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Battle of Unbeatens Highlights Week 4 Slate as Region Races Begin to Heat up in District 10

Fort LeBoeuf's Isaac McGuire.
   
   

It’s Week four of the high school football season, and things are kicking into high gear in District 10.

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Exciting region races are already shaping up and the district also has one of the top statistical runners in the nation in Oil City’s Ethen Knox.

Key region matchups this week feature Reynolds at Cambridge Springs in Region 1, Seneca at Eisenhower, and Northwestern at Mercyhurst Prep in Region 2. The Region 3 gauntlet continues with a number of headliners, including a battle of unbeatens when Sharpsville travels to Slippery Rock.

Oil City and Meadville look to stay unbeaten in Region 4, while Fort LeBoeuf and Fairview meet in a key Region 5 contest, and McDowell and Erie open Region 6 play.

            

Let’s dig in.

REGION 1

Reynolds (2-1) at Cambridge Springs (2-1)

Reynolds comes in after a competitive loss to unbeaten Sharpsville, while Cambridge Springs enters following a 34-7 win over Maplewood.

Reynolds’ Jalen Wagner continues to be one of the top rushers in District 10, accounting for 722 yards and nine touchdowns. The Raider offense has also had good balance, as Brayden McCloskey has thrown for 439 yards and four touchdowns, with three of those going to Haydin McLaughlin.

                          

Cambridge Springs, meanwhile, has sophomore quarterback Morgan Applebee has thrown for 284 yards and five touchdowns and also rushed for four touchdowns. Brett Kania and Van Jones are both just shy of 200 yards on the ground.

Reynolds

Lakeview (2-1) at Maplewood (2-1)

Lakeview is coming off back-to-back wins over Saegertown and Kennedy Catholic, putting up 86 points in the process. Mitchell Tingley and Danick Hinkson have rushed for 314 and 261 yards respectively for the Sailors, with Tingley also a big threat in the kicking game, booting three field goals last week.

Maplewood’s offense, meanwhile runs through Ben Gilberto, who has rushed for 567 yards and five touchdowns. The Tigers are looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season, 34-7 to Cambridge Springs.

Saegertown (0-3) at Mercer (1-2)

Mercer’s offense runs through Daemying Mattocks and Carter Addison who have rushed for 180 and 122 yards respectively.

Saegertown, meanwhile, has suffered a pair of tight losses, 34-26 to Maplewood and 22-20 to Cochranton in overtime last week. Their offense is led by Sully Zirkle and Hank Shaffer.

Kennedy Catholic (0-3) at Cochranton (1-1) – Saturday

Cochranton looks to build off a thrilling 22-20 overtime win over Saegertown. In that game, Isaiah Long scored the game-tying touchdown in overtime and caught the game-winning two-point conversion. Dustin Miller and Brayden Schlosser also had touchdowns in the game for the Cardinals.

                        

Simeir Wade had been a one-man wrecking crew for Kennedy Catholic this season. He has 484 yards rushing and six touchdowns and has also thrown for 239 yards and a pair of scores.

REGION 2

Northwestern (2-1) at Mercyhurst Prep (1-2)

Mercyhurst Prep is coming off a thrilling 28-27 win over Seneca in overtime, while Northwestern took care of business with a 42-7 win over Iroquois, both games that were played on Saturday.

The quartet of Ben Campbell, Landon Wayne, Kolton Sutter, and Lloyd Fountain did plenty of damage, as Campbell’s 75-yard touchdown run got Northwestern going in the win over Iroquois, while Wayne had a 38-yard touchdown run and Sutter a touchdown reception from Fountain, all in the first half as the Wildcats led 35-0 at halftime.

For Mercyhurst, David Bahm’s 1-yard touchdown run and the following extra point gave the Lakers their triumph last week. Bahm has thrown for 482 yards and four touchdowns and also toted the rock 31 times for 249 yards and five more scores.

Seneca (2-1) at Eisenhower (3-0)

Eisenhower’s defense has been dominant, posting a pair of shutouts in their first three games. The offense hasn’t been too shabby either, getting it done both on the ground and through the air. Quarterback Shawn Pascuzzi had a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs in a 35-0 win over Seneca last week and also threw a 37-yard TD to Wyatt Lookenhouse. Benji Bauer, meanwhile, has been over 100 yards in every game and has 427 yards through the first three contests.

Seneca, meanwhile, has an experienced quarterback in junior Nolan Seabury, whose favorite target is Collin Libra. Seabury and Ryan Miller lead the ground game.

Union City (1-2) at Iroquois (0-3) – Saturday

         

Union City has a win over Kennedy Catholic under its belt and also a pair of losses to top Class 1A contenders Reynolds and Eisenhower. Clay Thomas has got it done on the ground for the Bears, rushing for 365 yards and three touchdowns, while Skylar Olmstead has 176 yards and a score on the ground.

Iroquois, meanwhile, must look for a way to replace top back Michael Hoopsick, who was lost due to injury.

REGION 3

Farrell (2-1) at Greenville (0-3)

The race in Region 3 is shaping up to be an exciting one, and Farrell looks to keep pace (their loss was 40-38 to Ursuline, Ohio) when they travel to Greenville.

The Steelers are putting up some gaudy offensive numbers threw three games, averaging just a shade over 45 per game. Kylon Wilson has 318 yards receiving and four touchdowns and also 105 yards rushing and three more scores. Brandon Chambers has rushed for 240 yards and three scores, while quarterback Kabron Smith has accounted for 585 yards passing and eight touchdowns.

Greenville’s defense has been stout despite an 0-3 mark, allowing just 46 points through three games. Malachi Hyde has rushed for 216 yards and a score while quarterback Nick Solderich has 283 yards and a score through the air.

Grove City (1-2) at Sharon (2-1)

After allowing 45 points to Neshannock in the opener, Sharon’s defense has been impressive, shutting out Warren and allowing just 14 points in a 28-14 win over Hickory. Offensively, Mikey Rodriques has thrown for three touchdowns and ran for three, while Jayveerh White has 323 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns.

Grove City suffered a loss to Farrell in its Region 3 opener, 46-15. Hunter Hohman leads the offense with 361 yards passing and three touchdowns, while Anthony Nemec has 179 yards on the ground and two scores.

Wilmington (2-1) at Hickory (2-1)

Hickory enters Region 3 play 0-1 after its loss to Sharon. Prior to that, the defense had only yielded 13 points in a pair of wins. Logan Woods directs the offense and has thrown for 642 yards and five touchdowns, with 220 and two of those scores going to Keenan Scullin.

While Hickory looks to the air, Wilmington has got it done on the ground and comes in 1-1 in Region 3 play. The Greyhounds have yielded just 15 points in their last two games. Ben Miller and Tyler Mikulin lead the ground attack, rushing for 238 and 190 yards respectively, with Miller accounting for five touchdowns.

Sharpsville (3-0) at Slippery Rock (3-0)

Both teams come in unbeaten overall and 1-0 in region play. Sharpsville’s defense past a stiff test last week in a 41-27 non-region win over Reynolds, and before that had allowed just 14 points in its first two games. Quarterback Caullin Summers is a true dual-threat, passing for 788 yards and seven scores while rushing for 270 yards and four more scores. Garen Levis is his top target with 338 yards and two touchdowns.

Slippery Rock, meanwhile, is coming off a 24-7 win over Greenville. Quarterback Zip Mokel has thrown for 730 yards and six scores and added 143 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Maddox Allen, John Sabo, Brett Galcik, and Sam Schwartz all have over 100 yards receiving, while Allen has also rushed for 140 yards.

REGION 4

Warren (1-2) at Conneaut (0-3)

After a tough first two weeks, Warren’s offense got right in a 50-28 win over Girard. Eric Dippold has thrown for 434 yards and six touchdowns, with 234 of those yards and four of the scores going to Cayden Wright. The duo of Ethan Senz and Tommy Nyquist has been effective on the ground, rushing for 219 and 153 yards respectively, and combining for four touchdowns.

They will be facing a Conneaut team that will look to get its offense going after scoring just 12 points through its first three games.

Franklin (0-3) at Oil City (3-0)

The Route 8 rivals square off on Friday, and the story is the Oil City rushing attack, led by Ethen Knox and the Oilers’ physcial offensive line. Knox leads the nation among teams that enter stats on MaxPreps with 387 yards per game and has already gone over 1,100 yards and accounted for 17 total touchdowns. The Oilers have scored at least 50 points in every game so far this season.

Franklin has found tough sledding on offense through three games, scoring just 16 points. Quarterback Hunter Marsteller, tailback Toby Sanchez and company will look to change that.

Titusville (1-2) at Meadville (3-0)

Meadville’s defense has allowed just 20 points through three games in getting out to a 3-0 start, while the offense continues to roll, led by the ground game. Despite missing a game, Khalon Simmons has already rushed for 415 yards and seven touchdowns, while Brady Walker has 319 yards and four touchdowns. Gavin Longstreth has also thrown for 118 yards and a touchdown.

Titusville had a Week 1 win over Franklin before dropping a couple of tough games to Sharpsville and Fort LeBoeuf. The offense is led by Brock Covell, Kameron Mong, and Jaxson Covell.

REGION 5

Harbor Creek (1-2) at Corry (0-3)

After a pair of losses to open the season, Harbor Creek bounced back with a 40-0 win over Conneaut in their region opener. Lance Brown has rushed for 313 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Heath Betza has thrown for 244 yards and two touchdowns.

They will be facing a Corry team that is looking to get its offense on track, having already faced region powers Meadville and Oil City.

Fort LeBoeuf (2-1) at Fairview (2-1)

After an 18-7 loss to General McLane in Week 2, Fort LeBoeuf got back on track with a 42-20 win over Titusville. In that game, the Bison ground game was firing on all cylinders, as Justin Leuschen ran for three touchdowns. The passing attack also shined, as Connor McChesney and Aidan Lesik hooked up for a 60-yard touchdown.

Fairview, meanwhile, is looking to bounce back. After starting the season 2-0, the Tigers found tough sledding in a loss to Meadville. Tyler Corbin and Jeremy Frazao have hooked up for a pair of touchdown tosses this season, while Charlie Chevalier has rushed for 200 yards and a score and Jared Gennuso 129 yards and two touchdowns.

REGION 6

Erie (1-2) at McDowell (2-1)

After three tough non-region games, McDowell gets its Region 3 slate going against Erie. The Trojans’ own wins over Walsh Jesuit and Bennett, which was followed by a tough 29-18 road loss at fellow 6A contender North Allegheny, a game in which they led by two scores in the second half. Artis Simmons has rushed for 542 yards and four touchdowns to lead the ground game, while has thrown for 409 yards and five scores, with two of those going to Christian Santiago.

Erie, meanwhile, has suffered a pair of losses to St. Joe’s (NY) and Lake Catholic (Ohio) after opening the season with a 7-0 win over West Toronto Prep.

NON-REGION

Solon (3-1) at Cathedral Prep (2-1)

This game was a high-scoring affair last year, won by Prep, 44-35. The Ramblers carried the momentum from a dramatic 22-17 win over Clarkson North into Week 3, where they beat West Toronto Prep 58-6.

Carter Barnes has directed the offense to the tune of 345 yards passing and five touchdowns and has also rushed for 89 yards and a score. His top targets are Wakeem Page (145 yards, 1 touchdown) and DeMario Crawford (2 touchdowns). Crawford also had a Pick 6 in the win over WTP. Suhtaun Lewis is also a receiving threat out of the backfield and has gotten it done on the ground as well, rushing for 382 yards and three touchdowns, and also had the game-winning receiving touchdown from Barnes against Clarkson.

They will be facing a Solon team that has allowed just 27 points through four games, including a pair of shutouts. They beat Strongsville 10-0 last week.

                       

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