District 9 Media Day – Part 1

Tagged under: District 9, pfn

Phil Myers | August 1, 2025

Enthusiasm and anticipation surrounded the 2025 D-9 Media Day as players and coaches are excited for the upcoming season.  District 9 has improved vastly from 20 years ago and just last year was on the cusp of bringing home the district’s first state football title as two teams vied for that honor.  Even though Class AA Central Clarion and Class A Port Allegany were state runners-up, it would appear 2025 may be very well be the most competitive year ever in D-9 as other teams will be pushing Port and C. Clarion every step of the way through the regular season and into the playoffs.  Don’t forget Brockway won the District 9 Class 3A title, plus DuBois beat the mighty Erie Cathedral Prep in a sub-regional playoff contest last football season.  In addition, Clearfield advanced to the PA quarterfinals in 2024.

This year the D-9 committee decided on four divisions instead of prior seasons’ three regions.  Each division will be made up of five teams for a total of twenty teams competing in the District 9 League.  Bucktail competes even though the Bucks are from District 4 because being in D-9’s 4^th division allows them to be competitive.  Clearfield and Curwensville play in other leagues and are the only D-9 teams that are not part of the D-9 league.

Division I is made up of Central Clarion, DuBois, Karns City, Punxsutawney, and St. Marys.  The coach’s poll has Central Clarion and DuBois tied for the top honors for the 2025 football year.  Penn State was by far the most popular favorite college football team of all the players.

Central Clarion Wildcats – Last year’s record was 13-1, losing by one point to Troy 25-24 in the state championship tilt.  All-state QB, Jase Ferguson, has graduated and that is a big hole to fill, but the coaches and the players are big on sophomore Carter Hindman stepping into the QB role.  The returning players had ‘a really cool’ experience last year, especially going to states.  It was eye opening and they loved the community support.  This year they hope to get back and win it, but are going to take it week by week with team bonding being essential.

Central Clarion left to right: Ethan Rex, Hayden Hindman, Charlie Hepfl, and Briggs Beckwith

DuBois Beavers – Beating Cathedral Prep and then coming very, very close to defeating Hollidaysburg in the playoffs was a big deal for DuBois last year.  They are hoping to improve on their 8-4 record and go deeper into the state playoff picture in 2025.  The loss of their receiving corps may hinder them, but they have some younger players, who were successful in Middle School football, ready to step in.  In addition, 5A all-state QB Trey Wingard is at the helm for his senior year and that may be a difference maker along with some hungry seniors with up and coming underclassmen.

DuBois left to right: Noah Crawford, Trey Wingard, and Jonathan Reed.

Karns City Gremlins – The Gremlins could not make Media Day, but I contacted their head coach, Joe Sherwin, for a couple of quotes.  There is a good amount of experience coming back for Karns City and they are hoping to compete for the D-9 Class 2 A trophy and then make a run in the state playoffs.  Giving Central Clarion their toughest game in the playoffs until the state title game ‘helped with our offseason motivation and preparation’ said Coach Sherwin.  But as coach also said, ‘each season is different and everyone needs to work hard to accomplish goals.’

Punxsutawney Chucks – Looking to improve on their 5-6 record and playoff run (losing to University Prep from the Pittsburgh City League in the 8-9 sub-regional), the Chucks return lots of experience.  They are focused on keeping healthy as injuries were a big factor in Punxsy losing 4 of their last 5 games.  Get this – the Chucks return 16 players who started at least one game on offense and 15 kids who did the same on defense.  Some quality seniors, team unity, utilizing reps, and a talented sophomore class may give them a big boost in 2025, and help them accomplish their team goals.

Punxsy left to right: Logan Moore, Maddox Hetrick, and Beau Thomas.

St. Marys Flying Dutchmen – Experience is expected to aid the Dutch in being competitive in 2025 and improving upon their 4-6 record of last year.  The coaching staff are stressing ‘team’ and the role each person has when on the field in hopes that carries over to playing competitive games each and every week, and vying for a D-9 title.  The coaches also stress that success doesn’t always mean wins.  They want to see the kids grow into young men and how they will contribute to society as husbands, as fathers, etc.

St. Marys left to right: Milo Brem, Jayden Overly, Frankie Smith, and Andrew Field.

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