DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Gavin Burrows and Muncy head to Athens in Week 9 looking for a win.

Muncy PPG–25.4, PPA–13.9; YPG–295, YPA–208.8

Muncy notes: Muncy (5-3) is 4-0 on the road, but faces a tough task tonight against an explosive Athens team. The Indians have had their chances in their last two losses against Montgomery and South Williamsport, but have failed to produce points on five different trips inside the 25-yard line. That included twice inside the 15 against South in a 28-20 defeat a week ago. Still, Muncy battled hard despite playing without two starting linebackers and having limited offensive backfield depth. Andrew Walters totaled 265 yards with three touchdowns and is second among area passers with 1,291 yards. Nate Rogers, Dominic Guardini, Gavin Barrows and Carter Feigles all have caught at least 20 passes, highlighting the team’s ability to spread the ball. Rogers caught his sixth touchdown last week and Barrows caught at least six passes for a second time. Nixon Lamper is having a big year along the defensive line, averaging 6.5 tackles per game and Nassir Miller has been an excellent run stuffer at times, producing seven tackles for loss. Muncy is all but locked into the No. 3 seed for the District 4 Class A playoffs. The defending champions likely will get a rematch against rival Montgomery in the semifinals.

Muncy Player to watch–Nick Delany: A strong leader and four-year contributor, Delany provides a boost on both lines and is tied for second on the team with seven tackles for loss. The senior has played all over the field throughout his high school career and dominated at Northwest when he made four tackles for loss and added a sack.

Athens PPG–48.3, PPA–23.1; YPG–426.5, YPA–220

Athens notes: Athens (7-1) has won four straight games since losing a fourth quarter lead in a 51-35 loss against defending 2A state champion Troy. The Wildcats lead the district in both yards and points per game and quarterback Connor Davidson is an electric dual threat who is closing in on a second straight 1,000-yard passing/rushing season. He leads the district with 22 touchdown passes, while running or 11 more. Like Muncy, Athens spreads the ball around and four receivers have at least 13 catches. James Friend has scored 10 touchdowns on his 23 receptions and Gage Marmor averages 22.2 yards per catch. Athens has scored at least 35 points in every game, topping 50 points four times. The Wildcats are third in the District 4 Class AAAA standings and are trying to chase down Jersey Shore for the second spot and a home semifinal. The defense has allowed 20 or more points six times, but that number is a bit misleading since several of those teams reached 20 against Athens’ backups.

Ahens Player to watch–Karson Sipley: Athens showed against Wellsboro that it is more than just a high-powered passing team. Davidson and Sipley combined for 316 rushing yards in that game with Sipley going for a career-high 116 and a touchdown. He also ran for 132 yards and three touchdowns at North Penn-Mansfield.

Outlook: Wellsboro led Athens late in the third quarter three weeks ago, so that could give Muncy some hope going into this game since it won at Wellsboro. Obviously, it can be foolish looking at match-ups that way but if Muncy does a better job finishing drives here, it could make things interesting.