Week 9 on the District 9 football calendar has a little bit of everything for Big 30 teams.
There’s a divisional game (Coudersport/Cameron County), two out-of-District matchups (Franklin/St. Marys, Cowanesque Valley/Otto-Eldred) and a couple of crossover contests (Ridgway vs. Union/A-C Valley, Elk County Catholic/Smethport) that have massive playoff implications.
In Smethport, the Hubbers will look to snap a two-game skid against a very resilient ECC squad. Despite playing most of this season with under 18 players, the Crusaders have given the opposition fits, highlighted by just a three-point loss to 8-1 Keystone a week ago. ECC also gave Coudersport its closest game of the season in a 14-0 loss to the Falcons in Week 1. In the absence of starting running back Stephen Bobby, the Crusader offense has run through Raivis Bobby and Sam Kaul, but ECC has also shown its ability to put the ball in the air of late. Quarterback Mason McAllister threw for 247 yards and four touchdowns last week — on just eight completions.
On the Smethport sideline, the Hubbers have plenty to fix after getting outscored 94-24 in their last two losses to Keystone and Coudersport. A defense that was among District 9’s best over the first month of the season, the Hubbers have allowed 694 yards on the ground to their last two opponents. Smethport is currently slotted fourth in the Class A playoff power points rankings with 580, while ECC is fifth with 450. A Crusader win, and some help from opponents they’ve already beaten, could propel them ahead of Smethport. With a projected five-team playoff in Class A, these two teams are also poised to play each other again next week.
Here’s a look at the four other games involving Big 30 teams this week:
Ridgway (8-1) at Union/A-C Valley (7-2)
RIMERSBURG — It’s not often these Week 9 crossover games between large and small schools feature much intrigue, but this one certainly fits the bill. After each lost a game early in the season, the two schools have combined to drop just one contest (a 44-14 Union/A-C Valley loss to Keystone, Week 7) in September and October. The two teams have relied heavily on their defenses to carry them in that span. Outside of that 44-point anomaly against the Panthers, the Falcon Knights have allowed a total of 21 points over their last four wins. Union/A-C Valley has found balance in its offense as well, with 14 scores on the ground and 19 through the air. Quarterback Luke Bowser has thrown 12 interceptions on the season, something he’ll have to avoid against an opportunistic Ridgway defense.
That Elkers have allowed just 78 points on the year, though they’ve shown some vulnerability of late with 27 points allowed in their last two wins over Karns City and Brookville. For anyone other than Ridgway, that’d probably be a success, but the Elkers have built a reputation as one of the top defensive teams in the state. Ridgway also has an army of playmakers at its disposal on the offensive side of the ball. On the ground, four players — Gabe Watts, Matt Dush, Jake Wickett, Tyler Watts — have at least 350 yards rushing, while quarterback Paul Gresco has chucked 12 touchdown passes and 1,381 yards in the air. And, you guessed it, three different receivers have caught four touchdown catches a piece. It’ll take a strong showing on both sides of the ball for Union/A-C Valley to pull an upset, and it certainly won’t be easy containing all of those Ridgway playmakers.
Franklin (2-7) at St. Marys (5-4)
ST. MARYS — This was a late addition to the schedule for St. Marys after the Dutch were left scrambling to find a Week 9 opponent when their original foe — Warren — had to play a first round District 10 playoff game. Franklin, which lost to those Warren Dragons 57-35 last week, has dropped its last five after a 2-2 start. St. Marys, meanwhile, has scored 97 total points over its last two games to pick up critical wins over Moniteau and Kane. The Dutch, led by sophomore quarterback Christian Coudriet (2,238 yards, 18 touchdowns) are averaging nearly 35 points per game. In addition to Coudriet’s strong season, running back Jacob Kline has 694 yards and 11 scores on the ground. The Knights have allowed 323 points this season, and have held just one team to under 25 points in a game. Offensively, Franklin relies on a pass-first attack with a running game that has racked up a total of just 280 yards for the season.
St. Marys is already locked into the third seed in the upcoming postseason for the Class AAA District 6-9 bracket, so the game should serve as a tune-up for a young team without much playoff experience. Remember, St. Marys went winless just a season ago.
D9 Small School North
Coudersport (8-0) at Cameron County (0-8)
EMPORIUM — The winless Red Raiders are all that stand between Coudy and its first undefeated regular season since a deep state playoff run in 2006. By now, you’ve read and heard all about the phenomenal numbers the Falcons are putting up on both sides of the ball that have placed Coudersport as the favorites to win its second consecutive D9 Class A title. Pennnlive.com just ranked the Falcons as the fifth-best Class A team in Pennsylvania, and there is no shortage of reasons as to why. Coudy has the best statistical defense in D9 — 26 points allowed, 35 forced turnovers — and is currently on a 10-quarter shutout streak. Offensively, no team has been able to slow down the rushing attack of Travis Gleason (1,037 yards, 18 touchdowns) and Hayden Keck (612 yards, 9 TDs). After beating Union/A-C Valley 30-8 in Week 0 and Elk County Catholic 14-0 in Week 1, Coudersport has outscored its opponents 337-18… in just six games.
Cameron County will look to stay competitive with Coudersport as it closes out the first season under head coach Ryan Neyman.
Cowanesque Valley (2-7) at Otto-Eldred (3-6)
DUKE CENTER — The Terrors had one of the more remarkable statistical games in all of District 9 this season in a 76-30 victory over Sheffield last week. Eight interceptions on defense, 496 yards of offense, and seven total touchdowns (four passing, three rushing) for quarterback Cole Sebastian. It all added up to a second consecutive victory for Otto-Eldred, which will be looking to finish the regular season strong against District 4’s Cowanesque Valley. The Indians have been outscored 319-152 this season, but possess a few threats on offense including quarterback Seth Huyler (1,193 yards, 10 TDs) and running back Elliott Good (639 yards, four TDs).
