Under the lights at Parkway Field, the Bradford and Coudersport football teams will each search for their first win of the season.
Each made a long Week 1 trip to the southern half of District 9. Each came back empty-handed.
Now, for a pair of programs seeking to take a step forward in 2022, Week 2 carries added importance.
The Owls and Falcons will meet in a non-league matchup, their first since 2017. Coudy will look to establish its run game and Bradford will seek to score through the air, but the programs shared a common message through this week’s practices — turn the page.
“It’s been a little bit more serious this week,” Bradford head coach Jeff Puglio said. “There have been times where we’ve lacked focus, and if we do that (Friday), it’s going to be a problem. We’re trying to figure out how to help these guys, and at the end of the day, they need to want to do it for themselves.”
Last week’s game got away from Bradford in a 55-0 loss at Punxsy. After a relatively tame start, the Owls surrendered eight rushing touchdowns, letting a three-score halftime deficit slip into a blowout.
“You need to come back and re-focus,” Puglio said. “I don’t really know what happened; after an interception in the end zone (in the first half), the game seemed to be over at that point.”
Coudy, meanwhile, dropped a 33-16 decision at Keystone last Friday.
The Falcons dug themselves a 20-point hole before scoring a pair of touchdowns, but Keystone eventually proved too strong. After struggling to move the ball against the Panthers, head coach Frank Brown’s group hopes to replicate the rushing success that Punxsy found against Bradford.
“We learned that (Keystone) is a good football team, but that we are, too,” Brown said. “There are some things we need to get cleaned up and we need to be able to run the football, which we weren’t able to do.”
The Falcons are a run-first team.
They feature a multitude of running backs, including James Culvey, Owen Deutschlander, Xander Brown and Ethan Ott. Against Keystone, however, Coudy managed just 44 rushing yards on 22 attempts.
“As long as we can run the football and control the line of scrimmage, that’s Coudersport football,” Frank Brown said. “But we also have a passing game that teams are going to need to respect. We had to move away from our game plan to play catch up (against Keystone), and when we made some adjustments, the boys crawled right back into the game. You want to be balanced, but it would be nice to go out on the field and execute a game plan that you don’t need to move away from.”
Junior quarterback Gavyn Ayers adds another run threat to Coudy’s backfield, but he struggled against Keystone, as well. Still, the Owls maintain that stopping Ayers is task No. 1.
“(Ayers) is very good,” Puglio said. “He’s an athlete and everything is going to run through them. He has a cannon for an arm, can stretch the field vertically and can tuck it and run. He pretty much does it all for them, so we need to be aware of him and try to bottle him up.”
Culvey adds a pass-catching threat for the Falcons, as he hauled in four receptions for 98 yards and a score last week. Equally as important for Coudy, however, will be its ability to slow Bradford’s passing attack and sophomore quarterback Talan Reese.
Bradford’s offense struggled against Punxsy, posting just 115 total yards. Seven different receivers made at least one catch, however, a theme Puglio’s group will seek all season.
Bradford and Coudy will kick-off at 7 p.m. Friday in what will be the Owls’ home opener. Last season, after a lopsided Week 1 loss at Brookville, the Owls returned home to play St. Marys and nearly defeated the Dutch, who went on to win the District 9 Large School League.
“We had a really good offseason, so I’m looking at last week as just a bump,” Puglio said. “We’re not messing with anything lineup-wise, we just need to come out ready to play and play hard. That’s something we did not do last week.”
ELSEWHERE LOCALLY, a pair of intriguing non-league matchups populate Friday night.
After a gutsy Week 1 win at Ridgway, Port Allegany returns home to host Central Clarion. A Region 1 team that surprised many with a 42-7 Week 1 throttling of Brookville, the Gators will have their hands full with the Wildcats.
Port will turn to its familiar rushing attack, which allowed Blaine Moses to rush for 132 yards and three touchdowns against Ridgway. Central Clarion, meanwhile, found success through the air in Week 1, as sophomore QB Jase Ferguson completed 8-of-16 pass attempts for 307 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions.
A pair of 0-1 teams will meet in Smethport, as the Hubbers return home to host Cameron County.
The Red Raiders dropped a 27-14 defeat at Union/A-C Valley seven days ago, a rematch of a 2021 Class A playoff game that unfolded similarly. Smethport, meanwhile, dropped a 53-8 loss at Redbank Valley — the defending PIAA Class A runner-up — with 13 players academically ineligible.
The Hubbers will once again lean on running back Ryan Pelchy, who rushed 16 times for 139 yards and a touchdown against Redbank.
Kane hosts Punxsy, looking to rebound from a 28-25 loss to Brockway. It’s also rivalry week in Elk County, as Ridgway visits St. Marys after the Dutch took care of business last week against Moniteau.
“Every game is a big game,” Brown said. “We know who they are, being a bigger school at a beautiful facility. Our guys are pretty hungry right now, and this week’s practices were exceptional.”
