Cambria Heights has overcome every obstacle on its football schedule this year.
The Highlanders beat Heritage Conference frontrunners River Valley (29-23), Marion Center (6-0) and Conemaugh Township (49-6) in anticipated matchups.
Another formidable foe awaits Friday night in Homer City when 7-1 Homer-Center hosts the 8-0 Highlanders. A Cambria Heights win would clinch an outright conference title for the Highlanders, with every other team in the league with two or more losses. A Homer-Center victory and win at Portage in Week 10 would likely end in a shared crown with the Wildcats earning the head-to-head tiebreaker.
“It’s an opportunity to etch your legacy and get a banner, win a conference championship,” Cambria Heights coach Jarrod Lewis said, “but it’s going to be tough. Homer-Center is a great football team. Greg Page is a great coach with a great coaching staff. It’s going to be a battle.”
Cambria Heights also won Heritage titles in 2021, 2024 and 2025 (tri-champions with Marion Center and River Valley). The Highlanders are 57-13 with two District 6 titles since joining the Heritage in 2021.
“We just need to continue to get better, the same as every week,” senior Bryce Lewis said. “Continue to get better every day. Get better every week and come out with intensity.”
Cambria Heights beat Homer-Center 42-7 a year ago. The Wildcats, now on a five-game winning streak, defeated West Shamokin 41-7 in Week 8.
The Highlanders are 5-0 against Homer-Center since joining the Heritage, including a 91-7 edge the past two seasons.
Cambria Heights has mowed through its 2026 schedule, so far, outscoring teams 338-55 and topping the 40-point mark six times. The Highlanders have already gained more than 3,000 yards on offense, rushing for 2,480 of those yards through eight weeks. Junior dual-threat quarterback Nolan Clawson has passed for 672 yards and rushed for 986 more as he has had a hand in 20 touchdowns.
Clawson has thrown for 10 touchdowns compared to one interception.
Senior Brayden DeArmitt has 456 rushing yards and seven touchdowns and 406 receiving yards and six scores.
Senior Bryce Lewis has 93 tackles and 361/2 stops for loss of yardage, including 91/2 sacks.
Clawson has three interceptions.
Only a 22-14 Week 3 loss to Marion Center has blemished Homer-Center’s campaign thus far. Junior Gabe Cobaugh has rushed for 741 yards and 16 touchdowns, with senior Carson Arone toting the ball for 669 yards (11 scores) and passing it for 862 more. The Wildcats have scored 148 points in the past three weeks.
Cambria Heights is ranked 10th in the latest PennLive Class 3A state rankings.
Homer-Center is ninth in 1A.