Like six LHAC coaches before him this season, Johnstown’s Kevin Marabito has spent much of the past week studying the tapes of undefeated Bishop McCort, searching for a weakness or an area to exploit.

And, as probably has been the case the previous six weeks, Marabito didn’t find much in that area.

“There is no doubt they’re a good football team. Anytime you’re 6-0 you’re pretty darn good,” said Marabito, whose 4-2 Trojans host 6-0 Bishop McCort tonight. “The biggest thing is we’ve got to be able to keep the football out of their hands. They’re solid everywhere. Up front they’re big. Their offensive line is one of the best around. The (Josh) Seidel boy is tough. If you stop him, the fullback (Chaz Merriman) can hurt you inside. They’ll throw it enough to keep you honest. We’ve got to control the line of scrimmage. If we don’t attack them they’re going to be able to run at will.

“We’ve got to be able to stop their run.”

For the second straight week, McCort will rely on the versatile Dane Domonkos to quarterback out of the wildcat formation. Domonkos, who also is a standout receiver, kicker and special teams player, has filled in for the injured John Pinkerton. Last week he accounted for 17 points and broke Bishop McCort’s all-time career scoring mark with 307.

“Pinkerton is going to be out for a few more weeks. We’re working with Dane Domonkos and Jesse Cooper at quarterback,” Crushers coach Ken Salem said. “Dane gives us versatility of running our wildcat offense. He’s also done a good job the last few practices of understanding the intricacies of the wing-T. Both of our quarterbacks are trying to step in and do the best job that they can while John rehabilitates his knee.

“Dane is a senior who has big-game experience to make plays. We feel putting his hands on the ball on every play gives us the opportunity to stretch the field and make defenses account for someone they don’t usually have to account for as a running threat.”

Bishop McCort’s feature running back is Josh Seidel, who has 913 rushing yards on 82 carries. Two weeks ago, Seidel had a school single-game record 327 rushing yards and tied a record with six touchdowns in a 34-point win over previously unbeaten Richland.

The Crushers barely used Seidel against Westmont in a Week 6 win.

“Last week Josh only had one carry,” Salem said. “We were able to rest him. He had a couple little things we were trying to heal up from the last few weeks of the season. He’s excited about playing in this game. This will be the big game this week in the conference. Johnstown will have an outstanding crowd. It will be a great atmosphere, one very similar to our game with Richland.”

The Trojans have won two straight and have shown improvement along a line that was rebuilt during the offseason, and then restructured after injuries hit early.

“Their offensive and defensive lines continue to improve,” Salem said. “We’re going to need to continue to work hard to try to control the tempo of the football game.”

Quarterback John Siciliano fronts the Trojans offensive attack. Siciliano has rushed for 338 yards and eight touchdowns, and he’s passed for 518 yards (33-of-76) with five touchdowns and four interceptions.

“We’re playing one of the better quarterbacks in the region,” Salem said. “We were very impressed with Siciliano last year and how he handled himself. We feel he’s matured and continues to improve. We feel he gives Johnstown a weapon not only throwing the football, but running the football.”

Johnstown has a balanced rushing attack. In addition to Siciliano, four other runners have gained at least 111 yards as the Trojans have amassed 1,040 rushing yards on 193 attempts, a 5.4 average per carry. Jordan Jefferson (174 yards), Kashmir Pretlor (148), Quatrell Rose (115) and LaQuinn Stephens-Howling (111) provide balance and are threats to break a big play.

“The last couple weeks our kids are starting to click,” Marabito said. “Our biggest thing is we’ve got to play unselfish and play as a team. If we have an unselfish attitude, we can be a very good football team.”

Bishop McCort has won five straight games in the series, with Johnstown’s most recent victory in 2003. Salem will ignore those numbers.

“In a rivalry game you draw from your strengths. Our experience up front is definitely a key in the football game,” Salem said. “But Johnstown has some big kids who are athletic on both sides of the football, and they’ve continued to improve. We feel we have to play our best game of the season to win this football game. Not only do you have to prepare for a very good game-day quarterback, but Johnstown also has some very good running backs. When they execute their offensive schemes they’re a very dangerous football team.”

LHAC

Forest Hills at Penn Cambria: Two of the top teams in the conference will meet in Cresson as undefeated Forest Hills contends with Zak Newton and 5-1 Penn Cambria.

The Rangers have outscored opponents 160-35 while opening at 6-0. Forest Hills has rushed for 1,402 yards and passed for 448.

Nick Dudukovich leads the rushing attack with 616 yards, though he didn’t have a carry in last week’s win over Cambria Heights. Forest Hills also has weapons in Jeff Meier (330 rushing yards), Anthony Unger (295) and Chris Lazration (85).

Quarterback Zack Glessner has 438 passing yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

Penn Cambria is led by Newton, who has 1,095 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on

176 carries. Adam Zaliznock has 553 yards and three scores on

74 carries. Aaron McGhee has 42 points, including six touchdowns on 11 carries as a short-yardage back.

Each of the past three meetings of the teams have been tight contests. Forest Hills won in 2008 (28-20) and 2007 (10-8) while the Panthers won in 2006 (34-30).

Cambria Heights at Bedford:The Bisons hope to snap a five-game losing skid while the Highlanders want to break into the win column.

Bedford beat Bishop Carroll by five points in the season opener, but has had a tough run since then. There have been relatively close games against Bishop Guilfoyle (32-22), Central Cambria (25-12) and Penn Cambria (22-20) in the last three weeks but the Bisons haven’t been able to win.

Paul Detwiler leads Bedford with 534 rushing yards. Marcus Shippey has passed for 462.

Cambria Heights’ ground game is fronted by Thomas Dillon’s 281 yards. Bryce Brawley has 243 receiving yards and Erik Welteroth has 228 receiving yards. Caleb Vescovi has thrown for 609 yards and four scores.

Bedford is 15-0 against Cambria Heights since 1993, including the Bisons’ 26-6 victory last year.

Bishop Carroll at Somerset: Each team is looking to rebound after a lopsided shutout loss last week.

Somerset fell 29-0 at Richland and slipped to 2-4. Carroll lost 35-0 to visiting Johnstown and remained winless in six games.

The Huskies have rushed for 726 yards, with Shawn Perich gaining 428, often out of the quarterback position. Perich has passed for 245 yards, Drew McCabe has thrown for 121, and Josh Barzdo, 98.

Eagles quarterback Trevor Niemiec has thrown for 232 yards and a pair of touchdowns and has rushed for 511 yards and six touchdowns.

Bishop Guilfoyle at Central Cambria: The Marauders ended a two-game losing streak by beating Bedford 32-22 last week and evened their record at 3-3.

Eugene Ehredt provides Bishop Guilfoyle with a power rushing threat. Last week he carried 22 times for 186 yards and three touchdowns. Ehredt has rushed for 747 yards on the season.

Central Cambria fell 21-0 at Forest Hills last week to even its record at 3-3. The Red Devils have outscored opponents 124-118.

The Devils and Marauders have played three tight games since the LHAC series began in 2006. Central Cambria won last year (44-26) and in 2006 (8-6) while Bishop Guilfoyle won in 2007 (14-7).

Max Michkofsky (69 tackles) and Mitch Brown (60) are the Devils’ leading tacklers with nearly 130 stops between them.

WestPAC

Windber at Berlin: Berlin used a strong second half to nearly come back for a win in a game it trailed 21-0 in the first five minutes at Blacklick. The Mountaineers had a strong second half, closed within 21-14 and drove deep into Blacklick territory on multiple occasions before falling to 4-2.

Windber beat rival North Star 20-13 on a rainy and muddy night at Windber Stadium. The Ramblers have won three straight and are 4-2.

Berlin option quarterback Ian Sayler ranks third in the area with 1,075 rushing yards on 130 carries. Tyrel Stockwell chips in with 449 yards on 52 attempts as the Mountaineers have an impressive 1,707 rushing yards this season.

Four Windber runners have accounted for 1,683 rushing yards out of the single wing

– Jarid Cover (118 carries, 916 yards, 11 touchdowns), Brandon Ulasky (31-302, 5), Kyle

Smith (39-251, 1) and Colin Bryan (19-214). Quarterback Erick Strapple has passed for 596 yards, with Ulasky hauling in 23 catches for 342 yards and four scores.

Windber has won five straight over Berlin, including a pair of tight games last year, 28-21 in the regular season and 47-38 in the District 5-A playoffs.

Blacklick Valley at Shade: The Vikings have won four straight after an 0-2 start. 

Last week Blacklick used the early three-touchdown advantage and then held on to beat visiting Berlin. The Vikings have scored 149 points during the four wins while allowing 67.

Ted Worthington has 602 rushing yards on 96 carries. He has scored 12 touchdowns and 72 points. Quarterback Victor Manda teamed with Jonathan Divido for a 56-yard touchdown on Blacklick’s opening possession against Berlin, and then 13 seconds later intercepted a pass and returned it 42 yards for another touchdown.

Shade beat Rockwood 20-13 last week to even its record at 3-3. The Panthers have won three games in a season for the first time since the 2001 squad went 4-5.

Cody McDonald leads Shade with 371 rushing yards. Tyler Smith had 280 yards, and Ryan Medva, 191.

Conemaugh Township at North Star: Township has scored 88 points in the past two weeks, putting memories of the season’s only loss during Week 5 against Portage in the distance.

The Indians are 5-1 entering this conference rivalry game.

Seth Zaman ranks fourth in the area with 1,020 rushing yards on 119 attempts. His 90 points on 15 touchdowns are third-best in the area. Conemaugh Township quarterback George Bivens has thrown for 614 yards, fourth-best in the area. Kyle Zambanini’s 261 receiving yards rank fifth.

North Star wants to rebound from last week’s loss at Windber. The 2-4 Cougars have dropped two straight. Josh Kuncher has an area-high 1,134 rushing yards on 134 carries.

Quarterback Max Strasiser ranks third in the area with 628 passing yards, and Tony Srasiser is second in receiving yardage with 405 yards on 20 catches.

Rockwood at Meyersdale: Each team is coming off a tough loss last week. Meyersdale fell 33-22 at Chestnut Ridge and is 4-2 overall.

The Red Raiders ground game has gained 1,625 yards, with Ben Lohr running for a team-high 654 and Justin Hoover at 375. Matt Bittner passed for 414 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.

Rockwood has dropped three straight, including a tight 20-13 setback at home against Shade last week.

Meyersdale has won all three games in the series by a cumulative 98-15 count.

Heritage Conference

Marion Center at Northern Cambria: The Colts have a new streak – a two-game winning streak. After dropping its first four games of the season Northern Cambria bounced back with a 20-0 win over Laurel Valley last week and a 31-6 victory at Purchase Line two weeks ago. Gary Paronish had 100 yards on 22 carries and the Colts defense posted its first shutout in two years.

Marion Center is 5-1 with the only loss a 28-22 double overtime defeat to Penns Manor in Week 5.

Last week, Marion Center shut out Purchase Line 33-0 as five different players scored touchdowns and the defense limited the Dragons to 107 yards of total offense. The Stingers hadn’t beaten Purchase Line since 2002.

Penns Manor at Ligonier Valley: Penns Manor is 5-1 with its lone loss a dramatic 25-22 setback to United in Week 4. The Comets’ Ben Miller has 552 rushing yards, including 104 yards in last week’s 55-7 win over Blairsville.

Ligonier is coming off two convincing wins over Saltsburg (42-6) and Laurel Valley (42-0).

The 4-2 Mounties have two shutouts and held opponents in single-digit scoring three times while posting a 196-81 cumulative scoring advantage. The Mounties average 349.2 yards of total offense a game.

Jackson Corcoran leads the team with 662 rushing yards.

Russell Markosky (293) and Johnny Jones (279) also are nearing the 300-yard mark.

United at Purchase Line: United has won five consecutive games since an opening-day loss at Laurel Valley. The Lions have used a potent ground game and a stingy defense to outscore opponents by a combined 142-80.

Kody Oliver (155 carries, 731 yards), Dom Chero (82-551) and Shaquille Howard (28-139) have helped United gain 1,480 rushing yards. Defensively, Zack Waddell has four interceptions and Luke Knapic, Howard and Chero each have recovered two fumbles.

Purchase Line is winless in six games. The Dragons have suffered four shutout losses and have scored only 26 points while allowing 194.

Nonconference

Chestnut Ridge at DuBois: Class Quad-A DuBois is 4-2 with wins over Bellefonte (20-6), Indian Valley (38-21), Punxsutawney (25-8) and Clearfield (35-21) and losses against Erie Cathedral Prep (55-14) and Central Mountain (21-7).

Chestnut Ridge is 2-4 after beating Meyersdale 33-22 last week.

Jude Donatelli has 589 rushing yards for Chestnut Ridge, with Brad Hengst at 328 and Justin Taylor, 310. Hengst has passed for 466 yards, and Adam Musselman has 18 catches for 226 yards.

Ferndale at Hancock, Md.: Ferndale will head out of state looking for its first win of the season. The Yellow Jackets have a potent passing game led by quarterback Hayden Stumpo, whose 717 passing yards rank third in the area.

Receiver Ryan Gaunt has an area-best 630 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Defensively, Devin Murphy has 55 tackles and Jordan Taranto has 49.

Hancock is 3-3 and coming off a 19-16 setback to Randolph-Macon Academy in Fort Royal, Va. The Panthers only game against the WestPAC this year was a 14-0 loss to Shade.