OIL CITY, Pa. – There was no doubt this time around.
After a competitive victory against Conneaut in the regular season, Oil City put to bed any thoughts of an Eagles’ upset bid early in the District 10 Class 4A semifinals, invoking the ‘Mercy Rule’ by halftime en route to a 56-0 win.
It was certainly a far cry from the 28-13 verdict back on Sept. 26.
That game was also the last time the Oilers (7-0) allowed points of any kind. Since then, they posted shutout wins over Warren, Titusville and Franklin to close the regular season before blanking Conneaut (3-3), with the 56 points scored on Friday actually being the low water mark offensively.
Cam Russell, like has been all season, was brilliant, rushing for 196 yards and four touchdowns, two of which came in the first quarter on runs of 62 and 22 yards.
His 9-yard scoring run with 1:11 to go in the half made it 37-0. That came after a Zac Kiefer 1-yard touchdown run and a Holden Stahl to Dakota Cole 40-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
Sean Stack, who rushed for 101 yards of his own, scored on a 33-yard scamper to start the second half.
Russell put the finishing touches on his night with a 1-yard plunge late in the third, and Stahl did the same in the fourth, returning a fumble 64 yards for a touchdown.
The Oilers outgained the Eagles 423-154 in total yards, including a 302-68 advantage on the ground.
Brady Walker led Conneaut with 36 yards rushing on seven carries in a game the Eagles played without starting quarterback Nate Bortnick.
After a D-10 title last season in Class 5A, the Oilers look to repeat the feat in Class 4A next week against either Harbor Creek or Meadville. That semifinal is scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m. at Harbor Creek, after the original date was pushed back because of positive COVID cases in the Crawford Central School District.
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Score by Quarters
Conneaut Area 0 0 0 0 — 0
Oil City 16 21 12 7 — 56
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
OC — Cam Russell, 62-yard run (Russell run), 10:03
OC — Russell, 22-yard run (Brayden Crocker recovered fumble in end zone), 5:30
Second Quarter
OC — Zac Kiefer, 1-yard run (Holden Stahl to Dakota Cole), 8:37
OC — Cole, 40-yard pass from Stahl (conversion failed), 7:41
OC — Russell, 9-yard run (Cole kick), 1:11
Third Quarter
OC — Sean Stack, 33-yard run (kick failed), 5:54
OC — Russell, 1-yard run (kick failed), 2:22
Fourth Quarter
OC — Stahl, 64-yard fumble return (Cole kick), 8:47
Team Statistics
CA OC
First downs 9 18
Yards rushing 68 302
Yards passing 86 121
Total yards 154 423
Penalties 2-10 3-15
Punt-avg. 5-30.2 1-29.0
Fumbles lost 1 1
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Conneaut — Max Lewandowski 12-24, Brady Walker 7-36, Luke Petergol 7-3, Zachary Walker 2-6, Braden Groover 1-(-1). Totals: 29-68.
Oil City — CamRussell 13-196, Sean Stack 9-101, Holden Stahl 4-7, Zac Kiefer 1-1, Isaiah Aeschbacher 3-(-3). Totals: 30-302.
Passing
Conneaut — Petergol 9-23-1, 79 yards; Brady Walker 1-2-0, 7 yards. Totals: 10-25-1, 86 yards.
Oil City — Stahl 5-7-0, 121 yards.
Receiving
Conneaut — Brady Walker 3-16, Mason Mihoci 2-25, Lewandowski 2-11, Zachary Walker 2-9, Jayden Onderko 1-25. Totals: 10-86.
Oil City — Dakota Cole 4-104, JT Stahlman 1-17. Totals: 5-121.
Interceptions
Oil City — Cole.
Fumble recoveries
Conneaut — Braden Groover.
Oil City — Stahl.
