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Hanging with the heavyweights

Oiler offense continues to struggle, but defense limits Prep to 0 first downs, 11 yards offense in first half

Prep 14, Oilers 0

The Oilers emerged from the teeth of their schedule – Sharon, General McLane and Cathedral Prep – with an 0-3 record, but they did give Cathedral Prep something to think about Friday.

Oil City held the Ramblers to zero first downs and 11 yards total offense in the first half, but yielded two explosive plays – one a punt return – after halftime and lost the game, 14-0.

The fourth play of the second half saw Cameron Lewis squirt loose for a 55-yard touchdown to break the scoreless tie. Seven minutes later Eli Elwell returned a punt 83 yards for a TD, and that was that.

For the second straight week the Oilers played rock-solid defense, yielding 122 yards to the 5-0 Ramblers. This came on the heels of a 136-yard effort last week against McLane.

But for the second straight week, the Oilers offense sputtered, gaining just 184 yards – their third lowest total of the season. Their biggest gainer from scrimmage was a 29-yard pass from Bryce Marchinke to Noah Lucarelli. There was also a 20-yard gain off a fake punt by Logan Heath on their second possession.

Penalties continued to nag the Oilers, who lost back-to-back games by shutout for the first time since 2007.

In between its two touchdowns, Prep had a 45-yard TD run called back by a block in the back and then proceeded to be whistled for consecutive false starts before getting off a 19-yard punt, which was shanked.

The Oilers (2-3) will be at home for its next game, but it will be on Thursday against Warren.

Iroquois 34, Knights 14

Caden Mincer’s return to the lineup wasn’t enough as the winless Knights bowed to visiting Iroquois, 34-14.

The teams were tied at the half, 14-14, before the Braves pulled away.

Mincer, who missed the last two games with an injury, carried 17 times for 94 yards. He also had a 28-yard punt return that set up his second TD – a 14-yard run on the next play. His first TD was a 1-yard run.

Jacob Fleming added both extra points.

The Braves broke the tie to start the second half, and then recovered an onside kick. But they had to wait to extend their lead as an 11-yard loss on fourth-and-goal from the 4 kept them out of the end zone.

Franklin then reached midfield on an 11-yard dash, a 28-yard catch and a four-yard run on fourth-and-two by Mincer before being stopped on downs.

Later on, Ryheem Abu-Zahbiba went 66 yards on a reverse on third-and-18 to make it 28-14. Iroquois added another touchdown on a 60-yard fumble return by Noah Olowinski. This came after Cooper Carll recovered a fumble at the Iroquois 28 with 4:18 to play.

Luke Marsteller had 14 more tackles, bringing his season's total to 49.

The Knights hit the road for three straight games, beginning Friday at Meadville. Mincer needs 796 yards in the last five games to tie Ian Quarles' school rushing record. Still doable.

2026 Franklin roster

2026 Oiler Roster

Photo by Christy Fackler

100 Years Ago: Remembering 1926

The only teams to score on Oil City were the three that beat them: the Alumni (7-2), Warren (13-7) and Steubenville, Ohio (49-0). Otherwise, the Oilers posted seven victories, including two over Franklin, a 0-0 tie with Sharpsville and gained a leg of the Alpha Cup.

Franklin, meanwhile, recorded five wins to go with four losses, the other two coming against Sharpsville and Meadville. Coach Ed Treadwell spent part of the season in Buffalo General Hospital with rheumatic fever, so assistant Earl McGill took over in his absence.

Oiler home games were moved to the West End field from Hasson Ramage, which school officials deemed too rough. They opened the season Sept. 18 against the Alumni, while Franklin kicked off the campaign Sept. 25 against Yougsville.

After tying Sharpsville during Week 2, the Oilers got in the win column when Al Henderson returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown in a 7-0 victory over Erie East.

The Nursery's first loss to Oil City on Oct. 9 was sandwiched around lopsided victories over Yougsville (37-0), Sandy Lake (28-0) and Union City (68-0). Paul Snyder scored four TDs against the Bears. He led Franklin with seven touchdowns that season.

Frank "Bruv" O'Day, who later coached St. Joe, ran for 133 yards before 4,000 fans in that 27-0 victory over Franklin, which included two TDs covering 25 yards by Henderson and Bob Moran and another for 21 by Walter "Spike" McLain.

O'Day also registered a pair of 55-yard plays in the second game against the Nursery, an 18-0 shutout on Nov. 25. One was a run from scrimmage and the other a Pick 6.

The Nursery had some so-so results in between the two games. There were shutouts against Union City, injury-riddled Greenville and Titusville (34-0), their first win over the Rockets in seven years. Ed Billig scored twice, the first on a 48-yard run to start the scoring. Billig scored six TDs on the season and Bob Muse added five.

Franklin lost to Meadville in its next outing before taking on Oil City again.

Before the back-to-back losses to Warren and Steubenville, the Oilers blanked Meadville, 40-0, and the mighty Sharon Tigers, 14-0. Ray "Chubby" Williams' 2-yard plunge clinched the win over Sharon as the Oilers handed the Tigers their first loss of the season.

The week before, Moran scored three TDs, one from Henderson for the Oilers' only scoring pass of 1926.

The Oilers measured Titusville, 33-0, the week before the second game with Franklin. McLain's 64-yard run was the highlight of the game.

Oil City was scheduled to play Greenville, but the Trojans canceled, saying it was unable to field a team. But later it was learned the PIAA was on Greenville's case for using ineligible players.

The Oilers' lineup in 1926 included 275-poound senior tackle Roy "Kippy" Schorman. Moran led the Oilers with eight touchdowns and Henderson added five and 38 points.

About this site

If you are from Anywhere, USA, and happened to stumble upon this site, Franklin and Oil City are about eight miles apart along Route 8 in Venango County, Pa. -- which is about halfway between Pittsburgh and Erie in the western part of the state.

yardsandpoints.com (formerly venangofootball.com and then route8rivalry.com) covers the grid doings of Oil City and Franklin high schools in Venango County. It also includes the football histories of the two schools, which date back to 1896, along with that of (RIP) Venango Catholic (nee Christian and formerly St. Joseph in Oil City), which dropped the sport in the 1990s. I've recently included more stuff on basketball as well as the doings in other sports.

Former Derrick sports editor Penny Weichel is webmaster.

Contact pennyweichel@gmail.com if need be.