When reflecting on his team’s move next season to the expanded Big 8 Conference, Penns Valley coach Martin Tobias earlier this season said that coaches have known for a long time that the Big 8 is one of the toughest leagues in Pennsylvania.
A look at this season’s District 6 playoff pairings tells why, with four of the conference’s seven teams in the postseason.
Huntingdon and Tyrone, the top two finishers in the league, each earned No. 1 seeds in their respective classifications. Huntingdon, at 9-0, will face 8-seeded Somerset tonight at War Vets Field in the Class AAA semifinals, while the 8-1 Golden Eagles match up with 4-5 United at Gray Veterans Field in the AA quarterfinals.
Philipsburg-Osceola, who at 6-3 had its best regular season in eight years, is the No. 5 seed in Class AA and will travel to Chestnut Ridge tomorrow. It’s the Mounties’ first playoff berth since 1995.
Indian Valley, at 4-5, managed to sneak into the AAA playoffs and faces No. 2 seeded Johnstown tomorrow night at Point Stadium.
Bellefonte, which won its last three games of the regular season, finished tied in points with Somerset for the fourth AAA playoff spot, but was nosed out on a tiebreaker.
Of the five teams slated to enter the Big 8 next year, when it expands into the two-division Mountain Athletic Football Conference, only two – Bishop Guilfoyle and District 9 Clearfield – qualified for the playoffs.
BIG 8 TEAMS IN THE PLAYOFFS
Since District 6 football playoffs began in 1985, six conference teams have combined to win a total of 15 championships.
The most recent to do it was Indian Valley, which won the AAA title a year ago.
The Tyrone Golden Eagles have won the most District championships among Big 8 teams with six – five in Class AA and one in AAA in 1987. Huntingdon is second with four.
The Bearcats were the first Big 8 team to win Districts in 1986, defeating Tyrone 6-0.
RIVALRY WINNERS
The stakes were high for Bellefonte and Indian Valley a week ago: win and put yourself in a position to make the playoffs. Lose and play regular season game 10, or just get ready for basketball season.
But even without playoff implications, the games had special meaning for both teams. Bellefonte faced Bald Eagle Area in the 46th edition of the Curtain Bowl, while Valley played cross-town rival Lewistown in the Iron Kettle game.
Bellefonte, after trailing 12-0 early, rallied for a 32-25 win to capture its record fifth consecutive Curtain Bowl title. The Warriors easily handled the hapless Panthers 35-8, taking their fourth straight Iron Kettle.
‘CATS CONTINUE DREAM SEASON
The planets have been steadily falling into alignment this season for the Huntingdon Bearcats, who rather quietly have achieved milestones and forged ahead through adversity to build what is fast becoming a dream season.
After losing two key starters to freak injuries before ever even starting camp in August, Huntingdon has overcome obstacle after obstacle and is now in line to win its fifth District 6-AAA title.
Consider this. In their nine-game regular season the ‘Cats:
• Broke up a two-point conversion pass to seal a win in the season-opener
• Came from 10 points down to defeat Tyrone in overtime in Week 2
• Achieved the program’s 600th win, and
• Captured the school’s record ninth Big 8 championship
The magic continued last Friday in a non-conference rivalry game against Hollidaysburg when, after giving up the first 14 points of the game, Huntingdon rallied to tie the game at 14 at the half before winning on a Geoff Kozak field goal with two minutes to play.
CONFERENCE LEADERS
With 160 yards on 19 carries in a 34-13 win over St. Mary’s, Philipsburg-Osceola’s Adam White was the conference’s leading rusher last week. White also added two touchdowns to lead the Mounties into the playoffs.
Lewistown quarterback Nathan Heider led the conference in passing, completing 20 of 40 passes for 232 yards against Indian Valley. Teammate Jared Dyer was the top receiver with 11 grabs for 113 yards.
