NWPASports.com

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

WEEK TWELVE FOOTBALL PREVIEWS

One Mercer County team will play for the District 10 Class 2A title this weekend while five others will vie for championship game berths in either Class 1A or 3A as the District 10 postseason enters its second week.

Friday night, Hickory and Sharon face Erie County opponents in the Class 3A semifinals. Saturday, Farrell meets Mercyhurst Prep for the Class 2A championship.

Defending District 10 Class 1A champion Wilmington begins its postseason march while on the other side of the Class 1A draw, the dormant Greenville-Reynolds rivalry will be renewed.

FRIDAY NIGHT
CLASS 3A SEMIFINALS

No. 4 Fort LeBoeuf vs. No. 1 Hickory, Slippery Rock University, Mihalik-Thompson Stadium, 7:00 p.m.

Series History: Hickory, 4-3
Last Fort LeBoeuf Win: October 26, 2007 (21-6 at Hickory)
Last Hickory Win: November 9, 2013 (56-7, District 10 Class AA quarterfinal at Slippery Rock University)
First Meeting: November 10, 1989 (Hickory won 13-12, District 10 Class AA semifinal at McDowell)
District 10 Playoff Record: Fort LeBoeuf 4-22, Hickory 39-9

Two-time defending District 10 Class 3A champion Hickory seeks its eighth straight district playoff victory Friday night when the Hornets face Region 6 champion Fort LeBoeuf (8-3) at Slippery Rock University.

Hickory opened the postseason last week with a 60-0 quarterfinal win over Girard at Wilmington High School. That marked Hickory's first postseason shutout since a 51-0 win October 31, 2020 over Slippery Rock in the Class 3A semifinals. Hickory forced four turnovers and held Girard to 139 yards of offense.

Hickory amassed 398 rushing yards, which included a 248-yard outing from junior running back Kelvin Morrison. Morrison scored on a pair of 40-yard runs in the first quarter as the Hornets led 27-0 after 12 minutes. Morrison has rushed for 499 yards over the last two games and now has 1,424 yards in only eight games.

Sophomore quarterback Christian Dungee added 124 rushing yards and two scores. He also threw for 118 yards and three touchdowns against Girard. Hickory finished with 562 total yards, the highest total by a Mercer County team this season. That also represents Hickory's highest single-game yardage total since November 2, 2019, when the Hornets had 619 yards in a 56-0 playoff win over North East.

Unlike Hickory, Fort LeBoeuf faced an early deficit in last week's 29-12 quarterfinal win over conference rival Corry. The Bison trailed 6-0 in the second quarter but tied the game on Aiden Struchen's three-yard run. Skylar Sadowski later added a two rushing touchdowns and a punt return score as the Bison outscored Corry in the second half, 17-0.

Sadowski ran for 77 yards on 15 carries. Junior quarterback Dominic Walters led Fort LeBoeuf with 127 rushing yards. Walters has accounted for 1,743 yards of total offense this year. He has thrown for 937 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for 806 yards and seven scores.

Sadowski leads Fort LeBoeuf with 1,422 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. Struchen leads the defense with 81 tackles. Sadowski has six sacks while Walters has five interceptions.

Hickory and Fort LeBoeuf have three common opponents, Farrell, Girard and Grove City. Hickory clipped Farrell in the season opener, 13-12. The Hornets defeated Girard in last week's quarterfinals and during the regular season, outlasted Grove City, 21-14. LeBoeuf fell to Farrell in Week Two, 45-3. The Bison downed Girard in Region 5 action, 42-15, and fell at home to Grove City in the season's third week, 14-7.

This is the third District 10 semifinal meeting between the teams. In 1989, Hickory edged Fort LeBoeuf, 13-12, at McDowell High School. That game featured two future National Football League players, Hickory's Andre Coleman and Fort LeBoeuf fullback Brian Milne. Those two men accounted for all four touchdowns in the game.

Coleman's 82-yard touchdown run and Scott Baker's extra point in the second quarter gave Hickory a 7-0 halftime lead. Milne and Coleman traded one-yard touchdown runs in the third quarter as each team missed its extra point attempt. Milne scored from the 2 in the fourth quarter. Fort LeBoeuf went for two but Hickory stopped the attempt. Hickory went on to win the Class AA state title.

The next year, Fort LeBoeuf pulled out a 6-0 overtime win over Hickory at Sharon in the Class AA semifinals. Jody Rinfuss scored on a one-yard run after Hickory did not score on its overtime possession. Fort LeBoeuf defeated Erie County League rival Fairview the next week for its only District 10 title.

Hickory has won 21 straight games when winning the turnover battle. Hickory has won 11 straight District 10 playoff games at Slippery Rock University. The Hornets are 11-5 all-time at SRU in the playoffs, including an 0-3 mark in state playoff action.

The winner will face either Sharon or North East in next week's District 10 title game.

No. 6 North East vs. No. 2 Sharon, General McLane High School, 7:00 p.m.

Series History: Sharon, 2-0
Last North East Win: None
Last Sharon Win: October 22, 2021 (35-0 at North East)
First Meeting: November 10, 2001 (Sharon won 33-0, District 10 Class AA title game at Erie)
District 10 Playoff Record: North East 3-14, Sharon 52-19

Riding a five-game winning streak, the Sharon Tigers face 9-2 North East in the District 10 Class 3A semifinals. Both Sharon and North East downed quarterfinal opponents whom they had also defeated during the regular season. Sharon recorded its first shutout of the 2025 season by securing a 52-0 victory over Conneaut in Greenville. Meanwhile, North East scored the final 35 points of the game last Friday night in a 35-7 quarterfinal win over third-seeded Grove City at Franklin High School.

Sharon's defense limited Conneaut to 29 yards, four first downs and 1-for-11 effort on third down. Ra'Keem Hughes and Gha'fir Lampkins both returned interceptions for touchdowns while Stone Root forced and recovered a fumble. Hughes also scored on a 75-yard punt return, his second punt return touchdown of the year.

Senior tailback Terrian White ran for 100 yards and four touchdowns on 10 carries for Sharon, which ran only 38 offensive plays.

North East's defense forced four Grove City turnovers and held the Eagles to 54 yards over the final three quarters. North East held Grove City to 1-of-11 efficiency on third down. Senior safeties Carter Crozier and Kyler See both intercepted passes while senior Pascal Laporte blocked a punt.

Ethan Ringer led the Grape Pickers with 101 yards rushing and three touchdowns. His 50-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter on a fake punt broke open the game. Quarterback Bryson Galloway completed 10 of 15 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown. Laporte added a rushing touchdown.

Galloway leads North East with 829 rushing yards while Ringer has 666 yards and nine touchdowns. Crozier leads North East with 60 receptions.

Like North East, Sharon an explosive offense that averages 36.4 points per game. Unlike North East, which has two-year starter Galloway firmly set as the starting quarterback, Sharon alternated senior Ethan Engelmore and Lampkins at quarterback against Conneaut. Both men have started multiple games this year.

Engelmore has thrown for 1,035 yards and 11 touchdowns on 67-of-116 passing. Lampkins has completed 26 of 46 attempts for 332 yards and six touchdowns. He has not been intercepted.

Whether it is Engelmore or Lampkins, the Sharon quarterback benefits from a senior-laden receiving unit that features Hughes, Bishop Root and Kare'mez Norris in the starting lineup. Root leads Sharon with 26 catches for 221 yards while Norris has a team-leading 480 yards and six scores on 23 receptions. Hughes has 16 catches for 315 yards.

White has rushed for 1,254 yards and 20 touchdowns. His 22 total touchdowns are No. 2 locally.

Sharon kicker Yousef Kanan kicked his first field goal of the season last week as he drilled a 35-yarder. He is tied with Wilmington's Ryder Tervo for the area lead in kicking points with 45.

This is Sharon's second all-time visit to General McLane. Twenty-eight years ago, Sharon earned a 29-28 triple-overtime win over Northwestern in the Class AA semifinals at Linden Field. Northwestern took a 28-22 lead in the third overtime but missed its extra point kick. T.J. Phillips tied the game at 28 with a five-yard touchdown run and Marty Barnett then kicked the game-winning extra point.

Sharon defeated North East in the 2001 District 10 Class AA title game. That is North East's only appearance in a district title game. Sharon has reached the District 10 title game 24 times in the 40-season history of the District 10 playoffs.

The Hickory-Fort LeBoeuf victor awaits Sharon or North East in next week's district championship game.

The game will be broadcast on Sports Radio 96.7.

SATURDAY NIGHT
CLASS 2A CHAMPIONSHIP

No. 2 Mercyhurst Prep vs. No. 1 Farrell, Wilmington High School, 7:00 p.m.

Series History: Farrell, 4-1
Last Farrell Win: November 18, 2023 (16-9, District 10 Class 2A championship at Meadville)
Last Mercyhurst Prep Win: November 16, 2007 (21-20, Class A semifinal at Meadville)
First Meeting: November 16, 2007 (Mercyhurst Prep won 21-20, Class A semifinal at Meadville)
District 10 Playoff Record: Farrell 36-5, Mercyhurst Prep 11-15

Farrell makes its 11th straight appearance in the District 10 title round Saturday night when the top-seeded Steelers face Mercyhurst Prep. Farrell seeks its fifth straight District 10 Class 2A title and 10th championship in that 11-year span. Mercyhurst, a playoff regular over the last two decades, aims to capture its first district crown in 18 years.

The two teams' semifinal victories last Saturday night could not have been more different. Farrell bolted to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter on three Juelz Johnson touchdown runs as the Steelers secured a 58-7 win over Eisenhower. Mercyhurst Prep (6-5) rallied from a 17-7 deficit to edge Region 3 rival Seneca, 21-17, at Erie Veterans Stadium.

T.J. Quinn's eight-yard touchdown run gave the Lakers the lead. Junior speedster Vinnie Feliciano, the defending Class AA state champion in the 100-meter dash, led Mercyhurst Prep with 191 rushing yards.

Feliciano leads the Lakers with 1,743 yards and 26 touchdowns. The bruising Quinn has added 486 yards and seven touchdowns on 51 carries. He also leads Mercyhurst's defense with 72 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and nine sacks.

As a team, Mercyhurst has accumulated 30 sacks, 12 interceptions and 12 opponent fumbles recovered. That unit will face a stiff test Saturday night against Farrell, averages a Mercer County-high 45.1 points per game, along with 370.8 yards per game.

Johnson leads the county with 1,478 rushing yards and 1,817 all-purpose yards. His 22 touchdowns and 172 points also lead the 11-school area. He ran for 189 yards on only nine carries against Eisenhower. That included a career-long 91-yard touchdown run.

Farrell finished last week's semifinal win with 349 rushing yards. Quarterback Aaron Pegues ran for 75 yards while sophomore Jason Marshall added 59 yards. Pegues made even more contributions with his right arm, however, as he completed 16 of 17 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns.

Pegues leads the county in completion percentage, having connected on 66.5 percent of his passes. He has 1,354 yards and 16 touchdown passes while throwing only one interception in 155 attempts. He has gone 104 attempts without an interception.

Senior Nemo Jones and junior Jadon King-Vincent share the team lead with 24 catches each. King-Vincent returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown against Ike, his fifth combined kick return to the end zone this year. Farrell has 13 total return touchdowns this year, including seven on punts.

The teams have two common opponents, Class 3A semifinalists Sharon and Fort LeBoeuf. Farrell downed Sharon in the Steel Bowl, 30-7, and also captured a 45-3 win over Fort LeBoeuf. Mercyhurst Prep lost at Sharon in the season opener, 35-6, then dropped a 41-23 verdict at Fort LeBoeuf in Week 10.

The winner will face the District 9 champion in the first round of the PIAA playoffs. Karns City faces Central Clarion at 7 p.m. Friday at Brookville. The District 9 team will host the D-10 champion next week.

The game will be broadcast on Sports Radio 96.7.

CLASS 1A SEMIFINALS

No. 4 Cambridge Springs vs. No. 1 Wilmington, Grove City High School, 7:00 p.m.

Series History: Wilmington, 2-1
Last Cambridge Springs Win: November 13, 2015 (34-6, Class A quarterfinal at Meadville)
Last Wilmington Win: November 7, 2014 (35-0, Class A quarterfinal at General McLane)
First Meeting: November 3, 1995 (Wilmington won 27-8, Class AA semifinal at Greenville)
District 10 Playoff Record: Cambridge Springs 14-23, Wilmington 44-12

It's a good thing that he clock operator at Grove City High School's historic Forker Field doesn't get paid by the hour. If that were the case, he might get shortchanged Saturday night when two of District 10's most prolific rushing teams meet on East Poplar Street Saturday night.

Wilmington (7-3) averages a Mercer County-best 268.0 rushing yards per game. No area team runs more frequently than do the Greyhounds, who run the ball on 89 percent of their offensive plays this year. Cambridge Springs (8-3), meanwhile, averages 310.0 rushing yards per game. Spa ran for 407 yards last week in a 42-0 win over No. 5 Cochranton in the only quarterfinal game in the Class 1A tournament.

Quarterback Brandon Hoover ran for 227 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries while fullback Brett Kania rambled for 121 yards on 12 carries.

Hoover leads the Blue Devils with 1,427 rushing yards while Kania has 1,351 yards in his 10 games. Kania has rushed for 4,934 yards and 56 touchdowns in his career. This is his third straight season of 1,300 or more rushing yards.

While Cambridge Springs features a 1-2 rushing combination between quarterback and fullback, Wilmington's Wing-T attack showcases a number of contributors. Junior halfback Chase Mitcheltree leads the Greyhounds with 1,041 yards and 17 touchdowns while sophomore halfback Cael Kettering leads the team by averaging 10.5 yards per carry. He has 379 and five touchdowns. Sophomore fullback Cam Kettering has piled up 498 rushing yards and six scores.

Junior Wesley Vass-Gal and sophomore Rowan Miller have both seen ample action at quarterback this season. Vass-Gal started the regular season finale against Karns City and threw for a season-high 122 yards and two scores in a 33-28 defeat.

The two quarterbacks have nearly identical passing statistics. Vass-Gal is 12 of 21 for 260 yards and four touchdowns. Miller has completed 12 of 22 attempts for 271 yards and four touchdowns. Neither man has been intercepted. Both quarterbacks have connected frequently with senior split end Freddie Zehetner, who has 12 catches for 352 yards and six touchdown receptions.

Wilmington owns a plus-13 turnover margin this year and has an area-low four turnovers. Wilmington did commit two turnovers in Week 10, however, as the Greyhounds fell to Karns City.

Vass-Gal leads Wilmington's secondary with four interceptions. Zehetner has three picks while cornerback/kicker Ryder Tervo has two thefts. Tervo is also 45 of 46 on extra points this year.

Wilmington leads the area in fewest penalties (47) and penalty yards per game (35.5).

Cambridge Springs' three losses this year are to Fairport Harding (Ohio) in the season opener, 28-22, a 41-13 setback at Greenville in Week Three, and a 22-19 setback three weeks later at Reynolds. Greenville meets Reynolds in the other District 10 Class 1A semifinal. Fairport Harding finished the regular season 10-0 and the No. 2 seed in its 12-team regional playoff.

This is Cambridge Springs' first trip to Grove City since a 7-6 loss November 14, 1986 to Sharpsville in the District 10 Division III title game. Wilmington is 9-5 all-time at Forker Field, including a 47-0 win over Fairview in the District 10 Class AA quarterfinals November 10, 2012.

Wilmington defeated Grove City for the 1995 District 10 Class AA title. In the semifinals that year, Wilmington downed Spa, 27-8, at Greenville. The Greyhounds intercepted five passes in the win. Tight end T.D. Mitcheltree, the father of current junior Chase Mitcheltree, gave Wilmington a 14-0 lead early in the third quarter when he caught a 63-yard touchdown pass from Jon Tekac.

The Greyhounds are 16-1 all time against Crawford County schools. The lone loss came to Cambridge Springs 10 years ago in the District 10 Class A quarterfinals, 35-6. Wilmington's first win over a Crawford County school came October 30, 1964, when the Greyhounds secured a 45-0 win at Townville. Current Wilmington assistant coach Bob Mitcheltree (father of T.D., grandfather of Chase) saw playing time at offensive end for the 'Hounds that night.

The PIAA first sponsored state championship games in 1988. Both Cambridge Springs and Wilmington represented the western half of the commonwealth in those inaugural championship games. District 10 champion Cambridge Springs fell to Camp Hill in the Class A title game, 18-7, at Shippensburg Stadium. Wilmington, playing then in District 7, fell to Bethlehem Catholic in the Class AA title game, 26-11, at Mansion Park in Altoona.

The winner will play Greenville or Reynolds in the District 10 title game.

The game will be broadcast on Sports Radio 96.7.

No. 3 Reynolds vs. No. 2 Greenville, Hickory High School, 7:00 p.m.

Series History: Greenville, 34-16-2
Last Greenville Win: October 8, 2021 (35-21 at Reynolds)
Last Reynolds Win: October 21, 2005 (16-0)
First Meeting: October 1, 1965 (Greenville won 19-0)
District 10 Playoff Record: Greenville 25-28, Reynolds 22-10

The first-ever postseason meeting between longtime gridiron rivals Greenville (9-1) and Reynolds (6-4) will take place Saturday night as the neighboring schools meet in the District 10 semifinals. Both teams had last week off due to byes in the quarterfinal round. The open date probably came at a good time for Reynolds, which closed the regular season on a four-game slide. Greenville, on the other hand, has rattled off nine straight victories after a Week One setback to Wilmington.

While the two teams enter the playoffs from a different place in that regard, there are also plenty of similarities. Appropriately for these two programs, both squads have prolific rushing attacks that feature a 1,000-yard rusher. Greenville senior Rudy Gentile has rushed for 1,093 yards and 18 touchdowns while junior backfield mate Kaysom Mataria has added 688 yards and eight scores. Mataria leads Mercer County by averaging 12.1 yards per carry.

Reynolds senior running back Gabe Minjarez went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season in Week 10 at Union/Allegheny-Clarion Valley and now has 1,017 yards. Like Greenville's Gentile, Minjarez has an explosive partner in the offensive backfield as senior Parker Nay has rushed for 704 yards and six touchdowns.

Nay averages 10.5 yards per carry and also averages 21.7 yards per reception. Nay has caught 27 passes for 587 yards. His 1,538 all-purpose yards are No. 4 locally.

No local team has thrown the ball with more success this year than has Greenville. The Trojans lead Mercer County in passing offense, averaging 147.1 yards per game, along with 11.1 yards per pass attempt. Junior quarterback Cael Thurber leads the area with 1,432 yards and 22 touchdown passes.

Junior wide receiver Justin Schell, who make Greenville's all-time leading receiver during the 2025 season, leads the county with 33 receptions, 853 receiving yards and 15 touchdown catches.

Greenville faces a Reynolds pass defense that ranks third in the area with 10 interceptions and third in completion percentage against (50.4). The Raiders intercepted Union/A-C Valley rifleman Andrew Kifer three times in Week 10, although the Falcon Knights did gain 230 yards through the air in a 22-14 win over Reynolds.

Reynolds is hardly a one-dimensional offense, as senior quarterback Xavier Zachrich has thrown for 705 yards and six touchdowns. He has added 417 rushing yards while also playing running back and slot back in the Raiders' unique spread system.

Greenville has outscored its opponents 170-7 in the first quarter. The Trojans average a county-best 9.6 yards per offensive play. Greenville piled up 458 yards two weeks ago in a 41-22 Week 10 win at Eisenhower. Gentile ran for 156 yards and Mataria added 149 yards. Greenville finished with a season-high 334 rushing yards.

Greenville has won 13 straight meetings in the series. While this is the first playoff game between the programs, Greenville and Reynolds met in several critical late-season regular season games during the 1970s.

The teams met in the season opener yearly from 1982 to 1992. Reynolds opened the 1985 season with a 10-0 win over Greenville, which ended the Trojans' 22-game winning streak. Reynolds also snapped a 22-game Greenville winning streak November 2, 1974 by securing a 14-0 home victory. That win gave Reynolds the Northwest Conference title. The Raiders finished 8-1 in the loop, as did Greenville and Warren. But Reynolds amassed 121.43 Gardner points to merit the title. Warren (113.57) and Greenville (112.86) respectively followed in second and third.

Four years later, Greenville captured a 9-7 win at Reynolds in a matchup of 7-0 teams. Both teams finished 9-1 as Greenville lost to Sharpsville in Week 10, 15-14. Greenville and Reynolds finished 8-1 in the Northwest Conference? Greenville won the title based on head-to-head, right? Or more Gardner points (137.9 to 133.6)? Or were "co-champions" crowned? The answer? None of the above.

In 1977 and 1978, the Northwest Conference had 10 teams, but not every team played a full schedule. Sharpsville (5-1) only played six games while Titusville (3-4) played seven of the other nine Northwest teams. So the league did not officially crown a champion in those years. Only Greenville, Reynolds, Meadville (6-3), Grove City (1-7-1) and Oil City (0-8-1) played a nine-game Northwest schedule that year.

The 2024 season marked the first time that Greenville and Reynolds competed in the same District 10 tournament, in terms of classification. Reynolds lost to Wilmington in last year's Class 1A semifinals. Greenville then lost to Wilmington in the title round.

This is the third neutral site meeting between the teams. The teams played at Thiel College in both 2013 and 2014. Greenville won 20-6 in 2013, then prevailed 14-7 the next year.

Greenville is 2-7 all-time in District 10 playoff game at Hickory. Reynolds is 1-1 in postseason games at Hickory. Reynolds played the first night game at Hickory, earning a 30-0 win October 24, 1986. That year, Reynolds finished 11-1 and won the District 10 Division II title. The only defeat that year? A season-opening 16-7 loss to Greenville.

The winner will play Cambridge Springs or Wilmington in next week's District 10 title game.