Herald Staff reports
The Hickory Hornets were able to maintain the momentum they built last week with the win over the then-No. 1 state-ranked Wilmington Greyhounds by holding off a determined Grove City squad, 14-3, Friday at Hornets Stadium.
Farrell remained unbeaten with a 40-6 victory over West Middlesex, but Mercer kept alive its Class A playoff hopes with a 28-14 triumph over previously undefeated Sharpsville. Farrell and Sharpsville meet this coming Friday.
In other games involving locals it was: Lakeview routed Cochranton, 41-6; Greenville bowing to Oil City, 33-27; Reynolds fell to Maplewood, 12-7; and Brookfield lost to Girard, 41-0.
ä Hickory 14, Grove City 3 — At Hermitage, the Hornets didn’t let down after one of the biggest wins in school history last week over Wilmington. Instead, Hickory battled Grove City for its fourth victory of the season, capitalizing on every Eagles’ mistake in the 2nd-half to make a comeback.
“Every game’s going to be a war from here on in,” Hickory head coach Frank Antuono said. “Our defense played unbelievable and I’m so proud of them. The thing I love about this team is we play like a TEAM. They stepped it up and played a great half in the 3rd and 4th quarters.”
Coach Jeff Bell’s Eagles (3-3) led Hickory 3-0 after the opening half thanks to a 5-yard field goal by Jeff Hershberger. The Eagles picked up 153 yards rushing in the half and it looked like Grove City would spoil Hickory’s homecoming, especially after allowing the Hornets to have the ball for only about 2 minutes in the 2nd quarter.
Antuono’s Hornets (4-1) had other ideas, though. On Hickory’s 3rd offensive play from scrimmage in the 3rd quarter, running back Ryan Hayes found a hole in the Grove City defense, sprinting into the end zone for a 42-yard TD.
The Eagles put together another long drive when Bell’s team got the ball back, taking it 75 yards. A 30-yard run by quarterback Tyler Dagres and a 27-yard pass from Dagres to Chauncey Miller helped sustain the drive.
The Eagles couldn’t find the end zone, though, as Dagres couldn’t punch it in on 4th down from the 1-yard line.
In the 4th quarter, after Hayes picked up a Hickory 1st down on a 13-yard run, quarterback Tyler Gargano pushed his way through the Grove City defense, finding the end zone from 47 yards out. Sean Zippie booted the extra point through the uprights to give Hickory a 14-3 lead.
With the ball on their own 47-yard line with 6:28 left to play, runs by Jamarr Patterson and Harold Price weren’t enough for a Grove City 1st down and an incomplete pass from Dagres on 3rd down forced the Eagles to punt.
The Hornets put together an 8-play drive to run out the remaining clock and secure the inter-region win.
“When you don’t take advantage of the opportunities you have, you’re going to lose the game,” Bell said, pointing out Grove City’s inability to score from the 1-yard line and a fake field goal earlier in the game where a pass from Hershberger slipped through a wide open Miller’s hands. “A great effort was wasted tonight because we couldn’t make a few plays.”
The Hornets put together an 8-play drive to run out the remaining clock and secure the inter-region win.
“When you don’t take advantage of the opportunities you have, you’re going to lose the game,” Bell said, pointing out Grove City’s inability to score from the 1-yard line and a fake field goal earlier in the game where a pass from Hershberger slipped through a wide open Miller’s hands.
“A great effort was wasted tonight because we couldn’t make a few plays,” Bell lamented. — By Patrick Connelly, Allied News sports editor.
ä Farrell 40, West Middlesex 6 – It was a happy homecoming night for Farrell as the Steelers of coach Jarrett Samuels rocked rival West Middlesex to move to 6-0 on the year and 4-0 in Region 1-A.
It was another dominating performance on both sides of the ball for the Steelers. Jamar Whitman scored a pair of touchdowns on runs of 33 and 14 yards; Malcolm Hailstock also notched 2 TDs on runs of 28 and 1 yards; Danny Odem scored on a 6-yard run, while Donte Pegues tallied a 1-yard score.
The Big Reds’ only score came late in the game on a 16-yard pass from Jeremy Jancso to Austin Mirizio.
The Steelers amassed 294 yards on the ground with a well-balanced attack. Odem was outstanding once again through the air, hitting 7 of 9 passes for 100 yards. Defensively, Whitman and Deshawn Scott recovered fumbles for the Steelers and Devonte Goudy had a sack.
West Middlesex fell to 1-3 in Region 1-A, while dropping to 2-4 overall.
ä Mercer 28, Sharpsville 14 — At Mercer, the Mustangs stunned the visitors on homecoming as Kyle Mariacher rushed for 2 touchdowns and the Region 1-A win.
“The kids played well,” Mercer head coach Pat McClearn said, noting the Mustangs spent the week in practice finding ways to avoid making potential costly mistakes. “We tried getting after them about finishing out a game,” McClearn said.
The new mentality worked mightily for Mercer as the Mustangs led undefeated Sharpsville 21-6 at halftime after the 2 Mariacher TDs and another on a 5-yard run by Rawlins Huntley just before the break.
Sharpsville added a second TD in the 3rd quarter and a 2-point conversion before senior quarterback Andrew Erdos put the Mustangs up 2 scores on 3-yard TD to seal the upset.
ä Oil City 33, Greenville 27 — At Oil City, the Oilers stunned the Trojans with the last-second Region 3-AA win.
With the score knotted at 27, Greenville’s Dylan Zuschlag fumbled at near Oilers’ goal line and Oil City’s Dallas Williams returned the miscue 94 yards for the game-winning score.
The Trojans’ turnover was the game’s lone miscue.
Zuschlag had logged a 22-carry, 131-yard, 2-TD outing to lead Greenville’s 206-yard ground game, while R.J. Malson mustered a pair of TDs (22, 4 yards) for the Trojans (1-2, 4-2), also. Zuschlag’s 11-yard run and the last of Mike Simons’ trio of PAT kicks had squared the slate at 27 with 5:34 remaining in regulation.
But the Oilers’ offense accumulated a 362-313 edge in yardage as Mark Kulinski connected on 18 of 46 passes for 252 yards and TD tosses of 14 and 8 yards to Cody Johnson and Williams, respectively.
David Holiga split a half-dozen passes between Zuschlag and Nate Houpt for 107 yards, but Kulinski connected with a half-dozen targets, led by Williams (6-71) and tight end Ben Koyack (4-71) for the Oilers (3-2, 4-2).
ä Lakeview 41, Cochranton 6 — At Cochranton, the visiting Sailors rolled in the inter-region clash. Lakeview (4-2) was paced by Mercer County’s leading rusher, Kyle Scott, who ran for 164 yards on 15 carries and tallied a pair of TDs on runs of 15 and 10 yards.
Jake Novak also scored on a pair of 1-yard runs, while Lucas Reddick snared an 8-yard scoring pass from Jeremy Westlake and Chad Blair scored on an 89-yard kickoff return.
Cochranton’s only score came on a kickoff return, as well, with Jeff Hawley going 75 yards.
ä Maplewood 12, Reynolds 7 — At Transfer, the Raiders of coach Jerry Pacifico won the battle of statitics, but fell short on the scoreboard as the visiting Tigers rallied in the inter-region clash.
The Raiders (1-5) jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when Greg Baptiste sprinted 14 yards for a TD and Blake Heim converted the PAT kick.
The Tigers (2-4), however, scored a pair of touchdowns in the 3rd period to pull out the game. The scores came on passes from Broc Baker to Marshall Parker of 10 yards and Daishawn Mewborn for 27 yards.
Reynolds rushed for 157 yards, led by Baptiste who picked up 98 yards on 21 totes.
ä Girard 41, Brookfield 0 — At Addison Field, Adam Charles was 11-of-19 for 204 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Indians (7-0) rolled past the Warriors (0-7) in an All-American Conference Blue Tier Division clash.
Charles fired a 6-yard TD pass to Michale Floravit, a 10-yarder to Dominic Morgan and a 5-yard scoring strike to Landon Smith. Smith also returned an interception 40 yards for a score and Ahmad Eggleston reached the end zone on runs of 4 and 75 yards.
Eggleston led all rushers with 89 yards on 9 carries. Joe Kirila paced Brookfield with 87 yards on 19 totes.
Smith hauled in 4 passes for 86 yards to lead all receivers.
———
GROVE CITY 3 0 0 0 3
HICKORY 0 0 7 7 14
Scoring plays
G — Hershberger, 13 field goal
H — Hayes, 42 run (Zippie kick)
H — Gargano, 47 run (Zippie kick)
Team stats
GROVE CITY HICKORY
13 First downs 7
219 Rushing yards 218
47 Passing yards 9
6-3-0 Att-comp-int 2-2-0
266 Total yards 227
1-1 Fumbles-lost 1-0
6-36 Penalties-yards lost 3-21
Individual stats
Rushing: GROVE CITY — Patterson 17-99, Dagres 12-76, Reddick 4-13, Price 2-4, Phipps 4-27; HICKORY — Gargano 5-30, Hayes, 13-103, A. Smith 6-16, Pegues 8-56, Jones 1-4, Myers 2-9.
Passing: GROVE CITY — Dagres 5-3-0-47, Hershberger 1-0-0-0; HICKORY — Gargano 2-2-0-9.
Receiving: GROVE CITY — Reddick 2-20, Miller 1-27; HICKORY — J. Smith 2-9.
———
W.MIDDLESEX 0 0 0 6 6
FARRELL 14 7 13 6 40
Scoring plays
F — Hailstock, 28 run (kick fail)
F — Whitman, 33 run (pass Jefferson from Whitman)
F — Whitman, 14 run (Whitman kick)
F — Odem, 6 run (kick fail)
F — Hailstock, 1 run (Whitman kick)
F — Pegues, 1 run (kick fail)
WM — Mirizio, 16 pass from Jer. Jancso (kick fail)
Team stats
WEST MIDDLESEX FARRELL
5 First downs 14
68 Rushing yards 294
9 Passing yards 100
6-2-0 Att-comp-int 9-7-0
77 Total yards 394
4-2 Fumbles-lost 2-0
2-25 Penalties-yards lost 8=59
Individual stats
Rushing: WEST MIDDLESEX — Ash 10-27, Willis 2-2, Patten 5-20, Wimer 3-(-11), Jon Jancso 2-1, Mikulin 1-3, Jeremy Jancso 2-2, Allen 2-10, Mirizio 3-10; FARRELL — Odem 4-44, Jackson 2-(-1), Hailstock 7-60, Whitman 8-56, Elam 1-4, Brodie 4-60, Pinkins 3-57, Pegues 1-1, Goudy 3-(-3), Gibson 1-17.
Passing: WEST MIDDLESEX — Wimer 4-0-0, Chupak 1-1-0-(-7), Jer. Jancso 1-1-0-16; FARRELL — Odem 9-7-0-100.
Receiving: WEST MIDDLESEX — Patten 1-(-7), Mirizio 1-16; FARRELL — Elam 3-34, Jackson 2-28, Whitman 1-19, Brodie 1-18.
———
SHARPSVILLE 6 0 8 0 14
MERCER 7 14 7 0 28
Scoring plays
M — Mariacher, 6 run (Juergens kick)
M — Hunley, 5 run (Juergens kick)
M — Mariacher, 1 run (Juergens kick)
M — Erdos, 3 run (Juergens kick)
Team stats
SHARPSVILLE MERCER
N/A First downs 12
N/A Rushing yards 281
N/A Passing yards 12
N/A Att-comp-int 3-1-1
N/A Total yards 293
N/A Fumbles-lost N/A
N/A Penalties-yards lost 6-35
Individual stats
Rushing: SHARPSVILLE — N/A; MERCER — Erdos 18-92, Huntley 13-86, Hennegan 3-12, Mariacher 18-85, Reda 1-6.
Passing: SHARPSVILLE — N/A; MERCER — Erdos 3-1-1-12.
Receiving: SHARPSVILLE — N/A; MERCER — Huntley 1-12.
*Sharpsville stats not submitted*
———
GREENVILLE 7 7 6 7 27
OIL CITY 7 13 7 6 33
Scoring plays
G — Zuschlag, 1 run (Simons (kick).
OC — Johnson, 14 pass from Kulinski (Klena kick).
OC — Heasley, 3 run (Klena kick).
G — Malson, 22 run (Simons kick).
OC — Williams, 8 pass from Kulinski (kick blocked).
G — Malson, 4 run (pass failed).
OC — Heasley, 11 run (Klena kick).
G — Zuschlag, 11 run (Simons kick).
OC — Williams, 94 fumble return.
Team stats
GREENVILLE OIL CITY
14 First downs 18
206 Rushing yards 110
107 Passing yards 252
12-6-0 Att-comp-int 47-18-0
313 Total yards 362
1-1 Fumbles-lost 1-0
5-55 Penalties-yards lost 5-25
Individual stats
Rushing: GREENVILLE — Zuschlag 22-131, Malson 21-77, Josh Riffe 2-8, Nick Weaver 2-4, David Holiga 2--(-14). OIL CITY — Heasley 11-54, Logan Carson 11-53, Johnson 6-6, Kulinski 5-(-3). Totals 31-110.
Passing: GREENVILLE — Holiga 6-12-0, 107; OIL CITY — Kulinski 18-46-0, 252; Johnson 0-1-0.
Receiving: GREENVILLE — Zuschlag 3-71, Nate Houpt 3-36; OIL CITY — Williams 6-75, Ben Koyack 4-71, Logan Lantz 3-63, Conor Taylor 2-24, Johnson 2-18, Carson 1-1.
———
LAKEVIEW 15 13 13 0 41
COCHRANTON 0 0 6 0 6
Scoring plays
L — Scott, 15 run (Zappia run)
L — Scott, 10 run (Novak kick)
L — Novak, 1 run (Novak kick)
L — Reddick, 8 pass from Westlake (kick fail)
L — Novack, 1 run (kick fail)
C — Hawley, 75 kickoff return (run fail)
L — Blair, 89 kickoff return (Novak kick)
Team stats
LAKEVIEW COCHRANTON
13 First downs n/a
313 Rushing yards n/a
8 Passing yards n/a
4-1-0 Att-comp-int n/a
321 Total yards n/a
3-1 Fumbles-lost n/a
5-30 Penalties-yards lost n/a
Individual stats
Rushing: LAKEVIEW — Scott 15-164, Westlake 5-72, Novak 10-30, Blair 7-40, Brown 1-2, Lewis 1-5; COCHRANTON — Haawley 10-23, Keller 4-24, Schultz 5-2. Passing: LAKEVIEW — Westlake 4-1-0-8; COCHRANTON — Schultz 10-3-1-32.
Receiving: LAKEVIEW — Reddick 1-8; COCHRANTON — Harvey 1-8, Hawley 2-24.
———
MAPLEWOOD 0 0 12 0 12
REYNOLDS 7 0 0 0 7
Scoring plays
R — Baptiste, 14 run (Heim kick)
M — Parker, 10 pass from Baker (kick fail)
M — Mewborn, 27 pass from Baker (2-pt. try fail)
Team stats
MAPLEWOOD REYNOLDS
6 First downs 12
101 Rushing yards 157
38 Passing yards 45
12-4-0 Att-comp-int 13-4-1
139 Total yards 202
1-0 Fumbles-lost 1-1
2-20 Penalties-yards lost 8-40
Individual stats
Rushing: MAPLEWOOD — Granger 8-42, Covine 4-13, Graff 6-22, Parker 4-28, Baker 2-(-4); REYNOLDS — Baptiste 21-98, Rhodes 20-40, Weaver 1-10, Fowler 1-5, Besic 1-3, Wolfe 4-1.
Passing: MAPLEWOOD — Baker 12-4-0-38; REYNOLDS — Wolfe 13-4-1-45.
Receiving: MAPLEWOOD — Mewborn 2-33, Parker 1-10, Granger 1-(-5); REYNOLDS — Weaver 2-9, Fowler 1-32, Baptiste 1-4.
———
GIRARD 14 14 0 13 41
BROOKFIELD 0 0 0 0 0
Scoring plays
G — Floravit, 6 pass from Charles (Daugherty kick)
G — Morgan, 10 pass from Charles (Daugherty kick)
G — Smith, 5 pass from Charles (Daugherty kick)
G — Smith, 40 interception return (Daugherty kick)
G — Eggleston, 4 run (kick failed)
G — Eggleston, 75 run (Daugherty kick)
Team stats
GIRARD BROOKFIELD
14 First downs 5
191 Rushing yards 116
204 Passing yards -3
19-11-0 Att-comp-int 3-1-1
395 Total yards 113
3-3 Fumbles-lost 2-2
4-25 Penalties-yards lost 6-68
Individual stats
Rushing: GIRARD — Eggleston 9-89, Birmingham 16-68, Charles 5-31, Byrd 1-3; BROOKFIELD — Kirila 19-87, Sydlowski 4-17, Je. Quinlan 17-8, Den. Sulick 3-6, B. Mosora 1-1, Martin 2-(-1), Venzeio 1-(-2).
Passing: GIRARD — Charles 19-11-0-204; BROOKFIELD — Je. Quinlan 3-1-1-(-3).
Receiving: GIRARD — Smith 4-86, Morgan 2-53, Floravit 2-22, Zareva 1-22, M. Floravit 1-15, Alexander 1-6; BROOKFIELD — Venzeio 1-(-3).
