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First league championship in 55 years
2026 Oilers
Region 5 champs
1971 Oilers
Section 2 champs
The photo above is from the Oil Can in 1971 -- the last year Oil City won a league title (Section 2) in boys basketball. Until now. The Oilers ended the 55-year drought last Friday with their come-from-behind triple overtime conquest of Warren. They clinched the title outright with another rally Tuesday at home, beating Franklin, 78-56. After cutting down the net, they had their picture taken (compliments of OCASD.) Both headlines are in 55-point type, by the way, at least on desktop.
The road to the championship in 1971 was convoluted. The season was divided into halves, and Oil City lost the regular season game to perennial champion Meadville both times, but managed to tie the Bulldogs for each of the two "half" titles, thus necessitating a playoff. And the Oilers won both of those, the first at Clarion and the second at Edinboro, for their second straight Section 2 title. (They later could thank first Franklin and then Cranberry for pulling off upsets of the 'Dogs.)
Up until then Meadville had dominated the league, winning every championship since 1950 except for 1958 and 1959 when Titusville went back-to-back.
When the Oilers won their two in a row, things were looking quite rosy. Even though they failed to three-peat in 1972, they still made the state playoffs since the PIAA decided schools didn't have to win their league to qualify.
But, as they say, sugar happens. Over the subsequent years, they had some near misses here and there. Until now. Ta-da!
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Bob Lynch was coach of the Oilers back then, much to his native Franklin's dismay. (He would however, eventually return to his hometown to coach the Knights.)
The 1971 roster included Mike Emick and Tom Current, both first team All-Section, and second teamer Jon Settlemire.
Emick's big moment came on Feb. 9 when he scored 56 points as the Oilers trounced Rocky Grove 121-48.
The 56 points was not only a school record but tied the Section 2 standard set in 1954 by Meadville's Lloyd Sharrar against Franklin. Sharrar later played at West Virginia.
What's more, the 121 points was another school record, the first time in the new gym and the fifth time the Oilers had reached 100 since 1915.
Pictured here flanking Lynch are managers Craig Weaver, Tom Evans, Dave Evans and Joe Cielepak.
The players behind them (from left) Don Clark, Ted Kaufman, Gerry Cunningham, George Sterner, Casimir "Kike" Barscz, Doug Dale, Mike Emick, Tom Current, Gary Davis, Lou Stack, Steve Flinchbaugh Joe Best, Larry Rosenburg and Jon Settlemire.
The Oilers finished 21-4 in 1971, losing to McDowell, 41-38, in the District 10 championship game at Edinboro. Their all-time record after that season was 689-389.
Easton Liederbach/(Photo by Kelly Malek)
Steven Heise congratulates Nevin Stinson after getting the foul call/(Photo by Richard Sayer)
Grove, Cranberry girls join Oilers
in winners' circle Tuesday night
It's a wrap.
Oil City won the Region 5 title outright Tuesday night, but not before Franklin put up a first-half fight. The Knights jumped out to a sizable lead in the first quarter, but after the Oilers got the game tied 36-36 by intermission, they pulled away for a 78-56 victory for their first league championship outright in 55 years.
Nevin Stinson scored 25 points and handed out six assists, but got plenty of help in the scoring column from freshmen Easton Liederbach (pictured) with 17 points and Isaiah VanWormer with 12, and two more seniors, 6-7 Michael Fink and guard Steven Heise with 10 apiece.
The Oilers (16-5 overall) will ring down the curtain on the regular season at home Friday against Conneaut for Senior Night.
The Eagles will be coming off a 61-51 loss to Warren in which the Dragons' Jacob McMeans drilled seven three-pointers in the third quarter alone.
Franklin (11-10) will host Seneca Friday, and then, along with the Oilers, will wait to hear their fate in the playoffs, which will be announced Saturday. (It should be noted that Farrell served notice for the 4A tourney with a 59-55 overtime victory over probable No. 2 seed Sharon.
Ian Higley led the Knights against the Oilers with 16, followed by Jameson Wofford with 12 and soph Nolan parry with 10.
Rocky Grove (15-6, 11-1) walloped Jamestown, 69-25, behind Landen Carter's 21 points and 17 by Noah Baughman. The Orioles clinched a tie for the Region 2 crown. Second-place Saegertown is 10-1 and can match the Grove with a victory over Maplewood Friday.
Saegertown had a non-region game with Commodore Perry Tuesday, and survived a 50-point effort by Xavier Williams in an 80-77 victory. Williams drilled 15 3-pointers in the game.
Cranberry girls win
The Cranberry girls took a road trip to Hickory and came out on top, 50-35. Jadyn Shumaker bucketed 16 and Darien Wenner 15 for the 14-8 Berries, whose next action is the KSAC tournament.
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Ian Higley hopes to spot a teammate through Michael Fink (10) and Easton Liederbach (Photo by Richard Sayer)
Cranberry junior Blake Marchinke on Monday was named MVP on the KSAC boys basketball all-stars.
Marchinke was one of four Cranberry players honored.
Cole Findlay, a senior, was picked to the second team.
Sophomore Darien Wenner was named to the first team of the girls all-stars. She was joined by third team selection Jadyn Shumaker, a senior.
Wenner was a repeat first team pick, while Marchinke moved up from the second team. Findlay and Shumaker were third team picks last year.
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In other news, Berries made girls KSAC tourney with Redbank's loss to Keystone.
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Marchinke
named MVP
of KSAC
boys hoops
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On the mat, in the pool
Jordan Stumpf was one of three four-event winners for the Franklin boys. (Photo by Christy Fackler).
This never gets old: Cranberry's Dalton Wenner being proclaimed the winner.
Berries rally past Redbank
Noah Lucarelli's pin at 285 on Friday rallied Cranberry to a 39-34 victory over Redbank Valley. The Berries also received falls from Brent Hurrelbrink, Aiden Thompson, Jamarcus Cook and Alex McLaughlin and a decision from Jack Nuhfer. The Berries evened their dual meet record at 6-6. Their final dual is Tuesday at Central Clarion. After that they'll be in the District 9 3A tourney Feb. 21, details TBA.
Franklin swimmers sweep Oil City
Dani Erdley, Jordan Stumpf and Parker Smith were four-event winners Tuesday as Franklin swept Oil City in swimming
The girls, who clinched the Region 1 title last week, upped their record to 10-0. The boys, 90-62 winners, are 7-3.
Evelynn Highfield and Sammi Smith were triple winners and Chloe Switzerland, Ellie Coyer and McKewnzy Thomas were double winners.
Ayla Hall was a double winner for Oil City (4-6). John Lander was a double winner for the Oilers (4-6).
Ayla Hall won the IM and butterfly for the Oil City girls. (Photo by Kelly Malek.)
Football
Franklin finds
its man
Austin Ion was introduced as the new Franklin football coach at a school board work session on Jan. 19. He officially became Franklin's 26th paid coach at the board's Jan. 26 meeting.
Ion succeeds Matt Turk, a former Knight all-star, who resigned after six years at the helm.
Ion is a 2017 Keystone High School graduate who played football, basketball and baseball for the Panthers.
He played wide receiver at Grove City College, where he majored in accounting.
He has coached at Keystone for eight years and most recently served as jayvee coach under coach Todd Smith.
The commiittee to select a new coach at Franklin consisted of athletic director Becky Barnes, high school co-principal Tom Holoman, Central Elementary principal Joe Keenan and assistant AD Chris Romanowski.
Ion was the choice among "nine good applicants," according to Barnes.​