DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Davion Hill and Loyalsock will look to beat their rivals Montoursville tonight in the Battle for the Bridge game.

Background: Montoursville has won four straight Battle for the Bridge games and Loyalsock is seeking its first win since 2017. The Warriors also have won two playoff games during that stretch, but Loyalsock enters as the favorite tonight. Before Montoursville’s current run, this series largely went back and forth from 2002-2017 with Montoursville holding a slight 10-8 advantage. Since 2014, the cross-creek rivals have met in the playoffs three times but could only do so again this year if they each reached the District 4 Class AAA final.

Montoursville PPG–15.4, PPA–28.9; YPG–256.9, YPA–279.6

Montoursville notes: Montoursville (4-5) concludes its brutal five-week stretch of playing against some of the district’s best teams tonight. It likely will play Athens in next week’s quarterfinals and needs a victory tonight to host that game. A loss means it will make the road trip up 220. Montoursville played Class AAAA title contender Selinsgrove tough last week and slowed a potent offense. The Warriors opened the season 4-1 and are the last team to beat Bald Eagle Area, doing so in Week 9. Montoursville rallied in the second half to beat Wellsboro and Lewisburg and held a 16-14 third-quarter lead before dynamic senior all-around threat Marco Pulizzi was lost for the season with a torn ACL. Quarterback Bryce Eberhart threw for 167 yards last week and running back Matthew Conklin topped 90 yards in five straight games earlier this season, going over 100 yards four times. James Batkowski, Corbin Frey and Nate Fisher all averaged more than 19 yards per catch against Selinsgrove. If Montoursville reaches the red zone it has a good chance of producing points with kicker Wyatt Fry leading the area with five field goals. He kicked three in the 29-21 win against BEA. Montoursville is third in the area with 19 sacks. Cole Yonkin has a team-high four and Tyler Lepley 3 1/2 in seven games. Freshman linebacker Christian Banks has put together and excellent debut season and is among the team’s leading tacklers, also scoring on a 12-yard run last week. Blaise Alexander and Ethan Wanner both are averaging more than five tackles per game up front and Dylan Keyte made a touchdown saving pass breakup against Jersey Shore. Montoursville is playoff-bound for the 17th time in 19 seasons.

Montoursville player to watch–Evan Bloom: Another underclassman who has made a big impact in his first year starting, Bloom leads the team with 11 tackles for loss. He has one tackle for loss in all but one game and made six solo tackles against Selinsgrove. Bloom also forced a fumble in that game and made a career-high 11 tackles against Troy.

Loyalsock PPG–34.3, PPA–13.2; YPG–393.9, YPA–173.5

Loyalsock notes: A win tonight would give Loyalsock (8-1) its most wins in a regular season during the 2000s, even topping the 2007 team which reached the Class AA state semifinals. The Lancers have won five straight since a heartbreaking loss against Danville and produced a fantastic win last week, downing previously undefeated Troy, 36-35, on the road. Loyalsock outgained the Trojans by nearly 300 yards and deficits three different times. The defense is ranked behind only Jersey Shore and Canton in terms of points and yards allowed per game. Loyalsock has collected three shutouts and the starters have held the opponent without a point four times. The Lancers also have shutout consecutive opponents at home. Linebackers Gavin Rice, Logan Bastian and Cy Cavanaugh all are averaging at least seven tackles per game and Carter Secora anchors a stout defensive line. Both the offensive and defensive lines have flourished this season and they controlled things up front against Troy, allowing just 174 yards to one of the district’s top rushing teams. Loyalsock has overcome some costly injuries defensively and kept going strong, with Davion Hill and LJ Lee having returned interceptions for touchdowns in consecutive home games. Hill dazzled against Troy, running for 201 yards, totaling 300 and scoring three times. Quarterback Tyler Gee has totaled 2,049 yards and accounted for two scores. Jaylen Andrews made the game-saving tackle on Troy’s attempted 2-point try last week and has established himself as one of the district’s top receivers this season. The junior has caught 10 touchdowns, scoring in five straight games. Loyalsock will be the No. 2 seed in districts and host either Warrior Run or Lewisburg next week.

Loyalsock player to watch–Jeremiah Johnson: The freshman two-way lineman has helped Loyalsock alleviate its injuries up front and played well on both sides of the ball. He is part of a strong offensive line which has helped Loyalsock top 30 points in all but two games. Johnson also made four solo tackles against Troy and played a big part in slowing its run game.

Outlook: Loyalsock has been eager to hoist the Bridge Trophy for a long time, especially its seniors who have never done so. Montoursville will not make doing so easy, but unless the Warriors play a fabulous game, it’s hard to envision Loyalsock not reversing the recent trend in this series.