MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent South Williamsport Levi Butler (11) runs a sweep around Wyalusing’s Reuben Kinney (12) in the first quarter of a Week 5 matchup.

South Williamsport at Sayre

South (3-3) has blown out consecutive opponents, outscoring them, 109-6 and moving to eighth in the District 4 Class AA standings. The Mounties are seeking their 14th straight district playoff berth and also are tied for first in the NTL-II with Montgomery. They have scored at least 31 points in all three victories this season.

Cade Lusk ran for 222 yards against Cowanesque Valley a week ago and is second among area rushers, while Levi Butler leads the district with 37 catches and quarterback Cole Gerber is tied for second among area passers with nine touchdowns. He has thrown seven the past two weeks, with Butler, Garrett Lorson, Neeko Bowen and Caleb Johnson all hauling in scores. Lorson, a freshman, also ran for 101 yards with two scores against CV. Taylor Naugle intercepted two passes in that victory, Lorson another and South forced six turnovers.

If South wins tonight, it would control its league championship destiny with games against second-place Muncy and co-first place Montgomery coming the next two weeks.

Sayre (0-6) opened the season as a young team and has taken a big injury hit. The Redskins have struggled to get things going as a result, and scored their first touchdown since Week 1 last Saturday at Northwest. Hudson Malanoski is a hard runner and has both touchdowns this season.

Lewisburg at Midd-West

Lewisburg (1-5) is a better team than its record indicates, losing three games by 14 combined points. In each of those games, Lewisburg either led or was tied in the fourth quarter as well. The Green Dragons came up less than a yard shy of a winning touchdown two weeks ago against Warrior Run and dropped a 14-7 heartbreaker at Loyalsock last Friday.

The Green Dragons are a young team, but also have showed their potential and have a strong set of underclassmen mixing in with quality seniors. Junior quarterback Xavier Carter leads the area with 10 touchdowns and Jaylen Walker is among the area’s receiving leaders. Nick Coleman is dangerous as a runner and/or receiver and gained a career-high 172 yards on 18 carries against Loyalsock.

Senior linebacker Ethan Long is having a stellar season, making at least 10 tackles in every game and averaging 12.3 per game. He also has 10 ½ tackles for loss. David Bozella averages 8.7 tackles per game and has combined with freshman Ace Bynum to produce 4 ½ sacks.

Midd-West (1-5) started the season strong, thumping Central Columbia and leading Hamburg by 13 in the fourth quarter, but has lost five straight. Running backs Noah Kratzer and Kyle Shupp form a nice tandem and Kratzer has three touchdowns over his last three games. Shupp returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown against Warrior Run.

Wellsboro at Troy

Wellsboro (3-3) showcased how much progress it has made since an 0-2 start, pushing Athens hard in last week’s 35-22 loss. The Wildcats had blown it every opponent except Troy but the Hornets led 14-7 late in the third quarter and still were within six late in the game. Wellsboro gained 338 yards and became the first team this year to hold Athens to single digits in the first half.

Quarterback Griffin Morral threw for a season-high 236 yards and two touchdowns, while Marek Mascho also produced a touchdown pass for a second straight week. Mascho also caught four passes for 140 yards and a score. Dylan Copp reeled in two catches for 75 yards and a touchdown and Kody Enck had 133 yards and a score in a 33-12 win against Towanda.

Troy (5-1) is the defending Class AA state champion and has won four straight since Waverly stopped a late 2-point try to beat it 14-13 and snap its 17-game winning streak. Troy also won a hard-fought game against Athens, overcoming a fourth quarter deficit to defeat it, 51-35 in Week 4. All-state running back Brendan Gilliland ran for 256 yards and three touchdowns in that victory.

Quarterback Mason Smith is settling in during his first season starting at that position and threw for a season-high 157 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s win against Wyalusing. He also has given teams fits with his running, gashing South Williamsport for 241 yards and four touchdowns in a Week 3 victory.

Cowanesque Valley at CMVT

CV and CMVT have played some terrific games the last few seasons and Saturday’s has the potential to the latest in that chapter. The Indians (2-4) rallied in the closing minutes to win last year and are trying to snap a two-game losing streak. CV has shutouts in both wins and features a good backfield tandem with Kegan Lane and Dave Hess both having more than 390 yards. Lane has gone over 100 yards in consecutive games, producing a career-high 143 yards against Wellsboro in Week 5. Hess has gone over 100 yards in both CV victories as well.

Justin Schaar had a sack at South Williamsport a week ago and Luke Sottolano the previous week against Wellsboro. Hess has intercepted three passes and Cam Stahli returned a fumble for a touchdown in a season-opening win against Towanda.

CMVT (3-3) is putting up big passing numbers with sophomore quarterback Myles Koser already moving within three touchdowns of tying the program record for scoring passes in a season (20). He threw five touchdowns against Montrose in Week 3 and three against Jenkintown last Saturday. Axton Koser and Blake Sponenberg are Nos. 1 and 2 in District in receiving yards, combining for 1,198 yards and 14 touchdowns. Each also has three 100-yard games. Axton Koser also has returned an interception for a touchdown and Tyson Brown has three sacks.

Canton at Wyalusing

Canton (1-5) has lost five straight games, being pummeled by injuries the last few weeks. The Warriors saw some brights spots in last week’s loss against Towanda as freshman quarterback Owen Moore threw for 215 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Leland Tubach caught six passes for 108 yards with a touchdown and freshman Aaden Dowling ran for a score.

Linebacker Dawson Burgess made 10 tackles against Towanda and Jake Pepper seven. Pepper has been strong up front, producing four sacks, as well as a forced fumble. Freshman Grant Jennings has two interceptions and Dowling and Moore one each.

Wyalusing (1-5) has lost four straight games, but features a strong running game led by Jon Earle who ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns against defending Class AA state champion Troy a week ago. Earle has gone over 90 yards in consecutive wins and Ethan Vanderpool ran for 70 yards and a touchdown in a Week 2 win against Cowanesque Valley. Andrew Taylor is a big-play receiver with four of his nine receptions from Reuben Kinney going for 211 yards and four touchdowns.

Central Columbia at Milton

Milton (1-5) mirrors a lot of area teams in that it has some exciting young players making quality contributions. So, while the results might be what the team wants, it looks like the future could be bright. That especially looks to be true on defense where four of the team’s five leading tacklers are underclassmen.

Monty Fisher is third among area rushers and has gone for at least 99 yards in three consecutive games. That includes a 204-yard performance against Danville two weeks ago. Jaeden Canelo ran for 71 yards in a 25-0 win against South Williamsport and Cole Rhodes caught his second touchdown. That victory highlighted the team’s potential as it shutout a team which has scored 109 points in the two games since.

Central (0-6) is in a rebuilding phase, losing most of its players from a year ago. Dominic Keller is an exciting freshman running back with big-play potential but has had little room to operate thus far. Quarterback Josiah Hosler threw for 181 yards in the season opener against Midd-West and Eli Geedy caught five passes for 130 yards and a touchdown in that game.

Keystone at Bucktail

Bucktail (1-5) is another young squad starting mostly underclassmen. The Bucks broke out offensively two weeks ago at Smethport as freshman quarterback Corbin Pentz threw for 283 yards and four touchdowns. The 283 yards are the most by a Bucktail quarterback in the 2000s and Pentz did it in his fourth high school game.

Pentz has produced at least one touchdown in four of his five games and sophomore Teagan Stone is building off a good freshman season, running for a career-high 97 yards last Saturday at Otto-Eldred. Jaden Intallura carried 15 times in that game and also caught two passes for 34 yards. Aidan Ditty is making nice strides and caught three touchdowns at Smethport.

Keystone (3-3) features a potent offense and, despite its record, has outscored teams, 217-97. The Panthers have scored 55, 56 and 62 points in their three victories. Quarterback Dom Corcetti makes the offense go, running for 601 yards and nine touchdowns, while throwing for 551 yards and eight scores. Eli Nellis is second on the team in rushing and leads in receiving. He has run for 375 yards, topping 100 yards twice, and caught 15 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore James Rankin averages 9.4 tackles per game and has five tackles for loss.