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(Statistical Information Courtesy of NWPASports.com archives, The Herald and Erie Times-News)

WEEK ELEVEN FOOTBALL PREVIEWS

The District 10 football playoffs begin this weekend as six Mercer County teams will be in action. Overall, nine area squads received invitations to the District 10 playoffs. Wilmington received a bye to the semifinals in the Class 1A tournament. Meanwhile, Hickory advances to the Class 3A semifinals after receiving a forfeit from injury-riddled Slippery Rock.

Four of the five playoff games will be Saturday. That includes the only all-local game still on the docket, the Class 1A quarterfinal between Greenville and Lakeview. Top-seeded Sharon faces No. 8 Conneaut in the 3A quarterfinals Friday night.

FRIDAY NIGHT

CLASS 3A QUARTERFINAL
No. 8 Conneaut vs. No. 1 Sharon, 7:00 p.m., Wilmington High School

Series History: Sharon, 3-0
Last Conneaut Win: None
Last Sharon Win: October 11, 2024 (63-7 at Conneaut)
First Meeting: September 28, 2018 (Sharon won 48-12)
All-Time District 10 Playoff Record: Conneaut 5-7, Sharon 49-18

Region 4 champion Sharon (9-1) faces league foe Conneaut (5-5) in the lone local game on Friday night's schedule. Sharon brings an eight-game winning streak into the playoffs, which marks the Tigers' longest run since winning 10 consecutive games nine years ago.

Sharon nailed down its eighth consecutive victory in last week's regular season finale by blitzing Brooke (W.Va.), 35-3, at Sharon Tiger Stadium. The "Orange Crush" defense allowed only 37 rushing yards, 127 total yards and eight first downs last week. Brooke became the sixth Sharon opponent this year to be held to seven or fewer points.

Sharon leads Mercer County in total defense, allowing 190.2 yards per game. The Tigers also rank second in scoring defense (11.3) and turnover margin (plus-8). Senior defensive end Brodie Miller leads Sharon with 85 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Senior linebacker Bryson Roberson has 80 tackles in the middle of the Tigers' 3-4 alignment.

Sharon's defense has earned plenty of headlines in 2024. But the Tigers' offense is also grabbing a share of the spotlight after rolling up 30 first downs and 457 total yards last week. That marked Sharon's third straight 400-yard outing and the fifth in 10 regular season games.

Senior tailback Ike Friday went over the 1,200-yard mark for the season in last week's win as he charged through the Bruins for 161 yards and four touchdowns. He now has 1,208 rushing yards this season, good for second place in Mercer County. Junior Terrian White added 71 yards against Brooke, giving him 373 yards and five scores this year.

Junior quarterback Ethan Engelmore has also surpassed the 1,200-yard mark as a passer this year, his first year as a starter. He has thrown for 1,274 yards and 13 scores this year while also rushing for seven touchdowns.

Sharon is the only local team to have four men with 10 or more receptions this year. Roberson leads the Tigers with 18 catches for 224 yards and a team-high four touchdowns. Wide receiver Ra'Keem has caught 17 passes, good for a team-best 273 yards. Junior Brock Ondo has a dozen catches while sophomore Cassius Hosey owns 10 catches.

Sharon has seven special teams touchdowns this year, including six on punts that were either returned or blocked.

Conneaut closed the regular season with consecutive wins over Class 3A foes Grove City (40-7) and Girard (35-0). Senior Joseph Furgiuele ran for 404 yards and four touchdowns at Girard. That marked his fifth 200-yard outing of the season. Furgiuele has rushed for 1,882 yards this season, along with 20 touchdowns. He also has 18 catches for 324 yards and five touchdowns. He leads Crawford County in rushing.

Quarterback Ben Easler has thrown for 1,105 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. He shares the Crawford County lead in touchdown passes and ranks second in passing yards.

Furgiuele scored Conneaut's lone touchdown in Sharon's 63-7 win October 11 in Linesville. The Tigers held him to 78 yards on 20 carries.

Engelmore completed 7 of 10 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns at Conneaut. Hughes and Roberson both caught two touchdown passes. Friday did not play due to injury, so White ran for a team-high 73 yards and a touchdown in his stead. Sharon outgained Conneaut, 452-107.

Sharon is 6-4 all-time in playoff games at Wilmington. Sharon is 11-3 in District 10 quarterfinal games. Sharon is 7-5 in the playoffs against teams it previously defeated during the regular season.

Conneaut's lone District 10 title came 10 years ago when the Eagles defeated Erie Cathedral Prep in the Class AAA title game, 14-7. Sharon seeks its first D-10 crown since 2019. Sharon also won district crowns in 1985, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2010, 2017 and 2018.

The winner will play No. 4 Titusville or No. 5 Fairview in next week's semifinals.

SATURDAY

CLASS 1A QUARTERFINALS
No. 5 Eisenhower vs. No. 4 Reynolds, 1:00 p.m., Hickory High School

Series History: Reynolds, 7-3
Last Eisenhower Win: November 4, 2023 (34-8, District 10 Class 1A quarterfinal at Warren)
Last Reynolds Win: August 23, 2024 (15-0, at Eisenhower)
First Meeting: September 1, 2006 (Eisenhower won 12-0)
All-Time District 10 Playoff Record: Eisenhower 12-18, Reynolds 21-9

Death and taxes are considered the only two certainties in life. One could be excused for thinking that Reynolds playing Eisenhower in the District 10 football playoffs has now earned "certainty" status. It's the sixth straight season in which the teams will play in the District 10 playoffs.

Saturday afternoon's game is the first quarterfinal meeting between the teams since 2019. The teams met in the championship round in 2020 and 2022. The 2021 and 2023 games took place in the semifinals.

It is also the ninth meeting between the programs since 2018. The teams met in Week One, with Reynolds securing a 15-0 road win at "The Pasture of Pain." Reynolds forced four turnovers in recording its season-opening shutout in a dozen years.

Junior halfback Gabe Minjarez ran for 109 yards and a touchdown while junior slotback Parker Nay added a win-clinching touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Nay also intercepted a pass, the first of his team-leading six interceptions this season.

Minjarez ran for 161 yards and two touchdowns last Thursday night in a 50-35 home loss to Union/Allegheny-Clarion Valley in the regular season finale. Junior quarterback Xavier Zachrich ran for 194 yards and two scores while also throwing for 117 yards and a touchdown. Nay caught a 71-yard touchdown pass and finished with four receptions.

Minjarez went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season and now has 1,040 rushing yards. Nay leads Reynolds with 28 catches for 401 yards and six touchdowns. He's also rushed for 226 yards. Zachrich has accounted for 619 rushing yards and 556 passing yards this year.

However, a leg injury in the second half last week has sidelined Zachrich for the remainder of the season. Thus, sophomore quarterback Connor Belback will likely make his third start of the season behind center. He has completed 12 of 21 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown out of the bullpen.

Eisenhower returns to Mercer County for the second straight week after falling 27-6 at Greenville in Week 10. Junior running back Logan Penley ran for 78 yards and a touchdown while junior quarterback Caleb Jakubczak added 74 yards rushing. He also threw for 59 yards.

Penley leads Ike with 813 rushing yards. Jakubczak has added 740 rushing yards. He has 603 passing yards and five touchdowns while being intercepted nine times.

Eisenhower opened the season 4-2 but has dropped four straight games. Ike also fell to Seneca (27-14), Franklin (40-34) and Mercyhurst Prep (48-21) over the last month of the season.

Eisenhower scored the final 34 points of the game last year in a 34-8 semifinal win over Reynolds at Warren's historic War Memorial Stadium. Nay's 42-yard touchdown catch gave the Raiders an 8-0 lead. Minjarez led Reynolds with 59 rushing yards. Penley's 15-yard touchdown run in the first quarter opened the Knights' scoring.

Reynolds is 0-1 all-time at Hickory in the District 10 playoffs. The Raiders fell to Farrell, 62-6, in the 2018 Class 1A semifinals at Hickory. All-time, Reynolds is 11-13-1 at Hickory.

Saturday's game is an afternoon kickoff. Interestingly, Reynolds played in the first-ever night game at Hickory, earning a 30-0 win October 24, 1986 win over the Hornets. Reynolds went 6-3 in Saturday afternoon games at Hickory.

Reynolds also competed in another historic game at Hickory 29 years ago. Hickory defeated visiting Reynolds, 24-21, October 13, 1995 in the first-ever regular season overtime game in Mercer County history.

The Eisenhower-Reynolds winner will face top-seeded Wilmington in the District 10 semifinals next week.

No. 7 Lakeview vs. No. 2 Greenville, 7:00 p.m., Hickory High School

Series History: Greenville, 6-0
Last Greenville Win: October 4, 2024 (36-0)
Last Lakeview Win: None
First Meeting: September 23, 2016 (Greenville won 35-6 at Lakeview)
All-Time District 10 Playoff Record: Greenville 23-27, Lakeview 7-10

It's been a quarter century since Greenville captured a District 10 football title. The Trojans are District 10's hottest team as the playoffs begin, however, and the march to a district crown begins Saturday night when Greenville faces Region 2 rival Lakeview in the District 10 Class 1A quarterfinals Friday night in Hermitage.

Greenville has won nine straight games since a 28-7 loss to Wilmington in the season opener. It's the Trojans' longest win streak in 10 years. Greenville closed the regular season with a 27-6 home win last week over Eisenhower in a possible playoff preview. Lakeview, meanwhile, essentially played its way into the playoffs with a 44-12 home win in Week 10 over Class 4A Franklin.

The Greenville-Lakeview game features a classic strength-versus-strength matchup as Greenville's stout pass defense aims to slow down Lakeview's explosive passing attack. Greenville has held opposing quarterbacks to 42.6 percent accuracy this year. The Trojans a county-high 20 interceptions this season, led by Justin Schell's county-best nine picks. Fellow sophomore Cael Thurber has added four interceptions while senior safety Nick Solderich has three thefts.

Three of Greenville's interceptions came October 4 in a 36-0 home win over Lakeview. That night, Greenville held the Sailors to 53 passing yards and 140 total yards of offense.

That night represented a rare off night for Lakeview's passing attack, which has generated a Mercer County-leading 1,522 yards this year. Senior slotback Blake Skiles leads the area with 43 catches for 790 yards. He also leads Lakeview with 560 rushing yards.

Senior running mate Brayden Booher has added 26 catches for 396 yards. He has added 529 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. Senior quarterback Leyton Zacherl has thrown for 1,385 yards and 14 touchdowns while contributing 369 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.

Like Lakeview, Greenville features a diverse offensive attack with a multi-year starter at the quarterback position. Solderich has thrown for 851 yards and 11 touchdowns while also rushing for 788 yards and 11 scores. Schell leads Greenville with 26 catches for 541 yards and 10 touchdowns. His 10 touchdowns leads the area, as does his 20.3 yards-per-catch average.

Junior halfback Rudy Gentile shares the team lead with 11 rushing touchdowns. His 809 rushing yards are sixth on the area leaderboard.

Gentile ran for 83 yards and two touchdowns in the October 4 win over Lakeview. Solderich ran for 127 yards. He completed 5 of 7 passes for 102 yards. Schell and Thurber both caught touchdown passes. Schell also intercepted Zacherl twice. Lakeview's Skiles had four catches for 46 yards.

Greenville is 1-6 all-time at Hickory in the District 10 playoffs. Greenville is 5-6 in the quarterfinal round but has won five straight quarterfinal games.

Lakeview is 3-4 all-time in the quarterfinal round. The Sailors have never played a postseason game at Hickory. Lakeview's lone trip to Hickory came September 29, 2017, when the Sailors dropped a 41-14 decision to Hickory. Lakeview is 3-4 all-time in the City of Hermitage, having split six games at Kennedy Catholic.

Greenville's last District 10 title came in 1999, when the Trojans won the Class AAA crown with a 42-6 win over General McLane. Greenville also won Class AAA district titles in 1993, 1996 and 1997. Lakeview's lone district title came 11 years ago in Class A.

The winner will face No. 3 Cambridge Springs or No. 6 Saegertown in next week's semifinals. Those teams are also in Region 2. A victory gives Greenville its 11th all-time 10-win season.

The game will be broadcast on Sports Radio 96.7.  

CLASS 2A SEMIFINALS

No. 3 Sharpsville vs. No. 2 Mercyhurst Prep, 7:00 p.m., Veterans Stadium, Erie

Series History: Sharpsville, 5-2
Last Mercyhurst Prep Win: November 11, 2023 (49-0, District 10 Class 2A semifinal at Fairview)
Last Sharpsville Win: November 12, 2022 (21-14, District 10 Class 2A semifinal at Farrell)
First Meeting: October 17, 2002 (Sharpsville won 42-14 at Mercyhurst Prep)
All-Time District 10 Playoff Record: Mercyhurst Prep 10-14, Sharpsville 39-16

Sharpsville will face Mercyhurst Prep in the District 10 Class 2A semifinals for the third straight season Saturday night when the perennial District 10 powers meet at Veterans' Stadium. It's the "rubber game" to an extent as Sharpsville eliminated the Lakers two years ago, 21-14, while Mercyhurst rolled to a 49-0 win over Sharpsville in the 2023 semifinals at Fairview.

Saturday's semifinal pits two of District 10's top rushing attacks. No Mercer County team has rushed the ball with more frequency than has Sharpsville as the Blue Devils have executed 355 rushing plays this year. Senior halfback Jaiden White leads the Blue Devils with 1,092 yards and 12 touchdowns while freshman fullback Geno Currie has added 737 yards and 15 scores.

Both men went over the 100-yard mark last Saturday afternoon in Sharpsville's 45-34 home win over Punxsutawney. White ran for 193 yards and two touchdowns while Currie rumbled for 136 yards and two scores. The third ballcarrier in Sharpsville's backfield, 230-pound senior wingback Haidyn McFeaters, ran for a career-high 117 yards and a touchdown as the Blue Devils finished with 458 rushing yards.

McFeaters also caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Aidan Cadman. Cadman has thrown for 812 yards and nine touchdowns while completing a county-high 67.2 percent of his attempts. He also averages a Mercer County-best 12.1 yards per pass attempt.

While Sharpsville's Delaware Wing-T attack features multiple ballcarriers, Mercyhurst Prep will rely heavily upon sophomore speedster Vinnie Feliciano. Feliciano ran for 285 yards in a 48-21 Week Nine win at Eisenhower. That came one week after his 343-yard outing against Iroquois.

Feliciano has rushed for 2,018 yards this season. He is averaging 273 yards per game over the last six weeks of the season. He covered the 100 meters in 11.11 seconds at the 2024 District 10 Class AA Track and Field Championships and also took third in the 200 meters with a time of 22.49 seconds. Head coach Jeff Root noted that Feliciano was timed at 4.49 seconds in the 40-yard dash this past summer at Penn State.

Mercyhurst opened the season with back-to-back losses to Sharon (55-6) and District 10 Class 4A playoff qualifier Oil City (29-13). Since then, the Lakers have won 6 of 7 games. The lone setback came September 27, when Class 3A Corry (8-2) pulled out a 28-21 win over the Lakers.

Mercyhurst Prep won at Northwestern in Week Three, 28-7. Northwestern also uses the Delaware Wing-T as the Wildcats' head coach is former Sharpsville assistant Bill Henwood. Root also has an extensive background with the Wing-T, working under Wing-T gurus Jim Rankin at North Allegheny High School and Maryland Hall of Fame coach Clayton Anders at Boonsboro (Md.) High School.

Mercyhurst ran for 336 yards in last year's playoff win over Sharpsville. Paul Johnson ran for three touchdowns and threw for a touchdown. However, he transferred to Erie after the 2023 season. Sophomore Everett Cotterill has taken over as Mercyhurst quarterback this season.

This is Sharpsville's first trip to Veterans Stadium since September 6, 2014, when the Blue Devils rolled to a 42-6 win over Erie East. It's Sharpsville's first playoff game at "The Vet" since a 39-6 win November 9, 2001 over Iroquois in the District 10 Class A title tilt.

Sharpsville owns an 8-1 record at Veterans Stadium under head coach Paul Piccirilli. The Blue Devils won four games at Veterans Stadium in 1997 on their way to the Class A state title. That year, Sharpsville defeated Cambridge Springs in the District 10 title game, 14-7. Sharpsville also won state playoff games over Clarion (27-6), Bellwood-Antis (17-15) and Riverview (18-0) at Veterans Stadium.

Sharpsville also won D-10 titles in Erie in 1999 and 2000. The Blue Devils dropped the 1998 title game to Kennedy Christian, 6-3, at Veterans Stadium. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, District 10 held all of its title games at Veterans Stadium as it was the only facility with artificial turf at the time.

Mercyhurst seeks its first District 10 title since 2007. The Lakers are 2-3 against Mercer County area teams in playoff games at Veterans Stadium.

The winner will play Farrell or Seneca in the District 10 Class 2A championship game.

The game will be broadcast on News/Talk 790 WPIC. Live Stats available here.

No. 4 Seneca vs. No. 1 Farrell, 7:00 p.m., Wilmington H.S.

Series History: Farrell, 1-0
Last Farrell Win: November 12, 2022 (48-6, District 10 Class 2A semifinal at Wilmington)
Last Seneca Win: None
First Meeting: November 12, 2022 (Farrell won 48-6, District 10 Class 2A semifinal at Wilmington)
All-Time District 10 Playoff Record: Farrell 33-5, Seneca 1-6

Three-time defending District 10 champion Farrell begins its defense of the Class 2A title by facing 8-2 Seneca in the semifinals Saturday night.

Region 1 champion Farrell (5-5) brings one of District 10's most balanced offensive attacks into the postseason. No Mercer County running back has rushed for more yards than has Farrell junior Juelz Johnson while sophomore quarterback Aaron Pegues has completed more passes than any other county quarterback.

Johnson leads the area with 1,226 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. He has also caught 24 passes for 258 yards. Pegues has matched Johnson's rushing total by throwing for 1,226 passing yards. He has completed a county-high 95 passes, completing 61.7 percent of his attempts this year.

Junior Nemo Jones has caught 36 passes in nine games this fall. That ranks second in the area while his 453 yards are fourth in Mercer County.

Johnson ran for 125 yards last week in a 7-0 loss at Cathedral Prep in the regular season finale. Jones caught five passes for 52 yards. Pegues completed 12 of 24 attempts for 102 yards.

Seneca enters the playoffs on a four-game win streak, capped by a 41-22 win last Friday night at Maplewood. Junior wide receiver Dominic Buscemi caught eight passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns while junior quarterback Rylan Harwood ran for two scores and threw for a third touchdown. Defensively, the Bobcats forced four turnovers.

Harwood leads Seneca with 964 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns while freshman Zach Moats has rushed for 795 yards and 11 touchdowns. Seneca averages 235.6 rushing yards per game and 6.3 yards per carry.

Seneca quarterbacks have completed only 47 passes this season, with 29 of those connections going to Buscemi. He has 446 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Buscemi also leads the Seneca defense with 81 tackles and four interceptions.

Sophomore defensive lineman Nick Olson leads Seneca with 6.5 sacks while senior lineman Joe Brennan has six sacks.

Seneca is 0-6 all-time against Mercer County teams in the District 10 playoffs. Seneca is 3-16 against Mercer County teams in the regular season. Seneca has faced Farrell, Greenville, Grove City, Reynolds, Sharpsville and Slippery Rock in the playoffs. The Bobcats' lone playoff win came in 2022, a 46-13 win over Northwestern.

Farrell is the first school to face Seneca multiple times in the postseason. The Steelers defeated Seneca in the 2022 Class 2A semifinals, 48-6, also at Wilmington High School. Current senior Julius Phillips returning the opening kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown in that win.

Farrell is 19-2 in its last 21 District 10 playoff games. Farrell is 7-3 all-time in playoff games at Wilmington.

The winner will play either Mercyhurst Prep or Sharpsville in next week's championship game. The Class 2A title game is one week earlier than Class 1A and Class 3A in District 10 due to the champion entering the state tournament in the first round of the state tournament as opposed to the quarterfinals.