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GROVE CITY — The Wilmington Greyhounds have prided themselves on their defensive play over the years, but Friday ‘The Hounds Hammer’ couldn’t get off the field.
The Grove City offense neutralized the Hammer by converting 3-of-4 first half fourth down conversions and held the ball for nearly three times as long (17:36 to 6:24) en route to a 19-7 victory in Region 3-AA play at Forker Field.
“The big thing is they have a good running attack,” said Wilmington coach Terry Verrelli, whose Greyhounds fell to 0-1 in Region 3 and 1-1 overall. “They have some good athletes there. They kind of wore us down. We didn’t stop them like we needed to to get the ball back. We’ll go back and work on it.”
Grove City actually used long kickoff and punt returns from Kyle Trinch and Foster Reznor, respectively, to set up their first two scores.
After Trinch returned the opening kickoff to the GC 47, the Eagles marched 53-yards in 8 plays to take a 7-0 lead on Harold Price’s 2-yard score nearly 5 minutes into the game.
Then after a Wilmington punt, Reznor returned the ball all the way to the Greyhound 12 before scoring 2 plays later on a 3-yard run.
“We moved the ball all night,” Grove City coach Jeff Bell said. “We had a nice kickoff return and we had a nice punt return. I liked our toughness and how we played physical. I liked how our kids hung in there. We had some kids step up and show me something. Offensively, we did a great job except putting it in the endzone, because we had some chances in the redzone.”
The hot start was the second straight for the Eagles — who scored 21 points in the first 4 minutes of their 40-0 win over Carrick in Week 1.
“With the delay, our kids were ready to break the door down (to get out on the field to play),” Bell said. “I couldn’t keep them in the lockerroom. You like to see that, but I was concerned that maybe we’d come out too hot.”
Tyler Donati, who finished with a game-high 111 yards rushing, pulled the Hounds to within 13-7 by running through and then past the GC defense for a 41-yard score with 2:39 left in the first quarter.
“(Grove City) is a good football team and we made some mistakes,” Verrelli said. “That’s going to happen. We have new faces and they’re going to make mistakes until they get some experience. We played hard.”
Reznor handed Grove City a 19-7 lead 2:22 before halftime by taking a Jared Graham 6-yard aerial into the endzone.
On the night, GC had 4 players with between 11 and 13 rushes and 3 between 59 yards and 67 yards rushing. Graham led the way in his second varsity start with 12 totes for 67 yards — most coming in the second half — while Chad Williams (12 carries for 66 yards), Price (11 carries for 59 yards) and Reznor (13 carries for 28 yards) added solid contributions.
“They were tough yards,” Bell said. “There weren’t a lot of 20-yard runs or even 10-yard runs. They were tough yards every carry. They did a heck of a job. The offensive line did a great job. (Wilmington) has a big front line and they’re tough to move the ball against. I thought we did a really good job.”
The game was delayed by 88 minutes due to thunderstorms that rolled through the county.
“I’m uptight,” Verrelli said. “It got me more than it got them. They would’ve still played at midnight. They wanted to play. I don’t think the delay had anything to do with it.”
Notes: Wilmington halfbacks Josiah Bloise and Nic Pugh left the game before halftime with unspecified injuries and didn’t return. ... Williams had two receptions for 40 yards for Grove City. ... Mackenzie Patterson recovered a fumble for Grove City, while Reznor had an interception.
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WILMINGTON 7 0 0 0 7
GROVE CITY 13 6 0 0 19
Scoring plays
GC — Price, 2 run (Fulkerson kick)
GC — Reznor, 3 run (kick failed)
W — Donati, 41 run (Pontius kick)
GC — Reznor, 6 pass from Graham (run failed)
Team stats
WILMINGTON GROVE CITY
8 First downs 14
165 Rushing yards 235
23 Passing yards 56
11-2-1 Att-comp-int 7-4-0
188 Total yards 291
2-1 Fumbles-lost 2-0
4-40 Penalties-yards lost 4-40
Individual stats
Rushing: WILMINGTON — Donati 13-111, Bloise 4-17, Llewellyn 4-10, Patton 2-11, Pugh 1-10, Sotter 1-6; GROVE CITY — Graham 12-67, Williams 12-66, Price 11-59, Reznor 13-28, Lucido 2-13, Fulkerson 1-2.
Passing: WILMINGTON — Llewellyn 11-2-1 23; GROVE CITY — Graham 7-4-0 56.
Receiving: WILMINGTON — Bloise 1-13, Patton 1-10; GROVE CITY — Williams 2-40, Trinch 1-10, Reznor 1-6.
Sports
Grove City tops Hounds, 19-7
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Herald-Tamie junior tourney set Thursday-Friday
THEY SAY THAT “The best things in life are free.” Well, one of those “best things” is the annual Herald-Tam O’Shanter Junior Golf Championships every summer.
The event, which has been free to boys and girls in the Shenango Valley since it’s inception in 1949, will be held Thursday and Friday at Tam O’Shanter Golf Course in Hermitage.
It has been the premier youth tournament for decades and some of the top players ever to come out of this area have participated. But you don’t have to be a great young golfer to take part. It’s a wonderful opportunity for every youngster to get a free round of golf on a great course, which is in immaculate shape this season. -
Hickory lists 2013 scholar-athlete award winners
Hickory High Athletic Director Barb Dzuricsko recently announced that a total of 213 students (grades 9-12) earned Don McKay Scholar-Athlete awards.
To be eligible, students must maintain an A (93 percent or higher) grade-point-average through the academic year’s third 9-week grading period and compete in a PIAA-sponsored sport.
A total of 375 students competed in athletics this past year, Dzuricsko noted, meaning almost 57 percent qualified for the McKay Scholar-Athlete Award. Since the award’s inception, this is the highest total number of students to earn the honors, she reported. -
SCHOLASTIC NOTEBOOK: Hearns to continue golf career in college; Petty to be honored
RECENT HICKORY High alumna Rosy Hearns will continue her education and golf careers at the State University of New York-Albany. Hickory links coach Craig Antush said Hearns recently signed a letter-of-intent.
Hearns’ Hickory career concluded as one of the finest on the links — male or female — in Mercer County annals. -
Bowlers compete in Senior Games
The bowling portion of the annual Mercer County Senior Games was held Wednesday at Grove City Bowlodrome. That followed horseshoes and shuffleboard competitions earlier in the week.
Following is the rest of the schedule: -
COLLEGIATE NOTEBOOK: Ex-Hickory great Richards has great spring track season
FORMER HICKORY HIGH standout Morgan Richards enjoyed a successful spring season for the University of North Carolina-Charlotte track & field team. The female 49ters won the Atlantic 10 Conference outdoor track & field team title.
“Morgan kept her stride as she transitioned into the outdoor season, running top times in several events among (Atlantic 10) freshmen and on Charlotte’s all-time top 10 lists,” assistant coch Edwin T. Schlichter wrote in a recent e-mail to The Herald. “Morgan finished just one spot (9th) out of scoring at the 2013 A-10 Championships in the 3000-meter steeplechase, despite this being her first year ever attempting the event, and running 11:02.22 which was 2nd among all freshmen in the A-10 and 5th all-time for UNC-Charlotte.” -
SPORTVIEW: Hickory tri-athletes deserve special recognition
EVERY YEAR we receive a photo from the Hermitage School District of a group of student-athletes that I am thrilled to receive and run in the paper.
The photo is of Hickory High School “tri-athletes,” boys and girls who participate in sports during each of the fall, winter and spring seasons. But there is more to it than that. Each of these athletes also must maintain an 85 percent B average during the first three 9-week grading periods of the year. -
TIDBITS: Scurpas make college choices; Matthews, Norris, Bonner part of great Clarion recruiting class; Lewis earns national medal
SHARPSVILLE HIGH volleyball standouts Kristen and Paige Scurpa, who are cousins, will continue their education and athletic careers at California University of Pa. and Penn State-Behrend, respectively.
The duo, both of whom were named to the All-State team in Class A by the Pa. Volleyball Coaches Association, led the Blue Darlings to the District 10 title game in November. Sharpsville, Region 1 champs the past 4 years, suffered a 3-1 loss to Cochranton in that match and finished the season 16-4. -
Sharpsville falls in D-10 title game
SLIPPERY ROCK — Monday was a pretty good day for Saegertown High School.
Just mere hours after the Lady Panthers won the District 10 Class A softball championship, the Saegertown baseball team (19-2) captured its third straight D-10 Class AA title with a convincing 10-3 victory over Sharpsville (15-6) at Slippery Rock University’s Jack Critchfield Park.
“We knew going into the game that Saegertown’s a pretty good team and they’ve been a pretty good team for the past few years,” Blue Devils coach Mike Sikorski said. “I think they’ve been in the District 10 Championship the past four years. They’re a solid team, a very good team. They’re very patient at the plate and when they get their pitches, they hit them.” -
STATE TRACK NOTEBOOK: WM seniors leave legacy of greatness
WEST MIDDLESEX High always has had a proud athletic heritage, and this past weekend’s PIAA Class AA Track & Field championship will only add lustre to that legacy.
According to available archives at The Herald, only the 1954 boys’ basketball team and Coach Bob Morris’ boys’ cross country team from earlier this decade previously had won commonwealth crowns. -
Allen wins 4 gold medals to lead WM to PIAA team title
SHIPPENSBURG — Clay Allen said he had to explode out of the starting blocks for his 100-meter dash showdown with Hickory’s DeShawn Coleman. But Allen — all afternoon — was getting the jump on his competitors during the annual PIAA Track & Field Championships.
By approximately 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Shippensburg University, Allen annexed 4 gold medals — 100- and 200-meter dashes, long jump, and as part of the sprint-relay. The workload West Middlesex High’s senior exhibited enabled the Big Reds to record the Class AA commonwealth crown. - More Sports Headlines
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Herald-Tamie junior tourney set Thursday-Friday
