MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent After a tough loss in Week 8 to Southern Columbia, Montoursville faces Lewisburg with a road trip in Week 9.

Montoursville PPG–34.0, PPA–11.1; YPG–329.1, YPA–188.1

Montoursville notes: Montoursville (6-2) can secure the No. 2 seed and a District 4 Class AAA home semifinal if it wins tonight. The Warriors are trying to snap a two-game losing streak against Lewisburg and won a 21-14 double overtime thriller the last time these teams played in the regular season at Christy Mathewson Stadium. Montoursville is 3-0 on the road this season and will play its final two games away from Memorial Stadium. The Warriors moved the ball well at times a week ago against Southern Columbia, but had trouble keeping the Tigers off the field which limited their opportunities. Running back Christian Banks went over 100 yards for a fourth straight game and both he and Hayden Harvey have gone over 500 yards. Sophomore quarterback Elijah Eck threw touchdowns to sophomores Jay Houseknecht and Brayden Burkett. Four of Burkett’s 11 catches this year have gone for touchdowns and he also has a kick return score. Noah Rakestraw made 11 tackles against Southern and Kingston Fisher 10 more. Fisher has a team-high four sacks and both Harvey and Kane Moore have returned interceptions for touchdowns. Adam Shearer kicked his area-best fifth field goal last week and also has placed nine of his 16 punts inside the 20-yard line.

Montoursville Player to watch–Gabe Vanderwall: The senior lineman is coming on strong down the stretch and has sacks on consecutive games. He also has tackles for loss in three straight games and made a season-high six tackles against Southern.

Lewisburg PPG–20.8, PPA–23.8; YPG–244.4, YPA–295.5

Lewisburg notes: Lewisburg (2-6) is fighting for the fourth and final spot in the District 4 Class AAA field and likely has to win at least one of its last two games to do so. Both are tough ones with Montoursville and Mifflinburg holding the field’s top two spots. Lewisburg is fifth, right behind Milton and just ahead of Danville in that three-team race. The Green Dragons are a better team than their record indicates, losing three games by 12 combined points and four contests after being tied or ahead in the second half. Linebacker Ethan Long is having a super season and is five tackles from reaching 100 in his first year starting. He averages 11.9 tackles per game and David Bozella is at 9.4 tackles per game. The linebackers also have combined for 18 ½ tackles for loss. Mitchell Lorenz has 3 ½ sacks and Lewisburg has allowed just seven points in two wins. Quarterback Xavier Carter has flourished as a first-time starter, going over 1,000 yards, and he is second among area players in passer rating. Jaylen Walker has caught nine touchdowns and has four games with multiple scores. Nick Coleman is a versatile player who ran for 171 yards against Loyalsock and who also has caught 17 passes.

Lewisburg Player to watch–Dane Shuey: A junior two-way starter, Shuey can get the tough inside yards offensively and also adds depth to a strong linebacking group. He has 2 ½ tackles for loss over the last two weeks and ran for 68 yards in Week 2 against Shikellamy.

Outlook: Montoursville is the favorite here, but Lewisburg has shown it is capable of pulling an upset. The record might not show it, but the Dragons are a dangerous team, so Montoursville can neither be lamenting last week’s missed opportunities, nor looking ahead to next week’s Battle of the Bridge Game.