This site is about the sports doings of the high schools in Venango County, Pa. Contact: pennyweichel@gmail.com
CROSS COUNTRY
Cranberry took sixth in the PIAA 1A girls cross country meet Saturday at Bg Spring High School in Newberry.
Beatrice Kolesar finished 20th to lead the Berries.
Next were Elena Ishman 30, Ava Earp 46, Louisa Hepler 46, Darien Wenner 64, Elliana Cotherman 90 and Marina Mourchian 101.
Kolesar's time was 20:43. The top 25 receive a m medal.
Oil City's Corabel Shiley was 38rd in the 2A girls race. Teammate Addison Wyant was 92nd. Shiley was making her fourth appearance the state meet.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart won the 1A title over Winchester Thurston, 49-108.
Elk County Catholic was third and Lakeview was fifth.
​Individual winner was OLSH's Mira Mosca in 19:05.
Runnerup was Elk's Lane Schreiber in 19:15. Natalie Cyphert of North Clarion was 10th in 19:54.
Cathedral Prep won the 2A team title, 81-93, over Central Cambria. Grove City was sixth. Top District 10 individual runner was Hickory's Mira Moschillo who was 13th.
END OF THE ROAD FOR OILERS
Oil City again stymied by Prep's big plays as D-10 semifinal unfolds
Second verse, same as the first.
Heavily favored Cathedral Prep used two big second half scoring plays to spoil an otherwise sterling defensive effort by Oil City in a 14-0 regular season victory on Sept. 25.
It looked like it might be more of the same for the first 17 minutes of Friday's District 10 4A quarterfinal at Fairview High School.
Only difference, Prep got more "splash" plays this time around.
It was scoreless until Prep erupted for six touchdowns on plays covering 52, 40, 82, 1 (after a 66-yard pass), 27 and 85 yards during the last 31 minutes of the contest.
Prep led 13-0 at intermission and extended it to 19-0 on an 82-yard kickoff return by Eli Elwell to start the second half. The other TDs came on runs and passes. And there were no 80-yard, 16-play drives in there.
Carter Thompson dragged DeZarie Carson down at the 1 on that 66-yard set-up. Carson still scored two TDs, one on an 85-yard exclamation point, and finished with 275 yards rushing on 18 carries. Soph QB Broegan McCarthy completed eight of 14 passes for 114 yards and two more scores.
The Ramblers converted only one PAT; Logan Heath and Dylan VanWormer intercepted passes on two of them.
And heck, before all heck did break loose, Oil City dodged (1) a bad snap on a punt deep in its own territory, (2) a missed 22-yard field goal attempt by Prep, and (3) a fumble after a 13-yard run. Plus, they dug in for a goal line stand at the 1.
But in the meantime – and as with the first game – the Oilers, whose line has been decemented by injuries -- (can you say freshmen, sophomores?) -- couldn’t do anything offensively. They never even timidly tip-toed into the red zone and managed only 160 yards total offense.
Thus, this rebuilding year ended with a 4-6 record against a tough schedule, while Prep (9-2) advanced to the D-10 4A championship game against unbeaten General McLane.
Friday's game was moved mid-afternoon to Fairview High School from the Vet. According to a report in the Erie Times News: "On Friday morning, the Iroquois School District administration sent out a letter stating that Iroquois High School had “implemented heightened security measures” after online threats were made toward students by a juvenile who is not enrolled in the district." District 10 then took precaution and moved the Oil City-Prep game to Fairview. Iroquois is still scheduled to play Girard today at the Vet.
AROUND REGION 5
Region 5 standings
Final standings
DISTRICT 10 PLAYOFFS
Nov. 6
4A
Cathedral Prep 37, Oil City 0
General McLane 55 Harbor Creek 14
3A
Grove City 42, North East 6
Ft. LeBoeuf 35, Corry 27
6A
McDowell 47, Altoona 41 (OT)
State College 55, Erie 0
Nov. 7
2A
Seneca vs. Sharpsville
Grard vs. Iroquois
1A
Cambridge Springs vs. Maplewood
Lakeview vs. Saegertown
​
District 9 2A chmpionship
Karns City 28, Central Clarion 7
VOLLEYBALL
Franklin falls to Cathedral Prep
in D-10 championship match
But Lady Knights
still state-bound
Cathedral Prep swept Franklin, 3-0, Thursday in the District 10 3A volleyball championship game, but the Lady Knights are still headed to the state playoffs.
Both teams went into the match looking for their first district crown, although Villa Maria won in 1985 before its merger with Prep in 2022-23.
This is the first trip to the state tourney for both teams.
Franklin will visit the WPIAL champ -- either top-seeded Freeport or third-seeded Avonworth -- on Tuesday.
Prep will host the WPIAL runnerup that day.
Freeport and Avonworth will play Saturday for WPIAL honors.
Avonworth won the 2A state crown in 2025.
Franklin, the third seed in the district tourney, was coming off an upset of Fairview, the No. 2 entry, in the semifinals.The Lady Knights are now 16-5.
Mainstays for coach Mya Zacherl include seniors Hope Laderer, Haven Goodman, Mary Adams (pictured), and Sophie Beach and juniors Jordan Irons, Araden Maxson and Sophie Boal.
Other D-10 champions are:
6A --- McDowell
4A -- Corry
2A -- Maplewood
1A -- Cochranton
Girls volleyball in District 10 has long been dominated by Crawford and Erie county schools.
This year's titles were the 26th for McDowell and the 24th for Maplewood.
Oil City and Cranberry are the only other Venango County schools to win district titles or qualify for states, both back in the 1980s/90s. In fact, Jim Smith, a 1966 Franklin grad, assisted his wife Lynn in coaching Oil City's early dynasty in the 1980s. Oil City has five titles, Cranberry one.
​
(Photo by Christy Fackler)​
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: 10/113 yards, TD receiving for Mercyhurst
Ethen Knox had another good game for fledgling Division I Mercyhurst on Oct. 31, catching 10 passes for 113 yards and scoring his first touchdown of the season. He was named an NEC Prime Performer for the week of Nov. 2.
Knox caught an 8-yard pass from Alex Gevaudan to climax a 63-yard drive and give the Lakers a 7-3 lead in the opening quarter. However, they couldn't hang on and homestanding Stonehill (4-5) pulled out a 34-28 decision that left the Lakers with a 1-8 record.
Stonehill stymid Mercyhurst's ground game with Knox managing only a team-leading 31 yards on nine carries. The Lakers (1-8) were 19/74 as a team.
Gevaudan threw for 344 yards, completing 28 of 54 for three TDs. He was intercepted three times. Gevaudan is a 6-3, 195-pound junior from Mt. Lebanon. This is his third year on the team and his first as a starter.
Knox has 175 yards rushing on 40 attempts this season. He also has 31 catches for 276 yards. And he's made seven tackles.
For his career he's 41/221 rushing in 12 games.
Mercyhurst will host Wagner this Saturday. Kickoff is 2 p.m.
The Lakers will trravel to Pittsburgh 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.