After the District 9 playoffs opened with a pair of upsets (Kane over Brookville, Smethport over Elk County Catholic), things calmed down in the semifinal round.

In Class A, No. 1 Coudersport cruised past the No. 5 Hubbers, 35-6, in one semifinal, and No. 2 Redbank Valley avenged its regular season loss to Union/A-C Valley with a resounding 32-6 win over the No. 3 Falcon Knights.

In its win over Smethport, Coudy followed its usual formula for a win: strong defense, a potent option offense and winning the turnover battle. The Falcons rushed for 261 yards, gave up just six points and 94 total yards, and forced two takeaways and never coughed the ball up themselves.

With the wins, the Falcons and Bulldogs are set up for a rematch in the championship game, set for 1 o’clock Saturday afternoon. Coudy took the regular season game, 56-0, on an October Saturday night in Coudersport.

The Falcons figure to be the favorites again in round two, given the regular season result and given that Redbank’s starting quarterback, Gunner Mangiantini, is out with an injury — one he sustained against Coudersport.

In addition, the Falcons may have running back Travis Gleason back in the mix after he was sidelined against Smethport with an injury.

Gleason has run for 1,178 yards and 19 touchdowns on 141 carries this season, and factored into the 56-0 win over the Bulldogs heavily, as he ran for 103 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries that night.

Quarterback Hayden Keck also had a big night, as the signal caller ran for 112 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.

And as impressive as the rushing attack was on the night for Coudy, it was the Falcons’ defense that really guided them to the win over RV in round one.

Coudy held Redbank Valley to just 82 yards and four first downs on the night, and added four interceptions on the night, including pick-sixes by Keck and Brandt Kightlinger.

Given that defensive dominance and potent triple option attack, it’s hard to see the Falcons not handling their business against Redbank Valley the second time around.

Meanwhile, in Class AA, No. 1 Ridgway outslugged No. 5 Karns City, 34-27, in a shootout during which each team only punted once, and No. 2 Clarion topped No. 6 Kane 27-13. Ridgway and Clarion had each defeated their opponents previously in the regular season.

The Elkers were given all they could handle by Karns City, as the Gremlins matched Ridgway step-for-step until the Elkers forced a critical turnover on downs in the third quarter. That stop ended up being the difference in the one-score game.

Ridgway showcased its versatility in the win, as the normally run-first Elkers took to the air based on an in-game adjustment. Quarterback Paul Gresco went 19-for-23 for 329 yards and two scores on the day, which is more than twice his season average of 154.5 passing yards per game.

Clarion, meanwhile, used a staunch defense to stymie Kane and an explosive offense to pick up 500 yards.

The Bobcats held Kane to 66 yards and five first downs on the day, and had it not been for Jake Alcorn’s pick-six and punt return touchdown, the Wolves likely would’ve been held off the scoreboard in the 27-13 loss.

Ridgway and Clarion will square off for the second time on Saturday. The Elkers won the first matchup 42-0 on a night the Bobcats were without star running back Austin Newcomb.

Unfortunately for Clarion, Newcomb is probably out again for the rematch, after the back took a hit to the head against Kane late in the second quarter, and was taken out for the remainder of the game.

In the 42-0 shellacking of Clarion, four different Ridgway players scored rushing touchdowns on the night. The Elkers were paced by Jake Wickett’s 137 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, and Matt Dush added 121 yards and a score on just three attempts.

That game remains Clarion’s only loss on the season.

If the Bobcats are to stay competitive in the rematch, slowing down Ridgway’s ground attack must be the first step. However, even that may not be enough, as Gresco has shown he’s more than capable of picking apart defenses when given the opportunity.

Kickoff for the District 9 Class AA championship is at 6 o’clock.

(Joel Whetzel, a Bradford Era sports reporter, can be reached at jwhetzel@bradfordera.com.)