For Juniata Valley, beating Moshannon Valley again is a tough task

Class 1A playoffs

Juniata Valley and Moshannon Valley both had spectacular regular seasons -- but both schools have games that they can look back on and know if they turned out differently, they could be the No. 2 seed in the District 6 Class 1A playoffs instead of playing each other in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 game in Houtzdale on Friday.

The Green Hornets were upset at home by No. 6 seed Glendale, and the Black Knights lost to Juniata Valley at home, 7-0, in a game they stalled out several times in the red zone.

"It's tough to beat a Mo Valley team -- a well-coached and physical Mo Valley team -- once," Juniata Valley coach Bill Musser said. "To beat them twice is going to be a really tall task. All we can do is do the best we can and work hard. We started (Monday's practice) with working on preparation with the kids that will hopefully give us the answers Friday night."

Juniata Valley played in the District 6 1A championship last year and has those same aspirations this year with good wins over defending District 5 1A champion Meyersdale and on the road at Northern Bedford.

"This team is as limited as they want to be limited," Musser said. "We have a nice lineman in Matt Dick. We have a nice tight end in Trenton Norris. We have a freshman quarterback, but he has a skillset we haven't seen in awhile. We have Andrew Clark. I could go right down the list, but the answer is that our potential is playing here in this playoff atmosphere.

"The beauty of this season and the beauty of our team this year is that we have seen the most talented opponents we have played against in five to six years as a collective group. We are excited, being battle tested. But so is Mo Valley, and we're going to just compete as hard as we can."

The following is a look at the other three District 6 Class 1A quarterfinal games and Northern Bedford's District 5 Class 1A semifinal against top-seeded Conemaugh Township:

Northern Cambria at BG

Northern Cambria was the final team into the District 6 Class 1A playoffs, edging Portage and losing a tiebreaker for the seventh seed to West Branch.

But the Colts dealt with a lot of injuries -- including to star Daniel Farrell -- and are healthier for the postseason.

With that said, Northern Cambria's opponent at Mansion Park on Friday, top-seeded Bishop Guilfoyle Academy, is playing as well as any team in the state.

"The second season is when we want to make sure we're playing our best ball, and I think we are right now," BG coach Justin Wheeler said. "But I think it's one of the toughest draws in the first round of the single-A playoffs. They had some injuries throughout the year, but they are all back healthy. They look good. They have size and speed. This isn't a normal No. 8 vs. No. 1 matchup. Some people had them picked to compete for the Heritage championship this year. With their guys back, they look like a dangerous team. A couple of these guys started against us as sophomores in the district championship and now they are seniors."

Glendale at McCort

Glendale has shown flashes of being a team that could compete and win a postseason game this year, and the Vikings own a victory over Juniata Valley.

But they also have had their fair share of struggles, which include a 36-22 loss at home to West Branch.

"We have seen from a big game like that we can not only hang with anybody but get wins against anybody," Glendale coach Chase Hill said. "That motivates them and keeps them from getting their head down when a game or two doesn't go our way. I think they use that as a measuring stick to see where we can be when we put it all together and play as a team."

McCort started 1-3 but finished the year with six wins in a row, including a 20-point win over District 6 Class 4A champion Bellefonte last week.

"Their quarterback (Bentley Bainey) is a very good athlete," Hill said. "He's very dangerous with his legs and can pass. (Marquez Gordon) is a heck of an athlete on both sides of the ball. They actually have athletes all over the field. At the end of the day, we can't let their quarterback kill us which is easier said than done with an athlete like that. Defensively, we have to fly to the ball, wrap up on our tackles and play physical."

Warriors at Homer-Center

West Branch seemed like a feel-good story early in the season when it snapped a long losing streak, but wins in the last two weeks over Glendale and Tussey Mountain have done more than make the Morrisdale-Allport community proud.

It helped the Warriors write their name on the District 6 playoff bracket when they travel to No. 2 Homer-Center on Friday.

"From breaking a 24-game losing streak to making the playoffs in one year is absolutely crazy," West Branch coach Kenn Vandevander said. "These kids have bought in from day one. It has not been easy. We have definitely had bumps along the way. We started off with North Star and Berlin, who are both really good. We kind of hit rock bottom against Southern Huntingdon and Juniata Valley, but we have shown bright spots all year long in games like Claysburg and Curwensville.

"Then against Glendale, we finally got some guys healthy and everything started clicking. Last Friday against Tussey Mountain, we put it all together. We needed a lot of help to get in, but everything lined up and here we are. Everyone up here is ecstatic."

District 5 semis

Fourth-seeded Northern Bedford County will take on Conemaugh Township, the top seed in District 5's Class 1A bracket after going 8-2 in the Heritage Conference, on Friday in the semifinals.

"Offensively, everything runs through their quarterback (Greyson Studer)," Northern Bedford coach Garry Black said. "He's their leading rusher. He has 1,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing, so he's a big weapon in their offense. Overall, they are balanced on offense, not just with their quarterback, but with other guys too. They do everything well."

Northern Bedford enters the game at 5-5 but lost three games by one score this season.

"The only game we were really out of was the North Star game," Black said. "It didn't start well. We had a bad half, and it got away from us. Outside of that, we played well with Berlin and played well with Juniata Valley in games that went down to being decided by 1 yard either way. In the Windber game, it was tied when we lost (Trace) Baker. Outside of Line Mountain, we have led in every game. I think that shows that while our record is one thing, if you look beyond that, I think our team is pretty good."