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There was a level of disappointment for Altoona last weekend when it found out that it would be on the road this week at McDowell rather than the Trojans coming to Mansion Park.
After games were completed last Friday night, the standings on the District 6 website showed that Altoona would be the No. 2 seed ahead of McDowell.
But that was before more power points were awarded to McDowell for wins against three opponents in Ohio.
McDowell finished the regular season at 7-3, while Altoona is 6-4.
But Mountain Lion coach Vince Nedimyer Jr. was quick to point out the perspective after his team had not entered the postseason the last two years.
"We're in the playoffs," Nedimyer said. "It was an honest mistake in calculation of points. We try to worry about what we could have done to make it different. We had the opportunity to have a home playoff game and our kids were pretty charged up about it, but they've done a good job of overcoming adversity every time. We have a great group of seniors that will step up and handle that for us. I don't foresee it being a big issue."
While the two teams will meet in Erie in one of the District 6-8-10 Class 6A semifinals, the other will feature top-seeded State College hosting No. 4 Erie. The winners will play each other for the championship next Friday.
McDowell had a schedule that featured just four opponents from the state of Pennsylvania. The Trojans went 4-0 in those games with two wins over Erie, and victories over Cathedral Prep and Meadville.
McDowell also had wins against Chardon, Garfield Heights and Boardman, all out of Ohio. The three losses came from Mentor and Austintown-Fitch in Ohio, and St. Francis in New York.
Although everyone in Altoona would have liked to had a playoff game at Mansion Park, it may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. The Mountain Lions are 4-1 on the road this season, including victories in the final two weeks of the regular season at Cedar Cliff and Cumberland Valley.
"We should be pretty used to traveling," Nedimyer said. "It shouldn't be that big of a deal. I've been working with our staff and with (athletic director) Phil (Riccio) about what that's going to look like on Friday.
"I know that the last two weeks for sure, we got off the bus and we were able to jump out to early leads. We had some pretty good weeks of practice, and we're just hoping to build on that."
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday.
Class 5A
For the third year in a row, Hollidaysburg will be playing DuBois in the District 2-6-9 playoffs after the two teams met in week 10 of the regular season. They played each other again in the second week of playoffs the last two years rather than the first week.
The first two years were very similar to each other with the Beavers playing Hollidaysburg tough in the playoff game. In 2024, the Tigers were 49-28 winners in the regular season, but took a 28-23 win in the playoffs. Last year, Hollidaysburg won 49-0 in the regular season, but DuBois once again played a much tighter game in the postseason with Hollidaysburg coming out of it with a 25-24 win.
The Tigers beat the Beavers, 51-14, last week.
"It was very challenging in both years. It was very similar," Hollidaysburg coach Homer DeLattre said. "We talked to our guys throughout the week last week, and we came out and played very well (last week). We talked immediately after the game and again when we got off the bus to make sure that they knew the seriousness of it."
The winner on Friday will play the District 2 champion between Pittston Area and Abington Heights at a District 2 site.
Hollidaysburg finished the regular season at 7-2 and only played nine games with a bye week worked in for week 7. DuBois went 6-4 with losses to Erie, Karns City and Jersey Shore, in addition to last week's loss against Hollidaysburg.
In last week's game, Hollidaysburg held a 38-7 lead at halftime. Quarterback Vince Albarano had 313 passing yards, and running back Isaac Vent put up 121 rushing yards on just 13 carries.
"We try to treat (playoffs) like we have the last few years like a whole new season," DeLattre said. "What happened for us the first nine games is out the window. Anything can happen in the playoffs. We'll treat it that way. We have some things we need to work on for Friday night and hope to have a repeat performance."
Kickoff at Tiger Stadium in Hollidaysburg is set for 7 p.m. Friday night.