This site is about the sports doings of the high schools in Venango County, Pa. Contact: pennyweichel@gmail.com
HARRIERS
Oops, I goofed. Really goofed.
While Cranberry did take sixth in the PIAA 1A girls cross country meet Saturday at Big Spring High School in Newberry and was led, as usual, by Beatrice Kolesar, she finished 32nd overall, not 20th, as was first reported.
That means the senior didn't earn a medal -- only the top 25 are awarded hardware. Kolesar's time was 20:43.
I was looking at the team score placements, so that means the finishes of her teammates were also in error.
My apologies to the Cranberry runnin' community.
Elena Ishman was 51, followed by Ava Earp 96, Louisa Hepler 108, Darien Wenner 131, Elliana Cotherman 180 and Marina Mourchian 197.
Since the advent of three classes in 2012, Cranberry has 12 top 16 and five top 10 finishes, including a state title in 2024. The Berries have been top six four times since 2022.
Kolesar was third last season and eighth in 2024.
Oil City's Corabel Shiley was 30th in 19:50 in the 2A girls race on Saturday. Teammate Addison Wyant was 102nd out of 132 entries. 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 is third straight 2A team title, 81-93, over Central Cambria. Grove City was sixth.
Hickory freshman Mira Moschillo was just ahead of Shiley in 19:48.
BOYS
Rocky Grove sophomore Max Griffin was 88th out of 216 runners in the 1A race. His time was 17:54. The winning time was 15:27 by Gabe Simkiss of Regina Luminus. Three area runners were in the top 20: Jackson Baker of Central Clarion was 12th in 16:23, Malachi Phillips of Lakeview was 13th in 16:23 and Ethan Hastings of North Clarion was 15th in 16:29.
Winchester Thurston was team champ. Elk County Catholic tied for sixth. Wilmington was 13th.
Cranberrty's Daniel McCain ran 17:35 and finished 102nd among 246 2A boys. James Kolesar was 140th in 17:56.
Brookville was runnerup to Quaker Valley, 128-151, in the team standings. Jonah Montages of Quaker Valley won the race in 15:02. Liam Whitling was sixth for Brookville in 16:08. Grove City hand entries who finished 11th and 17th. Harbor Creek was fourth and General McLane seventh.
Senior standouts
Erstwhile track star Corabel Shiley of Oil City marked her fourth appearance in the 2A state cross country meet. She medaled (top 25) last season. Beatrice Kolesar led Cranberry to sixth in the 1A team standings this year and medaled the last two, pacing the Berries to the state title in 2024. (Kelly Malek photography)
VOLLEYBALL
Franklin falls to Cathedral Prep
in D-10 championship match
Lady Knights visit
Freeport today
in state playoffs
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 WPIAL champ Freeport today,
while Prep will host WPIAL runnerup Avonworth.
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)​
FOOTBALL
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. 13
4A
CHAMPIONSHIP
General McLane vs. Cathedral Prep, 7 p.m., Fairview
3A
SEMIFINALS
Hickory vs. Ft. LeBoeuf, 7 p.m. Farrell
Sharon vs. Grove City, 7 p.m., Wilmington
6A
SUBREGIONAL
McDowell at State College, 7 p.m.
Nov. 14
2A
SEMINFINALS
Farrell vs. Iroquois, noon, Hickory
Sharpsville vs. Greenville, 7 p.m., Farrell
1A
SEMIFINALS
Wilmington vs. Saegertown, 7 p.m., Hickory
Mercyhurst vs. Maplewood, noon, Ft. LeBoeuf
​
2A SUBREGIONAL
Karns City vs. Westinghousse, TBA, Cupples, Stadium, Pittsburgh
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
Ethen Knox scored another touchdown for Mercyhurst Saturday (Nov. 7) in its 33-28 loss to Wagner in a battle of 1-8 teams.
Knox caught a 9-yard pass from Alex Gevaudan in the first quarter to get the Lakers on the board.
For the season Knox is 48/202 rushing and 33/296 receiving with two TDs.
The Lakers will travel to Pittsburgh on Nov. 14 for a game with Duquesne, noon kickoff.
The Oil City grad is District 10's all-time leading rusher with 7,870 yards. He is a junior cybersecurity major at Mercyhurst.
D-10 all-time top rushers
* active
Action photos from Mercyhurst web site