Hands up if you had both Smethport and Kane winning last weekend. 

Anybody? No? Me either. 

In a night full of surprises, the Hubbers and Wolves both defeated teams that had beaten them in the regular season, and in Smethport’s case, the week before. 

In Class A, No. 5 Smethport crushed No. 4 Elk County Catholic 28-6 one week after the Crusaders had shut them out 18-0 at home. 

The victory made for a nice rebound after the Hubbers finished their regular season with four losses — three of them shutouts — in five games.

On offense, the Hubs did what they do best: run the ball. Smethport racked up 221 yards on 40 carries as a team, and used that steady ground game to pick up 15 first downs compared to ECC’s six. 

On defense, Smethport tightened down and held a potent Crusader attack to just 122 total yards on 40 plays from scrimmage. The Hubbers also forced three ECC turnovers on the night, and coughed the ball up themselves just once. 

Kane, meanwhile, used a fast start to jump all over No. 3 Brookville en route to a 28-22 win in a Class AA thriller. 

The Raiders had topped Kane 33-14 in early October, but the Wolves were sorting through some injuries and personnel issues at that point, which was in the midst of a four-game losing skid. 

But a particularly stellar defensive performance snapped that four-game slide and lifted No. 6 Kane in to the semifinals. 

Brookville quarterback Jack Krug, whose regular season completion percentage was a gaudy 59.4, completed just 22 of his 47 passes for a percentage of 46.8. That was thanks to a Kane defense that held him to a 2-for-8 start in the first quarter.

The inefficient night by the gunslinger, plus a pair of interceptions, was all the Wolves needed, as they held Brookville to 22 points after the Raiders had put up 31 per game in the regular season. 

Offensively, Jake Alcorn provided the explosive plays — including a 58-yard punt return and 70-yard touchdown reception — while quarterback Harley Morris played an efficient game, going 10-for-14 for 135 yards, three touchdowns and just one pick on his final pass of the game.

The result? A big win that gave the Wolves a little confidence as they move forward. 

Tougher tests ahead

Whether or not those two can continue to upset their way through the playoffs will be another question. 

Smethport faces undefeated Coudersport, who has only had one game end within a two-score margin (14-0 over Elk County Catholic in Week 1). That game is Friday night at Parkway Field in Bradford. 

The 9-0 Falcons have outscored their opponents 425-26 this year and have posted six shutouts, including a 42-0 win over Smethport a couple weeks ago. 

In that romp, Coudy limited the Hubber offense to just 42 yards and three first downs, while gaining 354 yards of offense and 13 first downs themselves. In that performance, Coudy running back Travis Gleason rushed for 180 yards and two scores on 21 carries. 

Smethport’s ability to stay in this rematch — a year after faltering to Coudy in the D9 championship — will hinge on whether the Hubs can slow Coudy’s triple option attack down while being able to rush, themselves. In addition, the Hubbers will have to eat plenty of clock to keep the ball away from Gleason and Coudy quarterback Hayden Keck, who have accounted for 1,799 of Coudy’s 2,728 rushing yards this year.

Kane, meanwhile, gets rewarded for its upset of No. 3 Brookville with a rematch against No. 2 Clarion on Saturday in DuBois at 6 o’clock. The Bobcats throttled Kane 47-28 earlier this year at Kane — the first of the Wolves’ four losses to end the regular season. 

Clarion (9-1) is powered by senior running back Austin Newcomb, who rushed for 1,155 yards and 20 touchdowns on 101 carries this year.

Slowing him down, and forcing a few turnovers, are likely Kane’s best chance at staying in the game and having a shot at an upset — a lot like having to slow Krug down in Brookville last weekend while forcing some turnovers. 

In addition, Morris will have to be lights out again, and Alcorn will need to make a few of his special plays to provide a spark. 

Elsewhere in the playoffs

In the other semifinal games this weekend, Union/A-C Valley rematches with Redbank Valley again in Class A. The Falcon Knights topped a banged up RV team 28-7 just a few weeks ago, but the Bulldogs are surely out for revenge. That game is Friday night at 7 p.m. and will be held at Clarion University’s Memorial Stadium. 

Meanwhile, in Class AA, Karns City topped Keystone, also by a score of 28-22. The Gremlins will now face No. 1 Ridgway. The Elkers took the regular season matchup 19-13 in a game that came down to a late goal line stand. That game kicks off at 1 o’clock. 

(Joel Whetzel, a Bradford Era sports reporter, can be reached at jwhetzel@bradfordera.com.)