EARLY FOOTBALL SHOWDOWN
Falcons host Raiders next Friday

Something has to give when Cameron County and Coudersport clash in a high school football showdown. It should be standing room only on Sept. 14 at CARP Field. Here, Cameron County's Abram Zoschg (24) and Coudersport's Dirk Cowburn (1) are shown during their teams' season openers last weekend.

It's more than a week away and it's already the talk of the town.

Time is ticking toward the showdown of the area's top two high school football teams, as Cameron County visits Coudersport for a 7 p.m. meeting at CARP Field on Friday, Sept. 14.

Neither team was expecting much of a challenge against this weekend's opponent, setting the stage for a battle of 2-0 squads that are both set on winning the Allegheny Mountain League championship and moving into the state playoffs.

Coudersport will bring a streak of 41 straight regular season AMFLvictories into the Sept. 14 game, but veteran coach Paul Simcoe mixes respect for the Red Raiders with confidence in his own team.

"We know we're going to have our work cut out for us because we've been on top for a while now and everybody has their sights set on us," said Simcoe, who will soon pass the 200-win milestone in what is expected to be his final year of coaching.

Cameron County coach Tony Defilippi has emphasized the importance of a fast start to his troops and they have responded well. The Red Raiders are out to avenge last year's tough 8-6 loss at the hands of the same Coudersport team that came within a miraculous "Hail Mary" play of advancing into the final four of the state Class A playoffs.