---- — Mercer County area teams took a break from District 10 rugged region play for non-league encounters that included some rivalry games between local clubs.

Some of those local rivalry clashes were: Grove City knocking Slippery Rock from the ranks of the unbeaten, 34-14; Sharpsville edging Wilmington, 20-14; West Middlesex topping Sharon, 41-21; and Reynolds ripping Kennedy Catholic, 56-21.

In other contests, Mercer fell to Mercyhurst Prep, 28-26; Lakeview rallied to beat Cochranton, 22-16; and Greenville was rocked by Northwestern, 42-7.

Over in Ohio, Brookfield easily remained undefeated with a 49-6 rout of Conneaut.

ä Grove City 34, Slippery Rock 14 — The 2011 District 10 Class AAA titlist Eagles — now playing in AA — thoroughly dominated rival and Region 5AAA leading Rockets (6-1) in front of a homecoming crowd at Forker Field.

Grove City maintained over a 3:1 margin in time of possession — 37:35 to 10:25.

“I told them ‘We’re the returning AAA champs. Let’s not give it up easily,’ ” Grove City coach Jeff Bell said. “This was our shot at a AAA team and we took advantage of it. We did not want to give them the football. Our goal going in was maintain possession (offensively). This is the kind of game we need to play down the road against Wilmington and Hickory (in the playoffs).”

Behind the blocking off the offensive line of Boone Lyons, Jake Graham, Shaun Smoker, Devan Smoker, Ryan Palmer, Grant Craig and Shawn Seybert, the Eagles (6-1) racked up 359 yards rushing and didn’t need to punt or attempt a pass.

“You gotta give our offensive line a lot of credit,” Bell said. “We preached all week about getting off the ball and worked on it all week. We had some real good offensive practices, probably the best we’ve had since Wilmington. We told our backs to trust their linemen.”

Grove City jumped out to a 21-0 lead with just 68 seconds remaining before halftime on two Jared Graham touchdown runs (3 and 1 yards) and a Foster Reznor 8-yard scamper, but the Rockets made it interesting with a 50-yard scoring strike from standout quarterback Ryan Currie — who’s receiving Division II interest as a punter — to sophomore Jake Whitmer just before halftime.

Two more Grove City scores — a Chad Williams 4-yard run and a Graham 13-yard run — sealed the victory, while Joey Meyer also scored for the Rockets.

The Eagles boasted a balanced rushing attack with Harold Price (14 carries for 97 yards), Reznor (19 for 92), Williams (12 for 90) and Graham (15 for 76) finishing with over 75 yards on the ground.

“We preached all week, hit it up in there and get our four or five yards,” Bell said. “Eventually, we’ll get a big run. Against a good team like (Slippery Rock), you’re not going to get home runs, but we had a bunch of nine-yard runs. (The running backs) did a nice job.”

Not to be outdone, the Grove City defense limited the high flying Rocket offense to just 164 yards. Currie was held to minus-5 yards rushing, while speedster Frank Conlon led the Rock offense with 68 yards rushing on 10 totes.

“Our players didn’t play their best game and we, as coaches, didn’t coach our best game,” Slippery Rock coach Brendan Hathaway said. “Their kids wanted it more. We want to run 60 (offensive) plays a game and I think in the first half we had 10. That’s not the type of offense we want to run. Tonight was an absolute turn of events for what we want to do. We have to get back to work tomorrow morning. Life is full of adversity and if you want to be successful in life you have to overcome that adversity. We’ll start doing that (Saturday morning).” — Information submitted by Herald sports correspondent Corey J. Corbin.

ä Brookfield 49, Conneaut 6 — At Conneaut, Ohio, the unbeaten Warriors of coach Randy Clark continued to roll over their opponents.

The Warriors (8-0) built a 21-0 lead after one quarter and were on top 42-0 at intermission.

Brookfield got on the board first on an 18-yard pass from Jeremy Quinlan to Jimmy Quinlan, the Jeremy Quinlan connected on a 6-yard scoring aerial to Colin Harkulich. Before the first period ended, Jeremy Quinlan tallied on a 2-yard run.

Joe Clark accounted for the next two scores on a 2-yard run and 20-yard pass from Quinlan. Ryan Mosora followed wiith a 15-yard run before half.

The final Warriors TD was a 44-yard sprint by Jeremy Quinlan. For the night, Jeremy Quinlan connected on 6 PAT kicks, while Kasey Tingler booted one.

Conneaut’s lone score was on a 28-yard pass to Tyler Cox from Tony Colucci.

Mosora picked up 156 yards on 10 carries.

ä West Middlesex 41, Sharon 21 — At Big Reds Stadium in West Middlesex, Luke Patten rushed for 226 yards and scored 2 touchdowns and quarterback Trey Staunch threw 2 TD passes and ran for another as the Reds improved to 6-1 with the non-region win over the Tigers (1-6).

Patten scored on runs of 5 and 6 yards. Staunch had a 1-yard TD run and tossed a 10-yard scoring strike to Austin Mirizio and a 7-yarder to Sage Pope. Mirizio also scored on a 20-yard run.

West Middlesex led 21-0 after the opening quarter and 28-14 at halftime. The Big Reds led 34-14 after 3 quarters and both teams scored in the 4th frame.

Staunch was 18-of-23 for 155 yards with the 2 TDs and 1 interception. He also converted 5-of-6 extra-point kicks. Mirizio hauled in 6 catches for 69 yards. WM outgained the Tigers 446-160 in total yards.

Sharon standout quarterback Jesse Rodgers, who was 9-of-14 for 29 yards, scored on a pair of 5-yard runs. Michael Bonner scored on a 14-yard run late in the 4th quarter. Evan Gill booted all 3 PATs for the Tigers.

ä Sharpsville 20, Wilmington 14 — At The Pines in Sharpsville, the Blue Devils won the District 10 crossover contest.

The Class A Blue Devils of coach Paul Piccirilli made a defensive stand on the final play of the game, stopping Class AA Wilmington on the final play — a run from about the 3-yard line.

Wilmington was without the services of starting quarterback Cody Llewellyn.

For Sharpsville (6-1), quarterback Bryan Stafford and fleet Tyler Luchey collaborated 7 times for 113 yards, including 25- and 21-yard scoring strikes. Joey Pagliaroli’s 25-yard run proved decisive for the Blue Devils, who bounced back from a loss to Region 1-A rival West Middlesex last week.

Wilmington (5-2), a tri-leader in Region 3-AA with Hickory and Grove City, was led by Alex Patton’s 13-carry, 88-yard rushing performance and Tyler Donati’s 17-carry, 78-yard effort. Donati and Nicc Pugh produced respective 1- and 17-yard TD runs.

The visiting Greyhounds’ ground game outgained Sharpsville, 226-124; however the Blue Devils had better balance, including 132 yards passing, compared with 63 for Wilmington.

ä Mercyhurst Prep 28, Mercer 26 — At Mercer, a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Mustangs fell short against the northerners.

Mercer trailed 28-7 heading into the final frame. However, Mercer scored on a 20-yard pass from Logan Clarke, a 1-yard run by Clarke and a 46-yard completion from Clarke to Haines. However, a pair of missed extra points left Mercer trailing.

The Mustangs attempted an onside kick after their last TD, but Prep recovered and was able to hold on for the victory.

Prep  (5-2) took an early lead in the game on a  5-yard pass from Nick Evanoff to Swanson, but the PAT kick missed. Mercer grabbed the lead a short time later on a 48-yard pass from Clarke to T.J. Peters and a PAT kick by Chase Hoffman.

However, the next three scores were put up by Prep to set up the thrilling comeback by the Mustangs (1-6).

Clarke passed for 255 yards, connecting on 10 of 20 passes, but was also picked off 3 times, twice by Ryan Connor. For Mercer, Walter Haines had an interception.

ä Reynolds 56, Kennedy Catholic 21 — At Transfer, Austin Matthews and Mike Millero scored 3 touchdowns each as the Raiders (5-2) rolled past the Golden Eagles (1-6) in a non-region clash.

Kellen Gursky and Adam Ballish also scored touchdowns for Reynolds.

Jacob Leipheimer had a pair of scores for KC and Jeff Thompkins scored on a 90-yard run.

Stats were not reported to The Herald.

ä Lakeview 22, Cochranton 16 — At Cochranton, the Sailors (5-2) fell behind in the 1st half, but scored 22 unanswered points to rally for the non-region win over the Cardinals (4-3).

Blake Reddick rushed for 146 yards on 17 carries and scored a pair of TDs on runs of 20 and 35 yards for the Sailors. The other score came on a 27-yard pass from Zach Bigley to Zach VanDusen.

ä Northwestern 42, Greenville 7 — At Albion, the northerners were not very gracious hosts as they romped over the visiting Trojans.

The Wildcats (5-2) built a 35-0 lead by halftime and never looked back in knocking off Greenville (3-4).

Brandon Reiser had a pair of scores for the Wildcats on runs of 26 and 28 yards, while Nate Noe scored on a 16-yard pass from Grant Panko and a 4-yard burst. Other scores were: Austin Miczo a 69-yard run; Panko a 20-yard interception return.

Greenville’s lone tally came in the final frame on a 77-yard run by Cody Nellis.

Northwestern amassed 461 yards on the ground, led by Miczo with 192 yards on 16 carries and Reiser 163 yards on 19 totes.

———

SLIPP.ROCK    0    7    0    7    14

GROVE CITY    7    14    7    6    34

Scoring plays

GC — Reznor, 8 run (Motta kick)

GC — Graham, 3 run (Motta kick)

GC — Graham, 1 run (Motta kick)

SR — Whitmer, 50 pass from Currie (McCandless kick)

GC — Williams, 4 run (Motta kick)

SR — Meyer, 3 run (McCandless kick)

GC — Graham, 13 run (run failed)

Team stats

SLIPP.ROCK                  GROVE CITY

5    First downs    23

66    Rushing yards    359

98    Passing yards    0

13-5-2    Att-comp-int    0-0-0

164    Total yards    359

0-0    Fumbles-lost    4-2

3-15    Penalties-yards lost    4

Individual stats

Rushing: SLIPPERY ROCK — Conlon 10-68, Whitmer 1-5, McDowell 1-1, Meyer 2-(-3), Currie 6-(-5); GROVE CITY — Price 14-97, WReznor 19-92, Williams 12-90, Graham 15-76, Kosick 1-7, Team 3-(-3).

Passing: SLIPPERY ROCK — Currie 4-9-1 81, Whitmer 1-2-1 17.

Receiving: SLIPPERY ROCK — Whitmer 2-69, Currie 1-17, Reeseman 1-15, Mellott 1-7.

———

BROOKFIELD    21    21    7    0    49

CONNEAUT    0    0    0    6    6

Scoring plays

B — Ji. Quinlan, 18 pass from Je. Quinlan (Je. Quinlan kick)

B — Harkulich, 6 pass from Je. Quinlan (Je. Quinlan kick)

B — Je. Quinlan, 2 run (Je. Quinlan kick)

B — Clark, 2 run (Je. Quinlan kick)

B — Clark, 20 pass from Je. Quinlan (Je. Quinlan kick)

B — Mosora, 15 run (Je. Quinlan kick)

C — Je. Quinlan, 44 run (Tingler kick)

C — Cox, 28 catch (run failed)

Team stats

BROOKFIELD        CONNEAUT

15    First downs    7

296    Rushing yards    28

102    Passing yards    91

11-7-3    Att-comp-int    21-10-2

398    Total yards    103

2-2    Fumbles-lost    1-1

11-75    Penalties-yards lost    6-35

Individual stats

Rushing: BROOKFIELD — Je. Quinlan 5-64, Mosora 10-156, Clrk 8-37, Ji.Quinlan 1-6, Necastro 5-(-4), Morrison 6-35, McCormick 2-2; CONNEAUT — Cox 3-3, Colucci 15-(-3), R.J. Nelson 7-1, Distelrath 2-4, Post 1-7.

Passing: BROOKFIELD — Je. Quinlan 7-9-0-102, Necastro 0-2-1-0; CONNEAUT — Colucci 8-17-2-80, Distelrath 2-4-0-11.

Receiving: BROOKFIELD — Ji. Quinlan 2-29, Harkulich 2-22, Clark 2-35, Mosora 1-16; CONNEAUT — Distelrath 1-3, Gerdes 4-49, Nelson 1-30, Luce 1-(-2), Cox 1-28.

———

M. PREP    6    8    14    0    28

MERCER    7    0    0    19    26

Scoring plays

MP — Swanson, 5 pass from Evanoff (kick failed)

M — Peters, 48 pass from Clarke (Hoffman kick)

MP — Barclay, 24 run (Peebles pass from Evanoff)

MP — Swanson, 95 fum. ret. (kick failed)

MP — Higgins, 5 run (Evanoff run)

M — Nan, 20 pass from Clarke (kick failed)

M — Clarke, 1 run (kick failed)

M — Haines, 46 pass from Clarke (Hoffman kick)

Team stats

M. PREP                           MERCER

11    First downs    13

157    Rushing yards    73

77    Passing yards    255

9-5-1    Att-comp-int    20-10-3

234    Total yards    328

3-2    Fumbles-lost    2-2

5-40    Penalties-yards lost    4-38

Individual stats

Rushing: MERCYHURST PREP — Barclay 16-86, Evanoff 3-9, Connor 10-23, Higgins 13-39; MERCER — Clarke 14-14, Leonard 9-6, OBrien 6-20, Slagle 6-33.

Passing: MERCYHURST PREP — Evanoff 5-9-1-77; MERCER — Clarke 10-20-3-255.

Receiving: MERCYHURST PREP — Barclay 2-23, Connor 1-23, Higgins 1-16, Swanson 1-5, Peebles 1-20; MERCER — Leonard 3-38, Peters 3-100, Slagle 1-28, Nan 2-43, Haines 1-46.

———

SHARON    0    14    0    7    21

MIDDLESEX    21    7    6    7    41

Scoring plays

WM — Mirizio, 10 pass from Staunch (Staunch kick)

WM — Mirizio, 20 run (Staunch kick)

WM — Staunch, 1 run (Staunch kick)

S — Rodgers, 5 run (Gill kick)

WM — Patten, 5 run (Staunch kick)

S — Rodgers, 5 run (Gill kick)

WM — Pope, 7 pass from Staunch (kick failed)

WM — Patten, 6 run (Staunch kick)

S — Bonner, 14 run (Gill kick)

Team stats

SHARON                    W.MIDDLESEX

7    First downs    19

108    Rushing yards    291

52    Passing yards    155

18-10-0    Att-comp-int    23-18-1

160    Total yards    446

0-0    Fumbles-lost    3-2

5-50    Penalties-yards lost    7-85

Individual stats

Rushing: SHARON — Rodgers 12-34, Lampkins 8-18, Smith-Austin 5-46, Hawkins 3-(-5), Mosley 2-(-2), Bonner 2-17; WEST MIDDLESEX — Patten 27-226, Staunch 9-11, Mirizio 4-30, Jancso 1-20, Trippy 1-6, team 1-(-2).

Passing: SHARON — Rodgers 14-9-0-29, Smith-Austin 1-1-0-23, Mosley 3-0-0-0; WEST MIDDLESEX — Staunch 23-18-1-155.

Receiving: SHARON — Hawkins 7-15, Rodgers 1-23, Smith-Austin 1-5, Jacoway 1-9; WEST MIDDLESEX — Mirizio 6-69, Pope 5-38, Fair 3-28, Jancso 2-12, Lucich 2-8.

———

WILMINGTON    7    0    0    7    14

SHARPSVLE    7    7    0    8    20

Scoring plays

W — Donati, 1 run (Pontius kick)

S — Luchey, 25 pass from Stafford (Pagliaroli kick)

S — Luchey, 21 pass from Stafford (Pagliaroli kick)

S — Pagaliaroli, 25 run (kick failed)

W — Pugh, 17 run (Pontius kick)

Team stats

WILMINGTON               SHARPSVILLE

13    First downs    14

226    Rushing yards    124

63    Passing yards    132

9-3-0    Att-comp-int    17-9-2

289    Total yards    256

4-3    Fumbles-lost    1-0

3-30    Penalties-yards lost    5-35-

Individual stats

Rushing: WILMINGTON — Patton 13-99, Donati 17-78, Pugh 8-43, Miller 1-7, Sotter 1-2; SHARPSVILLE — Llewellyn 13-68, Odem 5-34, Pagliaroli 7-18, Stafford 8-4.

Passing: WILMINGTON — Gargiulo 2-1-0, 25; Patton 3-1-0, 12; Donati 4-1-0, 26; SHARPSVILLE — Stafford 17-9-2, 132.

Receiving: WILMINGTON — Pugh 1-26, Patton 1-25, Watson 1-12; SHARPSVILLE — Luchey 7-113, Llewellyn 1-13, Pagliaroli 1-6.

———

GREENVILLE    0    0    0    7    7

N’WESTERN    21    14    0    7    42

Scoring plays

NW — Reiser, 26 run (Tewell kick)

NW — Noe, 16 pass from Panko (Tewell kick)

NW — Miczo, 69 run (Tewell kick)

NW — Reiser, 28 run (Tewell kick)

NW — Panko, 20 int. ret. (Tewell kick)

G — Nellis, 77 run (Eells kick)

NW — Noe, 4 run (Tewell kick)

Team stats

GREENVILLE        N’WESTERN

6    First downs    21

155    Rushing yards    461

32    Passing yards    30

11-3-1    Att-comp-int    9-2-1

187    Total yards    491

2-2    Fumbles-lost    2-2

4-50    Penalties-yards lost    8-70

Individual stats

Rushing: GREENVILLE — Nellis 8-96, Houpt 6-21, Sulick 2-15, Black 2-14, Peabody 2-7, VanAken 1-5, Eells 1-2, Riffe 1-(-2), Fattman 5-(-3); NORTHWESTERN — Miczo 16-192, Reiser 19-163, K. Panko 4-73, Noe 6-24, G. Panko 1-6, Bird 2-3.

Passing: GREENVILLE — Riffe 3-9-1-32, Jones 0-2-0-0; NORTHWESTERN — Panko 2-8-1-30, J. Clinger 0-1-0-0.

Receiving: GREENVILLE — Fattman 2-16, Houpt 1-16; NORTHWESTERN — Noe 1-16, Reiser 1-14.

———

LAKEVIEW    8    0    6    8    22

COCHRANTON    8    8    0    0    16   

Scoring plays

L — VanDusen, 27 pass from Bigley (Reddick run)

L — Reddick, 20 run (pass failed)

L — Reddick, 35 run (Reddick run)

No Cochranton scores submitted

Team stats

LAKEVIEW                  COCHRANTON

n/a    First downs    n/a

149    Rushing yards    n/a

116    Passing yards    n/a

17-4-0    Att-comp-int    n/a

265    Total yards    n/a

n/a    Fumbles-lost    n/a

n/a    Penalties-yards lost    n/a

Individual stats

Rushing: LAKEVIEW — Reddick 17-146, Bigley 5-(-1), Kokoski 1-1, VanDusen 1-1; COCHRANTON — n/a.

Passing: LAKEVIEW — Bigley 4-17-0-101, Reddick 0-1-0-0; COCHRANTON — n/a.

Receiving: LAKEVIEW — VanDusen 3-101, Kokoski 1-15; COCHRANTON — n/a.