This site is about the sports doings of the high schools in Venango County, Pa. Contact: pennyweichel@gmail.com
THE GRIND BEGINS
Sophomore QB Hunter Martin threw for 222 yards as Titusville spanked Franklin, 41-13, spoiling the coaching debut of Austin Ion. Caden Mincer scored on a 65-yard pass and a 70-yard run for the Knights.
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Oil City visits Meadville Saturday for its first game.
Oil City assistant coach Ritt Smith, wearing a funny hat, in pre-season drills
Neither school on list of 500 wins,
but Oilers close with unofficial 489;
Knights have notched 449 victories
Both Oil City and Franklin will be playing their 130th season of high school football in 2026. Their rivalry, which also began in 1896, is one of the oldest in Pennsylvania -- not the oldest, but it's right up there.
Since both schools have had their ups and plenty of downs on the gridiron over the years, neither has reached 500 wins. Oil City, thanks to its surge since 1994, is getting close with 489 victories (by my count, which means unofficially). Franklin, thanks to its dominance from 1959-92, isn't as close with 449 wins after a miserable last 35 years or so.
The accompanying chart of selected schools is from easternPafootball.com.
I included Mount Carmel, since it is No. 1 in the state, Aliquippa since the Oilers faced the Quips in the playoffs last season, and Southern Columbia because it's the gold standard in the state at the moment. (I was surprised that the team has existed only since 1963.)
I included every District 10 team with 500 wins.
DuBois and Punxsutawney are on this list. DuBois used to be in the same region as Oil City and Franklin and the Oilers played Punxsy in the state playoffs last season. Also in there is Bradford, an old on-again, off-again rival of both schools.
And Redbank -- the Bulldogs are coached by FHS grad Blane Gold, and his teams have contributed greatly to the Bulldogs' record.
Also surprising, at least to me, is General McLane. I didn't realize the Lancers have been around as long as they have -- 1916.
I'm also surprised Fairview is right up there.
How did I come by this list? Well, it hit me that Oil City and Franklin are in a round-number year of existence. And I knew the rivalry was an old one state-wise -- not the oldest, but, again, right up there. ​
Meanwhile, Titusville's record is only 10 games better than Oil City's -- all in the loss column. Records for Oil City and Franklin were close to what I have. They have 489-564-49 for the Oilers and 448-578-45 for the Knights. A big difference is the first year for both. They have 1898 for Oil City and 1897 for Franklin. But I KNOW they first met in 1896.
Here's an account of the first Franklin-Oil City game on Oct. 31, 1896
Ran on Page 1 of the Nov. 2, 1896, edition of the Franklin Evening News
About Auston Ion...
Threw my back out two weeks ago and have been derailed since, unable to do much of anything. I did notice a small piece by Tom Reisenweber of the Erie Times News on Aug. 3 about Austin Ion, Frankln's new coach.
He's a 28-year-old business development engineering who is pursuing his business education certificate.
Spent eight years at his alma mater Keystone, working with QBs, WRs and DBs. Jayvee head coach, special teams coordinator, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator.
A LISTERS
Heading into the 2026 season Oil City's Ethen Knox is 10th in rushing and Franklin's Ian Haynes is 12th in passing on Pennsylvania's all-time lists.
One little discrepancy: I have Knox was 7,870 yards.​
Logan Way defends against Isaiah Rutherford as homestanding
Franklin upsets the Oilers in the 2014 region finale. (Eric Elliott, from the Feb. 17, 2014, News-Herald/Derrick)
Logan Way named FHS hoops coach
Logan Way was named Franklin boys basketball coach at the school board’s Aug. 24 meeting, succeeding Torrin Smith who stepped down earlier in the summer.
Way, a 2014 Oil City graduate, is no stranger to Franklin hoops, having assisted Jason Fulmer on the 2024 team that was runnerup to Devon Prep in the state tournament. He is also a former assistant under Bundy Fulmer at Oil City.
Way is listed as an elementary school teacher at Cranberry and is married to the former Becca Gravatt, one of Franklin’s all-time greats on the girls side.
But before getting into coaching, Way was a big football and basketball star at Oil City, one of the Oilers’ all-time greats.
He is No. 3 on the all-time receiving list behind Ben Koyack and Logan Lantz with 144 catches for 2,313 yards.
And he is No. 4 on the all-time scoring list with 949 points.Only Ben Schill, Chris Jasiota and Nevin Stinson are ahead of him. The Oilers were region runnersup to Farrell his senior year.
Way attended Bethany before transferring to Clarion, where he got his start in coaching.
Smith coached Franklin to a 24-22 record the last two seasons before leaving for his alma mater
Grove City.
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Way is the 31st head coach in Franklin history, dating back to 1917, some of them having two tenures.