(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of a two-part series on the District 9 football offseason. Today, D9 adopts a new conference alignment format for the second time in four seasons.)

District 9 football changed four years ago when the Allegheny Mountain League and the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference were replaced with a district-wide division.

Now, it will change again.

The district’s football committee voted to adopt a new league alignment for the 2022 season, and like its predecessor, conferences will be based on school size instead of geography. D9 teams will be split into three “regions,” the largest in Region 1 and the smallest in Region 3.

The realignment will replace the “District 9” leagues that the area’s 22 schools played in for the last four seasons. Last year, the 10 largest schools by enrollment played in the District 9 Large School league, while the 12 smallest schools played in a namesake league that was split into North and South divisions.

The new format will more closely resemble its predecessor than it will the AML and KSAC, but inter-regional play will allow geographical rivalries in addition to those determined by class size.

REGION 1 will include the eight largest schools in District 9 — Bradford, DuBois, Punxsutawney, St. Marys, Central Clarion, Karns City, Brookville and Moniteau.

Region 2 will be comprised of the next eight largest — Kane, Ridgway, Port Allegany, Smethport, Redbank Valley, Brockway, Union/A-C Valley and Keystone — while Region 3 will contain the six smallest; Coudersport, Cameron County, Otto-Eldred, Elk County Catholic, Sheffield and Bucktail.

Since teams can play up to 10 regular season games, inter-regional play will be available to all. Bradford’s schedule is a perfect example — the Owls open their season at Punxsutawney before hosting Coudersport and traveling to Otto-Eldred.

“It doesn’t really impact us a ton; we just play who we’re going to play,” Bradford coach Jeff Puglio said. “We’ll always be in the biggest school slot, so in terms of what it means district-wise, it’s exciting because it brings back some rivalries. I’m glad that Punxsutawney is still there, St. Marys is still there and DuBois is still there. Those are some old rivalries for us, so it’s nice to see those still on the schedule.”

Many teams will play non-league opponents weeks two and three, then returning to conference play until their regular season finale.

“Anybody in this district can beat anyone else in a given year,” Puglio said. “I think some people put a lot of focus on how many ‘A’s’ are next to your name, when really, it’s whether your 11 best kids are better than our best 11. When you look at what the larger schools have been doing, a lot of the smaller ones have been dominating.

“The run Ridgway has been on is pretty impressive; Kane has had success in the past, Karns City is another school that has been running right through people. In a given year, it can be anybody.”

The Owls will host DuBois, Central Clarion and St. Marys before their home finale against Karns City Oct. 21. Defending large-school champion St. Marys will host Moniteau to start the year before a Week 2 showdown against Ridgway.

THE ELKERS, who finished tied with Brookville for 3rd place in the large-school division before a Class 2A final appearance last season, will host Port Allegany in perhaps the district’s most intriguing Week 0 matchup.

The Gators finished 2nd in the Small School North behind Smethport last season before bowing to state runner-up Redbank Valley in the Class A semifinals. Coach Justin Bienkowski’s group returns nearly every starter from that team, however, and with a notorious trio of backs to run behind an imposing offensive line, Port will be amongst the favorites in a loaded Region 2.

“We’re looking at Ridgway and Ridgway only, but in the grand scheme of it, you’d better bring your ‘A’ game every week,” Bienkowski said. “Other than Central Clarion, we’ve seen all these teams before, so there’s an element of familiarity. But, as anyone who knows anything about football in this area will tell you, Ridgway is a pretty good measuring stick.”

Port will host Central Clarion Week 2 before traveling to Smethport the following weekend. An Oct. 14 rematch against Redbank looms, as does a rematch the following week with Keystone, which the Gators defeated in 2021’s Class A quarterfinals.

“There has always been the debate of AML vs. KSAC superiority, but for us, we want to be superior in District 9,” Bienkowski said. “That’s the way things are headed and that’s a realistic goal that we want to prepare for. Our kids have done everything we’ve asked of them since returning from Christmas break.”

IF conference alignment resembled that of a season ago, Port would be the clear favorite in the Small School North. Region 2 won’t be as easy to navigate, but Bienkowski’s veteran-laden group won’t mind the challenge.

“When you realize it’s going to help you prepare for a tough November schedule, we’re all for it,” Bienkowski said. “You have your perennial powerhouses from the northern part of the district on our schedule, as well as those from the southern part. The only negative that I foresee is travel, but we kind of got into that a couple years ago.”

Smethport will open the year with a trip to Redbank Valley, while Kane will travel to Brockway and Keystone will host Coudersport. Region 3, which will enter the fall without a clear favorite, will see Otto-Eldred host ECC to start the year.

The Terrors will travel to Coudy Oct. 7 and to Cameron County Oct. 21, while the Falcons will visit Emporium Sept. 23.

“Our kids and coaches have allowed us to make sure we’re playing our best ball heading into the postseason, and that’s something I’d like to be the case for any program I’m a part of,” Bienkowski said. “This schedule is going to force us to do that.

“We’re trying to make sure we win the offseason on the field. I feel like we did it in the weight room and with playing multiple sports, and now it’s our job to start getting on the field, lacing up spikes and setting ourselves up for August.”

(Jeff Uveino, Bradford Publishing Company assistant group sports editor, can be reached at juveino@bradfordera.com)