Class A teams have final shot to move up

Flinton isn't a big town, but what transpires there on Friday night will be felt from Alexandria to Mount Union, Saxton, Everett, Meyersdale, Armagh, Homer City and Clymer.

The reason is that the Glendale and Tussey Mountain football teams are both 5-3 and situated smack dab in the middle of the District 6 and District 5 Class A playoff races as the regular season enters its final week. The game seems to be a toss-up on paper, and whoever comes out on top will impact who finishes where and who plays whom.

If Glendale prevails at home, the Vikings probably will remain 10th in the District 6 standings, although there is an outside shot they could move up a place. However, if Tussey wins, Glendale will more than likely fall a slot or two, while the Titans would secure a first-round home game in District 5.

If Tussey loses, the Titans are facing the possibility of a trip into Somerset County next week.

Both district races have been wild and woolly. Only four of the 25 teams in District 6 and one of the nine teams in District 5 have been eliminated from playoff contention heading into the final week for teams to qualify. Of course, a number of teams - like Williamsburg, Claysburg-Kimmel and Northern Cambria - have already declared they will not enter the District 6 bracket even if they finish in the top 16 needed to advance. There is no minimum number of wins needed to qualify in District 6.

One team that will probably go in even if it only has three wins is Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic, although the final decision has yet to be made.

"I think we're going to go,'' BG coach Marty Georgiana said. "It's a reward for these kids.''

Three District 6 teams that won't be deciding whether or not to play are Bishop McCort, Bellwood-Antis and Portage. Those three undefeated teams are already assured of the top three seeds, although that order could be shaken up if any of them gets upset this week, and how many of them get first-round byes will be determined by how many teams ultimately join the playoff party.

There'll also be at least one 8-1 team in the field and perhaps as many as three, and the 6-A bracket has the potential to include as many as nine teams with two losses or fewer.

District 6 teams receive a base of 100 points per victory, modified in increments of 20 up or down depending on whether the opponent is of a higher or lower enrollment class. They also get 10 extra points per victory of a team they've defeated.

Class AAAA through AA teams still have another week to compile points for district seeding.

Here's a closer look at the playoff scenarios.

District 6 Class A

A lot hinges on what happens in the Inter-County and Heritage conferences this week.

Should Moshannon Valley win its home game against surging Southern Huntingdon, the Black Knights are guaranteed of moving up at least one spot.

Mo Valley is currently seventh. However, Marion Center, which is 20 points ahead of the Knights in sixth, hosts United, which is 70 points ahead of Mo Valley in fourth.

Another Heritage Conference game will also impact Mo Valley: Fifth-place Penns Manor has its work cut out for it at 5-3 Homer-Center on Friday.

The odds for two of Mo Valley's Inter-County Conference North rivals - Glendale and Juniata Valley - to move up are a lot shakier. Glendale is 10th heading into its home game with Tussey Mountain this week, but the Vikings are 160 points out of ninth place, where Mount Union presently resides.

Although a win over Tussey would gain the Vikings 150 points and another 20 power points, Mount Union, even if it loses to Bellwood, will get at least 20 more because four of the teams it has beaten also face off in week 9.

Glendale would then need for Williamsburg to upset Juniata Valley just to get to a schedule-strength tiebreaker, which would probably favor Mount Union.

Glendale still needs to win, though, to keep from dropping as low as 12th, because Homer-Center and Juniata Valley are both in striking range to surpass the Vikings. Homer, in fact, will surpass the Vikings just by beating Penns Manor regardless of what Glendale does.

Juniata Valley is heavily favored against 1-7 Williamsburg, which would give the Hornets 610 total points.

BG is 13th entering the week and probably will stay there even if it wins at Bishop Carroll. The Marauders are looking at a trip west to play Marion Center, Penns Manor or United.

Bellwood and Portage are unlikely to be able to overtake McCort, a heavy favorite at home against Bedford this week. However, the two Mirror coverage area teams could be vying for a first-round bye should Saltsburg or Ferndale make it into the top 16 and receive administrative approval to enter the playoffs. Portage, the defending district runner-up, has a moderately challenging game at Berlin.

Bellwood has a dangerous opponent at Mount Union, which could open the door for the Mustangs to move up into the second spot. That's important, because higher seeds get home-field advantage and an extra day's rest until the finals.

District 5 Class A

This could actually be an eight-team bracket this year, as the only team mathematically eliminated heading into this week is Northern Bedford. However, upsets for Rockwood over 6-2 Blacklick Valley and Shade over top-rated Conemaugh Township would be required for the maximum number of teams to advance; District 5 requires its seventh and eighth seeds have at least four wins to take part in its playoffs.

Instead, it will probably be a six-team field.

Everett and Tussey Mountain are among the half-dozen teams to have already qualified and will be jockeying for potential quarterfinal-round home games.

The first thing that needs to occur for the Warriors and Titans is to get a little bit of help from Windber, which has already wrapped up the second seed. The Ramblers, though, still have a big bearing on things because they have a game at Meyersdale on Friday.

The Red Raiders are currently in third place with 26 points. That puts them one point up on both Tussey and Everett and opens the door for the two area teams to move up if Windber knocks off the Raiders.

Everett has a game it would figure to win against Claysburg.

As mentioned above, Tussey's game is more of a toss-up - at Glendale. However, if the Titans can win, they would wind up with 30 points. They would also get the tiebreaker over the Warriors by virtue of a 20-16 head-to-head comeback victory on Sep. 25.

If Tussey or Everett loses, they could wind up dropping, but that would require a Berlin upset of Portage. In all likelihood, Berlin will be at the third seed - probably Everett or Tussey - on Nov. 6. Meyersdale will face the other team the next night, while Township and Windber get opening-round byes.

District 6-8-9-10 AAAA

State College currently has the edge on McDowell for the No. 1 spot, but the Little Lions have a big game vs. undefeated Bishop McDevitt this weekend that could allow McDowell, which faces winless Connellsville, to overtake State.

Only 30 points separate Central Mountain and DuBois in their battle for the third seed.

Altoona is still in the mix here. It's conceivable the Mountain Lions could move into the top four by winning out at Central Dauphin East and at home against Harrisburg. However, Class AAAA is an open tournament, and Altoona could also just decide to enter as the fifth seed, taking on the team that comes up last out of Central Mountain and DuBois in a pigtail game.

District 6 Class AAA

This is also an open tournament, but it will probably boil down to last year's finalists - Hollidaysburg and Johnstown - because Indian Valley is leaning against not entering even if it finishes 4-6, and Bellefonte only has one win. Both those teams were also blitzed by Hollidaysburg in the regular season.

District 6 Class AA

There's still a lot of jockeying going on here, with 12 teams still in the running for eight playoff spots.

Next Friday's Tyrone at Central game will be absolutely huge. Although the Scarlet Dragons would need some help to move from third to the top seed in the last two weeks of the season, Central would wind up in the top two by beating Class AAA St. Marys and the Golden Eagles.

Tyrone and Forest Hills are currently tied for the No. 1 seed. The Rangers have the easier schedule, but Tyrone would benefit by gaining a bonanza of points by beating Central.

There will be several other pivotal games in the next two weeks. Penn Cambria, now sitting in sixth, could make a big move up by defeating Johnstown and Richland but could also dip a seed by losing both.

Huntingdon, meanwhile, is poised to move up to third if it can win at Clearfield on Friday and it gets a St. Marys win at Central. Central Cambria is clinging to the eighth seed and has a very important game this week at Somerset, which is now 10th.

If the Red Devils falter, Philipsburg-Osceola could move into the eighth position by winning at Chestnut Ridge, and Somerset would be poised to make a run at the last spot as well, although both those teams have difficult week-10 tests against Huntingdon and Forest Hills, respectively.

Barring an upset, Ligonier Valley will make it in, although the Mounties might still fall from seventh to eighth if Central Cambria wins out. Lewistown and Penns Valley are mathematically alive, but just barely.

District 5 Class A

The district final is already determined: It will be Bedford playing Chestnut Ridge at Northern Bedford's Panther Community Stadium in two weeks.

Interestingly, the teams will also face off in a regular-season game next week that will determine the top seed.