OFF. LINEMEN OF THE YEAR

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

SPECIAL TEAMS POY

Nick Johnson - Bradford

PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

GAME OF THE YEAR

SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR

Jake Smith - Redbank Valley

Clearfield-Indian Valley - Oct. 12

Alex Arth - Clarion

SHIPPENVILLE – The 2007 Clarion Hospital Athletic Medicine Program (CHAMP) D9Sports.com District 9 Postseason Football Awards have a distinct championship flavor to them.

That’s because the Player of the Year, the Co-Defensive Players of the Year and the Coach of the Year are all from teams that won District 9 titles this season.

Kane quarterback Zach Anderson is the CHAMP D9Sports.com District 9 Player of the Year, while Anderson’s teammate Ross Nicholson, a linebacker, is joined by Karns City’s Cameron Turner, a defensive end, as the first-ever CHAMP D9Sports.com District 9 co-Defensive Players of the Year. Anderson and Nicholson’s coach, Jason Barner, is the CHAMP D9Sports.com District 9 Coach of the Year. 

Also winning awards are Port Allegany linebacker/offensive lineman/running back Seth Lowery (CHAMP D9Sports.com Rookie of the Year), Bradford’s Nick Johnson (CHAMP D9Sports.com Special Teams Player of the Year), Cameron County’s Shawn Ellenberger (CHAMP D9Sports.com Offensive Lineman of the Year), Redbank Valley’s Jake Smith (CHAMP D9Sports.com Performance of the Year), Clarion’s Alex Arth (CHAMP D9Sports.com Special Contributor) and the Oct. 12 Clearfield-Indian Valley game (CHAMP D9Sports.com Game of the Year).   

This is the eighth season that D9Sports.com has given out postseason awards, and they are believed to be the only District 9-wide postseason awards handed out. CHAMP is in its first year of sponsoring the awards.

D9Sports.Com is in its eighth year of covering athletics within the PIAA’s District 9 located at www.d9sports.com. The site is not affiliated with the PIAA in any way. The site covers all 26 football teams playing in District 9. For more information on the site, please visit it or e-mail the staff at d9sports@usachoice.net.

CHAMP is the “Sports Medicine Leaders” in on-site care, prevention and rehabilitation of athletic injuries; local and regional athletic event coverage; comprehensive strength and conditioning programs; preseason sports performance programs and nutritional and biomechanical consultations. It has five full-time certified athletic trainers including the certified athletic trainers at Clarion-Limestone, Keystone, Redbank Valley and Union and full-time trainer at their main location near the Clarion Hospital (behind Wal-Mart). More information on CHAMP can be obtained by calling them at 814-226-1356 or visiting them on the web at http://www.d9sports.com/D9Sports/CRSChamp/CRSChamp.htm.

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Anderson led Kane on a story-book ride in 2007 that culminated in the school’s first-ever District 9 football title (Class A) and a trip to the Western Semifinals. The Wolves finished 14-1 overall and 9-0 AML South. In addition to the District 9 Class A title, a 14-6 win over Cameron County, Kane also won the school’s first-ever PIAA playoff game 12-7 over Mercyhurst Prep while also winning the AML South Title and the AML Title and setting the school-record for wins in a season.

Anderson was a big part of that success leading District 9 in passing yards with 2,381 while finishing second in District 9 with a 58 percent completion percentage (145 of 250) and quarterback rating (160.08) and tying for second in touchdown passes with 24. His 158.7 yards per game passing tied for fourth in D9, and his 12 interceptions were the sixth fewest. He added one rushing touchdown. 

Anderson, who missed all but one quarter of last season with an injury, is the first Kane player to be named CHAMP D9Sports.com Player of the Year, and it marks the fourth straight year the Player of the Year has come from an AML team.

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM DEFENSIVE CO-PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

Both Nicholson and Turner had dominating seasons on the defensive side of the football while leading two of the top scoring defensive teams in District 9. Kane finished second in District 9 in points allowed (10.8 ppg), while Karns City was third (11.8 ppg). Take away the state playoffs, and those defensive numbers are even more impressive. In 13 games prior to the PIAA playoffs, Kane allowed an average of 7.8 ppg, which would have led the district, and in 12 games prior to the PIAA playoffs, Karns City allowed 9.8 points per game.

Nicholson unofficially finished ninth in District 9 in tackler per game with 9.7, while his 146 stops were the top number in D9. He added 14 ½ sacks, which ranked second in D9, one interception, four fumble recoveries and two fumbles caused. Nicholson’s top game came in the PIAA semifinals when he made 20 tackles and had two sacks while forcing a fumble and recovering a fumble.

Turner, meanwhile, averaged 5.6 tackles per game as a defensive end in a defensive scheme that features the linebackers and led District 9 in sacks with 15. He added two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Turner’s top games included 10 tackles and two sacks against Hickory and seven tackles and three sacks in the regular-season meeting with Moniteau. 

Nicholson is the second CHAMP D9Sports.com Defensive Player of the Year to come from Kane joining Jared Cecchetti, who won the award in 2003. He is also the third underclassmen to win the award joining Clarion’s Brad Rapp in 2005 and Clarion-Limestone’s Hayden Johnston in 2002 (both players were juniors when they earned the nod).

Turner’s selection, meanwhile, marks the second straight year Karns City has had the CHAMP D9Sports.com Defensive Player of the Year. Last season, senior linebacker Mike Switzer took home the honors.

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM COACH OF THE YEAR

Barner, in just his second season as head coach, led Kane to heights never seen before in the school’s football history. The Wolves finished 14-1 overall and 9-0 AML South and won the District 9 Class A title for the first time in school history as well as the AML South and AML Titles and went 1-1 in the PIAA Class A Playoffs advancing to the PIAA Semifinals while winning the school’s first-ever PIAA playoff game. Maybe the most amazing thing about this season is that it came out of nowhere. The 14 wins eclipsed Kane’s total combined wins over the last three seasons (9) and came within one win of equaling Kane’s win total of the past four years combined (15). Kane was just 3-7 last year and hadn’t finished above .500 since going 6-3 in 2003. The 14 wins were a school record.

Barner’s selection marks the second time a Kane coach has been named CHAMP D9Sports.com District 9 Coach of the Year joining Rick Bouch, who won the award in 2002.

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Lowery had truly an amazing rookie campaign for the Port Allegany Gators, who qualified for the District 9 Class A playoffs.

On defense, he was one of the team leaders on a unit that finished 11^th in District 9 in points allowed per game (20.2). He finished second on the team with 77 tackles (8.6 per game), while unofficially finishing fourth in District 9 in sacks with seven. He also added two interceptions returning one of them for a touchdown.

On offense, Lowery showed a team-first attitude splitting time between fullback and the offensive line rushing for 72 yards on 21 carries and also starting three games at guard when injuries hit the Gators helping Port Allegany to an average of 186.8 yards per game rushing, the eighth best mark in District 9.

Lowery also came up big on special teams this year with a blocked kick.

The first CHAMP D9Sports.com Rookie of the Year from Port Allegany, he is the second Rookie of the Year from the AML North joining Coudersport’s Boomer Wetzel, who won the award in 2005. He is also just the second freshman to win the award joining Clarion-Limestone’s Hayden Johnston, who won the honor in 2001.

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE YEAR

Ellenberger was a dominating force on Cameron County’s offensive line this season, a line that helped pave the way to an 11-2 record, the AML North title, an AML runner-up finish and a District 9 Class A runner-up finish for the Red Raiders.

Behind Ellenberger, Cameron County led District 9 in rushing (278.4 yards per game) while running for 3,341 yards. The Red Raiders were second in District 9 and first in Class A in total offense as well averaging 372.4 yards per contest while racking up 4,469 yards.

Ellenberger is the first CHAMP D9Sports.com Offensive Lineman of the Year from Cameron County and the fourth from the AML but the first from an AML school other than Curwensville.

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

It should really come as no shock that the CHAMP D9Sports.com District 9 Special Teams Player of the Year is from Bradford. After all, in the seven years the award has been given out an Owl has either won or shared it four times now.

Johnson, however, is the first non-Bradford kicker to take home the award after having a sensational year returning kicks and punts for the Owls (He also finished third in D9 with 1,180 yards rushing). The senior averaged 27.5 yards per return on 24 kickoffs and returned three of them for touchdowns. He also added 20.6 yards per return on 13 punt returns with a touchdown. But he was far more than just a special team’s returner for Bradford also leading the team with 17 special teams tackles. Johnson’s best special team’s game came in a 35-23 win at Brookville when he returned a kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown in the first half before adding an 84-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second half. Those two scores provided the margin of victory for the Owls in a key D9 League contest.

Johnson is the third non-kicker to win the award joining Keystone’s Billy Colwell (Co in 2003) and Clearfield’s Dave Richards (2001), although Moniteau’s Adam Cousins (Co in both 2005 and 2006) won the award for his return ability as well as he kicking ability.

As mentioned before, Johnson’s award marks the fourth time a Bradford player has been named CHAMP D9Sports.com Special Teams Player of the Year. Kicker Steve Butler was the Co-winner with Cousins last season, while kicker Kyle Macfarlane won the award twice sharing it with Colwell in 2003 and then winning it outright in 2004.

It also marks the sixth time in seven years that at least one of the award winners has come from the D9 League, a trend that will end after this year since the league has disbanded. 

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

Smith had one of the all-time great playoff games in District 9 history Nov. 9 in Redbank Valley 39-14 win over Elk County Catholic in the opening round of the District 9 Class A postseason.

On a cold and rainy night, Smith was nearly perfect completing nearly 75 percent of his passes (14 of 19) for 236 yards and six touchdowns. He also added 15 carries for 48 yards. The six scores set a Redbank Valley school record and marked the fourth time on the year he threw at least four scoring passes in a game. To add to the special night, the six scoring tosses also allowed Smith to become Redbank Valley’s all-time leading touchdown thrower with 44 TD tosses in his career.

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM GAME OF THE YEAR

In the middle of October, Clearfield’s season was hanging in the balance. The Bisons were a pedestrian-like 3-3 and had to go on the road to play undefeated Indian Valley, a team that would eventually make a long run into the PIAA Class AAA playoffs.

Things looked even bleaker for Clearfield when it fell behind 13-0 midway through the third quarter after playing to a scoreless tie in the first half.

But then the Bisons offensive got going scoring twice in a span of 1:23 late in the third quarter to tie the game at 13 on a 1-yard scoring run by junior quarterback Jarrin Campman and a 13-yard touchdown pass from Campman to Drew Hipps.

The game remained deadlocked late into the fourth quarter when Clearfield took over at its own 7-yard line.

But in what was perhaps the drive-of-the-year in District 9, Campman and company marched the Bisons 93 yards in seven plays with Clearfield scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 21-yard pass from Campman to Hipps with 2:11 left to play.

Down by just six with plenty of time left on the lock, Indian Valley’s hopes of a comeback were squashed when Campman picked off a Jarrett Kratzer pass to seal the win.

Campman finished the game 15 of 26 passing for 204 yards and two touchdowns, while David Ryan had five catches for 92 yards. Hipps had four grabs for 54 yards and the two scores and Toby Young ran 12 times for 75 yards.

That victory, Clearfield’s second straight, help propel the Bisons on a 5-game win streak to finish the regular season at 7-3 (they finished 7-4 overall). Meanwhile, the loss was the lone regular-season loss for Indian Valley, which advanced to the second round of the PIAA Class AAA playoffs.

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR AWARD

The Special Contributor Award is an award that is only being given for the fourth time in eight years. It goes to an individual (not a player) who has dedicated himself or herself to high school football over a long period of time.

This year’s Special Contributor Award goes to Alex Arth, who has played various roles from assistant coach to statistician and many others at Clarion High School for the last 42 years.

Arth was an assistant coach of one variety or another for the Bobcats from 1966 to 2001 under four different head coaches mainly coaching the offensive line, which affectionately became known as the “Hogs” around town. As an assistant coach, he helped Clarion to a 36-year mark of 229-105-8 (.681) including the 1997 District 9 Class A title.

Since retiring from both coaching and teaching following the 2001-2002 school year, Arth has continued his involvement with the Bobcats football team has the squad’s chief statistician. His job involves training and supervising the student statisticians, compiling the stats and in recent years entering the stats into the Maxpreps.com web site. He has been involved with statistics keeping at Clarion since 1975.

To put in perspective how long Arth has been involved with Clarion football, he started coaching at Clarion the same year Joe Paterno became the head coach at Penn State.

2007 CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM DISTRICT 9 FOOTBALL AWARDS

VOTING BREAKDOWN

(Top 3 Players listed in each category)

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM PLAYER OF THE YEAR

1. Zach Anderson – Kane

2. Jake Smith – Redbank Valley

3. Joe Galbraith – Brookville

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

1.  Ross Nicholson – Kane

1. Cameron Turner – Karns City

3. Jeremy Williams – St. Marys

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

1. Seth Lower – Port Allegany

2. James Shope – Moniteau

3. Jed Greslick – Curwensville

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM COACH OF THE YEAR

1. Jason Barner – Kane

2. Ed Wasilowski – Redbank Valley

3. Steve Ackerman – Bradford

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

1. Nick Johnson – Bradford

2. Matt McConnell – Karns City

3. Mike Punk – Kane

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE YEAR

1. Shawn Ellenberger – Cameron County

2. Steve Reinhardt – Bradford

3. Nick Nosker - Brookville

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

1. Jake Smith vs. Elk County Catholic

2. Joe Galbraith vs. Clearfield

3. Jarrin Campman vs. Indian Valley

CHAMP D9SPORTS.COM GAME OF THE YEAR

1. Clearfield vs. Indian Valley – Oct. 12

2. Clarion vs. Moniteau – Oct. 26

3. Karns City vs. St. Marys – Aug. 31

*The Special Contributor award is not an annual award. It will be given when circumstances arise that dictate the giving of the award