NEW BETHLEHEM — Coach Jeff Campbell stood in front of his Moniteau football team and threw down the gauntlet.

"If we're 5-5, we're not going to the playoffs," Campbell said. "I believe you earn your way there. I feel it's a privilege. It's up to them now."

The District 9 Class AA playoffs are an open tournament.

Campbell's declaration makes it a little less open for the Warriors (5-3 overall, 4-2 in the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference).

"We're not going to the playoffs on a (four-game) losing streak. I'm not gonna do it," Campbell said.

The reason for his ire is easy to spot. The same thing that haunted the Warriors against Karns City a week ago haunted them again against Redbank Valley in a 49-36 loss Friday night: a disastrous start.

Moniteau trailed 28-0 late in the first half before closing the second quarter with a touchdown.

It was 35-6 in the third quarter before a sense of urgency gripped the Warriors and led to a four-touchdown scoring spree in a span of five minutes.

That cut the lead to 42-36, but the Bulldogs' offense was able to kill seven minutes off the clock on a scoring drive that ended the Warriors' hopes.

The second half has been good toMoniteau. It's just those pesky first two quarters that keep getting in the way.

"They just told me they came out flat," Campbell said. "I don't know how you come out flat for this football game. This was a huge game for us. This is a good football team. One of the best I've ever been around. For some reason, they don't come out and play like it in the first half.

"And I don't know why."

Redbank Valley (7-1, 5-1) came out with a purpose, as the Bulldogs were determined to run out of their spread offense.

Running back Alex Bladel rushed for 208 yards on 28 carries and scored twice. Quarterback Jake Smith added 121 yards on the ground on 21 attempts and one touchdown. He also threw a pair of 10-yard scoring passes to receiver Nash Rupp in the first half.

Meanwhile Moniteau's ground game was, well, grounded.

James Shope gained a mere 43 yards on 11 carries. His struggles were partly because of the Redbank Valley scheme and partly because the early deficit forced Moniteau to pass.

Quarterback Tyler Armagost threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns for the Warriors. He put the ball in the air 33 times.

Moniteau ran the ball on designed plays only four times in the second half.

"We had to throw," Campbell said. "There was no secret about that."

The comeback put a lump in the throat of Redbank Valley coach Ed Wasilowski.

He watched a lead that was on the verge of triggering the mercy clock quickly turn into one that was in jeopardy.

"It's human nature to relax," Wasilowski said. "And you hope about the time you start to relax, the other team is relaxing, thinking this game is over. But it's a credit to them to keep fighting."

Big plays ruled the day for both teams.

After Armagost scored on a pair of short runs to cut the lead to 35-20, Bladel tracked down an errant pitch fromSmith, scooped it up, sprinted to his left where he was seemingly hemmed in by a slew of Moniteau defenders, then cut to his right and raced untouched for a 69-yard run.

But on Moniteau's first play after the Bulldogs' score, Armagost hit Shope wide open in the flat for a 72-yard touchdown.

Then Mitch Czech returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown to get the Warriors within a score of the lead with 7:30 left in the game.

However, Redbank Valley overcame 25 yards of penalties and a third and 16 to score, kill the clock and kill Moniteau.

That leaves the Warriors with a must-win next week againstClarion.

"It's going to tell the tale," Campbell said.