Published Thursday, Oct. 23, 1997
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RELATED STORY: Wilmington is hoping for financial boon from game
By Brad Isles
Herald Sports Writer
After consecutive losses early in the season, Farrell coach Lou Falconi knew his team had to win the rest of its games to make the playoffs and attempt to defend its back-to-back state titles.
Guess what! A Farrell (4-2, 6-2) victory over Shenango (3-3, 5-3) on Friday would do just that, clinch a spot in the WPIAL playoffs for the Steelers.
``(The team) understands the situation we're in,'' Falconi said. ``They know what's at stake. We're playing our best right now.''
Three teams out of the Big 7 will qualify for postseason play and a win can land Farrell either the No. 2 or No. 3 spot, depending on other league games this weekend.
South Side Beaver (6-0) is the Big 7 champ. If Monaca (4-2) beats Rochester (4-2), Monaca is second and also in the playoffs. If Rochester and Farrell both win, the Steelers get second place. The only way Farrell is out is if it loses and Western Beaver (3-3) beats first-place South Side Beaver.
``That's the situation we've been in the last four weeks. Now it's more official,'' Falconi said of having every game be a must-win. ``The question is _ beyond that _ if we're going to be a second or third seed.''
Leading the Steelers' resurgence has been the running of Jason Kennedy, who also rescued the team last year when Carlos Daniels went down mid-way through the season with an injury. Kennedy is averaging 110.9 yards/game (116 carries, 887 yards) and leads the team with 12 TDs. In Farrell's 37-19 win over Rochester last week, Kennedy had a career-high 214 yards on just 16 carries and scored three times.
Quarterback Rennie Gash has also come on of late. He is averaging 119 yards passing/game and has 10 TDs to 3 interceptions. He went 10-of-14 for 130 yards and had 2 TD tosses last week.
THURSDAY (10/23)
Greenville (6-0, 8-0) at Strong Vincent (3-3, 4-4)
For what is believed to be the first time in school history, the Greenville Trojans will take to the field on a night other than Friday or Saturday when they travel to Erie this evening for a 7:30 game with Strong Vincent.The Trojans wrapped up their fifth consecutive Northwest Conference title last week with a 28-6 victory over Oil City. in the process clinching a berth in the District 10 AAA playoffs.
Star running back Joe Korcinsky surpassed former Sharon standout Mike Archie on The Herald's career touchdown list. Korcinsky had 4 TDs against the Oilers to reach a total of 24 for the season, upping his career mark to 78. Archie had 75.
Korcinsky added 258 yards rushing on 35 carries and has 1,329 yards on the season. His 4,640 career mark puts him second, 496 yards behind Archie (5,136), on The Herald career list.
Somewhat hidden by Korcinsky's shadow is junior quarterback Cliff Mason, who has replaced graduate brother Andy under center. Cliff is 41-of-84 for 648 yard and 9 TDs in what historically has been known as a run-oriented offense.
Mason and Korcinsky will lead the Trojans into their first-round playoff game against either North East or General McLane of the Erie County League.
Strong Vincent is coming off a 29-20 victory over Erie East.
FRIDAY
Grove City (5-3) at Hickory (4-4)
Class AAA Grove City struggled against Class A Kennedy Christian last week, but pulled out a close 28-22 decision.The victory turned out to be more important than first thought because of a change in thinking by the District 10 committee on picking playoff teams. Indications are that a loss would have knocked the Eagles out of playoff contention.
Grove City will face Titusville in the first round of the District 10 playoffs.
The Eagles struggled offensively, managing just over 100 yards total offense, but the defense and special teams pulled out the victory. Chris Reiber returned an interception 65 yards for a TD and Jon Chanadet added a pair of picks to help secure the win late in the game. Anthony Errera added an 88-yard kickoff return for a TD to help the Eagles to a 14-13 halftime lead.
Class AA Hickory, meanwhile, is coming off a disappointing 26-6 loss to Slippery Rock. The Hornets' lone score came in the fourth quarter as the offense amassed 255 yards.
Hubbard (4-0, 7-1) at Newton Falls (2-2, 4-4)
Heading into the season, Hubbard coach Jeff Bayuk set one simple goal _ win the TAC-8 Championship. This week, a victory will do that for the streaking Eagles and give them their first league title since 1966.A win would also help the Eagles keep alive hopes for a playoff berth, something Hubbard didn't do last year despite posting a school-record 9-1 slate. The Eagles are ranked third in the Ohio Associated Press Division III, Region 9 computer ratings with 14.2 points. The top four teams make it to the postseason.
Hubbard's success has come on the ground, namely in the forms of Frank Harris and Carmen Tanferno. In its 47-6 victory over Brookfield last week, Hubbard had 489 yards on the ground. Harris had 178 on 11 carries and Tanferno had 145 on the same number of carries.
Reynolds (0-3, 1-7) at Mercer (0-3, 1-7)
These two teams have more in common than their record _ both are coming off blowout losses to the top teams in the MCAC AA division. The Raiders fell to Wilmington, 56-13, while the Mustangs lost to Sharon, 44-16.Despite its record, Mercer is averaging 20 points/game. The problem is defense, which is last in the area by giving up 36.6 points/game and is near the bottom by allowing 325.8 yards/game.
Mercer quarterback Joe Ziccardi and big running back Tom Golden will look to exploit the Reynolds defense which is last in defense, giving up nearly 400 yards/game.
Maplewood (4-3, 4-4) at Lakeview (1-6, 1-7)
Last week, Lakeview suffered its third shutout of the season, 41-0, to Union City. Maplewood also was shut out, 14-0, to the French Creek Valley Conference's second-place team, Conneaut Valley. In that game, Maplewood put together 110 yards of total offense.The Academy (N/A) at Brookfield (1-7)
Brookfield starting quarterback Steve Blasko went down with a collarbone injury in the first quarter in last week's game against Hubbard. Ryan Ross replaced him and completed just 4-of-22 passes for 96 yards and threw three picks. The Warriors' only score came on a halfback pass from Chris Gerber to Mike Reiser.The Academy _ formerly Allegheny Academy _ is a reform school in Pittsburgh and is basically a junior varsity program. Approximately four years ago, the school was banished from competing against other Pennsylvania teams, or those Pennsylvania teams would suffer a forfeit.
St. Marys (0-8) at West Middlesex (1-7)
West Middlesex suffered its fourth shutout of the season last week, 19-0, to Mercyhurst Prep.SATURDAY
Slippery Rock (2-6) at Kennedy Christian (5-3)
The Rockets pulled off a mild upset of Hickory last week, 26-6, while Kennedy suffered a disappointing 28-22 loss to Grove City, despite outplaying the Eagles the entire game.The game was costly to the Golden Eagles, who still had a shot at making the District 10 playoffs.
Jason Cecil led the Golden Eagles offense with 158 yards rushing on 22 carries.
The downfall for Kennedy was the three interceptions, although KC had 102 yards on 8-of-18 passing.
Newly-installed QB Matt Lucco led the Rockets past the Hornets with a pair of TD passes and one rushing score. In his first start of the season, Lucco was 7-of-16 for 93 yards.
Sharpsville (7-1) at Cochranton (3-5)
The Blue Devils, ranked No. 6 in the state by the Harrisburg Patriot-News, have a playoff spot under wraps and will take on the Conneaut Valley-Linesville winner in the first round.Sharpsville has a three-game winning streak after a 53-24 romp over the French Creek Valley Conference's Saegertown last week. John Napotnik became the Herald coverage area's all-time leading passer after completing 5-of-9 passes for 85 yards. For his career, Napotnik has 3,695 yards.
