WPIAL, District 9 football playoffs final scores, bracket updates: Karns City, North Catholic win, Freeport knocked out
Karns City has a chance to punch its ticket to the PIAA championships, while Freeport and North Catholic enter their WPIAL quarterfinals as underdogs trying to make a run to the district championship.
Will they accomplish their missions?
The Butler Eagle will be at three games Friday night — Central Clarion vs. Karns City (Derek Pyda), North Catholic at Elizabeth Forward (Brendan Howe) and Freeport at Avonworth (John Enrietto). Follow this page for updates and scores from those games and all the rest throughout the night. This year, Eagle sports editor Jake Merda Adams will post updates and highlights along with scores from kickoff to the final whistle.
(Union/A-C Valley plays its District 9 semifinal Saturday afternoon.)
And after the action is over, you can find all our game coverage and photos from the field.
Bookmark this page for the latest playoff scores and highlights.
Refresh this page throughout the night for all our recaps, photo galleries and coverage from Friday night’s football games.
Defense leads the way as Karns City routs Central Clarion for first D9 title in four years
Without Amos Glenn, Freeport bows out to defending WPIAL 3A champ Avonworth
Felitsky, defense leads North Catholic in avenging last year’s WPIAL 3A quarterfinal loss
Check back regularly for the latest in-game scores as they’re reported on social media.
Friday, Nov. 7
FINAL — Avonworth 56, Freeport 7 (NFHS, requires subscription)
FINAL — North Catholic 55, Elizabeth Forward 32 (Meridix)
FINAL — Karns City 42, Central Clarion 14 (YouTube)
Saturday, Nov. 8
1 — Redbank Valley vs. Union/A-C Valley, at Brookville HS
Refresh this page for more updates throughout the evening.
9:34 p.m.: North Catholic wraps up its quarterfinal win, will face Avonworth next
Elizabeth Forward scored a garbage-time TD. According to the TribLive radio broadcast, North QB Joe Felitsky had 256 passing yards tonight in another explosive offensive performance.
Here are the latest WPIAL and D9 scores as they come in.
Recaps are coming up soon from all three of tonight’s games. Stay tuned.
9:23 p.m.: North Catholic forces another INT, Logan Schade races to another TD
It’s over, or might as well be. The Trojans forced a second interception late in the fourth quarter, and a few plays later, Logan Schade ripped off a 93-yard touchdown as NC was trying to milk the clock. And it’s 55-25 with a little over 3 minutes left. Next up: Avonworth.
9:08 p.m.: Freeport’s season ends, Karns City wins subregional
We’ve got two finals a few minutes after 9 p.m., and one of the county’s four playoff teams entering the week has moved on: Karns City. The Gremlins cruised to a 42-14 win over Central Clarion and will face the District 10 champion next week in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A tournament.
Freeport fell to No. 1 Avonworth 56-7, ending a good Yellowjackets season in the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals.
North Catholic is up 41-25 mid-fourth quarter and will face Avonworth next barring a seismic collapse.
9:01 p.m.: Karns City pick-six adds to rout, Elizabeth Forward gets some back
The Gremlins killed some clock and pinned Central Clarion inside its own 10 with 2:53 left to play up 21. And on the first pass of the Wildcats’ next drive, KC came away with an easy pick-six to go up 28.
The Warriors scored their first points against North Catholic in the second half on a pass, and converted the two-point conversion, to get within two scores early in the fourth quarter.
8:52 p.m.: Freeport on the board, Karns City forces game-sealing INT
The Yellowjackets scored their first points of the night to avoid a shutout just before the end of the third quarter. Drew Ross hit Kason Barker for a 31-yard strike, per reporter John Enrietto.
Karns City picked off a CC pass with 6:07 left to play, and that should do it at Brookville High School.
8:50 p.m.: Logan Schade blows this game open for North Catholic
More accurately, it’s Warriors turnovers that have doomed them, but the Trojans have capitalized with 20 points on three straight drives following turnovers. It’s 41-17 late in the third quarter, and North is well on its way to a big win.
8:48 p.m.: Cole Johnston likely puts finishing touches on big win
Karns City is rolling, up 35-14, after QB Cole Johnston broke free around the right end for a 34-yard TD. With 7:56 left to play, the Gremlins look poised to win this PIAA District 8/9 subregional and make the PIAA tournament next week.
8:42 p.m.: Karns City stopped on downs, Freeport’s season drawing to a close.
The Gremlins drove inside the Central Clarion 10 but could not convert a fourth-and-medium, and the Wildcats are trying to put together a drive and get back in this game.
Back in the WPIAL, Avonworth scored two more TDs in the third quarter and is up 56-0. Freeport’s had an impressive season but ran into a buzzsaw and Class 3A’s favorite tonight.
8:40 p.m.: Trojans repeat the feat, take command of this quarterfinal
This time, NC intercepted a pass that bounced off an EF receiver and turned it into seven more points when Joe Felitsky hit Ryker Kennedy for another big touchdown. It’s Felitsky’s fourth TD toss.
8:33 p.m.: North Catholic capitalizes on turnover with crucial TD
After punting on what I believe was the first drive of the second half, the Trojans immediately recovered a fumble by EF and turned it right away into points when Joe Felitsky hit Preston Simko for a 46-yard TD and a 28-17 lead. Huge play. Felitsky has three touchdowns tonight.
8:29 p.m.: Looking ahead ... who could Karns City, North Catholic face next?
The answer for the Trojans is an easy one: Avonworth. With the Antelopes bounding past Freeport right now, the WPIAL Class 3A semifinal matchup is set on one half. NC just has to hold on against Elizabeth Forward.
For Karns City? The Gremlins will have to wait a night to find out. They will face the District 10 champion. No. 1 seed Farrell faces No. 2 Mercyhurst Prep on Saturday at Titusville High School.
Next week marks the official start of the PIAA tournament, although in districts such as the WPIAL, some of those games are also part of the district playoffs.
8:18 p.m.: Lucky break gives Karns City a 21-point lead
Wow! The oblong spheroid bounces the Gremlins’ way. Karns City scores after Hunter Scherer was in the right spot at the right time, scooping up a teammates’ fumble and taking it the last 6 yards for a TD. KC is in command 28-7.
8:14 p.m.: Some halftime stats from Freeport
It’s not been a good half for the Yellowjackets, who gave up 111 yards and four touchdowns on the ground to Avonworth’s Dimitri Velsaris. Freeport only has 74 yards of offense and got only as far as the Antelope’s 40-yard line. Per John Enrietto.
8:01 p.m.: Luke Holdren’s kick cuts into North’s lead
Elizabeth Forward struggled in the downpour to try to answer the Trojans’ latest TD, but the Warriors did just enough to spike the ball just before triple-zeroes and Luke Holdren drilled a field goal to make it 21-17 North Catholic at halftime.
7:53 p.m.: Freeport in danger of running clock at start of second half
Avonworth leads 35-0 in the second quarter, and without a Yellowjackets TD, the second half will be played under a running clock. Freeport certainly wants to avoid that at any point and keep things closer, but it’s been a struggle so far.
7:51 p.m.: Karns City goes to the air this time
We’ve talked about Cole Johnston’s growth as a passer this year for Karns City, and it was on display when he ripped a pass to Bryce Galan inside the 10-yard line to put the Gremlins back up by 14 points, 21-7, with seconds left before halftime.
7:48 p.m.: The over is gonna hit in North Catholic-Elizabeth Forward ...
If such a thing were set for high school sports (and good thing it’s not). The Trojans and Warriors might not be able to stop each other. Joe Felitsky just lead NC back down the field after EF tied the game (again), and Nate Swisher finished things off from inches outside the goal line to make it 21-14.
7:46 p.m.: Central Clarion gets on the board against Karns City
The Wildcats have cut the score to 14-7 after consecutive inside runs from RB Ethan Rex, who finished the drive with a 5-yard TD.
7:33 p.m.: Freeport without star RB Amos Glenn tonight
A big blow in what was already an uphill battle, but per John Enrietto, the Yellowjackets are without star running back and return extraordinaire Amos Glenn tonight.
Avonworth leads 21-0 early second quarter after picking off a Freeport pass and scoring in short order.
7:30 p.m.: Nathan Hess likes feasting on Wildcats
Nathan Hess had a touchdown in Karns City’s first meeting earlier this year against Central Clarion. He has his first tonight with 7:36 left in the half to give KC a 14-0 lead. It was a short run up the middle for one of the four ball carriers on the team with at leas 500 yards.
The Gremlins ran for five TDs in the first meeting, a 35-14 win.
7:28 p.m.: North Catholic goes back up
Sounds like Joe Felitsky is in a rhythm early, hitting Ryker Kennedy this time for a red-zone touchdown, putting the Trojans up 14-7. Too early to say upset alert, but this is a good start for the offense.
7:22 p.m.: And we’re underway!
A delayed hello from the second week of the District 9 and WPIAL football playoffs. Let’s get caught up on what’s happened through about a quarter of action.
Karns City: The Gremlins lead 7-0 late in the first after a high Central Clarion snap pinned back near their own end zone resulted in KC recovering the loose ball for a touchdown. CJ Emrick recovered the fumble for the Gremlins.
North Catholic: The Trojans are tied 7-7 mid-first with Elizabeth Forward. Per Brendan Howe: “Trojans QB Joe Felitsky whips one to Logan Schade on a swing route. The senior RB shakes off a would-be tackler near the sideline and takes it in for a 53-yard house call. North Catholic up 7-0, 4:09 into the game.” But the Warriors responded on Ryan Messina’s QB keeper for a 42-yard TD.
Each week the Butler Eagle sports staff will preview everything you need to know ahead of Friday night’s games. Missed anything this week? Catch up with our analysis here:
Week 12 staff picks: Who did Eagle reporters, Scoop predict will win?
Playoff brackets: Every matchup, round from WPIAL and District 9 tournaments
Eye on Sports: Knoch's Carter French on PIAA championships, how many shoes he runs through; can Freeport, North Catholic pull of upsets?
