With the end of the regular season on the horizon, several local teams are still jockeying for playoff positions while others are looking to end the second half on a positive note.
Glendale is looking for positives in both aspects this week, as it travels to state-ranked Bellwood-Antis in hopes of rebounding from a loss and some significant playoff points. Philipsburg-Osceola is also in the same boat, as it currently sits in eighth place in the district standings, and will host nemesis Tyrone.
Moshannon Valley will look to get back on track and improve its seed in the postseason as well when it takes to the road to face Claysburg-Kimmel.
Like the Black Knights, Clearfield will look to bounce back from a loss last week on the road, as it travels to Penns Valley.
Curwensville has found its groove as of late, and will look to keep the momentum going at Elk County Catholic.
West Branch earned its first win of the season last week and looks for two in a row at Juniata Valley, while Purchase Line is still looking for its first win. The Red Dragons will entertain Heritage Conference power United.
Here is a closer look at how the games break down:

Tyrone (5-1) at
Philipsburg-Osceola (3-3)
PHILIPSBURG - The Philipsburg-Osceola football team evened its record at 3-3 last week with a 31-6 victory over Penns Valley in the rain and muck.
The Mounties will face a stiffer test this week when one-loss Tyrone comes to town.
The Golden Eagles have won five straight since losing to rival Bellwood-Antis in Week 1 of the season.
P-O has also bounced back, winning its last two games to get to .500.
"We have been more consistent in all three phases of the game," said Mountie head football coach Jeff Vroman. "We have to play with a great deal of intensity, and we cannot give up the big play on defense.
"Consistency will be huge for us on offense. We cannot put ourselves in second- and third-and-long situations. We have continued to improve in the run game, and now we need the passing game to do the same. If we can do that, the offense becomes even more balanced."
Tyrone's leading rusher is its former quarterback Levi Reihart, who was moved to tailback. Reihart has rushed for 409 yards on 91 carries. He has also scored four touchdowns.
Still, the Golden Eagles have been outrushed in four of its last six games, leaving Tyrone to take to the air more.
Head coach John Franco's son, Steve, is now the signal caller, and he has made the most of his time behind center. Franco has completed 44-of-79 passes for 741 yards and 10 touchdowns, while throwing just three picks.
Franco's favorite target is Eric Desch, who has caught 26 passes for 412 yards and five touchdowns.
Deep threat Nick Patton, who caught his first pass in three games last week, has racked up 330 yards on seven catches and four scores.
"Pressure is always a key against teams that pass quite a bit," Vroman said. "We have to continue to play solid run defense and keep them in situations where we know they have to pass."
P-O hasn't beaten Tyrone since 2004, when it topped the Eagles, 7-6, on a blocked extra point.
Tyrone won last year's game, 35-7.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.

Glendale (4-2)
at Bellwood-Antis (5-0)
BELLWOOD - Glendale gave Bellwood-Antis all it wanted in last season's 21-14 defeat, and the Vikings will again look to battle the Blue Devils, who have shut out their opponents in each of the last three weeks.
Most recently on the Bellwood hit list was Moshannon Valley, who defeated Glendale 50-6 in Week 4.
The Devils racked up 335 yards of offense against the Black Knights a week ago, including 274 on the ground.
Bellwood quarterback Nate Plummer is a consistent passer, as he completed 4-of-6 attempts for 61 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Devils are led on the ground by tailback Zack McCaulley, who rumbled for 128 yards in last week's win.
Bellwood's defense has allowed just 29 points this season with 15 coming in its opening-game win over Tyrone.
The Vikings, who will look to avoid their third loss in the last four weeks, have been led offensively by quarterback Tyler Jenny. Jenny was called upon last season to throw the ball against the Devils, and had his team in it until the end.
Glendale has only played Bellwood four times since 1985 - and 10 meetings all-time - and hasn't defeated the Devils since 1980's 22-21 win.
Vikings coach Rick Kozak was unavailable for comment.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Clearfield (3-3)
at Penns Valley (1-5)
SPRING MILLS - The Clearfield football team is hoping to rebound from last week's 34-21 loss to previously winless Bald Eagle Area, and get things back on track as the 2009 regular season enters the home stretch.
"We can't change what happened Friday night," Clearfield head coach Tim Janocko said.
"But we can do something about it as far as correcting the mistakes. It sounds like a cliché, but you win some, and you lose some games you thought you could win. There is still a lot of football ahead of us."
With four games left on the regular season schedule, the Bisons still have a great chance of meeting their two most basic goals - having a winning season and making the playoffs. But every game is crucial.
"We talk about our goals all the time," Janocko said. "They haven't changed. We still have a good shot at the playoffs. We control our destiny.
"We have some teams on the schedule that we are battling for playoff spot. The schedule is tough, but we just have to go out and play good football."
Clearfield travels to Penns Valley this week to face a Ram team that has just one win on the season - a 25-22 victory over BEA in Week 2.
"In this league anyone can beat anybody else on a given week," Janocko said. "There are no bad teams."
Penns Valley's losses have been to Central (31-9), Huntingdon (21-15), Lewistown (13-7), St. Marys (34-0) and Philipsburg-Osceola (31-6).
The Rams feature a predominantly run-oriented offense that is centered around back Kody Bjalme.
"They'll throw it effectively, but they are a running team," Janocko said. "They come right at you with isos and a little bit of option."
Bjalme has rushed for 441 yards and four touchdowns on 92 carries. Quarterback Tibben Zerby is second in rushing yards with 190. He has also thrown for 310 yards and a score, completing nine of his 29 pass attempts. Drew Zettle has eight receptions on the season.
Defensively, Penns Valley likes to load up around the line of scrimmage.
"They usually play a 4-4 front, but I don't know if they'll give us any different looks."
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Curwensville (4-2)
at Elk County Catholic (2-4)
ST. MARYS - Curwensville rolled up over 400 yards rushing last week against Ridgway, and seems to have its smashmouth offense in high gear heading into this week's Allegheny Mountain League matchup with Elk County Catholic.
"I'm very happy with the way we have improved," Curwensville head coach Andy Evanko said.
"But we still need to step up and play each week better than we did the week before. We can still do better. There are plenty of things to correct."
The game is big in the AML playoff race, with Curwensville currently sitting in eighth place and ECC just outside the top 8.
"Every week is a challenge," Evanko said. "The AML is tough week after week. But we really haven't talked much about playoffs ... our main goal is to improve every week."
The Crusaders are capable of both running and passing the ball, but it is back Rick Pearsall who is the feature player on offense. He has amassed 916 yards on 121 carries, scoring 10 touchdowns, including a long of 75 yards.
Quarterback Joe Jacob has completed over 50 percent of his passes, connecting on 34 of 63 attempts for 540 yards and six scores. His favorite target is Robby Wortman, who has 21 receptions for 342 yards and four touchdowns.
"They have a powerful running game and a nice passing attack," Evanko said. "They are very effective with their offense ... very potent."
On defense, Elk County Catholic has been able to slow the Golden Tide offense in the past, which had Evanko working the offensive line hard this week.
"They have a defensive scheme that confuses our blocking assignments," Evanko said. "But we have been working with the line, and we hope we can run the football. We've stressed it since Monday. We want the kids to be confident."
ECC has wins over Smethport (42-7) and Sheffield (27-6). The Crusaders have losses against Coudersport (36-26), Port Allegany (41-20), Kane (14-0) and Brockway (41-12).
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Dutch Country Stadium.

Moshannon Valley (5-1)
at Claysburg-Kimmel (1-5)
CLAYSBURG - After averaging 323 yards of offense and over 35 points per game, Moshannon Valley picked a poor time to play its worst game of the season last week against Bellwood-Antis.
The Black Knights were shut out for the first time since last season's regular season meeting with the Blue Devils, and were held to just 108 yards of offense.
Mo Valley head coach Murray Fetzer has spent this week getting his squad focused for the remainder of its slate.
"We have to focus and concentrate on the task at hand," said Fetzer. "We can't look back, and we can't look forward. We responded well (to the loss) last year, but this isn't last year's team. We have strong senior leadership, and I think they'll respond and move forward.
"We're going to have to be really prepared for this game, and get the kids mentally refocused coming off a really tough loss last week."
Claysburg-Kimmel will be the opponent Friday night, and enters the contest with a five-game losing streak.
The Bulldogs' record is deceiving, though, Fetzer said, as they've battled Northern Bedford and Tussey Mountain before succumbing to defeat.
"They've been in some very, very tough games," Fetzer said of Claysburg. "This is a good football team ... they just haven't gotten a couple in the ‘W' column. They're competitive and scrappy."
Claysburg is led offensively by quarterback Dalton Treon, who completed 2-of-9 passes for 36 yards in last week's loss to West Branch.
Treon and two other players combined for 118 yards through the air against the Warriors, with Kyle Pozgar (4 catches, 69 yards), and Cody Helsel (3-49) hauling in all seven completions.
"They're a lot more balanced than they have been - they're throwing on first and second down, they stretch the field and throw deep," Fetzer said. "They have a couple of nice receivers, and we have to be careful not to blow our assignments in the secondary.
"Their quarterback has a nice arm and he can throw the ball down the field. We know he has the potential, if he has time, to locate receivers."
The Knights have won the four meetings against the Bulldogs, and haven't lost to Claysburg since 2001.
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium.

West Branch (1-5)
at Juniata Valley (3-3)
ALEXANDRIA - West Branch hit a major landmark with its first win of the season a week ago, and the Warriors hope that taste will make them even hungrier. A second win would double the total victories of the previous two seasons combined.
"I was real curious to see how the kids would run this week in practice, and it's been wonderful," head coach Rob Lazauskas said. "The intensity and effort has been there, and I'm real pleased because you just never know how they're going to respond."
The task at hand this Friday comes in the form of Juniata Valley (3-3), which dropped Glendale, 28-7, in Week 6. Known for their attacking, blitz-happy defense, the Hornets harrassed the Viking offense all night, and will look for a repeat performance against West Branch.
"They're probably the most aggressive defense we've seen so far," Lazauskas said. "They're going to bring people from all angles and that's their game.
"We've worked hard on that and the kids know where they're coming from and what their responsibilities are. It's just a matter of the kids keeping their heads up and following their assignments."
Meanwhile, the West Branch defense will have to deal with a triple-threat attack from running backs Aaron Wagner (431 yards, 5 TDs), Shawn McCrum (378 yards, 9 TDs) and Taylor Boyd (119 yards).
"McCrum has been a fixture in their offense for four years," Lazauskas said, "and the kid's an exceptional football player. Wagner is another element that we know we have to contain. Boyd's not a real big kid, but he runs tough.
"They're similar to us in the fact you have to account for three different backs, plus the (QB Seth) Carper kid can throw the football, so they're not one-dimensional. The kids have to be on their toes about that."
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Juniata Valley.
"In all honesty, records aside, I think it's pretty evenly matched," Lazauskas said. "I look forward to seeing an exciting ballgame Friday night."

United (5-1)
at Purchase Line (0-6)
PURCHASE LINE - With each passing week Purchase Line continues to look for its first win, and the going doesn't get any easier in Week 7 as United comes to town.
At 5-1, the Lions are fighting at the top of the Heritage Conference - much like Purchase Line's last foe, Marion Center - and are coming off a 22-6 win over Homer-Center. Their only loss came in Week 1 to Laurel Valley.
"I think they're lineup is very physical, and the running backs run very hard," Purchase Line head coach Dave Small said. "They like to run a lot of power stuff at you ... and up front their lineman are very, very strong. We've definitely got our work cut out for our defensive line."
That defensive front did a solid job against Marion Center in the first half of last week's game, but it wasn't enough to overcome other mistakes and sloppy play. And this week they'll once again have to contend with a strong pair of runners in backs Dom Chero and Kody Oliver.
Oliver leads the way with 731 yards and eight scores, while Chero has added 551 yards and found the end zone five times.
"They kind of play off each other," Small said. "Oliver is more of a power runner inside, very impressive strength-wise, but Chero is very crafty out in the open field and picks up extra yards after the hit, too. ... Next thing you know he's 30 yards down the field."
While the Red Dragons continue to focus on running the ball, which they've done successfully at times, their ongoing search for consistent quarterback play has led to a second straight start for junior Jason Kluchurosky.
"I don't think Jason did anything to take him out of quarterback," Small said, "so this coming week I'm going to go with (him). He went into Marion Center and did a nice job and didn't fumble.
"(Kluchurosky and previous starter Cody Stolitza) are pretty equal, but Jason didn't do anything to lose his job."
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Barry T. Madill Field.