Around the area: Week 9

Cowanesque Valley at North Penn-Mansfield

CV and North Penn-Mansfield have the District 4 spotlight to themselves Saturday night. They produced a good one last year with North Penn-Mansfield mounting a last-minute drive to win a 20-14 thriller.

CV (3-5) has won two straight games and was a play or two from making it three straight, building a 10-point lead against South Williamsport in Week 6. Quarterback Graham Hess went over 1,000 yards passing last week and also leads the team in rushing, topping 100 yards passing and rushing in each of the last two games. Dave Hess also is having a strong season and Jeavon Eick has scored in four different games, while also intercepting four passes.

Sophomore linebacker Kegan Lane is closing in on a 1,000-yard season and is one of the area’s leading tacklers. Freshman Stevie Olson has four sacks, including one in consecutive games.

North Penn-Mansfield (2-6) has played Muncy and Troy teams who are a combined 15-1 the past two weeks. The Panthers have played some exciting games and rallied in the second half to defeat Athens on the road. Quarterback Cooper Shaw has a shot at reaching 2,000 total yards this season and wide receiver Luke Kreger leads the district with 1,057 yards.

Riley Oakes has become a versatile weapon and ran for and caught a touchdown at Muncy. George Valentine has averaged 6.3 tackles since returning from injury and George Perry has two sacks. The Panthers have allowed just 14 points in their two wins.

Sayre at Canton

Canton (4-4) could be getting healthy at the right time and had some key players back last week when it snapped a three-game losing streak and defeated Wellsboro, 46-34. The Warriors did damage on the ground and through the air with quarterback Ben Fitch totaling five touchdowns, including returning an interception for a score. Aydin Holcomb continues his big season and caught three passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

Holden Ward returning from injury added a different dimension to Canton’s offense and Bailey Gardner also ran for 84 yards while adding an interception. Tonight could be a District 4 Class A playoff preview. With six teams eligible for the postseason, Canton sits at No. 4 and Sayre (1-7) is fifth meaning if the seeds stay that way, they would play again in two weeks.

Sayre has a dangerous passing tandem in Karter Green and Nick Pellicano. Green is 83 yards from 1,000, while Pellicano has caught eight touchdowns. He also has returned three kickoffs for touchdowns.

Warrior Run at Central Columbia

Warrior Run (5-3) has lost consecutive heartbreakers against Loyalsock and Hughesville by four combined points, including in double overtime last week. Still, the Defenders are competing hard and have a shot at earning only the second home playoff game in program history.

Although Warrior Run enters tonight fifth in the standings and the top four will host games, it would host if it wins its last two games and Loyalsock loses at least one of its contests against undefeated Shamokin or Montoursville. The Defenders rallied from a 14-point deficit at Hughesville, put together a last-minute scoring drive and converted a 2-point conversion with two seconds remaining to force overtime before coming up one yard short in the second overtime.

Eli Butler is having a fabulous all-around season. The senior leads the team in tackles, tackles for loss and rushing, while totaling 13 touchdowns four ways. He also has 1,150 total yards. Wide receiver Sam Hall is second on the area’s all-time receptions list and quarterback James Keifer has gone over 1,000 yards in his first year starting. Defensive end Stone Allison was a force against Hughesville, collecting three sacks. He leads the area with seven sacks.

Central (2-6) showed its potential two weeks ago when it outlasted Milton, 42-36 in double overtime. The Blue Jays ran for 279 yards in that game with Ty Regan and Parker Day both going over 100 yards. Dylan Shultz added a defensive score.

Wellsboro at Northwest

Wellsboro gave Canton a battle last week, losing a high-scoring contest, 46-34 but a young group continues progressing. The Hornets have come alive offensively and are the only team to score 20 points against the state’s top-ranked Class AA team, Troy. Freshman quarterback Griffin Morral has thrown at least one touchdown pass in five straight games and shined at Canton, generating 361 yards of offense and five touchdowns.

Ryder Bowen leads the team in tackles and rushing for a second straight season. The junior ran for a career-high 301 yards and four touchdowns in a 40-8 win against Cowanesque Valley. Marek Mascho and Kody Enck had strong receiving games last week both catching two touchdowns and going over 90 yards. In the two previous games, Jonathan Carl caught three touchdowns. Mascho and Carl each also have three interceptions.

Northwest (1-7) features a quality passing game and quarterback Jace McCoy went over 1,000 yards by Week 7. The Rangers scored a season-high 22 points in last week’s loss at Cowanesque Valley and also forced three turnovers.

Troy at Central Mountain

Central Mountain faces its latest formidable opponent after battling Shamokin, Montoursville and Mount Carmel teams who are a combined 19-5 during the last four weeks. The Wildcats are one of the area’s youngest teams but play hard and scored the final 20 points at Mount Carmel a week ago.

Kole Corman is among the area’s leading tacklers and the sophomore linebacker has made at least 11 in three straight games, setting a program record with 21 against Shikellamy. Dalton McDermott intercepted two passes a week ago and Jake Weaver has run for 100 yards or more in two of the last three games. Isaiah Maldonado found Gavin Heverly for a touchdown at the Silver Bowl and Heverly finished with four catches for 57 yards.

Troy (8-0) has been a juggernaut, mercy ruling seven of eight opponents, including six straight. The state’s top-ranked 2A team averages a District 4-best 49.1 points per game and allow 9.3 They also have won 18 straight regular season games and will be the top seed districts. Troy has been especially explosive the last three weeks, averaging 12.8 yards per play.

Quarterback Evan Woodward went over 1,000 yards for a second straight year last week and leading rusher Brenden Gilliland averages 14.3 yards per touch, scoring 11 touchdowns. Mason Smith has scored 11 touchdowns five ways and has returned two punts and a kickoff for scores.

Sheffield at Bucktail

Bucktail (0-6) is searching for its first win and gets a second crack at Sheffield after losing to it in its season opener. The Bucks have had as few as 15 players this season but continue competing hard and scored the final 14 points at Cameron County last week.

Quarterback Brody Pentz is on pace for a second straight 1,000-yard season despite Bucktail losing two scheduled games when Elk County Catholic was forced to cancel its season due to a lack of players. Gavin Yachymiak scored in three straight games prior to last week and freshman Teagan Stone appears to have a bright future. Stephen Heiser caught a touchdown at Cameron County and also completed two pass attempts.

Sheffield (2-4) snapped a four-game losing streak, defeating Union City, 41-12 a week ago. It was the third time this season that the Wolverines scored at least 26 points. That included in the opener when it gained 328 yards against Bucktail. The Bucks hurt themselves that day, however, turning the ball over five times.

Mount Carmel at Milton

Milton (3-5) has navigated a challenging schedule throughout the season and it does not get any easier tonight against the state’s No. 9-ranked Class AAA team. The Black Panthers have been hit hard by injury but are a play or two from being 4-4 and blanked Midd-West, 27-0 last week.

Milton’s passing game has come alive at times this season with both Chase Lytle and Izayah Minium producing multiple touchdown performances. Wide receiver Lucas Ditty has gone over 100 yards twice and caught three touchdowns two weeks ago at Central Columbia. Monty Fisher is among the area leaders in receptions and the versatile junior has gone over 1,000 career yards rushing and receiving. Chris Doyle is the program’s leading career rusher in the 2000s.

Milton handed Mount Carmel (6-2) its lone league loss last year, edging it for the HAC-III championship. That means the Tornadoes could be in an ornery mood tonight as they try to stay third in the District 4 Class AAA standings with the possibility of moving to No. 2 if Lewisburg loses. Mount Carmel features an explosive, balanced offense and the starting defense did not allow a point in last week’s win against Central Mountain.

Quarterback Gavin Marshalek has set a program record by throwing 111 straight passes without an interception and sophomore Jaylen Delaney is the fourth player in program history to reach 50 catches in a season. Sophomore Cooper Karycki has averaged nearly 100 yards rushing per game and Mount Carmel received a big boost with standout running back Luke Blessing returning from injury last week.