High School Football: Season's best

By Patrick Connelly/Sports Editor

Football is without a doubt the epitome of a team game and it seems like an oxymoron anytime the word ‘individual’ is mentioned near it.

That being said, it’s impossible to have a great team without at least a few great players — something even coaching legends Vince Lombardi or Paul “Bear” Bryant would readily admit, though you’d probably have to hog-tie them to the floor first.

The 2009 high school football season saw some great teams take the field as Grove City, Lakeview and Mercer all represented the coverage area of The Allied News well with winning records on the campaign.

Even further, Grove City and Mercer each demonstrated that greatness against the region’s best as both teams qualified for the District 10 tournament in each school’s respective classifications.

Both head coach Jeff Bell’s Eagles and Pat McClearn’s Mustangs added to those playoff berths with big wins over favored teams in the opening round — a 19-13 Grove City win over Erie Strong Vincent and a 28-20 Mercer win over Mercyhurst Prep — before finishing the season the following week.

Today, The Allied News takes a look back at the players who played a pivotal role in their team’s success this past season.

— DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR — Without good defense, it’s pretty tough to win football games and without these players mixing it up in the trenches and secondary, their teams likely would have won a few less.

Few players stepped up as big defensively when their team needed him most as much as Mercer’s Rawlins Huntley.

The senior defensive back chipped in on 52 tackles during the season and forced Mustang opponents into five turnovers, including a 99-yard pick on a pass by West Middlesex’s Kyle Wimer he returned for a touchdown.

The interception prevented a game-tieing Big Reds TD and instead gave Mercer a 14-0 lead on the road. Later in the same game, Huntley returned a Nate Ash fumble 26 yards for another TD as the Mustangs routed Middlesex 42-7.

Grove City’s Brady Beech, a junior, picked off Eagles opponents three times this season, including two in one game. Also for the Eagles, Jibrin Ahmed, another junior, sacked opposing passers 5è times, causing his team’s adversaries a net loss of 43 yards.

— OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR — Good defenses help a secure a win, but without scoring a few points, it’s tough to have one to lock up late in a game.

Week in and week out, no team seemed more dangerous on the offensive side of the ball than Lakeview. A large part of that success is due to senior running back Kyle Scott.

More than simply the next in line in the Sailors succession of fleet-footed backs, Scott made a name for himself as he tallied 1,027 yards on 163 carries (a 6.3 per rush average) and led all Mercer County rushers up until the last week of the regular season.

Scott punched the ball into the end zone 14 times from the position and added another 6 points on carries on two-point conversion jaunts.

Another Kyle — Mercer’s Mariacher — edged Scott on the season total for rushing yards with 1,191 on 165 carries. Mariacher, a sophomore, averaged 7.2 yards a rush.

— MOST VALUABLE PLAYER — No player in The Allied News coverage area was more important to his team’s success this season than Mercer quarterback Andrew Erdos.

The senior signal-caller, a four-year starter for the Mustangs, put his team on his back when they needed him most.

Erdos rushed for 75 yards and a TD on 16 carries in Mercer’s final regular season game at Lakeview — a game which the Mustangs were placed in a must-win situation to ensure a spot in the District 10 Class A playoffs.

A week later at Harbor Creek High, Erdos led all Mercer rushers with 162 yards in the win over unbeaten Mercyhurst Prep.

A large chunk of those yards came on an Erdos sneak on Mercer’s first play from scrimmage in the second half as the quarterback took the rock all the way to the end zone himself on a sneak for a 78-yard score.

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