Herald Staff reports
Mercer County’s dominance of District 10 Class A football is guaranteed to continue.
Following Friday night’s semifinals, Farrell and Sharpsville will meet in next weekend’s championship game. The Steelers steamrolled Linesville 39-0, while Sharpsville secured a 10-7 win over Mercer.
Since 1994, county contingents have conquered the district a dozen times — including 10 consecutive conquests from 1997-2006 — om addition to last season’s success by the Steelers.
ä Sharpsville 10, Mercer 7 — At New Wilmington, miscues were the miniscule margin of error — again. In hockey parlance, Sharpsville improved from minus-4 to plus-2; consequently, the Blue Devils earned the privilege to practice on Thanksgiving Day.
“That’s our goal every year, to make Thanksgiving Day. That means you’re in the hunt for a District 10 championship and to go on,” asserted Sharpsville skipper Paul Piccirilli.
Jonathan Wilson’s 25-yard field goal with 79 ticks to play proved decisive for the Blue Devils (10-2), who gained a measure of vindication for a 28-14 midseason loss. Sharpsville was coerced into 4 miscues by Mercer that night at the pines.
Friday night, Sharpsville turned 2 turnovers into one score — Frank Joseph’s 9-yard touchdown toss to Justin Dunlap with 1:55 remaining in the 1st frame — and Matt Totin’s interception of Andrew Erdos’ 3rd-down pass with 25 ticks to play, thwarting any potential Mustangs’ rally.
“That’s the key to the game, that’s high school football,” Mercer mentor Pat McClearn acknowledged. “You take care of the football, usually you can be successful.”
Despite a 60-27 edge in offensive plays, Sharpsville outgained Mercer by only a 224-194 margin. However the Blue Devils dominated the clock during the 2nd half. The Mustangs went 3-and-out on their lone 3rd-quarter possession and ultimately took only 7 snaps during the game’s final 24 minutes.
Nonetheless, Mercer mustered a 7-all tie 2èminutes into the 4th frame when Kyle Mariacher motored 89 yards on a 2nd-and-3 cutback move. That almost equalled the Mustangs’ collective offensive output to that point (100 yards).
But Sharpsville’s ensuing 15-play series on a short field consumed almost 8 full minutes, culminating in Wilson’s winning kick from a slight angle. The execution — from Dylan Hogue’s long-snap to Chad Piccirilli’s placement — was flawless.
The self-described “mellow” Wilson admitted, “It feels great. I’m so excited for everybody. Everyone has worked so hard. I’m so glad I won it.”
“You watch those pro games — they never talk to those kickers. I don’t talk to any kicker, ever,” coach Piccirilli pronounced. “(Wilson) has a job to do ... we hired him to do one job, and he did it (Friday) night.”
Early momentum for Mercer (8-4) included 21- and 31-yard Erdos aerials to Mariacher and Andy Reda. But Mariacher’s 1st-down fumble at Sharpsville’s 12-yard line was recovered by the flu-stricken Joseph, who then directed the Devils 88 yards in 13 plays and 6 minutes and 53 seconds to an early 7-0 edge.
“Right now, we’re very happy just to be in this situation,” Piccirilli said. “At the beginning of the year, our goal was to get to that D-10 championship and see what we can do.”
The Blue Devils’ date next weekend with undefeated defending D-10 titlist Farrell (12-0) — to whom they lost 12-7 earlier this season at the Pines — called to Piccirilli’s mind his 1997 PIAA championship squad.
“When we won our state championship, that team (Riverside) was twice the team we were. But in one game, on one day of one week, anything can happen.”
McClearn was moved by Erdos’ endeavors.
“I can’t say enough about Andrew Erdos ... I told him ... I can never repay him for what he’s given me the last four years. The kid is a true competitor, to the very last second.”
Erdos, Damian Burns, Cody Frey, Rawlins Huntley (whose ankle injury suffered last week prevented him from carrying the ball against Sharpsville), Herbie Hennegan, Eric Staul, Reda (who sustained an ankle injury on his 1st-quarter catch), Mitchell Shealy, Tanner Barkley, Phil Miller and Rich McCullough are Mercer’s seniors.
“My heart goes out to those guys. That’s not how they wanted their senior year to end, but that’s how the game goes sometimes,” McClearn concluded. — By Ed Farrell, Herald assistant sports editor.
ä Farrell 39, Linesville 0 — When you beat a team by 40 points during the regular season, a coach often worries about a letdown during a playoff rematch.
Farrell taskmaster Jarrett Samuels saw his fears disappear quickly after the National Anthem.
The Steelers’ defense forced a turnover and Farrell scored on its 1st offensive play against Linesville Friday night at Edinboro University’s Sox Harrison Stadium and the rout was under way.
“I was extremely worried,” said Samuels right after the victory that lifted his club to 12-0 and into the D-10 finals for a 2nd straight season. “We didn’t have a good practice all week. But the defense came out and set the tone early. When our defense plays like that and we keep our focus, we’re a tough team to beat.”
“Tough” might even be selling this team short!
Farrell got on the board early, shortly after the Steelers’ defense forced a fumble and Ramon West recovered. On the next play, quarterback Dan Odem hit Jamar Whitman with a pass in the flat and Whitman broke 3 tackles on a 10-run to paydirt. Whitman booted the PAT and Farrell was up 7-0 only 67 seconds into the game.
From there on, it was never in doubt.
Later in the opening period, Ron Jackson cut loose on a 50-yard run around right end to score and West made it 14-0 with the PAT kick. Farrell made it 21-0 only 14 seconds before intermission. Odem carried on a 1-yard keeper and West’s kick was good.
During the first half the Steelers racked up 198 totals yards, while the “Steel Curtain” defense held the Region 1-A foe to only 73.
Farrell opened the 2nd half by driving 65 yards in 8 plays, with Malcolm Hailsock finishing with an 11-yard burst off tackle, and later in the period Dion Eilam went 40 yards on a reverse. Then after recovering the ensuing kickoff at the 39, Eilam passed to Preston Jefferson for a 39-yard score and with 3:05 left in the frame, the mercy rule was in effect with Farrell on top 39-0.
“We made some mistakes, but when our playmakers make plays we can roll,” said Samuels. “Jamar Whitman got banged up early (deep thigh bruise) and Malcolm Hailstock stepped in and did the job. We called on him and he stepped up.
“We like playing Linesville because their style of play fits into our’s. And our will was stronger,” Samuels said, adding, “But I told the team, the rest of the way out our will has to be stronger than the other teams’. We’re going back to the District 10 Championship.”
And Samuels knows that the will of his club be tested next week against Sharpsville, which Farrell squeaked by midway through the season.
“We played one of our worst games of the season against Sharpsville,” said Samuels. “I took it as a loss. Now we have a chance to show that we’re better than we played that game. Sharpsville believes they can beat us, so now it’s time for us to get tougher.”
Jackson led the undefeated (12-0) Steelers with 102 yards on 10 carries, while Hailstock toted 9 times for 91. The defense was smothering and came up with interceptions by Eilam, Jefferson, Odem and Deshawn Scott. — By Herald Sports Editor Lynn Saternow.
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D-10 CLASS A SEMIFINALS
SHARPSVILLE 7 0 0 3 10
MERCER 0 0 0 7 7
Scoring plays
S — Dunlap, 9 pass from Joseph (Wilson kick)
M — Mariacher, 89 run (Juegerns kick)
S — Wilson, 25 field goal
Team stats
SHARP MERCER
16 First downs 5
169 Rushing yards 142
53 Passing yards 52
8-5-0 Att-comp-int 6-2-1
224 Total yards 194
4-0 Fumbles-lost 2-1
7-58 Penalties-yards lost 4-28
Individual stats
Rushing: SHARPSVILLE — Llewellyn 22-93, Joseph 17-42, Christopher 2-14, Totin 1-13, Titus 10-7; MERCER — Mariacher 8-99, Erdos 12-42, Hennegan 1-1.
Passing: SHARPSVILLE — Joseph 4-2-0, 53; MERCER — Erdos 5-2-1, 52; Huntley 1-0-0.
Receiving: SHARPSVILLE — Llewellyn 2-19, Dunlap 2-18, Totin 1-16; MERCER — Reda 1-31, Mariacher 1-21.
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LINESVILLE 0 0 0 0 0
FARRELL 14 7 18 0 39
Scoring plays
F — Whitman, 10 pass from Odem (Whitman kick)
F — Jackson, 50 run (West kick)
F — Odem, 1 run (West kick)
F — Hailstock, 11 run (kick failed)
F — Eilam, 40 run (run failed)
F — Jefferson, 39 pass from Eilam (kick failed)
Team stats
LINESVILLE FARRELL
8 First downs 16
91 Rushing yards 325
36 Passing yards 79
13-4-4 Att-comp-int 9-5-1
127 Total yards 404
2-1 Fumbles-lost 2-0
5-21 Penalties-yards lost 8-70
Individual stats
Rushing: LINESVILLE — Sindlinger 4-35, Kearns 7-33, Litwiler 13-23; FARRELL — Jackson 10-102, Hailstock 9-91, Eilam 3-54, Odem 7-36, Whitman 3-28, Scott 1-6, Pinkins 5-8, J. Goudy 4-0.
Passing: LINESVILLE — Litwiler 11-3-3-32, Sindlinger 2-2-2-4; FARRELL — Odem 7-4-1-40, Eilam 2-1-0-39.
Receiving: LINESVILLE — Thompson 2-24, Litwin 1-8, Litwiler 1-4; FARRELL — Jefferson 1-39, Eilam 2-24, Whitman 2-16.
