It was hard to keep track of everything that happened in District 9 football this offseason.
Nine new D-9 head coaches and an entirely new league structure coupled with the loss of plenty of familiar coaches and players kept things interesting throughout the spring and summer months.
Now, it’s time to take the field. Week 0 of Pennsylvania football begins in earnest tonight, with plenty of appealing matchups and several rivalry games that should provide a more competitive opening week than in years past.
The Bradford Owls are one of those teams that will begin its season with much more of a challenge than under the old league setup. Bradford opened last year with a 56-0 victory over Smethport, but they’ll face a fellow big school foe this go-around when they travel to Brookville tonight.
“We’re ready to go,” Bradford head coach Jeff Puglio said. “You get tired of practicing without a game. We get to think about it all summer long and the anticipation builds.”
The Raiders went 9-2 last season and return one of D-9’s most lethal offenses nearly fully intact. Still, Puglio says that his team won’t have a different mindset facing Brookville than it’s had in years past against teams like Smethport or Cameron County.
“You never really know what’s going to happen at the start of a season and how your team is going to be anyway,” he said. “So I don’t think it changes much preparing from last year to this. Brookville on the road is a big game in general anytime of year.”
It’ll be Bradford’s secondary that will have the biggest test as the season gets underway. The Raiders return sophomore quarterback Jack Krug’s 2,856 yards and 40 touchdowns from last season and his favorite target is back, as well. All-state receiver Bryan Dworek caught 85 passes and 21 touchdowns last season.
That aerial attack led to five games of 50 or more for the Brookville offense last year.
“Anytime you play a pass-oriented offense, it’s all about attention to detail,” Puglio said. “Each guy has to do their job and make sure they don’t play out of the system. Throughout the practices, I’ve really like our communication, especially on defense.”
Puglio also announced his decision at quarterback for tonight’s opener. The Owls will turn to senior Nate Blauser under center, although Bradford’s offense will center on pounding the ball on the ground with the trio of Jaron Ambrose, Derek Sunafrank and Donny Pattison.
Blauser beat out junior Caleb Nuzzo for the job.
“Nate is just a little bit ahead of Caleb on his footwork and throws,” Puglio said on a difficult quarterback decision. “Caleb’s shoulder injury also slowed him down a bit, but Nate just looks comfortable back there. He is confident and has the confidence to lead the team.”
Blauser is just one of 27 seniors that Puglio will have at his disposal to begin the season. Having that much experience back makes Puglio feel even more comfortable about facing a team as talented as Brookville this early in the season.
“You can’t teach or coach experience,” Puglio said. “I think the growth this team made started with that Curwensville game to close the regular season (in 2017). I don’t think they’ll be nervous at all for this. We are looking forward to getting on the field and going to battle. When we get off that bus we will be fired up and ready to go.”
With all of those returners and Puglio back on the sidelines for an eighth season, the Owls are one of just a few teams with much continuity heading into 2018.
A look at some of the other noteworthy games for Week 0:
Kane’s Jim Hillman will make his coaching debut tonight at home against Moniteau. The new-look Wolves will lose much of the firepower that won them three straight Allegheny Mountain League titles, but are poised to reload at several key positions with the return of 17 letterwinners.
Kane’s upperclassmen have never lost a regular season game and will look to continue that streak against the Warriors (3-6 in 2017) and get the first victory under Hillman’s belt.
Elsewhere tonight, Otto-Eldred will look to continue their upward trend with a season-opening matchup against Port Allegany. The Terrors were above .500 for the first time in over five seasons last year, and with 14 returning starters, expectations are there again for first-year head coach Troy Cook. Otto had no trouble with the Gators last season, defeating Port A 46-8 during a five-game win streak.
Coudersport, which also figures to battle Otto atop the North, opens its season against Cameron County. Coudy and Otto will both have new quarterbacks to begin the season after the graduations of Big 30 All-Stars Jared Green and Sawyer Drummond, respectively.
The Falcons return all five of their offensive linemen to block for 2017 All-AML running back Steven Kelly.
The Red Raiders, meanwhile, went 1-9 last season, including a 42-0 defeat against Coudersport. With just six starters back, it could be another long rebuilding year for the Red Raiders under first-year head coach Jody Bailey.
The lone Saturday game for Week 0 pits Smethport against Sheffield. The Hubbers were chosen as the preseason favorites in the D-9 Small School North division, and they’ll look to buck the trend of three consecutive 3-6 seasons. Sheffield is hoping to get back into the win column after going 0-10 in 2017. The two teams played a close game last year, though Smethport ultimately edged the Wolves 28-14.
