GREENVILLE -- A playful bounty was packaged into the Greenville High football team's defensive game plan: Limit talented Titusville tailback Jamie Sye to 50 yards rushing or less, and it was chicken wings all around.

Well, today, the undefeated Trojans are toasting with a bountiful feast that's finger-lickin' good.

The Northwest Conference's leading ground gainer with 1,106 yards entering Friday night's showdown, Sye was devoured by Greenville, which shackled him into a 12-carry, minus-11 yard performance as the Trojans triumphed, 45-0.

"This is gonna sound strange, but I don't think we did anything drastically different, just a couple little wrinkles here and there -- adjustments,'' Greenville head coach Bob Stone said regarding defensive coordinator Gary Hull's scheme to stop Sye. "But now, of course,'' Stone added, "the kids were very well aware of 'statistical comparisons' with them. I think maybe they had a little added incentive.''

Erik Adams, who had taken a backseat to Sye's stats entering the matchup of NWC unbeatens, posted a 27-carry, 173-yard, 4-touchdown rushing performance, caught a 37-yard TD toss from quarterback Sammy Young, and concluded the first half by pilfering a Mike Wright pass and returning it 48 yards for a score. It was his first defensive play from scrimmage this season as he sat back in centerfield at free safety as Hull had the Trojans in a "dime'' defensive package, as Greenville (5-0, 6-0) garnered an insurmountable 32-0 margin at intemission.

By virtue of his effort, Adams moved past Jim Eells into fourth place in the Trojans' tailback tradition. Adams, with 2,530 career rushing yards, trails Joe Korcinsky (5,197), Andy Blatt (3,677) and Lou Martsolf (2,642), according to available Herald records.

"Erik Adams played a tremendous football game," Stone acknowledged, "but then again, so did everybody else and Erik fit right in with everybody else.

"He's a great back and, statistically -- you know how statistics count, and he's been a little overshadowed (by Sye). I think he and his friends were trying a little bit to correct the situation.''

Adams' assault of Titusville (4-1, 5-1) included first-period touchdown runs of 4 and 1 yards as Greenville mounted a 14-0 lead; a 1-yard second-stanza dive prefacing his TD reception and interception return, and a 1-yard third-period plunge. In addition, Gio Vendemia stripped a third-period punt 79 yards for a TD.

Clearing those running lanes for Adams were 240-pound-plus tight ends Mike Maluk and Eric Spurlock, 315-pound tackle Paul Matusz and 260-pound Paul Cramer, guards Russ Sauer and Shawn Uhrin, 235 and 260, respectively, and 230-pound center Andy Cassell, among others.

Through five games, Titusville was leading the Northwest Conference in team offense (2,034 total yards, 406.8 yards/game) and defense (592 and 118.4, respectively) but the Rockets were defused, ending with minus-16 net yards, including minus-23 on the ground. Wright was harassed into a 1-for-8 passing performance that netted seven yards, was intercepted twice, and sacked three times. Conversely, Greenville generated 246 total yards and 15 first downs.

"This was the big game, this week,'' Stone summarized while refusing to assume any championships have been won or playoff berths secured. "We'll celebrate (Friday night) and we'll celebrate (today) ... but the next day we'll get back after it and, obviously, we have to start to prepare for Oil City.''

Stone concluded by responding to criticism directed at the NWC's caliber of competition.

"I think we have a good conference; year in and year out, it's competitive,'' Stone said, continuing, "All conferences have their ups and downs. Certain years, certain conferences are very strong and others aren't. But we're in the Northwest Conference and we're happy with it and I think it's competitive.''

Notes: Adams and Wes Baird pilfered passes for Greenville, while Brian Riley registered a sack and recovered a fumble and Vendemia and Maluk recorded back-to-back fourth-frame sacks. ... Stone's 23-year career ledger improved to 189-44-6. ... Adams' longest run from scrimmage was a 54-yard sprint on his second carry that set up his first TD. ... Greenville's lone sustained scoring drive was a 10-play, 67-yard, 4-minute, 5-second march en route to its second score.

Big Reds, 'Hounds both win, both 6-0

The West Middlesex Big Reds and Wilmington Greyhounds each kept their perfect seasons alive on the road Friday night, but in somewhat differing fashion.

The Big Reds walloped Saegertown, 40-0, while the Greyhounds slipped past Karns City, 3-0.

Elsewhere, Sharon rocked Reynolds, 42-0, in Mercer County Athletic Conference AA action, to move to 5-1; Hubbard took over sole possession of first place in the TAC-8 with a thrilling 15-14 overtime decison over Liberty; Farrell kept its playoff hopes alive, rallying for victory in another nailbiter, 16-15, in a Big 8 contest at Sto-Rox.

Following are game reports:

• West Middlesex 40, Saegertown 0 -- At Saegertown, the Big Red defense was absolutely stifling as they jumped all over the French Creek Valley Conference's Saegertown, holding them to just 26 total yards.

  "The defense did a great job," said West Middlesex coach Rick Resatar. "We didn't have our usual offensive output because our defense placed the ball for the offense so well."

  The defense put West Middlesex (6-0) on the board when pressure from the Big Reds line forced a blocked punt and John Derry picked up the ball and rambled 40 yards for the score and West Middlesex ended the first quarter up, 6-0.

  John Lark then got the offense started in the second, as he caught a 10-yard pass from Jake Buzard for another score. Chad Fette threw the conversion to Rob Long and West Middlesex was up by two scores.

  Jeremy Baker rounded out the scoring in the first half with a two-yard pass from Buzard, giving West Middlesex a 20-0 bulge.

  In the second half, it was Fette, Fette, and more Fette, as he scored on runs of 20, 8 and 3 yards. Lark converted the first points after of the second half on a pass from Buzard.

  Fette ended the game with 153 yards and three scores on 19 carries.

  Resatar said it felt great going 6-0 for the first time in West Middlesex's modern history, but with games against league rivals Kennedy Christian (5-1) and Sharpsville (4-1) set for Weeks 8 and 9, he added his team still has a long way to go.

• Wilmington 3, Karns City 0 -- At Karns City, everyone thought the game would be close, but no one could have predicted it would end like this.

  A Phil McCann 26-yard field goal with 5:07 left in the third proved to be the difference, as Karns City missed field goals from the same distance in the second and fourth quarters. Dane O'Donnell missed the first and Jeremy Welter was errant in the fourth.

  Brandon Whiting stopped a Karns City drive late in the game as he picked off KC's Eric Fuhrer on a fourth-and-nine play. Craig McKaness iced the game for the Hounds (6-0) when he boomed a punt 52 yards after a night of shanks to pin Karns City (4-2) deep with four minutes left to play.

• Sharon 42, Reynolds 0 -- At Transfer, Carmone Parchman scored five of the Tigers' six touchdowns and added 246 yards to his career total as Sharon, 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the MCAC Class AA, grabbed the win.

  Parchman is stalking the 3,000-yard plateau. After last night's performance he needs only 39 more yards to reach it. He nestled himself into 16th place in the all-time career rushing yard annals and is ninth in scoring with 51 career TDs.

  Otherwise, Sharon's offense was relatively quiet. Their only other six points were tallied via a botched punt snap that sailed 25 yards in to the end zone. Marlin Jackson hustled past Reynolds' punter Jason Shaffer and fell on the ball for Sharon's second touchdown of the night.

  Sharon QB Mike Schnieder connected once on four tries and tossed an interception to the Raiders' Joel Davis. Jackson carried a hitch pass for 31 yards and ended the game with 41 total to trail Parchman.

  The Raiders (1-1, 1-5) were led by sophomore running back Keith Marshall who did an admirable job filling in for the capable Deacon Jones, who suffered a torn growth plate last week against Sharpsville. Marshall had 19 carries and compiled 66 yards.

  Even while they were being scored on repeatedly in the first half, the Raiders seemed to hold their own. The defense snagged an interception, McEntire and Marshall both busted out sizable runs, and Raider defense managed to withstand four downs inside the 10-yard line for an impressive goal line stance over a team that seems to have little to no trouble getting in the end zone. The Raiders, however, couldn't put any points on the board and the Tigers still dominated despite a few mental mistakes. -- By Herald writer Pete Chiodo.

• Kennedy Christian 67, Brookfield 20 -- At Brookfield, the Golden Eagles (5-1) exploded for 40 second-half points to break open a 27-14 halftime score en route to handing the Warriors (1-6) their sixth consecutive loss.

  The non-league contest was arranged after Brookfield's scheduled foe Champion could not play because of a 2-week-old teachers' strike. Kennedy originally had an open date this week.

  As Ohio doesn't have a mandated "Mercy Rule," it can only be instituted on agreement from both coaches. And Kennedy coach John Turco reported that Brookfield head coach Anthony Naples didn't want it used.

  Justin George continued his recent sparkling play with a 16-carry, 259-yard effort that included four touchdowns. His scores came on runs of 32, 10 and 58 yards and a 55 interception return. George has 15 touchdowns the last three weeks.

  Nick George pulled in a 27-yard pass from Ryan Squatrito to open the scoring and a Brian French's 37-yard run made it 13-0 in the first frame. French finished with 101 yards on eight carries.

  A 100-yard Lou Scudere kickoff return closed the gap to 13-6, which is where the score remained entering the second quarter.

  Kennedy extended the lead to 27-6 in the second quarter on George's 32-yard and 10-yard scampers before Kyle Brubaker answered with a 70-yard scoring run of his own to make it 27-14 at the intermission.

  [ADDITION:: The second half of scoring plays of Kennedy Christian's 67-20 victory over Brookfield were inadvertently edited out of the high school football roundup in Saturday's Herald. This is the missing paragraph:]

  The 34-point third quarter saw the Golden Eagles extend their lead from 27-14 to 61-14 and included a 58-yard run and 55-yard interception return by Justin George; a pair of fumble recoveries for scores, 32 and 15 yards in length, by defensive lineman B.J. Jarrett; and a 17-yard run by Nick Artis. Zach Zuschlag added a 34-yard run in the fourth quarter, while Brookfield's Sean Wilster ran the ball in from five yards out.

• Farrell 16, Sto-Rox 15 -- At McKees Rocks, the Farrell Steelers kept their playoff hopes alive in closer than expected fashion in the Big 8 clash, but not before almost suffering the same fate as they did a week ago.

  Clinging to a 16-7 lead late in the game, the Steelers (2-2, 3-3) snapped a ball over the punter's head -- similar to the circumstances that led to an overtime loss to Western Beaver a week ago -- but this time despite giving up a late score the results were different.

  The bad snap gave the Vikings (1-2, 3-2) a first down at the Farrell 27. Following a 15-yard pass from Justin Vaughn to Charles Greer -- Sto-Rox's initial first down of the second half -- and a 12-yard run by Maurice Cohen, the Vikings pulled to 16-15 on a Cohen 1-yard dive and Vaughn conversion pass with 5:10 left in the game.

  Following a failed onside kick and an exchange of possessions, Sto-Rox took over at its own 29 with 3:25 remaining and drove to the Farrell 43 before turning the ball over on downs with 43 seconds left. The Steelers then ran out the clock.

  It appeared early on the clock was about to run out on Farrell's season as Sto-Rox used a 13-yard Vaughn-to-Ed Peterson toss to take a 7-0 lead at the intermission.

  Petey Craig put the Steelers on the board with a 24-yard dash in the third quarter and Marcellino Manilla's conversion run on a botched extra point kick made it 8-7 after three quarters. Farrell then extended the lead to 16-7 midway through the fourth quarter on an Alan Claiborne 20-yard scamper and Claiborne PAT run, setting up the wild finish. Kennard Davis led Farrell's 255-yard offensive attack with 128 yards on 17 carries, while Claiborne carried 14 times for 62 yards and Justin Odem added 56 yards on 14 carries.

• Slippery Rock 42, Mercer 0 -- At Mercer Friday night, the visiting Rockets spoiled Mercer's Homecoming behind the two-way performance of senior Josh Kneiss.

  Kneiss totaled five touchdowns on the evening as he ran for 203 yards on 23 carries. As the Rockets' starting safety, he also intercepted a pair of passes. His first score gave the Rockets (3-3, 2-2) a 7-0 lead with 7:52 left in the first quarter. Kneiss added a 3-yard scoring run and a 6-yard touchdown dash in the second quarter.

  "(Slippery Rock's) offensive line, you've gotta give them credit," Mercer head coach Tom Phillips said. "They have some big boys on that line and they were moving people."

  Meanwhile, quarterback Luke McCaffrey hooked up with fellow junior Zach Sarver for a 16-yard scoring strike with 33 seconds left in the half, boosting the lead to 28-0.

  McCaffrey completed 5 of 11 passes for 74 yards as Slippery Rock won its second consecutive game.

  "Our kids are doing a good job," Slippery Rock head coach Brendan Smith said. "We knew we had to come out and execute tonight and I think we did a pretty good job of that."

  Kneiss helped Slippery Rock invoke the "mercy" rule midway through the third quarter with a 1-yard touchdown jaunt. A 17-yard scoring trip from Kneiss capped the Rockets' offensive outburst.

  "Josh has had a great senior year," Smith said. "I'm glad for that, obviously. He's a big part of our team, certainly offensively. We're just hoping to keep him healthy."

  Kneiss moved his career total to 2,544 yards and now trails school record-holder Ron Duffy by 585 yards. -- By Herald writer Ryan Briggs.

• Punxsutawney 21, Grove City 7 -- At Punxsutawney, Paul Johnston posted a 13-carry, 126-yard rushing performance, including a 70-yard third-period scoring sprint, to pace Punxsy to the non-league win, its initial triumph of the season. Joe Martin also contributed a 6-for-15, 66-yard passing performance that included a 61-yard TD toss to Kevin Porada that staked Punxsy to a 7-0 lead.

  Grove City (0-6) actually outgained the Chucks, 243-187, in total yards and amassed more first downs (11-6), as Tim Dixon turned in a 16-carry, 78-yard outing, including a 36-yard second stanza scoring run.

• Hubbard 15, Liberty 14 OT -- At Hubbard, the Eagles overcame early mistakes to force an extra period, and Anthony Smith was the one who got the job done for Hubbard. With the win, Hubbard (2-0, 5-1) stands alone at the top of the TAC-8.

  "When we got into overtime," said Hubbard coach Jeff Bayuk, "we got the ball first and I told the kids to just play our offense."

  With the help of a big catch by David DeSantis, the Eagles scored first in overtime when Smith went over from the 1-yard line. DeSantis kicked the point after, and the Eagles were up, 15-8.

  Liberty (2-1, 3-4) then scored on a John Staples 8-yard run, but the Leopards made a critical decision and went for two. The Hubbard defense stiffened, and the Eagles came out on top. Liberty scored first after Marty Kanetsky fumbled the ball into the end zone in the second quarter and fell on it for the safety. Staples then scored later in the same quarter on a 5-yard scamper.

  Hubbard was down going into the latter half of the last frame when Smith turned a negative into a positive. With just under six and a half minutes to play and Hubbard on Liberty's doorstep, the fullback fumbled the ball and Smith fell on it in the end zone for the score. DeSantis ran the conversion.

• Linesville 35, Lakeview 0 -- At Linesville, the Lions tallied 349 rushing yards and stuck Lakeview (0-5 in the French Creek Valley Conference, 0-6 overall) with 32 yards of total offense as the Sailors were silenced.

  The Lions (5-1, 5-1) were led by quarterback Dan Hruska scored twice, from 48 and 21 yards out, to end the night with 128 yards on nine carries.

Devils exact a rare win over Hornets

It was a rivalry renewed -- but will it be a rivalry continued?

"You only have room for a few rivalries," said a happy Sharpsville High coach Paul Piccirilli after his Blue Devils defeated Hickory, 17-7, on Homecoming night Friday at Sharpsville's McCracken Field.

It was the first victory over the Hornets since 1986, which sounds worse than it really is since the two neighboring communities haven't played since 1991. That may seem surprising because at one time the competition was fierce.

"You can only have three or four rivalries," said Piccirilli, "We've got Brookfield and Kennedy Christian, so I don't know ... It could become another rivalry."

Rivalry or not, it certainly was an intense battle which was controlled most of the way by the defenses. Both teams forced several turnovers, which resulted in a scoreless quarter and a half, but in the final 4 1/2 minutes of the second quarter it was a points explosion.

Sharpsville -- stalled in the first period by an interception, one lost fumble and a missed 38-yard field goal -- began a drive early in the second stanza at their own 48 after a partially blocked punt. In nine plays, the Blue Devils marched to paydirt with Eric Major sweeping left end from 9 yards out with just over 4 minutes remaining in the half. The PAT kick went wide right.

In just over a minute, Sharpsville was back in the end zone. Ray Rotell intercepted a pass from Hickory quarterback Ross Trimmer to give the Devils possession on the Hornets' 48. On the next play, quarterback Bill Stiger dropped back and unloaded a long pass to Brandon Pavone, who -- despite being hit early by the defender -- made the catch and sprinted to a touchdown. Stiger carried for the points after and a 14-0 lead with only 3:05 remaining before intermission.

The Hornets, who were held to only one first down, came to life and roared back on the passing of Trimmer and running of Quentin Peagler. Running a hurry-up offense to perfection, the Hornets managed 12 plays with Trimmer going the final 1 yard for a TD. Guido Gurrera's PAT kick narrowed the gap to 14-7 with only 20 seconds remaining in the half.

But the fun wasn't over yet. After getting the ensuing kickoff, the Devils tried a screen pass, which was picked off by Hornet Jason Sheasley to give Hickory possession at the Sharpsville 27 with 7 ticks left on the clock. But a Trimmer pass was picked off by Stiger at the 1 to end the threat.

The second half was a defensive struggle as Sharpsville tired to control the clock. They did that to perfection and ate up more than 6 minutes of the final frame during a drive that resulted in a key 29-yard field goal by Rotell that all but clinched the game.

Hickory drove back to the Sharpsville 43, but ran out of downs, and the Blue Devils took over and ran out the clock, behind the running of Ron Haywood and Stiger.

"We wanted to get into the fourth quarter with a chance to win with our young team," stressed Piccirilli, explaining his team throwing no passes in the second half. "We like to keep the ball on the ground and pass when we have to. Our offensive line did a helluva job.

"We're young, but we're talented. But we've got to protect the ball, we had too many turnovers. You can't beat excellent teams turning the ball over like we've been doing and next week we play an excellent team."

Sharpsville, 4-1 on the year, faces a key Mercer County Athletic Conference Class A clash with rival Kennedy Christian next Saturday. "This year, they're loaded," said Piccirilli.

Meanwhile, the frustration showed on Hickory coach Phil Annarella, who saw his MCAC Class AAA club fall to 3-3 overall. "I'm speechless, I don't know what to say," said Annarella. "I just can't explain it. We just got outplayed. Congratulations to Sharpsville."

FROM THE SIDELINES -- Haywood had a strong game for Sharpsville, rushing 30 times for 147 yards. Peagler led the Hornets with 109 yards on 20 carries. ... In a mistake-filled contest, Trimmer and Sheasley had interceptions for the Hornets, while Stiger and Rotell had pickoffs for the Devils. Blase Iorio recovered a fumble for Sharpsville, while Bobby Byerly and Trimmer each pounced on bouncing pigskins for Hickory. ... Both bands put on a tremendous halftime show, with the highlight the crowning of the Homecoming king and queen. Laurel Frislid was named queen and Sean Mocker will reign as king.

Living a dream, Valentino to start at QB today for Kent

In the competitive world of collegiate football, there's no rest for the weary. And once you earn a starting position, you cannot keep it by spending time in the training room.

So Sharon High graduate Jeff Valentino is hoping to make the most of an unexpected opportunity when he takes the field today as Kent State's starting quarterback when the Golden Flashes travel to Central Michigan.

Two weeks ago in a loss to Miami (Ohio), Valentino spelled starting signal-caller Zach Williams and ran for an 11-yard touchdown and directed Kent on a 10-play, 64-yard scoring drive, capping it with a 19-yard TD toss. He completed six of seven pass attempts and was named Kent's offensive player of the game.

So when Williams, a red-shirt senior, suffered a slight shoulder injury during last week's loss to Bowling Green and missed a couple days of practice earlier this week, Valentino vindicated a season-and-half's worth of work by earning today's starting nod.

"I'm beside myself. I've been working pretty hard for this,'' Valentino, via telephone, excitedly related. "I'd been taking all the (first-team offense) reps. Zack Wililams is healthy now, but (Kent's coaching staff) still had me taking all the reps.''

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Valentino red-shirted a year ago, but nonetheless earned Kent's scout team player of the year award -- as voted by his teammates, testimony to his work ethic. Thus far this season, when injuries depleted the Golden Flashes' depth, he played some wide-out against both Purdue and Youngstown State and also has seen action under center against Pittsburgh, Bowling Green -- playing almost the entire first period -- and Miami, and served on Kent's kickoff-return and "hands'' special teams.

But he, evidently, has made his mark at quarterback.

"(Kent coaches) put in a wishbone package and I was in charge of the option scheme,'' Valentino, who just turned 20, explained.

Under third-year head coach Dean Pees, Kent has finished 0-11 and 2-9 and is 0-5 thus far this season, so Pees obviously is seeking a spark.

"That's what the coaches like about me,'' Valentino related. "Zack -- and this is not a bad thing -- is more of a calm, X's and O's, by-the-book type of guy, where I'm more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants guy who just tries to make plays and have fun.

"I'm really, really, really excited,'' gushed Valentino, who has declared business as his major field of study (he currently carries a macro-economics course). "But I'm trying not to show I'm excited around the guys because I might make them nervous. But I know I've got the backing of the team ... they're definitely behind me, especially the offense.

"And I think the coaches like the fire I bring into the huddle and the enthusiasm I bring everywhere else.''

Central Michigan (1-4) owns a victory over Akron, and the Zips hae overtaken perennial power Marshall in the Mid-Continent Conference's East Division. But as Valentino noted, "In this league, anybody can beat anybody on any given day. That's how it is in the MAC. Last year we almost knocked off Marshall (which played in the Motor City Bowl) and we won only two games.''

According to Valentino, Central Michigan is a pro-style offensive team and utilizes an "under-front" or "straight man-to-man" defensive scheme, moving its nose tackle according to the opponent's offensive formation. So Valentino is expecting to sprint-out and bootleg and throw to his backs and tight end quite a bit today, whether it's second-and-long or third-and-short.

"They've molded the game plan around my style,'' he related, later admitting,

"I'm pumped. I'm just going to go out there and have fun, just like at Sharon High on Friday nights. Hopefully, I'll be the guy for the rest of the season and for a long time after that.''

Note: The game, slated for a 1 p.m. kickoff, will be broadcast on Greenville-based radio station WGRP (940 AM). ... Thus far this season Valentino has completed 9 of 14 passes (64.3 percent) for 82 yards and a TD and rushed for a dozen yards on a handful of trips. ... Unofficially, Valentino, a son of Jeff and Linda Valentino of Sharon, may be the first Herald coverage-area athlete to start as an NCAA Division I quarterback since Farrell's Vernon Stewart did so during his successful stint at Akron.