As the season progressed, it became apparent that a decisive Heritage Conference matchup loomed in Week 9.

No one in the United locker room or their counterparts at Marion Center talked about it prematurely. But everyone knew the game was coming.

Now, it’s here.

United (7-1) will visit Marion Center (7-1) tonight in a game that will have a huge impact on the Heritage Conference championship as well as the District 6 Class A playoff positioning.

“People could see down the road a couple weeks ago,” United first-year head coach Greg Mytrysak said. “They’d say, ‘Look what you have for your last game. Both of you could be 7-1.’ We did our part. They did their part. We’re both 7-1, and here it is.”

United has won seven straight games since dropping a 14-8 overtime game at Laurel Valley in Week 1. Marion Center’s only blemish is a double overtime 28-22 setback at Penns Manor in Week 5. Penns Manor also is 7-1 and in the running for the conference crown. The Comets play Homer-Center tonight.

A United win over the Stingers would clinch the Heritage for the Lions. But Marion Center must beat the Lions and hope Homer-Center defeats Penns Manor in order for the Stingers to take the title.

“There is a lot at stake,” Marion Center coach Dave Malicky said. “A lot of people are talking about the conference and the title. We have an outside shot at winning. If you look ahead, the winner of this will be in nice shape for districts.

“We were 1-8 last year. We’re 7-1 this year,” the Stingers coach added. “We’re looking at this as Week No. 9. The conference will take care of itself. The district will take care of itself.

“We’re just looking for win No. 8 this week. We have a big challenge in United. We’ll have to be sharp. We’ll take our chances.”

United has a 1,000-yard rusher in Kody Oliver but Dom Chero (761 rushing yards) and Shaquille Howard (190) have also been threats as the Lions have combined for 2,060 rushing yards, an average of 257.5 a game.

“We get a lot of production from the people up front, the offensive line,” Mytrysak said.

“That’s where it starts. Those guys are getting after people up front and that makes the job easier in the backfield. They work well. They communicate well. They like being around each other. They’re a pretty close-knit group. They talk football. It’s nice because they want to improve.”

Marion Center has had similar success on offense, and, like Mytrysak, Malicky believes the big guys are directly responsible.

“It starts up front. Our offensive line has done a real nice job of opening up holes,” Malicky said. “Jed Peterson is an excellent football player. Justin Lamantia is a great halfback.

“They remind me a lot of the backs United has. They’re very tough to bring down and very shifty. (Quarterback) Ryan Lightcap is our field general. He runs the field very well.”

Last week LaMantia had four touchdowns in a win over Laurel Valley, and Lightcap threw for 109 yards and two scores. The Stingers averaged 302.4 yards of total offense per game.

“Marion Center runs that wing-T and they run it well,” said Mytrysak, whose Lions also have faced wing-T teams such as Ligonier, Northern Cambria and Penns Manor. “They’ve run it for years. They’re pretty good at it. They execute it very well. It puts pressure on your defense as far as reading your keys, staying with your keys. You can’t go somewhere where you shouldn’t be going, that’s for sure. You better be disciplined or else you give up a long run.”

United enters the final week of the conference schedule ranked fourth in 6-A with

960 points. Penns Manor (930) and Marion Center (910) are fifth and sixth, respectively.

“This sets us up not only for the Heritage Conference championship, but if you get this you may get at least one home game in districts,” Mytrysak said.

“There is a lot at stake this weekend. It’s a challenge. Hopefully we can take care of business.”

Heritage

n Northern Cambria at Ligonier Valley: Ligonier has much at stake in this Heritage Conference finale. The 5-3 Mounties have 520 points and rank seventh in 6-AA. A loss would put playoff hopes in jeopardy.

Northern Cambria is 2-6 and hoping to get back on the right track after a two-game winning streak was followed by a pair of losses at Saltsburg (13-6) and against Marion Center (22-16).

Ligonier’s Jackson Corcoran has rushed for 796 yards and averages 6.2 yards a carry.

LHAC

n Penn Cambria at Greater Johnstown: Two LHAC heavyweights will meet at Trojan Stadium.

Penn Cambria is 6-2 with its lone losses to Forest Hills (27-6) in Week 6 and at Bishop McCort (35-6) in Week 2.

The Panthers feature back Zak Newton and his 1,430 rushing yards on 238 carries. Adam Zaliznock averages 7.3 yards a carry with 660 rushing yards on 91 attempts.

Johnstown is 5-3. The Trojans fell to Forest Hills (21-8) in the opener, Richland (21-20 in overtime) in Week 4 and Bishop McCort (40-21) in Week 7.

Johnstown’s defense has limited opponents to an average of 12.9 points a game. The Trojans will try to contain Newton and the Panthers behind a unit led by Alkwan Williams. The sophomore linebacker has 76 tackles, 9.5 a game, three sacks and one interception. The Trojans have won three straight over the Panthers and are 5-1 in the series, but usually the games are tight.

The past three games have been decided by a combined

16 points. Last year Johnstown won 32-26 in Cresson. The Trojans also won in 2007 (36-34) and 2006 (14-6), with the Panthers winning in 2005 (22-8).

n Bedford at Bishop McCort: Bishop McCort (8-0) is at the top of the 6-AA rankings with 1,230 points and shows no sign of slowing down.

McCort has scored 40 or more points in four straight games and went over the 60 mark once in that span. McCort’s Josh Seidel is among the area leaders with 1,175 rushing yards.

Bedford’s Paul Detwiler has rushed for 862 yards on 112 carries. Marcus Shippey has thrown for 489, with Kyle Deneen catching 14 passes for 355 yards.

Shippey also has 100 tackles, including 63 solo stops.

n Bishop Guilfoyle at Bishop Carroll: The Marauders have dropped four of their past five games, including two straight. Bishop Carroll snapped a seven-game losing streak last week in a 32-13 win at Cambria Heights.

The Huskies haven’t allowed a lot of points (173; 21.6 a game) but haven’t scored much either (91; 11.4 a game).

Carroll’s Shawn Perich has rushed for 742 yards, including 251 in last week’s 32-13 win at Cambria Heights. Guilfoyle’s Eugene Ehredt is a versatile playmaker for Guilfoyle. Last week Johnstown blanked the Marauders 42-0 at Mansion Park.

n Cambria Heights at Richland: Richland is coming off a close loss (23-9) on a muddy field at Forest Hills last week and has little margin for error if the Rams want to maintain their 6-AA positioning.

Richland (6-2) is fifth in 6-AA with 770 points. The Rams’ passing game is led by Gino Ramires, who has thrown for 1,286 yards.

Running back John Rizzo has gained 447 rushing yards.

Heights (0-8) is trying for its first win. The Highlanders also have an effective passing game with quarterback Caleb Vescovi throwing for 1,130 yards. His top targets are Bryce Brawley (27-467) and Erik Welteroth (27-451).

n Central Cambria at Somerset: This contest will have implications on the 6-AA playoff race. The 4-4 Red Devils rank eighth with 450 points, while the 3-5 Golden Eagles are 10th with 300.

Somerset has been in two straight close games, falling 16-7 at Penn Cambria last week after holding a 7-0 halftime advantage, and beating Bishop Carroll 20-11 in Week 7.

The Red Devils fell 47-14 to Bishop McCort a week ago and had beaten Bishop Guilfoyle

13-7 two weeks back.

Central Cambria has won

14 straight in the series against Somerset, with the Golden Eagles’ most recent victory coming in 1993 (21-12).

WestPAC

n Ferndale at North Star: The Yellow Jackets (2-6) have won two straight, but the road will get much tougher tonight in Boswell. The 2-6 Cougars have lost four in a row, but those games have come against four of the conference’s top squads.

Ferndale has one of the area’s best passing attacks with quarterback Hayden Stumpo

(985 passing yards) and receiver Ryan Gaunt (857 receiving yards) posing a threat.

North Star features one of the area’s top runners in Josh Kuncher, who has 1,336 yards on the ground, as well as an effective passing game led by quarterback Max Strasiser

(740 yards) and receiver Tony Strasiser (470 yards).

n Portage at Berlin: The Mustangs have rolled to a perfect record while scoring

397 points and allowing 47.

Mike Sinosky became the Mustangs’ career rushing leader, going over 4,000 last week. He is in line to have a 1,000-yard season too. Sinosky has 982 rushing yards this fall.

Berlin’s option quarterback-back, Ian Sayler, has gained

1,269 yards on the ground.

Portage has controlled the series recently, winning four straight by a combined 146-13, including 40-6 last year. Berlin’s most recent win was 49-42 in 2004.

The Mustangs rank third in

6-A with 1,140 points and trail McCort (1,230) and Bellwood-Antis (1,150).

n Windber at Meyersdale: The Ramblers continue to gain momentum, winning five straight to improve to 6-2.

Windber’s potent single wing offense has accumulated

100 points in the past two wins over Shade (58-0) and Berlin (42-35). The Ramblers’ Jarid Cover has 1,209 rushing yards, Brandon Ulasky has 29 catches for 608 receiving yards, and quarterback Erick Strapple has thrown for 783 yards.

Meyersdale has had an up-and-down stretch, falling at Blacklick Valley (33-0) last week after beating Rockwood (47-0) in Week 7. The Red Raiders see-saw included a Week 6 loss at Chestnut Ridge (33-22), a Week 5 win at Shade (46-7) and a Week 4 loss to Berlin (41-14). Meyersdale opened the season 3-0.

Nonconference

n Philipsburg-Osceola at Chestnut Ridge: Chestnut Ridge has won three straight to even its record at 4-4 while playing a nonconference schedule that has the Lions encountering some of the top WestPAC teams as well as other opponents of various classifications and locales.

The Lions have rushed for a combined 1,780 yards, or

222.5 a game. Jude Donatelli has 810 on the ground, followed by Brad Hengst with 405 and Justin Taylor at 387.

Hengst has passed for

659 yards.

Philipsburg is 3-5, scoring

135 points while allowing 157.

Philipsburg has lost two straight to St. Mary’s (19-6) and Tyrone (27-7). The Mounties opened the season with three losses in the first four weeks before rebounding to win a pair.