BUFFALO TWP — The way Freeport coach John Gaillot sees it, Ford City's offense doesn't have a go-to guy —it has several.

We're concerned about all four of them,” said Gaillot about the backfield foursome of running backs Devan Willyard, Ian Boylstein, Ben Young and quarterback David Lattanzio.

“And five if you count their tight end (Hunter Bower). He was an all-conference tight end last year and he plays defense. There are a lot of concerns,” Gaillot added.

Ford City (2-2, 1-1) is coming off a tough 28-6 loss to Shady Side Academy, the lone score a Lattanzio 1-yard run.

Willyard leads the Sabers in rushing with 296 yards and in receiving with 14 receptions for 230 yards.

Boylstein has 170 rushing yards and Bower 70 yards receiving on six catches.

Lattanzio has completed 27-of-47 passes for 357 yards and one touchdown, but has thrown five interceptions.

“Whenever he does fake, he can pull up and throw the ball hard and accurately,” Gaillot said. “He threads the ball well.”

The Sabers, the Allegheny Conference champion and WPIAL Class AA semifinalists last year, average about 136 yards rushing per game, so the Yellowjackets will have to slow down the Sabers' ground game.

Last week, Freeport (2-2, 1-1) surrendered 171 yards rushing in a 33-25 Allegheny Conference loss to Burrell. Cole Bush had 141 yards and three touchdowns against the Yellowjackets.

“We had a really good practice (Monday),” said Gaillot. “They were real disappointed in their performance. It was a little too late to make a comeback.

“We gave three big plays on defense and that's uncharacteristic of us,” Gaillot added.

Quarterback Brendan Lynch threw touchdown passes to Damon Smith and Tony DeVivo to highlight the Yellowjackets' effort.

Lynch has completed 18 -of-31 passes for 315 yards and three scores this season, while Smith leads the team with 327 yards on the ground and Lynch has added 156 more.

“I'm curious to see how we'll react,” said Gaillot. “This game has a lot of implications for both teams.”

Kittanning (0-4, 0-1) at Mars (3-1, 1-0) 7:30 p.m., Friday

The coaches: Kittanning, Sam Panchik; Mars, Scott Heinauer

Last week: Both teams dropped Greater Allegheny Conference affairs: Kittanning fell to Highlands 24-21 while Mars lost 30-15 at Indiana.

The numbers: Mars sophomore FB Jason Lozzi leads the Planets in rushing attempts (88) rushing yards (358) and rushing TDs (4). ... Like Mars, the Wildcats run the Wing-T on offense. Despite the run-oriented scheme, Kittanning senior QB Trevor Harmon threw for 122 yards and a TD last week.

Notes: Kittanning has one of the smallest enrollments of any Class AAA school in the WPIAL. The Wildcats have just 30 sophomore, junior and senior players on their roster this season, forcing Panchik to dress 14 freshmen for varsity games. ... Mars beat Kittanning 16-6 last year.Karns City (2-2, 0-2) at Punxsutawney (2-2, 0-1) 7 p.m., Friday

The coaches: Karns City, Ed Conto; Punxsutawney, Alan Nichol

Last week: The Gremlins blanked Keystone 50-0 while the Chucks did likewise against Clarion-Limestone 28-0.

The numbers: Karns City rushed for 397 yards and six touchdowns against the Panthers, including two scores by Alex Kinkela. ... Gremlin RB Glenn Toy led the team with 82 yards rushing and added a score and leads the team with 357 yards rushing. ... KC WR Ethan Williams caught a touchdown pass from Tyler Kepple as well. ... Punxsy QB Garrett Zimmerman completed touchdown passes to Clayton Dale and Jamie Bush and also rushed for a score. On defense, Zimmerman intercepted two passes. ... Punxy RB Alex Fedigan rushed for 115 yards and accounted for the Chucks' other score.

Notes: The Chucks blanked Karns City 31-0 last season. ... In his first two seasons at Punxsutawney, Nichol is 19-4.Slippery Rock (3-1, 3-0) at Corry (2-2, 1-2) 7 p.m., Friday

The coaches: Slippery Rock, Brendan Hathaway; Corry, Homer Delattre

Last week: Slippery Rock stunned Meadville in overtime, 25-18; Corry edged Oil City 29-26.

The numbers: Slippery Rock's do everything player, Sean White, has one TD passing, three TDs rushing and two TDs receiving this season. ... The Rockets' defense held Meadville, who entered the game averaging 480 rushing yards per contest, to 149 yards on 50 attempts. ... Corry has gained just 553 yards on the ground in four games this season. ... RB/QB Matt Cragg leads the Beavers with 205 yards rushing and two TDs. ... Cragg splits time at QB with Nathanel Smith, who leads the team with 475 passing yards and four TDs. He's also thrown five INTs.

Notes: Corry beat Slippery Rock 45-19 last season. ... This is the second long road trip in three weeks for the Rockets. It's 85 miles one way to Corry. Two weeks ago, Slippery Rock made an 164-mile round-trip trek to DuBois.Grove City (4-0, 2-0) at Meadville (3-1, 1-1) 7 p.m. Friday

The coaches: Grove City, Jeff Bell; Meadville, Ken Achenbach

Last week: Grove City rolled past Greenville 48-7; Meadville was shocked by Slippery Rock, 25-18 in overtime.

The numbers: After rolling up more than 1,400 yards rushing in its first three games, Meadville was held to 149 yards against the Rockets. ... Grove City continues to gash opposing defenses with its run game, averaging more than 350 yards per contest and nearly 10 yards per carry. ... Defending Butler Eagle Scoring Trophy champion Wes Phipps has seven rushing TDs this season and leads the Eagles with 386 yards and 14.3 yards per carry. ...

Notes: Bell said Meadville will “get a heavy dose of Wes Phipps this week.” The Bulldogs may also get a heavy dose of RB Erik Record, who has missed the last two games but will return this week. ... Bell credits his OL of Tony Turner, Jordan Patterson, Grant Craig, Shawn Seybert, Alex Gilmore and TEs Jake Wyllie and Dustin Maine for opening holes for a stable of backs. ... Bell is concerned about the Bulldogs coming off a loss. “I'm happy for Slippery Rock, but they didn't do us any favors,” Bell said.Union (2-2, 0-2) at Clarion-Limestone (1-3, 1-1) 7:30 p.m., Friday

The coaches: Union, Dave Louder; Clarion-Limestone, Jason Kundick

Last week: The Golden Knights scored a 36-6 win over Maplewood. Clarion-Limestone fell to Punxsutawney by a 28-0 margin.

The numbers: Union's Mikey Harris is coming off a career game against Maplewood with 82 yards and two TDs on seven carries. ... Union QB Taylor Smith completed 5-of-6 passes for 76 yards a touchdown, which was reeled in by Brody Pollock. ... Union's Brody Shick broke off a 73-yard rushing TD last week. ... After opening with a 32-0 win over A-C Valley, the Lions have dropped their last three by a combined score of 81-12.

Notes: The Golden Knights beat the Lions 52-35 last year. ... Taylor Smith had 12 carries for 112 yards and three TDs in that contest.A-C Valley (0-4, 0-2) at Keystone (1-3, 1-1) 1 p.m., Saturday

The coaches: A-C Valley, Chris McNany; Keystone, John Stiglitz

Last week: The Falcons lost to Brookville 50-6 and Keystone was shut out by Karns City 50-0.

The numbers: A-C Valley sophomore WR Austin Morgan is one of QB Colton Cunningham's favorite targets, catching eight passes for 149 yards and a pair of TDs. ... Senior WR/RB Tanner Hannold has been one of the Panthers' top offensive weapons, rushing for 76 yards on 10 carries last week. In a 9-6 win over Clarion-Limestone in Week 3, Hannold tallied 82 yards on nine carries. The Panthers rushed for more than 200 yards as a team in that game.

Notes: Keystone made the District 9 Class A playoffs each year from 2006-09, but fell to 3-7 overall in 2010. One of those victories was a 47-0 decision over A-C Valley.Deer Lakes (0-4, 0-3) at Summit Academy (2-2, 1-0) 12:30 p.m., Saturday

The coaches: Deer Lakes, Todd Hazlett; Summit Academy, Steve Sherer

Last week: The Lancers were blanked 34-0 by Apollo-Ridge. The Knights dispatched West Shamokin 40-14.

The numbers: Deer Lakes entered the season with just five starters returning. ... RB Tyler Seitz led Deer Lakes with 53 yards on eight carries last week. ... Deer Lakes has been outscored 136-35 this season. ... The Knights have put up 92 points the past two weeks after posting six points combined the first two weeks. ... Summit QB Sean McCausland completed 8-of-12 passes for 188 yards and three touchdowns and has thrown for 321 the past two weeks. ... RB Chris Highsmith added two touchdowns for the Knights, one rushing, one receiving.

Notes: Last season, the Lancers qualified for the WPIAL playoffs for the first time in the team's 42-year history. ... The Lancers downed the Knights 24-6 in last year's meeting.