The winner of tonight’s game will play the winner of the other District 6 Class 1A semifinal — which will take place on Saturday evening at Hollidaysburg’s Tiger Stadium between top-seeded Bishop Guilfoyle Academy and fourth-seeded Homer-Center — in the district championship game on Friday night, Nov. 14 at Altoona’s Mansion Park.

In its long football history, Claysburg-Kimmel has made only one appearance in the District 6 championship game, losing the 1990 Class 1A title game, 49-15 to Laurel Valley at Mansion Park. Making a return trip to Mansion Park this year, 35 years later, is something that the team and its community of supporters would relish.

“Our program has only been to a district championship game one time, so there’s a lot riding on this game for our senior class, the players, their parents, and our community,” Claysburg-Kimmel coach Chuck Kassick said. “We’re like Juniata Valley in that we’re both small schools who come from small towns that rally around their football teams. I’m expecting nothing less than a great atmosphere for Friday night’s game.”

Both Juniata Valley and Claysburg-Kimmel are riding hot hands entering this semifinal showdown. Claysburg-Kimmel has won seven games in a row, while Valley has won four in a row and nine of its last 10 games.

The two teams met on Sept. 12 at Claysburg, with Juniata Valley prevailing, 44-31.

Claysburg hasn’t lost since that night, and Bulldogs’ senior quarterback Mason Campagna said that his team has been clicking on all cylinders over the past eight weeks.

“We’re definitely a totally different team than we were when we played them back in Week 4,” said Campagna, who has accounted for a combined total of 48 touchdowns running and throwing this season for Claysburg. “All the players on our team have wanted this game since that loss in Week 4, and we’re all excited to play on Friday.”

Kassick credits his players for their resilience and perseverance after starting this season 2-2 following the loss to Valley.

“We knew after that game that our backs were against the wall to do a lot of the things that we set in our minds at the beginning of the year that we thought that we could accomplish,” Kassick said. “But I give our kids credit — they took the challenge head-on and they’ve been working extremely hard and paying more attention to detail.

“I can’t ask for anything more from them,” Kassick added. “I’m so proud of these kids for how they’ve approached the game from that point forward.”

Claysburg’s offense has averaged nearly 44 points over its seven straight victories. Campagna has completed 155 of 250 passes for 2,137 yards and 27 touchdowns this season, while rushing for 1,280 yards on 179 carries and 21 scores.

His favorite receiving targets are sophomore wideout Gavin Treon, who has a team-leading 48 catches for 812 yards and 17 touchdowns, along with senior wideouts Tyler Mowry (44 receptions, 507 yards, three TDs) and Jacob Herline (36 catches, 529 yards, five touchdowns).

Senior running back Remington Diehl keeps Claysburg’s offense balanced, as he has churned out 564 yards rushing on 102 carries and has run for three touchdowns this season.

Valley coach Bill Musser and his team are duly respectful of Campagna’s capabilities, but they also recognize that stopping him can’t be their only focus on Friday.

“They do a nice job of accentuating his strengths,” Musser said. “He throws the football well but he’s also a good runner when he needs to be a runner. They’ve done a really nice job of developing the talent around him, and that’s what I expect from them in this game.

“Yes, they’ve got a good offense, but their defense is stout as well,” Musser said of the Bulldogs, whose defense has allowed an average of less than 16 points per game over its seven straight victories.

Juniata Valley has plenty of offensive weapons of its own, and the Green Hornets possess an excellent mix in the running and passing games.

Senior quarterback Jett Rand has thrown for 1,715 yards and 14 touchdowns on 112 completions in 217 attempts for Valley. He has also rushed for 226 yards and four touchdowns.

Junior running back Andrew Clark is the Hornets’ go-to player in their ground attack, with 1,522 rushing yards on 228 carries and 24 touchdowns.

“Obviously our running back Clark is the key to making sure that we have good success in our running and play-action games, and Jett Rand has done a good job of capitalizing on what opponents are giving us in the passing game,” Musser said. “He’s been running the ball real well, too.”

Kassick said that controlling Rand and Clark’s offensive skills will be one of the keys for his team in the game.

“Clark has been running all over everybody all year, and if we don’t stop him and their running game, or at least keep them under control, we’ll be in trouble,” Kassick said. “Rand has a very capable arm, but he’s an athlete who also likes to get out and run a little bit too so we’ve got to contain him.”

Valley’s receiving corps is led by junior Elah Glenny, who has a team-leading 38 catches for 748 yards and seven touchdowns. Junior Gavin Smith has 28 receptions for 430 yards and three TDs, while junior Trenton Norris has 18 catches for 232 yards and two TDs.

Sophomore back Konner Harker has rushed for 220 yards and a touchdown for Valley, while catching 15 passes for 152 yards.

Like Kassick, Musser expects an exciting and competitive semifinal game Friday.

“We should have a pretty good crowd here at Valley Friday night and the atmosphere should be fun,” Musser said. “We’re excited to be playing at home and we’ll see if we can put forth a quality effort out on the field.”

District 6 Class 1A semifinal

Teams: Claysburg-Kimmel (9-2) at Juniata Valley (9-2).

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Where: A.R. Simkins Memorial Field, Juniata Valley High School.

Coaches: Chuck Kassick is 19-14 in his third season at Claysburg-Kimmel; Bill Musser is 83-52 in his 12th season at Juniata Valley.

At stake: The winner of this game will play the winner of Saturday’s semifinal game between Bishop Guilfoyle Academy and Homer-Center in the District 6 Class 1A championship game next Friday night, Nov. 14 at Altoona’s Mansion Park.