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OIL CITY
Fumbles foil Oilers' Bid for Upset of Karns City, 25-12
Fumbles have been a problem for Oil City all season, and it was no different Friday in its home and regular season finale – a 25-12 loss to District 9 power Karns City.
No sooner had the Oilers cut a Gremlins lead to 7-6 on an 86-yard pass from Bryce Marchinke to Logan Heath early in the second quarter than the old bugaboo struck again.
After forcing a punt – and a 59-yarder at that – fumbleitis struck again – two in a row, in fact, that triggered the Gremlins to a 22-7 halftime lead. And Karns City, 9-1, never looked back, adding a field goal in the fourth quarter.
The first Oiler bobble resulted in a 22-yard return by Shane Emrick and a 15-6 lead with 6:20 left in the half. But it didn't end there. The Oilers fumbled again three plays later, igniting a 45-yard scoring drive that gave the Gremlins a 22-6 lead just before halftime. Tyson Frazer scored from the 1.
There was no more scoring until Bryce Dittman booted a 29-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter. That drive began at midfield after 28-yard punt return by Bryce Galan.
The Oilers did get on the board once more after Carter Bialo returned the ensuing kickoff 53 yards to the Karns City 27. Clark Findlay ripped off 11 yards on the first play. It looked like the march would fizzle inside the 10, but a facemask call saved the day, and Carter Thompson hit paydirt from the 2.
The Oilers had another chance to score before the game ended. Karns City lost a fumble on the first play after the kickoff, with Bradley Graham recovering, but the Oilers turned the ball over on downs and the Gremlins ran out the clock.
Karns City, top seed in the D-9 2A playoffs, advanced deep into Oiler territory on its first two possessions before finding the end zone on Cole Johnston’s 36-yard pass to a wide open Owen Kaufman early in the second quarter. It was Kaufman’s 10th TD catch of the year and the 13th scoring pass for Johnson. Before that, the Gremlins lost the ball on a fumble recovered by Matthew Antrilli after reaching the 8 and later were stopped on downs at the Oil City 30.
Oil City, 4-5, the apparent lock for the third seed in the D-10 4A playoffs, withstood two flags before Marchinke and Heath answered on its next possession.
That 86-yard TD is the fifth longest in the Oil City record book.
According to stats posted on YDL Sports.com, Karns City outgained the Oilers 286-212, with the Gremlins picking up 96 yards on the ground but on 32 carries. The Oilers were 30/110 rushing. Marchinke completed four of 10 passes for 102 yards with Heath making two catches for 96. Thompson was 15/54 rushing.
FRANKLIN
Seneca's passing game (338 yards)
riddles Knights' secondary, 47-6
The Knights got an early introduction to the state's leading receiver, Donovan Huzinec, who caught his 18th touchdown pass of the season 1:28 into the game. Or at least he became the state's leading receiver after making that catch. The junior went into the game with 72 receptions for 1,080 yards.
At any rate, it got the 3-7 Bobcats rolling in a 47-6 rout of the Knights. (Aaron Moore-Junior blocked the extra point after the TD.)
But Franklin couldn't stop their passing game, and did little on offense itself. Seneca's Dalton Boyd threw for 338 yards and five touchdowns. Huzinec had 160 yards receiving and three TDs for the game.
The Knights' touchdown came on a 5-yard run by Caden MIncer -- the 28th of his career -- to climax an 80-yard march to start the second half.
Mincer had some nice runs during the game, rushing for 106 yards on 18 carries. He also caught four passes for 91. That gave him 789 yards rushing on the season and 2,810 for his career, good for second on Franklin's all-time list.
The three-year starter led the Knights in all-purpose yards with 1,251 (Freddie Blackhurst was second with 450) and was second to Doty in total yards with 1,190.
The Knights had an 80-yard TD pass called back late in the first half. That threat ended with an interception. Doty passed for 247 yards and wound up with 1,699 yards total offense.
So the Knights closed at 1-9 under first-year coach Austin Ion, who will return Doty, a stable of good receivers , led by Damian Cassano (29/458), and Luke Marsteller who registered 100 tackles on the year.
Mincer was second in tackles with 54, but had 5.5 TFL and four sacks.
Final career numbers for Caden MIncer:
Numbers from 2023-25 are from News-Herald accounts of games. Numbers this season are from what coaches share on MaxPreps; they didn't post prior to this year.
VOLLEYBALL
Franklin reaches D-10 semis
Franklin ousted sixth-seeded Eisenhower, 3-1, Wednesday to reach the District 10 3A semifinals.
Franklin's Lady Knights, the three seed, will play second-seeded Fairview Tuesday, TBA.
Fairview eliminated Greenville, and while top-seeded Cathedral Prep had a bye Wednesday, Conneaut took down Grove City in the other half of that bracket.
The Lady Knights are now 15-4. They won Wednesday's match at Oil City High school despite dropping the first set.
Sophie Boal (pictured) led Franklin with 15 kills and 10 assists. She also had four digs, three blocks and two aces.
The top two teams will advance to the state tournament.​
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(Photo by Christy Fackler)​
District 10 volleyball champions
McDowell 4A champ from 2018-22
LEGENDS
Oil City native Tiger LaVerde's teams at Kirtland, O., just keeping rolling along -- even though he lost his quarterback due to injury for the third straight year.
Yes, the Hornets lost a game this season, but they are 9-1 and made the playoffs again.
LaVerde's coaching career began in 2001 with a three-year stint at Franklin before he moved on to Kirtland.
He is approaching 300 victories with eight state titles, and sports the highest winning percentage in Ohio history.
He was also the third in Ohio history to claim eight state titles -- (Class VI). The Hornets have reached the state finals in 14 of the last 15 seasons.
LaVerde was national Coach of the Year in 2023.
Tiger LaVerde and family and friends when Kirtland played at Clarion a few years ago.
Giving 'em the old stiff arm
D-10 all-time top rushers
* active
Action photos from Mercyhurst web site
Knox: 173 total yards in first start for Mercyhurst
Ethen Knox had his biggest game yet on Oct. 24 for Mercyhurst's Division I football program.
The Oil City grad made his first start for the Lakers. He didn't score, but he carried the ball 18 times for 95 yards and caught nine passes for another 78 in the Lakers' 28-14 loss at Robert Morris.
Knox has played in six games for the 1-7 Lakers and has 144 yards rushing on 31 tries and 21 receptions for 163. He's No. 4 on the team in receptions.
Knox began seeing more action in late September, catching six passes for 38 yards against Western Kentucky.
His 12-game career numbers show 231 yards rushing on 41 carries and his only touchdown. All of his receiving stats are from this season. Defensively, he has seven tackles (three solo) and a block of something.
Mercyhurst visits Stonehill Oct. 31, and will host Wagner on Nov. 7. Kickoff is 2 p.m.
The Lakers will trravel to Pittsburgh again on Nov. 14 for a game with Duquesne, noon kickoff.
Knox is District 10's all-time leading rusher with 7,870 yards. He is a junior cybersecurity major at Mercyhurst.