Because of the number of schools each of the 12 districts across Pennsylvania, the 13th weekend of the 2006 high school football season will feature district semifinals, district finals and inter-district games, while three district champions will be idle until next week due to byes into the PIAA quarterfinals.
Curwensville (10-2) is among the squads seeking district titles this week as the Golden Tide returns to Clarion University Saturday to tangle with No. 1 seed Coudersport (12-0) for the third time this season in a 5 p.m. kickoff. The third-seeded Golden Tide knocked off Redbank Valley 32-7 while the Falcons repeated an earlier Allegheny Mountain League win over Johnsonburg 34-14 last Saturday.
In the 1 p.m. opener of District 9 championship day at Clarion, top seed Brookville (10-1) will meet No. 2 Karns City (10-1). The Blue Raiders rolled up 460 yards in total offense en route to a 39-20 victory over fourth seed Brockway 39-20 and the Gremlins pulled out a wild 32-29 squeaker over Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference rival Moniteau, the third seed.
Max Kutz ran 14 times for 175 yards and two touchdowns and Shane Heschke completed seven of eight passes for 150 yards ad three TDs for Brookville. Dillon Park scored twice for Brockway (6-5), including a 95-yard kickoff return. The game marked the end of the Ray Reckner era at Brockway. He has been on the Rover staff 32 years, the last 22 as head coach with a 130-91-3 record, 15 winning seasons and four District 9 Class AA titles.
An 11-yard touchdown pass from Matt Endlish to Josh Callender with 24 seconds remaining kept Karns City\’s championship hopes alive against Moniteau (6-5). The Gremlins covered 70 yards in 1:02 after stopping the Warriors, who had returned an interception to the KC 11 and were poised to put the game away. Endlish was 13-for-23 for 269 yards and three TDs, half of his previous total. He had never thrown for more than 114 yards in a game. Quarterback Tyler Armagost starred for Moniteau, hitting 15 of 30 aerials for 225 yards and two scores and running for 40 yards and two TDs.
Bradford (8-2), which outlasted Clearfield (7-4) in a 37-30 thriller for the District 9 Class AAA title last week, will move into inter-district play against powerful District 4 champion Selinsgrove (12-0), ranked No. 2 in the state, at Shamokin Friday night. The Seals walloped Milton 56-6 in the 4-AAA final. They are No. 10 in the state in scoring (37.67 points a game) and fifth in defense (5.08).
Championship games at Altoona\’s Mansion Park will pit No. 1 seed Tyrone (12-0) against No. 2 Bishop McCort (10-1) Friday at 7 p.m. for the District 5-6 Class AA crown and No. 3 seed Bellwood-Antis (9-2) against No. 5 Juniata Valley (9-2) Saturday at 2 p.m. for the District 6 Class A honors.
Tyrone, which is gunning for its eighth district title in 12 years, turned back Forest Hills (9-3) 46-22 as Tyler Gilllmen ran 16 times for 169 yards and three touchdowns and Johnny Franco carried 20 times for 109 yards and two scores. Bishop McCort ended six-seeded Philipsburg-Osceola\’s run with a 34-10 triumph with fullback Scott Lewis and tailback Brad Barbin scoring two TDs apiece. The Crushers limited the Mounties (8-4) to 149 yards.
In the 6-A semis, Juniata Valley managed only two first downs and finished with just 64 yards in offense but shocked No. 1 seed Purchase Line 6-0 in overtime while Bellwood-Antis toppled No. 2 Southern Huntingdon 24-7 in what was not considered an upset because the Blue Devils had had beaten the Rockets 27-9 earlier in the season. Purchase Line (9-2) had 14 first downs and 235 yards, including Logan Small\’s 123 on 22 carries, but the Heritage Conference champion was unable to cash any of its four trips into the red zone.
District 6 Class AAA titlist Hollidaysburg, 8-4 after blanking Indian Valley 40-0, will travel to Pittsburgh to play District 8 champ Oliver (10-2) in an inter-district game. Junior Brad Nocek had 173 yards for 17 carries and scored four touchdowns for the second-seeded Golden Tigers, who rolled to a 33-0 halftime lead. The fourth-seeded Indians, who upset No. 1 Huntingdon in the semis, bowed out at 6-6. Despite being held to minus-eight yards rushing and four first downs, Oliver topped Brashear 12-2 for its first Pittsburgh City League title for the first time in 64 years, scoring on pass plays of 64 and 21 yards.
A repeat victory over rival Sharon (8-3) 35-7 last week moved undefeated Wilmington, coached by Curwensville native Terry Verrelli, into the District 10 Class AA title game against Fairview (10-1) Saturday at 7 p.m. at Slippery Rock University. The Greyhounds, ranked fourth in the state by the Pennsylvania Football News and fifth by The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, snapped a 7-7 halftime tie with a third quarter touchdown and then added three scores in the fourth quarter as Chris Burns (13 carries for 94 yards) and Jake Reiber scored two TDs apiece. Fairview, outgained 347-325, advanced with a deceiving 32-7 win over Grove City (7-4), which was guilty of four turnovers and 12 penalties for 100 yards.
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Only five teams, including Curwensville, in District 9 remain in the state rankings.
Coudersport is the lone Top 10 team, rated No. 6 in Class A by the Pennsylvania Football News, up from No. 7 last week, and breaking into The Patriot News elite at No. 8, moving up from honorable mention.
Curwensville in Class A and Brookville and Karns City in Class AA are on the PFN\’s \”Others Teams To Watch\” list and The Patriot-News honorable mention list, which also includes Bradford in Class AAA.
District 6 boasts four teams among PFN\’s Top 10 in each class, State College (10-2) up to fifth from eighth in Class AAAA, Tyrone remaining third and Bishop McCort debuting at No. 10 in Class AA and Bellwood-Antis entering at No. 10 in Class A. Tyrone is ranked No. four by The Patriot-News. State College will host Bishop McDevitt of Harrisburg in a Districts 3-6 semifinal Friday at 7 p.m.
District 6 teams receiving honorable mention by The Patriot-News are State College, Hollidaysburg in Class AAA, Bishop McCort and Forest Hills in Class AA and Bellwood-Antis, Juniata Valley, Purchase Line and Southern Huntingdon in Class A. The PFN\’s \”Other Teams To Watch\” lists have Hollidaysburg, Juniata Valley, Purchase Line and Southern Huntingdon.
