The Greater Allegheny Conference can be brutal.

Knoch coach Mike King and Yough coach Mark Crovak — preparing their teams to face each other at 7 p.m. Friday in Jefferson Township — have felt the pain of the league's weekly competition this year.

The visiting Cougars (0-8, 0-7) finished 6-5 with a WPIAL playoff win in Class AA last year. Moving up to AAA this time around, they are allowing 46 points per game and have scored more than a touchdown in a contest only twice.

“This is the most balanced league in the WPIAL,” Crovak said. “We're playing a good football team every week, it seems, and the numbers haven't been in our favor.”

The scoreboard hasn't been in Knoch's favor this season. Losses of 8-7 to Gateway, 7-3 to Hollidaysburg and 28-25 to Indiana have the Knights (3-5, 3-4)clinging to their playoff lives.

Knoch needs to win and get favorable results from other games to qualify for postseason play.

“Three losses by eight points really hurts,” King said. “Those were hard to take. All we can do is win our game this week and wait to see if they tell us we're in.

“Our kids have been competitive all year. I hope we get there. They deserve it.”

While Hampton and Franklin Regional are assured of playoff spots, Knoch, Mars, Hollidaysburg, Indiana and Gateway all have three or four Greater Allegheny wins.

Yough is looking for its first.

“We had 52 kids last year and we're down to 36 this year,” Crovak said. “We lost a lot of seniors, there aren't a lot of younger kids coming up right now and three or four would-be starters didn't come back to the team this season.”

Clay Waldron, a senior who caught 55 passes for 624 yards and nine touchdowns while rushing for 898 yards and 10 TDs last year, “hasn't had the supporting cast around him this time,” Crovak said.

Waldron did rush for 245 yards in a 63-20 loss to Trinity two weeks ago.

Receiver-strong safety Eric Borkovich, one of Yough's best players, has missed half the season with a collarbone injury and won't play Friday. First-year quarterback Eric Baer was an all-conference linebacker last year.

“Because he's at QB, he doesn't play much defense anymore and we miss him there,” Crovak said.

Cole Shinsky has thrown for 282 yards in two games since assuming the quarterback duties for Knoch. Cody Milsom has rushed for 748 yards and nine touchdowns.

“Cole is a competitor and a leader out there. The kids are responding to him,” King said. “Cody just embraces the tailback position. He wants the ball and he's extremely durable.”

Punxsutawney (6-2) at Karns City (8-0)7 p.m., FridayLast Week: Punxsutawney defeated Clarion-Limestone 42-6; Karns City routed Keystone 42-7.Numbers: This game pits two of the higher scoring teams in District 9 as the Chucks average 37 points per game and the Gremlins are averaging 46. ... Punxsutawney has intercepted 12 passes this season. Karns City's QB duo of Caleb King and Cody Deal have thrown none, combining for 965 yards and 10 TDs. ... Chucks QB Dakota Thomas has passed for 1,009 yards and 12 TDs, rushed for 429 yards and 7 TDs. ... Perry Arrington leads Punxsutawney's ground game with 672 yards and 6 TDs. Tristan Rhoades leads KC with 496 yards and 7 TDs. ... The Chucks have rushed for 1,757 yards and 27 TDs, the Gremlins 2,006 yards and 32 TDs.Notes: Karns City defeated Punxsutawney, 56-6, last season and has defeated the Chucks five times in the past six years.

Corry (1-7, 1-5) at Slippery Rock (8-0, 6-0)7 p.m., FridayLast week: Corry was edged by Warren 31-28; Slippery Rock downed Sharon 28-13.Numbers: Corry sophomore Bryce Xander was 9-of-19 passing for 69 yards and a TD in the loss against the Dragons. ... Liam Cragg is Corry's Mr. Everything, playing QB, RB and WR. He rushed for 147 yards and two TDs last week. Stopping Cragg is Slippery Rock's No. 1 priority. “We have to know where he lines up,” said Slippery Rock coach Brendan Hathaway. “We have to know where he is on the field at all times.” ... Corry, which has lost six straight, has given up 290 points this season. ... Slippery Rock QB Jake Whitmer rushed for three more TDs in the win against Sharon and now has 13 rushing scores on the season. Whitmer also leads the balanced Rockets' rushing attack with 627 yards. “In this offense, a lot in on the quarterback,” Hathaway said. “A pretty good example of that was the last two games. General McLane took away our backs and Jake ran for 250 yards.”Notes: This is the first meeting between these two schools since 2011. The Rockets won that game, 21-12.

Moniteau (5-3) at St. Marys (5-3)Friday, 7 p.m.Last week: Moniteau lost to Redbank Valley 26-14; St. Marys was routed by Clarion 41-0.Numbers: Moniteau senior RB Josh McBride leads all Butler County Area players with 1,128 rushing yards and is averaging 10.9 yards per carry. ... Warriors' quarterback Cody Skiver had 902 yards rushing this season. ... McBride and Skiver are trying to become the first Moniteau teammates to both surpass 1,000 yards rushing in a season since Dustin Geagan (1,540) and Kyle Armagost (1,301) pulled it off in 2011. ... St. Marys has lost two consecutive games. ... The Dutch are led on the ground by TJ Hogan, who is averaging more than six yards per carry and has more than 800 yards rushing on the season. ... St. Marys' defense is averaging five sacks per game, led by senior Kyle Glatt, who has 10 sacks this year.Notes: Moniteau beat St. Marys 33-26 last season.

CW North Catholic (8-0) at Shenango (6-2)7 p.m., FridayLast week: North Catholic beat Bishop Canevin 48-7; Shenango beat Riverside 45-21.Numbers: Tyler Root leads Shenango with 560 rushing yards and six touchdowns. ... The Wildcats lost its cross-over game with Avonworth 42-15 Week 4. North Catholic beat Avonworth 28-0. ... North Catholic's P.J. Fulmore rushed for 128 yards and two scores against Bishop Canevin to become the 60th rusher in WPIAL history to reach the 4,000-yard barrier. ... Jerome Turner scored three rushing touchdowns and leads Butler County with 134 points scored. ... This is North Catholic's second cross-over game against a Big Seven foe. The Trojans beat

Riverside 50-16 in Week 5.Notes: North Catholic has won 24 straight and clinched its third straight conference crown by beating Bishop Canevin last week.

Valley (3-5, 3-4) at Freeport (4-4, 4-3)7 p.m., FridayLast week: Highlands beat Valley 42-21; Freeport beat Burrell 50-10.Numbers: Phil Petit leads the Vikings with 1,099 passing yards and seven touchdowns. ... Valley has lost three straight since beat Deer Lakes 34-7. ... Freeport quarterback Andrew Romanchak set a school record with 443 passing yards last week. The Yellowjackets QB also tossed five touchdown passes. ... Wide receiver Dylan Hochbein leads Butler County with 785 receiving yards on 46 catches. He has also caught seven touchdown passes.Notes: Freeport has lost two straight against Valley, with the Vikings winning 9-8 in 2012 and 42-0 in 2013.

Warren (3-5, 2-4) at Grove City (0-8, 0-6)7 p.m., FridayLast week: Warren edged Corry 31-28; Grove City fell to Hickory 48-12.Numbers: Warren, which had a thrilling 79-78 win over Meadville the week before, had another game come down to the wire. Ryan Shattuck booted a 22-yard field goal to win it for the Dragons. ... Warren had 776 yards of offense in the win over Meadville, but was held to 277 against Corry. ... Kyle Kulka leads the Dragon offense with 969 yards rushing. ... Grove City's struggles continued against Hickory. The Eagles managed just 193 total yards of offense in the loss to the Hornets. ... The Eagles are averaging just 3.7 yards per rush attempt this season.Notes: This is the first meeting between the two teams since 2009. Grove City won that game 21-3.

C-Limestone (1-7, 1-3) at Union (3-5, 2-2)7 p.m., FridayLast week: Punxsutawney beat Clarion-Limestone 42-6; Union beat Ridgway 32-7.Numbers: The Lions have lost three straight by a combined score of 118-36 since beating A-C Valley 27-14. ... Clarion-Limestone is quarterbacked by Anthony Louder, who is Union coach Dave Louder's son. Anthony threw an 80-yard TD pass for the Lions' only score last week. ... Union toppled previously unbeaten Ridgway on the road to get back in the postseason race. ... Golden Knights WR Cole Morris has 698 yards receiving, four short of the single-season school record.Notes: Clarion Limestone leads the all-time series 23-12.

Keystone (2-6, 1-3) at A-C Valley (0-8, 0-4)7 p.m., FridayLast week:Keystone fell to Karns City 42-7; A-C Valley lost to Brookville 26-6.Numbers: On offense, the Panthers are led by a trio of players — running backs Jacob Weaver and Zach Stiglitz and quarterback Bryce Altman — who have combined to rush for 958 yards and 10 TDs. ... The Falcons have scored just 59 points this season.Notes: Dan Reed is in the first season of his second stint as head coach of the Panthers. He was previously the team's head coach 1996-2003.Keystone won last year's meeting with the Falcons 30-14.

Summit Acad. (0-8, 0-7) at Laurel (3-5, 3-4)7 p.m., FridayLast week: Mohawk beat Summit Academy 42-14; Laurel beat Ellwood City 27-14.Numbers: Clayton Sharek leads the Spartans with 541 yards rushing and has scored 10 touchdowns. ... Dual-threat quarterback Jake McDougal has passed for 563 yards and rushed for 405 yards for Laurel. ... Summit Academy has been outscored 359-94, including 312-74 in Midwestern Conference games. ... Javon Thomas and Shareef Clayton both scored touchdowns for the Knights.Notes: Laurel leads the all-time series 7-1.