Allied News staff
MERCER COUNTY AREA —
Even though it’s early in the season, coach Jeff Bell’s Grove City Eagles can take control of the District 10 Region 3-AA standings Friday when they travel to Hickory Hornets’ stadium.
The Eagles, who dropped down from Class AAA this year, defeated Reynolds, 20-6, last Friday and have already knocked off Wilmington this season. Last Friday, Wilmington bounced back to upend state-ranked Hickory, 35-28, setting up the key battle in Hermitage for Grove City.
While it is a strong league, Grove City, Hickory and Wilmington are regarded as the top three powers and it would be considered an upset for the trio to bow to any of the other region squads.
In another important game for Allied area teams, Mercer is at Lakeview.
Following is a look at Allied News area results last Friday:
ä Grove City 20, Reynolds 6 — At Forker Field in Grove City, the Eagles (2-0, 3-0) scored a pair of touchdowns in the 1st quarter and went on to win the Region 3 clash against the Raiders (1-1, 2-1).
GC took a 7-0 lead in the 1st frame on a 7-yard touchdown run by Harold Price and Dylan Motta.
The Eagles went up 13-0 later in the quarter on a 35-yard TD pass from Jared Graham to Foster Reznor. The extra-point kick failed.
Reynolds cut the lead to 13-6 in the 2nd quarter on a 2-yard TD run by Michael Millero. The PAT failed.
GC extended its lead to 20-6 in the 3rd quarter on an 11-yard run by Graham and Motta’s extra-point kick.
Graham was 5-of-6 for 115 yards for GC and Price led the team in rushing with 71 yards on 11 carries.
ä Kennedy Catholic 18, Mercer 13 — At Mercer, the visiting Golden Eagles unleased a powerful aerial attack to pull off the key Region 1-A victory.
The combination of junior quarterback Brennan Wassil and senior running back Jeff Thompkins accounted for two touchdowns of 40 and 64 yards. In all Thompkins had 5 catches for an amazing 172 yards.
The other KC touchdown also came through the air as Wassil connected with Jacob Feeney on a 15-yard scoring pass.
For Mercer, quarterback Logan Clarke scored on a 5-yard run and also fired a 5-yard pass to Vik Rymniak.
For the Golden Eagles of coach Archie Donofrio, it was a welcome victory after a tough 6-0 loss at Farrell last weekend when the Golden Eagles saw several scoring attempts stymied deep in Farrell territory.
Kennedy is 1-1 in the region and 1-2 overall. Mercer falls to 0-2, 1-2.
ä Slippery Rock 28, Erie Central 18 — Ryan Currie scored three touchdowns to lead the Rockets to their third straight win of the season. The Rockets are a contender in District 10 Region 5-AAA this campaign.
ä Franklin 28, Lakeview 24 — At Franklin, the Knights (1-2) notched the program’s first win in 2 seasons.
Former Farrell High standout Forrest Wested was instrumental, rushing and passing for touchdowns and also hauling in another.
Wested’s 1-yard plunge with 15 ticks to play proved decisive.
Wested forged Franklin’s first win after 14 consecutive setbacks with a 10-carry, 95-yard rushing effort, 6-for-13, 45-yard passing performance, and a half-dozen receptions for another 73 yards.
Lakeview speedster Blake Reddick roared to a game-high 17-carry, 178-yard rushing outing that included 64-, 35- and 50-yard scoring sprints. However, reportedly Reddick sustained an injury, the extent of which was not known as of press time.
Also fo Lakeview (2-1), Zach VanDusen rushed for 115 yards on 19 carries, including a 6-yard 4th-quarter TD that staked the Sailors to a short-lived 24-14 lead.
