Scoreboard watching is not a favorite pastime. At least not at this point of the season.

Just ask coaches such as Blacklick Valley’s Bill Zamboni or Richland’s Brandon Bailey, whose teams not only must win in Week 9, but also need a combination of wins and losses by other teams to fall into place.

“We put ourselves in this predicament,” said Zamboni, whose Vikings are 3-5 and sit at No. 14 in District 6 Class A.

Only 12 teams advance.

“We have to win against Shade, and we have to hope Marion Center loses,” Zamboni said of the 12th-ranked Stingers. “They play Blairsville.

“Could they (Blairsville) beat them? There’s a possibility. We have to cross our fingers. We’re at everybody else’s mercy. The other variable is if you become the 12th seed, and if Bishop Carroll would lose (to winless Somerset) and Bishop McCort would win (against undefeated Forest Hills), then 12 plays 5, and who would be the fifth seed? A person asked me, ‘Who are you scouting on Friday night?’ I told them I’m not sure.

“We could send five people to five different places to scout and not even qualify.”

Bailey knows that feeling. His Rams have won three consecutive games and are at .500 after opening the season at 0-2 and 1-4. Eight teams advance in District 5-6 Class AA. Right now, Richland sits in a tie for ninth with Bald Eagle Area,

40 points in front of 11th-ranked Bedford.

The Rams play a Bishop Guilfoyle team that has lost five straight but also has been in nearly every game. If Richland wins in Week 9, there’s still work to do in Week 10 in Double-A. The Rams finish the regular season against a very solid Central Cambria squad.

“We’re looking at first of all having to beat Bishop Guilfoyle on Friday,” Bailey said. “We’ve put ourselves in a position that we have to do a little bit of scoreboard watching, but first we have to win on the field. We need to take care of our business and hope things go right for us. We started out 1-4 and had some tough losses. We’re playing pretty well on both sides of the ball.”

As typically is the case, playoff scenarios aren’t entirely clearcut and a number of variables can affect who’s in and who’s out of the postseason.

In 6-A, Penns Manor, Bellwood-Antis, Juniata Valley, Bishop Carroll, Homer-Center, Portage, Bishop McCort, United and Glendale have clinched nine of the 12 playoff berths.

No. 10 Moshannon Valley and No. 11 Southern Huntingdon each are 4-4 and are in fairly good shape. Currently, Marion Center (350 rating points) is in the final spot, but Northern Cambria (340) and Blacklick (300), each at 3-5, are on the Stingers’ heels.

“The kids are realistic about it,” Zamboni said. “We can only worry about one thing. We have to beat Shade.”

In 5-6-AA, undefeated Tyrone and Forest Hills have clinched as well as 7-1 Chestnut Ridge. No. 4 Ligonier Valley is strong at 7-1. Huntingdon (640), Penn Cambria (580) and Central Cambria (540) are fifth through seventh, respectively, entering Week 9. Central (480), Bald Eagle Area (450), Richland (450) and Bedford (410) all are 4-4. Unlike Class A, the regular season extends to a 10th week in Class AA.

“Certainly it’s more fun when you control your own destiny,” Bailey said. “We control what we do the next two Friday nights, but we need a bit of help as well.”

There are only three teams in 6-AAA. Undefeated Johnstown has 810 points. Bellefonte (740) and Indian Valley (610) each are 6-2. Two teams advance directly to the title game.

The Trojans host Central Cambria this week and unbeaten Forest Hills in Week 10 to close out the regular season. A win in either of the final two games should be enough for Johnstown to clinch.

Bellefonte faces undefeated Clearfield this week and Indian Valley meets 3-5 Central Mountain.

In District 5 Class A, Berlin and Northern Bedford each are 8-0. Also clinching already are 7-1 Conemaugh Township, and Tussey Mountain, Windber and North Star, each at 5-3.

Rockwood and Meyersdale each are 3-5 and the winner of their Saturday afternoon game in Rockwood will have the four wins necessary to qualify for the postseason in 5-A.

That means the field will include seven teams.

Seeding will get interesting. Berlin and Windber are fierce rivals and the Ramblers would like nothing better than to knock the Mountaineers from the unbeaten ranks. Northern Bedford will be the favorite against 1-7 West Branch. Conemaugh Township hosts North Star in what traditionally is a tough battle.



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Airborne: Cambria Heights senior Bryce Brawley went over the 1,000-yard receiving mark last week. Brawley has 45 receptions for 1,030 yards.

Highlanders quarterback Caleb Vescovi is closing in on the 2,000-yard passing mark.

The senior has completed 118 of 241 passes for 1,963 yards. Two other Highlanders are among the area leaders in receiving yards – senior Erik Welteroth (41 catches, 439 yards) is fifth, and sophomore Ben Meyers (13-297) is 11th.



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Point men: Berlin’s Ian Sayler and Conemaugh Township’s Brett Byers not only lead the WestPAC, but also hold the top two spots in area scoring. Sayler has 22 touchdowns, three conversions and

138 points, and Byers has 21 touchdowns and 126 points.



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Defensive mode: Bishop Carroll’s Josh Chumrik leads the area with 14 sacks, five more than Shade junior Josh Bulger.

Johnstown senior Calvin Anderson didn’t have a pick last week, but still has an area-best nine interceptions. Anderson did return a fumble 33 yards for a touchdown and ran back a punt 62 yards for another score in a win at Penn Cambria. Ligonier’s Anthony Tutino is second with eight interceptions.



Mike Mastovich is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat.