The final playoff push is beginning for several Progressland teams as Week 8 of the football season has arrived.

Clearfield, Curwensville, Moshannon Valley and Purchase Line each look to strengthen their playoff seedings, while Glendale needs a win this week to qualify for the postseason. Philipsburg-Osceola also still has a chance to make the playoffs, and West Branch is looking for its first win of the campaign.

The once-beaten Bisons play host to undefeated Central in one of the biggest games in central Pennsylvania this week. The Golden Tide travel to Johnsonburg in a huge District 9 Class A tilt. The unbeaten Red Dragons look to remain perfect on the season, but will get a stiff test from visiting Penns Manor.

The Vikings travel to Claysburg-Kimmel in a battle of 3-4 teams with a District 6 class A playoff berth on the line, while the Black Knights entertain the Warriors in their annual brawl. The Mounties travel to St. Marys.

Here is a closer look at each of this week's games:

Central (7-0)

at Clearfield (6-1)

HYDE - All eyes will be on the Bison Sports Complex Friday as Clearfield hosts undefeated Central in a battle that will go a long way in helping to decide the Mountain League standings as well as both the District 6 Class AA and District 9 Class AAA playoff picture.

"There is so much riding on this game," Clearfield head coach Tim Janocko said. "There are playoff implications, league implications, everything is riding on it. These are the kinds of games you want to be involved in in October."

Central has wins over Penns Valley (13-12), Indian Valley (40-25), Bellefonte (19-0), Philipsburg-Osceola (48-28), Huntingdon (34-14), Lewistown (48-15) and Bald Eagle Area (21-6).

The prolific offense of the Scarlet Dragons averages 31.8 points per game and 340 yards per game. Lucas Runk is a big factor in that offense. He has rushed for 998 yards and eight touchdowns on 128 carries and has caught 12 passes for 226 more yards and three scores. He is heavily involved in the Dragons' return game and has also thrown a touchdown pass this season.

"He's one of the better players I've seen in a while," Janocko said.

Quarterback Derek Forshey has thrown for 707 yards and seven touchdowns, completing 41 of his 84 pass attempts. Jordon Saylor and Shane Cafferty each have 10 receptions.

"It's an explosive offense," Janocko said. "We have to hold them down and not allow big plays. They're comparable to us in size, but they're not as big as some of the teams we've played. But they make up for their size with a lot of speed."

Defensively, the Dragons have pitched a shutout and held another team to just one score. But in their other five games, Central has allowed 94 points.

"They have given up some points this year," Janocko said. "But it's not an accident that they're 7-0. They've played a lot of run-oriented teams. They run a 4-4 and like to mix things up."

As far as the keys to the game, Janocko says it comes down to playing sound fundamental football in all aspects of the game.

"On offense, we need to take care of the ball," he said. "We have to play great special teams, and we need to get some stops on defense."

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Curwensville (6-1)

at Johnsonburg (5-2)

JOHNSONBURG - Another week. Another big game for the Curwensville football team.

A week after winning a battle of once-beatens against Elk County Catholic, the Golden Tide lock horns with a Rams team looking to improve on its District 9 class A playoff positioning.

Curwensville is currently seeded second, while Johnsonburg is sixth.

"This game is absolutely huge," Curwensville head coach Andy Evanko said. "There are so many implications. We have to come out and be ready to play."

After starting the season with five straight wins (Otto-Eldred, Smethport, Sheffield, Port Allegany and Ridgway), the Rams have slipped the past two weeks. Johnsonburg dropped a 30-0 decision to Kane and lost a 34-28 contest to Brockway.

Johnsonburg features its quarterback, Ren Yonker, who has thrown for 592 yards and eight touchdowns and leads the team in rushing with 501 yards and five scores. Zane Zelehoski has rushed for 461 yards and four touchdowns, while fullback Mark Myers has bulled his way to 171 yards and four scores.

Rams receiver Craig Carrow has 463 yards through the air on 25 catches, while scoring four times.

"They are very balanced on offense," Evanko said. "Their quarterback is very athletic and is a threat to run and throw. Carrow is a pretty good wide receiver, and Zelehoski is a capable running back. They have a lot of offensive threats. We have to play great defense. We need to read our keys and do our jobs."

Defensively, Johnsonburg runs a 5-3 scheme that has given teams fits this season. The Rams only surrendered 20 points in their first five games before giving up 64 in the last two.

"They are very aggressive and try to play in your backfield," Evanko said. "They have a very athletic linebacker (Myers)who makes plays. We need to block well and establish the run. And we want to throw the ball, as well.

"Johnsonburg is well-coached and always comes to play. They are going to hit hard and play physical. Looking at the schedule in the beginning of the season, we knew this would be a big game."

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Penns Manor (5-2)

at Purchase Line (7-0)

PURCHASE LINE - There may not be a Heritage Conference team hotter than the two facing off in this battle of winning streaks.

The Red Dragons enter the contest still unbeaten on the season after topping United last week, while Penns Manor has won five games in a row.

"They're definitely playing a lot better ball," Purchase Line head coach Dave Small said of the Comets. "It's this time of the season teams are getting better.

"They have five wins in a row and we have seven in a row. It's who wants it the most and comes out Friday ready to play football. I told the kids that the winner of this could win the Heritage Conference. It should be a good game. You just hope we come out ready to play, and we'll see what happens."

One thing is for sure - there will be a lot of rushing yards racked up on Friday night. Penns Manor's wing-T offense is led by two strong running backs in Rob Blystone and Keith Shubra.

Blystone has 800 yards at a 7.9-yards-per-carry clip to go with 10 touchdowns. Shubra has added another 475 yards and five scores.

"They try to get outside with a lot of jet series, and use the trap inside," Small said. "Our defense needs to make sure not to get carried away on the ball fakes. We need to be disciplined, and hopefully the guys on our D-line can get some penetration and stop their trap game."

The offensive game plan for the Red Dragons? No surprises here - pound the ball to chew up yards and time on the way to the end zone.

"I think we've got to stay penalty free," Small said. "Our best defense is keeping their offense off the field.

"We've got to execute our blocking schemes and try to get three or four yards at a time and eat up clock, and hopefully our defense will be able to step up and stop them."

Penns Manor is coming off a 33-12 win over Ligonier Valley in Week 7. Purchase Line downed the Comets in last year's matchup, 15-0.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Philipsburg-Osceola (2-5)

at St. Marys (5-2)

ST. MARYS - The Mounties will look to bounce back from their defeat at the hands of Tyrone when they travel to St. Marys on Friday evening.

P-O failed to get much offense going against Tyrone in its 35-7 loss, but the Mounties will have to get things going if they want to hang with the high-scoring Dutch.

St. Marys is averaging 25 points per game, while limiting its opponents to just 11.

The Dutch are led by running back Kevin Hoy, who has 450 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. St. Marys also likes to run Mitchell Straub, who has 542 yards and five TDs and Shane Krise, who has 390 yards and four scores so far this year.

"Hoy has been their biggest playmaker, but they spread the ball around in the run game," said P-O football coach Jeff Vroman. "Making correct adjustments to their formations will be a huge key for us in defending them."

The Dutch don't throw a whole lot, but quarterback Greg Simchick has completed 38-of-77 passes for 463 yards and two touchdowns. He has also thrown three picks.

St. Marys has posted four shutouts so far this season, with its only losses coming against Tyrone and Bellefonte. That means the P-O offense will need to gain some early momentum to get past the Dutch defense.

"Building momentum early not only gives you confidence, but it also puts the other team on their heels," Vroman said. "We have yet to do that this year.

"We need to keep them off balance and try to become more balanced, in order to keep St. Marys from putting eight defenders in the box."

This will be the 10th meeting between the two teams. The Mounties lead the series 6-3. St. Marys won the last time the two teams met in 2005, 41-13.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in St. Marys.

West Branch (0-7)

at Moshannon Valley (6-1)

AMESVILLE - The West Branch and Moshannon Valley football programs are having very different seasons, but all bets are off when the two get together in a heated rivalry on Friday.

"I think anytime you play a rivalry game, records don't mean a thing," Mo Valley head coach Murray Fetzer said. "Kids play on emotion and a lot of times you can make big plays if things go your way. The kids can ride that emotional wave."

West Branch head coach Rob Lazauskas understands the unpredictable nature of the matchup, despite being in only his first year at the helm of the Warriors.

"This is Mo Valley week. This is a big rivalry," Lazauskas said. "Once you're involved it doesn't take long to see how big this rivalry is."

The Warriors have struggled through a long season thus far, but that doesn't mean the Black Knights are overlooking this game.

"We've watched them play Glendale very tough and they played Everett very tough," Fetzer said. "We know they have the ability to come out and put together a solid football game. Watching tape, they can move the ball. They tend to stop themselves more than their opponents stop them, and that's something you can't count on."

Mo Valley expects to see a variety of runs, and is looking to prevent big plays on outside rushes.

"They're going to run the fullback to keep you honest, but they want to run the wide stuff," Fetzer said. "They have the speed and we're familiar with that offense, so we're going to make some adjustments to slow those sweeps down. Their big plays are the sweeps, counters and off-tackle plays.

"Their backs run hard and they're quick. We have to contain them, run laterally with them, and not let them get outside."

Meanwhile, West Branch faces a tough task in slowing down a Mo Valley team that is dangerous on the ground and through the air, especially with quarterback Tyler Neff returning from injury this week.

"They're a complete team," Lazauskas said. "They've got a combination of size and speed. They've got guys up front that do a great job and their skill players are dangerous all over the field.

"Obviously we have to be aware of where (running back Brandon) Morroni is on the field. He runs pretty hard. With Neff being back, he throws the ball well, he runs the ball well and he leads the team."

But when the two rivals hit the field, all bets are off. Things may come down to whichever team steps onto the field most prepared.

"If you look back through the years, you throw records out the window," Lazauskas said. "It's a knock down, drag out fight. The kids have been focused and real spirited in practice. These are the types of game you get into the business for. I think it's going to be an exciting Friday night."

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Glendale (3-4)

at Claysburg-Kimmel (3-4)

CLAYSBURG - Glendale enters this week's game with a sense of urgency. With two weeks remaining on their schedule, the Vikings need two wins for Rick Kozak to take his team to the playoffs.

The first obstacle standing in Glendale's way will be Claysburg-Kimmel on Friday at Bulldog Stadium.

The Vikings are coming off a hard-fought loss against Bellwood-Antis, which gave them something to build on.

"We learned we possessed the ability to play four quarters," said Kozak, "which is something we've been looking for all season. At the same time, we came away from that game with a loss and we've got to find a way to win this week.

"This is the most important game we play. We're not going to the playoffs unless we have five wins, and the kids know they need this one. We're approaching this game with some urgency."

Despite suffering a 35-6 setback last week, the Bulldogs were still able to gain some yardage with 140 of 144 of their total yards coming from quarterback/running back Daniel Knott.

Knott rushed for 127 yards and a score, and threw for 13 more after quarterback Dalton Treon went down with an injury in the first half.

"Not to take away from anyone else, he's a large part of their offense," Kozak said of Knott. "If he's not in at quarterback getting the ball directly, he's getting it somehow. We need to know where he is at all times and try to eliminate bigs runs. We want to make them one dimensional. It's going to be a big challenge for our defense."

After seeing most of their success through the air against Bellwood, the Vikings' ground game could benefit from a Bulldog defense that allowed 238 rushing yards last week.

Glendale finished with a season-low 22 yards on the ground in last week's loss.

"Offensively, we need to clean up the mistakes we made last week," said Kozak. "We need to come off the ball a lot harder and a lot quicker, instead of letting the defense make penetration."

The Vikings won last season's meeting, 35-12.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.