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By D9Sports.com Staff

Twenty-four District 9 boys’ basketball teams will be vying for District 9 championships in Class AAAA, Class AA and Class A as well as eight PIAA Playoffs berth (4 in Class A, 2 in Class AA, 2 in Class AAA).

Here is a team-by-team breakdown of each school participating in the District 9 boys’ playoffs. To jump to a specific classification click on that class here:

Class A       Class AA         Class AAA

Editor’s Note: Records and stats are updated through Feb. 9, 2008.

CLASS A (Go to top)

(Teams listed by seeding)

CLASS A NOTES: Elk County Catholic has won four straight Class A titles and 15 of the last 21 while also being runner-up two other times while winning seven of the past nine Class A championship games and appearing in eight of the last nine only missing out in 2003 … Union has won the second most titles with six but hasn’t taken home gold since 1981 … Top-seeded Coudersport is looking for its first title since 1996 but can’t be happy to be on the same side of the bracket as ECC, a team it has never beaten going 0-10 in the postseason against the Crusaders … Third-seeded DCC was the favorite a year ago before losing in the semifinals and then again in the consolation game. But the Cardinals rallied winning the PIAA Western Region before losing to Reading Central Catholic in the PIAA Class A Title game. It was the second straight year a D9 Class A team played in the PIAA championship title, as ECC won the title in 2006 … Second-seeded Rocky Grove is in its last year in District 9. The Orioles are returning to District 10 next year after a 4-year stint in D9.

1. COUDERSPORT FALCONS

HEAD COACH: Chris Fink  

RECORD: 24-0 overall, 14-0 North Tier League (1st place)

FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts winner of the Johnsonburg at Union game in the quarterfinals Feb 15 at a time to be determined.

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 7-0 

TOP SCORERS: Blair Heimel (20.1 ppg), John Hau (17.0), Colton Corey (10.2), Derek Burdick (8.4)

NOTABLE: Coudersport was the only District 9 boys’ or girls’ team to go unbeaten in the regular season this year and the first District 9 team to do it since Elk County Catholic went 33-0 and won the PIAA Class A boys’ title two years ago. The Falcons have won 43 straight regular-season contests and are 113-13 overall (regular season and playoffs) since starting the 2004 season 2-5 … Coudy probably would have been considered the favorites to win the D9 title this year if its second-leading scorer John Hau hadn’t torn his ACL a couple of weeks ago. Hau, who scored his 1,000^th career point a game or so after injuring the knee, played a couple of games with the injury before missing the final three of the regular season. He is hoping to give it a go in the playoffs, but how effective he would be and how long he can go on the knee remain to be seen … Coudersport has made the PIAA playoffs in each of the past three seasons including in 2005 and 2006 when the Falcons were the District 9 runners-up. Last year Coudy finished third in D9 behind ECC and Keystone … ECC has ended Coudersport’s bid for a District 9 title in each of the last three seasons including last year’s semifinals and the D9 title game in ’05 and ’06. The teams would meet in the semifinals this year if the seedings hold true … Coudersport is fighting a North Tier League jinx. The NTL hasn’t produced a District 9 Class A champion 12 years since the Falcons won the crown in 1996 … Fink has guided Coudersport to an average of 21.3 wins per season in his eight years as head coach … Blair Heimel enters the postseason needing 53 points to reach 1,000 in his career.

DISTRICT TITLES: 4 (4 Class A)

LAST TITLE: 1996 (Class A)

2. ROCKY GROVE ORIOLES

HEAD COACH: Steve Cutchall   

RECORD: 24-1 overall, 18-1 KSAC-West (1^st place; Won KSAC Title)

FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts winner of Venango Catholic-Northern Potter game in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Feb. 15.

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 8-1

TOP SCORERS: Ethan Gravatt (17.0), Cruz Mietus (15.2), Travis Melhuish (9.3)

NOTABLE: As mentioned above, the Orioles are looking to leave District 9 in style by taking home their first D9 title in their fourth and last year in District 9 … Rocky Grove, which is located near Franklin, is probably the surprise team of the year. The Orioles were 18-8 last year but lost three of their top four scorers … The addition of senior Ethan Gravatt, who played at Franklin the last few years and was a member of the Knights PIAA Class AAA title team two years ago, has been a major boast. Gravatt one of the top scorers in District 9 and gives Rocky Grove a slashing guard to compliment some very good three-point shooters led by Cruz Mietus, who is its second-leading scorer this year after leading the team last year. While the Orioles don’t rely quite as much on the long-range shot this year as they did last year, they are still plenty dangerous from the outside and can beat any team on any night that they shoot well … Rocky Groves is in the D9 playoffs for the fourth straight year and will be hosting its second home playoff game in that time. The Orioles were the seventh seed last year and beat North Clarion before getting hammered by ECC 79-26 in the quarterfinals …Rocky Grove’s lone loss can Jan. 11 to Keystone 63-43 at home, but the Orioles got revenge on the Panthers while securing a signature win 68-53 Jan. 30 and have won 12 straight games since that defeat … The Orioles have played Venango Catholic twice this season beating the Vikings 62-56 Dec. 20 and 69-51 Thursday.

DISTRICT TITLES: 0 (Fourth year in District 9)

LAST TITLE: None

3. DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC CARDINALS

HEAD COACH: Mike Nesbit  

RECORD: 23-2 overall, 10-0 AML-South (1st place; Won AML Title)

FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts Curwensville at 7 p.m. Feb. 13 in the first round

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 8-0

TOP SCORERS: Dom Varacallo (20.0 ppg), Christian Spilman (13.6 ppg), Max Moclock (7.6 ppg), Michael Hassan (5.6 ppg)

NOTABLE: Like Coudersport, DCC suffered a potentially devastating injury in the closing week of the season when leading scorer Dom Varacallo tore his ACL. Varacallo, who missed the final regular-season game the AML Title game, is hoping to play with a brace. But once again, his effectiveness and mobility have to be seen, and unlike Coudersport’s Hau, who is a big man, Varacallo is a small guard who relies on his speed to create on both ends of the floor. The senior is just 64 points shy of 1,000 career points … DCC has adapted well in the two games without Varacallo beating two playoff-bound teams (Brockway – Class AA; ECC – Class A) … Without Varacallo or with a limited Varacallo, fellow senior guard Christian Spilman will be asked to raise his game another level. Spilman did just that in the AML Title game scoring a season-high 28 points. He is 54 points shy of 1,000 in his career. The Cardinals will also look to Max Moclock, Michael Hassan and John Ferraraccio to pick up some of the slack if Varacallo can’t play … DCC is still looking for that elusive District 9 title under head coach Mike Nesbit. Despite a lot of regular-season success and last year’s run to the PIAA title game, the Cardinals haven’t won the District 9 title since 1976, which was the only D9 title in school history. Last year, DCC was heavy favorites to win the title but was upset 41-40 by Keystone in the semifinals and then lost 52-48 to Coudersport in the consolation game. In a lot of years that would have meant the end of the season, but D9 had four PIAA Playoff berths giving DCC a second-chance, and the Cards made the most of it. It was the second straight year DCC had playoff disappointment. In 2006, the Cardinals entered the postseason with just two loses but were stunned by Ridgway in the District 9 quarterfinals … This is DCC’s third meeting this year with Curwensville. The first two haven’t been close with the Cardinals winning 85-50 Jan. 2 and 78-43 Jan. 30 … Coming off its state runner-up finish a year ago, DCC has been nearly as good losing just twice – both time to Class AA teams (Brookville and Bishop Canevin) and just once since Dec. 4. That’s pretty impressive considering the Cardinals lost their top two scorers from last year and four of their top six … DCC played seven games this season against non-District 9 teams including four vs. WPIAL teams going 6-1 including 3-1 vs. the WPIAL.  

DISTRICT TITLES: 1 (1 Class A)

LAST TITLE: 1976 (Class A)

4. ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC CRUSADERS

HEAD COACH: Aaron Straub   

RECORD: 20-4 overall, 9-1 AML-North (1st place; AML runner-up), 9-2 D9 League (2^nd place)

FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts Clarion at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 in the first round

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 3-2

TOP SCORERS: Nate Higgins (12.5 ppg), Kiel Nissel (11.8 ppg), Logan Haberberger (10.9 ppg)

NOTABLE: New year, different players, same old result for the Crusaders … In the first year without the school’s all-time leading scorer Jesse Bosnik, ECC has become a more half-court team that relies on its inside game more than its guard play. The three key big men are Kiel Nissel, Nate Higgins and Logan Haberberger. The trio has accounted for 63.9 percent of ECC’s offense this season … ECC has won four D9 Class A titles in a row and is looking for its first 5-peat since 1991-95 when it won five in a row. It is just the ninth time in District 9 history that a school has won at least four straight D9 title regardless of classification … If the Crusaders do make it five in a row it will be an even 20 D9 titles in the program’s history. Only Bradford (30) has won more D9 title … Head Aaron Straub, in his 28^th year as a head coach, won his 600^th game (boys’ and girls’ combined) this season and is 606-189 including 579-168 as a boys’ coach and 27-21 as a girls’ coach … If the seedings hold true, it would set up a quarterfinal game with Keystone, which would pit the two winningest active coaches in District 9 against each other in Straub and Keystone’s Greg Heath (454) while also matching two of the District’s perennial powerhouses in a winner-moves-on-loser-goes-home game. Last year, ECC beat Keystone 54-37 for the District 9 title … ECC has had so much success in recent years that the measly four losses this season are the most for the Crusaders since going 14-13. Since 2004, ECC is 134-13 … This will be ECC’s first game vs. Clarion since the first round of the 2000 plays when it got a 63-49 win at ECC. The Crusaders also beat Clarion 37-35 in the 1999 playoffs and own an 8-3 all-time record vs. the Bobcats with the last loss coming 58-57 in 1986. Straub has only lost twice to Clarion in his 26 years at the helm and those two defeats came by a combined three points.

DISTRICT TITLES: 19 (4 Class AA, 15 Class A)

LAST TITLE: 2007 (Class A)

5. KEYSTONE PANTHERS

HEAD COACH: Greg Heath   

RECORD: 19-4 overall, 16-3 KSAC-West (2nd place)

FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts Otto-Eldred at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12 in the first round. 

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 6-1

TOP SCORERS: Kyle Rhoads (12.1 ppg), Brock Witkowski (11.7 ppg), Cristian Summerville (11.0 ppg)

NOTABLE: The Panthers have lost just once to a Class A team this season, 68-53 Jan. 30 to Rocky Grove … Keystone has won four District 9 titles in the past six years with three coming in Class AA (The Panthers were Class AA from 2003-2006). The Panthers were D9 runners-up to ECC last year losing 54-37 in the title game after upsetting heavily favored DCC 41-40 in the semifinals. It was the 14^th District 9 title game appearance for Keystone under 24^th year head coach Greg Heath … The Panthers are looking for their second straight 20-win season and their 10^th 20-win season in the past 15 season. Keystone is averaging 21.1 wins per season in the last 15 years and has not won fewer the 15 games in that span. In fact, Keystone has not won fewer than 15 games since winning 13 in 1987, Heath’s third year at the helm … This season, Keystone returned just two of its top five scorers from last year but has used extraordinary balanced to win games this year with three players averaging in double figures and 10 regulars scoring on a consistent basis … If the seedings hold true, it would set up a quarterfinal game with ECC, which would pit the two winningest active coaches in District 9 against each other in Heath and ECC’s Aaron Straub (606) while also matching two of the District’s perennial powerhouses in a winner-moves-on-loser-goes-home game … Keystone has picked up a lift in the last seven games from the return on Ben Black. Black, who missed the first 16 games with a thumb injury suffered in football, is averaging 6.6 ppg … Senior Kyle Rhoads enters the playoffs with 915 career points.

DISTRICT TITLES: 13 (10 Class AA, 3 Class A)

LAST TITLE: 2006 (Class AA)

6. CAMERON COUNTY RED RAIDERS

HEAD COACH: John Barnhart   

RECORD: 17-5 overall, 11-2 North Tier League (2^nd place)

FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts Clarion-Limestone at 7 p.m. Feb. 13 in the first round

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 4-4

TOP SCORERS: Jordan Crane (15.1 ppg), Daniel Sullivan (12.4 ppg), Charlie Holjencin (8.5 ppg)

NOTABLE: The Red Raiders are fighting some bad karma for North Tier League teams in the District 9 playoffs. NTL teams not named Coudersport have gone 3-21 in all classes since 2000 when not playing another NTL team, although the NTL did go 2-2 last year including a Cameron County win over Curwensville (41-36). That was the first time an NTL Class A boys’ team other than Coudy won a D9 playoff game against a non-NTL team since 1999 … The Red Raiders return their top three scorers from that team led by Jordan Crane, one of the top scorers in District 9, who went over 1,000 career points earlier this season. He has 1,116 career points and is the fourth all-time leading scorer in Cameron County history … The Red Raiders were 5-4 vs. teams with winning records this season and 12-1 vs. teams with non-winning.   

DISTRICT TITLES: 6 (5 Class AA)

LAST TITLE: 1973 (Class AA)

7. NORTHERN POTTER

HEAD COACH: Brian McCorkle    

RECORD: 16-8 overall, 8-6 NTL (T-3^rd place)

FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts Venango Catholic at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13 in first round

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 1-6

TOP SCORERS: Kal McCaslin (12.4 ppg), Kellen Warriner (11.0 ppg), Derek Erway (9.8 ppg), Chris Palys (8.0 ppg)

NOTABLE: This is Northern Potter’s fourth straight trip to the postseason and its fifth in the past six years. The Panthers have gone 0-5 in those games including last season when they lost to Clarion 63-45 after entering the postseason as the lone sub-.500 team (they finished 8-17) in the Class A playoff field … Most likely, the reason they went was to get experience for their young players, and those young players are back this year with the Panthers returning all three of their top scorers from a year ago in Kal McCaslin, Derek Erway and Kellen Warriner … The second half of the season has been a bit of a struggle for Northern Potter. After starting the year 11-2, the Panthers have dropped 6 of their last 11 games … As mentioned in the Cameron County preview; Northern Potter is also fighting some recent North Tier League history in the playoffs with the NTL not counting Coudersport being just 3-21 vs. non-NTL teams since 2000 in the postseason regardless of classification. 

DISTRICT TITLES: 1 (1 Class A)

LAST TITLE: 1990 (Class A)

8. UNION GOLDEN KNIGHTS

HEAD COACH: Karen Davis

RECORD: 16-8 overall, 15-4 KSAC-East (1^st place; KSAC runners-up)

FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts Johnsonburg at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12 in the first round

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 3-6

TOP PLAYERS: Scott Booth (19.3 ppg), A.J. Ethriedge (16.8 ppg), Spencer Varner (8.6 ppg)

NOTABLE: Union is making its first trip to the District 9 playoffs since 2006 but its third in the last four years under Davis who has turned around this once morbid program after taking over five years ago following a highly successful stint as the girls’ coach at Union … The Knights are one of the surprise teams of the year after going just 9-15 a year ago … Union has had some tough luck this year losing five games by seven points or less while going 3-5 in games decided by seven or fewer points … The Knights are 4-6 this season vs. teams above .500 … Rimersburg has not been a pleasant place for opponents this year, as only on team has taken the bus ride home with a win. Union is 8-1 on its home floor this season … Thanks to three loses in 13 days to KSAC Champion and D9 Class A second seeded Rocky Grove, the Knights enter the playoffs having lost four of its final six games. The tough closing stretch came after Union had won seven straight from early January to late January … If Union wins Tuesday it will travel to top seeded Coudersport Friday. 

DISTRICT TITLES: 10 (4 in Class AA; 6 in Class A)

LAST TITLE: 1981 – Class A

9. JOHNSONBURG RAMS

HEAD COACH: Bill Shuey   

RECORD: 12-11 overall, 4-5 AML-North (3^rd place)

FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: at Union at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12 in the first round

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 2-4

TOP SCORERS: Seth Streich (20.9 ppg), Zach Padasak (14.2 ppg), Matt Shuey (6.9 ppg)

NOTABLE: The Rams have had a tumultuous season that included a coaching change early in the year when Dan Thorwart resigned and was replaced by Bill Shuey following a loss at DuBois Central Catholic. Johnsonburg was 3-3 under Thorwart and 9-8 under Shuey but has won four of its past five games … Thorwart took Johnsonburg to new heights with the Rams going to the PIAA semifinals in 2004 … The Rams have had to also overcome the loss of Paul Imbrogno (8.5 ppg), the team’s third leading scorer who is out for the season with an injury, and this season was already a transition year for Johnsonburg with it being the first time in four years the Rams didn’t have the services of Calvin Grumley, the all-time leading scorer in District 9 history … A lot of the slack has been picked up by junior Seth Streich, who is in his first year of basketball since seventh grade. He is not only the team’s leading scorer but the leading scorer in all of District 9 at 20.9 ppg. Streich transferred from Ridgway prior to last season but sat out the basketball campaign … Five of Johnsonburg’s 11 loses have been by eight points or less …

DISTRICT TITLES: 2 (1 Class A, 1 Class AA)

LAST TITLE: 1983 (Class A)

10. VENANGO CATHOLIC VIKINGS

HEAD COACH: Ed McIntyre    

RECORD: 12-12, 10-9 KSAC-West (4^th place)

FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: at Northern Potter at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13 in the first round

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 2-5

TOP SCORERS: Eric Guth (17.2 ppg), Alex Eckert (16.6 ppg), Parker James (6.6 ppg), Mike McNellie (6.0 ppg)

NOTABLE: Venango Catholic is making its inaugural appearance in the District 9 playoffs in its fourth year in District 9 after moving over from District 10. The Vikings have made steady progress in those four years going from one win in 2005 to four in 2006 to eight last season to 12 this year. A lot of that success has to do with a pair of 1,000-point scoring seniors in Eric Guth and Alex Eckert. Guth, a 6-4 center, has 1,234 career points and Eckert, a 6-7 forward, has 1,144. Of the two, Guth has been a little more consistent this season scoring 20 or more points 10 times while going under 10 just three times. Eckert has six 20-point games but has also failed to reach double digits five times including in four of the Vikings last six games. VC has gone just 2-4 in those six contests with Eckert averaging 9.5 ppg in those games. That has caused his season average to drop from 18.9 ppg to 16.9 ppg.

DISTRICT TITLES: 0 (in District 9)

LAST TITLE: None

11. CLARION-LIMESTONE LIONS

HEAD COACH: Joe Ferguson

RECORD: 12-11 overall, 11-8 KSAC-East (3^rd place)

FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: at Cameron County at 7 p.m. Feb. 13 in the first round

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 2-5

TOP SCORERS: C.J. Hesdon (15.5 ppg), Jaye Dulavitch (12.7 ppg), Ryan Raybuck (12.4 ppg), Adam Plucinski (10.9 ppg)

NOTABLE: The Lions are making their first District 9 playoff appearance since 2004 when current head coach Joe Ferguson’s son David was one of the team leaders. The Lions are looking for their first D9 playoff win since 2003 … Ferguson, who is in his second year in charge, has wasted little time getting things turned around for C-L. The Lions won just nine games combined in the two seasons prior to Ferguson, whose other son J.J. was also a star for the Lions, took over and brought former Lions playoff hero Ryan Smith with him as assistant coach. C-L won eight games last season before jumping to 12 wins this year … C-L is the lone District 9 boys’ team with four players averaging in double figures, and Jaye Dulavitch is averaging a double-double with 12.7 ppg and 10.3 rpg … While C-L can score, it is averaging 60 ppg, the seventh best mark in D9, the Lions allow other teams to score as well allowing 5.73 ppg … The Lions enter the postseason having won 3 of 4 including a win over KSAC-East champion Union..

DISTRICT TITLES: 1 (1 Class A)

LAST TITLE: 1961 (Class A)

12. OTTO-ELDRED TERRORS

HEAD COACH: Lance Baker

RECORD: 11-12 overall, 8-6 NTL (T-3^rd place)

FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: at Keystone at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12 in the first round

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 1-5

TOP SCORERS: Wayne Taylor (14.6 ppg), Matt Buck (8.7 ppg), Preston Woods (8.1 ppg)

NOTABLE: Otto-Eldred is making its first playoff appearance since it won the North Tier League title in 2000 and finished the year 19-6. That was the last time the Terrors had a winning record. That season, Otto lost a home playoff game to A-C Valley 56-48. The Terrors are looking for their first D9 playoff victory since 1997 when they advanced to the District 9 Class A title game before falling to a Tom and Andy Pore led Keystone-squad 57-48. That was the last time an NTL team not named Coudersport played for a District 9 Class A title. As noted in some of the other previews, the NTL other than Coudersport has struggled in recent years going 3-21 in the D9 playoffs when not facing another NTL team since 2000 … The playoffs, at the start of the year, looked like a long shot for Otto-Eldred as it started 0-5. But the Terrors got hot winning 7 of their next 9, although they have gone 4-5 since then … This is a young team with just one senior and no seniors in the top six in scoring … Otto-Eldred’s lone District 9 title came back in 1945 when Otto Twp. (which later became part of Otto-Eldred) won the first-ever Class AA title.

DISTRICT TITLES: 1 (1 Class AA)

LAST TITLE: 1945 (Class AA as Otto Twp.)

13. CLARION BOBCATS

HEAD COACH: Jim Harmon   

RECORD: 11-13, 9-01 KSAC-East (4^th place)

FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: at Elk County Catholic at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 in the first round

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 2-6

TOP SCORERS: Drew Vandermeer (15.1 ppg), Scott Larson (13.4 ppg), Cody Zacherl (6.1 ppg)

NOTABLE: Clarion’s two trees – Drew Vandermeer (6-5) and Scott Larson (6-7) – account for 60.9 percent of the Bobcats scoring. Vandermeer is a combination guard/forward who can dribble, penetrate and shoot three-pointers while also being a top-notch shot blocker … Larson is a football offensive lineman who is primarily used around the hoop but he does have a soft shooting touch … The game vs. ECC sets up a match-up of the last two schools to win District 9 titles. ECC, of course, has won four in a row, but Clarion was the last school to win it before that streak taking home gold in 2003 … Clarion has lost its last seven meetings with ECC including a 63-49 loss at ECC in the 2000 District 9 playoffs, which was the last time the schools played. The Bobcats last win over the Crusaders came 58-57 in 1986 … Clarion is coming off a 60-48 win over Karns City, the No. 1 seed in the D9 Class AA playoffs … A Clarion win over ECC could set up a showdown with neighbor and rival Keystone, which beat the Bobcats 59-49 Jan. 2 … Clarion also split its season series with Union, the KSAC-East champion who is on the same side of the bracket.

14. CURWENSVILLE GOLDEN TIDE

HEAD COACH: Matt Wassil    

RECORD: 10-13 overall, 4-5 AML-South (2^nd place)

FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT: at DuBois Central Catholic at 7 p.m. Feb. 13 in the first round

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 0-3  

TOP SCORERS: David Kalgren (17.2 ppg), Derek Dixon (8.8 ppg), Ben McGary (7.5 ppg), Sam Gardner (7.3 ppg), Joey Palmer (6.7 ppg)

NOTABLE: This is Curwensville’s second straight playoff appearance. The Tide lost to Cameron County last year and are looking for their first playoff win since 2003 … This will be Curwensville third meeting with DuBois Central Catholic this year, and the first two didn’t go well with DCC winning by scores of 83-50 and 78-43 … Curwensville does have a signature win on its resume having beaten Kane, the defending D9 Class AA champion and No. 2 seed in this year’s D9 Class AA playoffs, 55-54 Jan. 25 … The Golden Tide enter the postseason having won 4 of 6. Prior to that streak, Curwensville had lost 10 of 14 … This is another young team with only two seniors in the starting lineup and its top three scorers all juniors.

DISTRICT TITLES: 1 (1 Class AA)

LAST TITLE: 1997 (Class AA)

CLASS AA (Go to top)

(Teams listed by seeding)

CLASS AA NOTES: You have to fear the K if you’re a Class AA team not starting with a K. It’s been 10 straight years where Karns City, Keystone and Kane have won all of the titles. The last non-K team was Curwensville in 1997. There’s a good chance that another K could do it again this year. Karns City and Kane are seeded 1-2. The Gremlins are looking for their first crown since 2005 while Kane will try to defend its title. The Wolves were a young squad with a 13-10 and third seed a year ago before knocking off second-seeded Karns City and top-seeded Smethport to win it all. Most of that team is back. … Three of the seven teams in the field sport losing records. … There hasn’t been this many teams in the Class AA playoffs since the 1998 season also had seven teams in the playoff field.

1. KARNS CITY GREMLINS

HEAD COACH: Steve Andreassi

RECORD: 16-8, 14-5 KSAC-East (2^nd Place)

FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: Winner of the Brookville at Cranberry game in the semifinals Feb. 15 or 16 at a site and time to be determined.

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 2-0

TOP SCORERS: Cameron Turner (14.7 ppg), Mike McConnell (10.2 ppg), Matt McConnell (8.6 ppg), Dan Everetts (7.6 ppg)

NOTABLE:  The Gremlins barely missed out on playing in the KSAC title game finishing one game behind KSAC East Champion Union … Karns City entered last year’s tournament as the No. 2 seed but was upset in the semifinal round by eventual champion Kane … The Gremlins have a 7-3 mark in their last 10 games but are coming off an upset loss to Clarion Thursday in a game that Mike McConnell sat out recovering from an ankle injury … Senior Cameron Turner was also named CHAMP D9sports.com’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year with Kane’s Ross Nicholson.

DISTRICT TITLES: 10 (7 in Class AA, 3 in Class A)

LAST TITLE: 2005 (Class AA)

2. KANE WOLVES

HEAD COACH: Jeff Labesky

RECORD: 16-8, 7-3 AML North (2^nd place)

FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts Moniteau at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 in the quarterfinals

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 3-0

TOP SCORERS: John Bizzak (14.1 ppg), Mike Punk (9.5 ppg), Kenny Kane (9.3 ppg), Cory Waigand (9.0 ppg)

NOTABLE: After watching its football team make a run to the PIAA Class A semifinals, the Kane basketball team got off to a slow start going 7-5 in its first 12 games including two contests to open the season with basically the junior varsity squad because the top basketball players were still playing football. But Kane closed out its season with an 8-2 mark … The Wolves won last year’s District 9 title as the third seed upsetting second seeded Karns City and top seeded Smethport to claim the title its first since the end of a three-peat stretch in 2000.

DISTRICT TITLES: 11 (4 in Class AAAA, 7 in Class AA)

LAST TITLE: 2007 (Class AA)

3. PORT ALLEGANY GATORS

HEAD COACH: Bob Raudenbush

RECORD: 15-9, 7-7 NTL (5^th place)

FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts Brockway at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 in the quarterfinals

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 0-1

TOP SCORERS: Derek Morey (15.9 ppg), Bryce Healy (9.1 ppg), Josh Rosenswie (9.1 ppg)

NOTABLE: Port Allegany started the season 8-2 and was 11-3 after a Jan. 10 win at Smethport. Since then, the Gators have struggled putting together no back-to-back victories while ending the season 4-6 in their last 10 games … Port Allegany played in the Class AA title game in 2005 with its last playoff victory coming in that season as well … This year marks the 50^th anniversary of the lone District 9 basketball title in school history. The 1958 Gators took home the Class AA title … Port Allegany is fighting the NTL blue. NTL teams other than Coudersport are 3-21 in the D9 Playoffs when not facing another NTL team since 2000.

DISTRICT TITLES: 1 (Class AA)

LAST TITLE: 1958 (Class AA)

4. CRANBERRY BERRIES

HEAD COACH: Eric O’Polka

RECORD: 14-10, 12-7 KSAC West (3^rd Place)

FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: Hosts Brookville at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 in the quarterfinals

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 2-2

TOP SCORERS: Chase Mitchell (13.0 ppg), Nick Persing (11.4), Brad Rembold (9.7 ppg)

NOTABLE: The Berries lost to Brookville 71-62, Jan. 29 … Cranberry has been up and down all season with its longest win streak topping out at four games but its longest losing streak halting at three games … Cranberry has won one District 9 playoff game since joining the district at the beginning of the 2004-2005 season (2005 win over Redbank Valley). Since then, the Berries have played in just one postseason contest.

DISTRICT TITLES: 0 (Fourth year in District 9)

LAST TITLE: None

5. BROOKVILLE RAIDERS

HEAD COACH: Mike Ion

RECORD: 11-12, 3-8 D9 League (5^th Place)

FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: at Cranberry at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 in the quarterfinals

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 2-0

TOP SCORERS: Joe Galbraith (12.3 ppg), Garrett Spence (9.3 ppg), Chad Brocious (0.2 ppg)

NOTABLE: Brookville defeated Cranberry 71-62 at home Jan. 29 … The Raiders last won in the playoffs two years ago upsetting third-seeded Port Allegany in the opening round … Brookville is 3-8 since a Jan. 8 win over St. Marys which put the Raiders at 8-4 at the time … Galbraith set the all-time rushing record on the football team last fall. … The Raiders’ body of work covers a wide spectrum this year. They beat 23-win DuBois Central Catholic but lost to 2-win DuBois.

DISTRICT TITLES: 8 (2 in Class AAAA, 4 in Class AAA, 2 in Class AA)

LAST TITLE: 1997 (Class AAA)

6. BROCKWAY ROVERS

HEAD COACH: Kurt Becker

RECORD: 8-16, 4-6 AML South (3rd Place)

FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: at Port Allegany at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 in the quarterfinals

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 0-3

TOP SCORERS: Mark Shannon (14.3 ppg), Nathan Shaffer (6.3 ppg), Lucas Swintek (6.2 ppg)

NOTABLE: Of the Rovers’ eight regular season wins, none have come against a team with a winning record. Brockway has wins over Ridgway (2), Sheffield (2), East Forest (2), Curwensville, and Redbank Valley … This is their first trip to the postseason since the 1997-98 season, also their last winning season and the most wins in a season since then … In 1996-97, the Rovers finished second and won their first-round state playoff game.

DISTRICT TITLES: 5 (4 in Class AA, 1 in Class A)

LAST TITLE: 1995 (Class AA)

7. MONITEAU WARRIORS

HEAD COACH: Randy Armagost

RECORD: 8-15, 7-12 KSAC West (5^th Place)

FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: at Kane at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 in the quarterfinals

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 0-3

TOP SCORERS: Josh Loos (18.9 ppg), Tyler Armagost (15.8 ppg), Zack McCormick (8.6 ppg)

NOTABLE: The Warriors, who won the KSAC title in 2006,  have played in two of the last four District 9 title games (2004 and 2006) … Loos and Armagost account for more than 60% of the Warriors offense and provide a solid inside game for the Warriors, but Loos was ejected from the team’s regular-season finale against Keystone and should miss his team’s playoff opener at Kane … The Warriors haven’t played Kane since beating the Wolves in the Kane Christmas Tournament in 2001. The last playoff meeting was in 1997, which was a Moniteau win in the preliminary round.

DISTRICT TITLES: 0

LAST TITLE: None

CLASS AAA (Go to top)

(Teams listed by seeding)

CLASS AAA NOTES: The Bradford Owls have dominated this classification, but recent history against Clearfield shows that they shouldn’t take anything for granted. Clearfield upset the Owls in 2005 to make the finals where it lost to Punxsutawney. Assuming the Bisons get past the Chucks, it’ll be a third game this year between the two teams.

1. BRADFORD OWLS

HEAD COACH: Dave Fuhrman

RECORD: 15-7, 10-1 D9 League (Regular season games remaining Feb. 11 vs. Clearfield and Feb. 13 vs. Warren)

FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: Received a bye into the championship game against the Clearfield-Punxsutawney winner, TBA

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 3-0 (prior to Feb. 11 game against Clearfield)

TOP PLAYERS: Ryan LaBrozzi (17.4 ppg.), Ben Lanich (14.4 ppg), Randy Confer (9.4 ppg)

NOTABLE: The Owls lost three of four games in their trip to Florida, once at Elk County Catholic and Olean along with a loss to Highlands and State College, so their strength of schedule wins out in this three-team bracket … Fuhrman won his 300^th game this year. He’s in his 18^th season … The Owls have played in and won six of the last seven Class AAA Championship games. The only exception was 2005 when the Owls were upset by Clearfield in the semifinals. Going back to 1995, Bradford has played in all but three Class AAA or AAAA District 9 Championship games. The Owls have been Class AAA since the 2000-01 season.

DISTRICT TITLES: 30 (24 in Class AAAA, 6 in Class AAA)

LAST TITLE: 2007 – Class AAA

2. CLEARFIELD BISONS

HEAD COACH: Forrest Campman

RECORD: 18-5, 8-3 D9 League (3^rd place)

FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: Punxsutawney Feb. 14, site TBA

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 2-1 (prior to Feb. 11 game against Bradford)

TOP SCORERS: Matt Shiner (17.8 ppg.), Todd Hryn (11.3 ppg), Jarrin Campman (9.5 ppg)

NOTABLE: This is the best year the Bisons have had under Campman and the most wins by a Clearfield team since the 1998-99 team went 24-5 and finished third in the District 6 Class AAA playoffs … Clearfield lost to Bradford in last year’s semifinal, 58-38 … The only postseason game the Bisons have won since 2000 was 2005’s shocking 49-22 upset of Bradford in the semifinals.

DISTRICT TITLES: 5 (4 in Class AAAA, 1 in Class AAA)

LAST TITLE: 1999 – Class AAA

3. PUNXSUTAWNEY CHUCKS

HEAD COACH: Chad Long

RECORD: 7-15, 2-9 D9 League (6^th place)

FIRST ROUND OPPONENT: Clearfield Feb. 14, site TBA

RECORD VS. PLAYOFF FIELD: 0-4

TOP SCORERS: Dan Kopas (12.6 ppg.), Mike Cook (11.0 ppg), Corey Neal (10.4 ppg)

NOTABLE: The Chucks’ last meeting with the Bisons was a 60-56 loss at home on Jan. 23. They lost by a combined 40 points in two losses to Bradford … The Chucks’ last winning season came in their last title year of 2004-05 (21-6) … Despite a losing record, the Chucks have three players averaging double figures in scoring.

DISTRICT TITLES: 17 (16 in Class AAAA, 1 in Class AAA)

LAST TITLE: 2005 – Class AAA