On Friday night, the Johnstown Trojans will play for the District 6-AAA championship for the first time since 2004 and the third time since 2003. It is also a rematch of the last postseason game the Trojans played in: a 13-12 loss to Hollidaysburg.

That’s all ancient history as these are two very different teams from that game at Trojan Stadium two season ago and despite the fact that this years’ seniors were sophomores at the time, the outcome of that game has very little to do with what happens at Mansion Park in 2008.

From the way the Golden Tigers started the season, one might have thought their season was headed for disaster as they fell 37-0 to State College in week one. All Coach John Barton’s team has done since then is reel off nine straight victories en route to a 9-1 record that gave them first place in the points standings by a comfortable margin and let them enjoy a first round bye.

On the way to this impressive mark, they defeated two Washington D.C. teams, both the other 6-AAA squads in Bellefonte and Johnstown and basically ran roughshod over a scheduled that included five Class AAAA opponents in South Western, Central Mountain, Cedar Cliff, Williamsport and DuBois. This was why they were able to finish the regular season with a 560-point lead over second-place Johnstown.

This is, in part why the Golden Tigers are ranked #8 in the state by PA Football News and have been highly touted as the odds-on favorite by many pundits to win the district since midseason.

The team is just as impressive on the stat sheet as one things stands out: balance. Not just between the run and the pass but between the contributors in those aspects of the game. Quarterback Brandyn Ott is 82-for-113 with 1,044 yards and 8 touchdowns. He’s only been picked off once. Future Temple Owl Justin Gildea is just one of a plethora of targets for Ott. He has caught 28 passes for 435 yards and 6 touchdowns on the season. Also pitching in in the passing game are Scott Hammond (21 receptions, 222 yards), Ben Pramuk (14 receptions, 162 yards) and Jason Boland (19 receptions, 284 yards, 1 touchdown). It’s clear that when Hollidaysburg goes to the air, Ott has a more than capable receiving corps ready to step up and make big plays.

A glance at the running stats is even scarier, if that’s possible. The workhorse is Luke Rhodes (110 carries, 644 yards and 10 touchdowns) but Ott is a legit double threat with his legs as he’s carried 95 times for 569 yards and 10 touchdowns. Gildea has also played a major part in the running game, carrying 61 times for 411 yards and 8 scores. Hammond is also a double threat as he’s toted the rock 76 times for 363 yards and 6 touchdowns. That’s 34 rushing touchdowns between these four players.

Now, to the defensive side of the ball and unit that held four straight teams to just seven points. Joseph Hargis leads the team with 74 tackles while Gildea has 63. Jacob Bickley and Ott each have 50 stops. Hargis also leads the team with 5 sacks while Bickley and Connor Brinkhoff each have 2. Gildea is the team’s lead ball hawk with five interceptions.

In the return game portion of the Special Teams, Hammond leads in both punt and kickoff returns. He’s returned 8 punts for 43 yards and 11 kickoffs for 200 yards. To the kicking game, Ott has handled most of the punting duties and has done so 19 times for 685 yards and has dropped 6 inside the 20. Kickoffs are handled by Boland and he done so 60 times for 2,906 yards and has 7 touchbacks. Boland has also converted 25 extra points.

It’s obvious to say that this is the most impressive team the Trojans have faced to date. To play that angle down would be an understatement. However, it is also safe to say that there is a lot of talent on Johnstown’s side of the ball and if Hollidaysburg comes into this game overconfident they could be in for a fight. Not having seen the team in action at all this season, I’ll defer to Coach Marabito as to specific keys to win on both sides of the ball. Look for his comments in this week’s Coach’s Corner real soon!

The margin for error for JHS in this game is very slim. Penalties on both sides of the ball, big plays given up on defense, missed opportunities on offense all have to be kept to a minimum. You won’t be able to get away with stuff like that against a team as good as Hollidaysburg.

Aside from the Trojans, three other teams from the LHAC are still alive in postseason play:

Bellwood-Antis (10-1) at Bishop McCort (10-0); 6-A semifinal

MONSTER match-up at the Point Stadium. I give the slightest of edges to the Crushers as they are my favorites to win 6-A and they have the home game. The Blue Devils, however, pose the biggest threat to Coach Ken Salem’s club’s chances. I’ll take the Crushers in a classic.

Central Cambria (8-3) at Tyrone (10-1); 6-AA semifinal

This will probably mark the end of the road for the upstart Red Devils but if that’s the case they have nothing to be ashamed off. Year in, year out, Coach John Franco’s Tyrone Golden Eagles are one of the best programs in the district in ANY classification.

Central (9-2) at Forest Hills (10-1); 6-AA semifinal

Interesting match-up between these two section mates in the LHAC. These two squads used to meet every year until the Scarlet Dragons left the conference. I think Central’s remarkable resurgent season comes to an end as the skill of this Forest Hills team will be too much for them to overcome. Look for another big game for Scott Mehall, Tyler Rosenberger and Zack Glessner in front of the home fans.