in this Friday’s matchup should hang right around there.
Playoff power points: The weekly playoff power points were released Monday (full listings are in the scoreboard on B-3) and it shows plenty of teams still jockeying for position in Class A and AA. Of course, the difference between a seed or two could mean the difference between traveling two-plus hours for a game or hosting one in the early rounds.
Clarion sits in first place with 630 points in Class AA and would be the top overall seed if the playoffs began today. Kane is second (580) while slots 2-4 are separated by just 70 points. In Class A, Redbank is in the driver’s seat with an unblemished record as well as having the benefit of not having a bye week. Coudersport, Union/A-C Valley and Smethport are all within 50 points in spots 2-4, while Elk County Catholic slots in fifth with 220 points. The top 8 qualify for the playoffs in each class, though with plenty of schools well below .500, it’s probable each class will only feature six playoff teams in 2019.
