The HERALD Sharon, PA published Tuesday, August 27,1996
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Football '96



1996-97 OVERVIEW


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Locals could top 1995 success




It's hard to imagine any football season topping the one local teams provided area fans in 1995.

Then again, maybe not.

Out of eight teams that advanced to PIAA state championship games in Altoona last season, two _ or 25 percent _ hailed from Mercer County.

The Farrell Steelers brought home the gold in Class A, riding a superb defensive effort to blank previously undefeated Southern Columbia 6-0. It was the first state football title in school history, lifting coach Lou Falconi's program to a level attained by the school's legendary basketball and girls' volleyball programs.

The Sharon Tigers had a much tougher go in the Class AAA title game, dropping a 43-6 decision to USA Today national champion Berwick. It was the second consecutive season Sharon had fallen to Berwick in the championship game.

Both Farrell and Sharon are loaded again this year and should certainly be ranked near the top, if not at the top, of their respective divisions in the statewide polls come Friday.

Sharon won't have to worry about Berwick anymore, however, as a drop in enrollment has enabled the Tigers to move to Class AA this season.

Sharon's move is one of several that will provide a new-look Mercer County Athletic Conference in 1996, one that will certainly possess one of the strongest AA leagues in the state.

Along with Sharon, the MCAC AA classification features Wilmington, a returning state quarterfinalist that posted a sparkling 12-1 mark a year ago; Hickory, which also dropped from AAA; Reynolds, which drops to AA after ending its co-op program with Jamestown; and Mercer.

The five schools had a combined 41-16 mark a year ago, with Sharon, Wilmington, Reynolds and Hickory all being ranked by the Harrisburg Patriot-News at some point during the season.

Circle Oct. 25 on the calendar. That's when Wilmington, the two-time defending District 10 AA champion, travels to Sharon to take on the two-time defending District 10 AAA champion Tigers. It already has the makings of the game of the year.

Another change finds Grove City, coming off one of the best seasons in school history after advancing to the D-10 AA championship game, moving to Class AAA, where the Eagles will join Slippery Rock.

MCAC Class A has no new faces, with Sharpsville, West Middlesex and Kennedy Christian back, but there was one big change. The three will play each other only once and most have picked up several French Creek Valley Conference schools to fill out their schedules.

Among the 15 teams in The Herald's circulation area, only two saw coaching changes. Long-time assistant and Sharpsville alumnus Paul Piccirilli, at Mercer the last six seasons, returns to his alma mater to take the reins. At Lakeview, Arthur ``Herky'' Polding becomes the Sailors' fifth head coach in the last four years (Lakeview had co-coaches in 1993).

All area teams open up this weekend, with the most interesting matchup appearing to be a Saturday afternoon non-league contest between Class A powers Farrell and Kennedy.

Also highlighting opening-week action on Friday will be the backyard-brawl of northern Mercer County, Greenville-Reynolds, and the interstate rivalries of Hickory-Brookfield and Sharon-Youngstown Ursuline.

Season openers are :

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Updated August 29, 1996