Blog Archives - Eight & 322

Location, location, location - semis set and extra some ninth grade action

2/26/2022

The next step of the boys basktetball brackets are up. Franklin and Oil City will play Tuesday night in Slippery Rock while Rocky Grove travels up 322 to Meadville.

Franklin (21-2) is to face Mercyhurst Prep (10-13) at 6 p.m. at Slippery Rock University in the District 10 class 3A boys semis. Oil City (15-8) boys will take the same court after Franklin warms it up to face Grove City (14-8) in the 4A semis.

Rocky Grove (18-5) will face West Middlesex (13-10) at 6 p.m. at Meadville High School in the 2A semis.

These contests are not elimination games. Losers move on to the consolation games. Championship and consolation games will be Friday night. Three teams will move on from District 10 into the state playoffs in 3A and 4A. Rocky Grove is guaranteed a bid in the state final as 2A is taking four teams out of District 10.

But the prize in sight for all three teams is to hoist the hardware over their heads Friday and cut down some nets.

In light of the upcoming game between Franklin and Mercyhurst, we thought we'd share a few pictures we took 10 days ago at a ninth-grade matchup between the two schools. The afternoon shoot-out, which included quite a number of three-pointers, ended with Franklin on top 62 to 55. It was a glimpse into the future of the strong Franklin varsity program.

See more photos available for purchase too at https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p1053435926

Franklin out hustled by Grove City in Mercer

2/26/2022

From the get go Franklin girls just seemed a step behind the Grove City Saturday at Mercer High School in the opening round of the D-10 championships. It was a solid year for the Knights who played hard down the stretch to earn a fifth seed in the playoffs.

Below see more photos from Saturday's action.

Thanks ladies for a fun seasonn to watch. We expect a couple individual district awards heading your way.

More photos from the season can be seen at https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p581686521

See more photos from the season at https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/f700082825

Cranberry advances six and crowns a D9 champ

2/26/2022

Six wrestlers from the Cranberry squad qualified for the North West Regional Tournament after placing in the top four at the District 9 competition Saturday.

“This is one of the best showings we’ve ever had at a district tournament,” said Cranberry head coach Dustin Wenner.

Leading the way for Cranberry was freshman Elijah Brosius won the 106-pound weight class. He went 3-0 on the day and earned a decision over Clarion’s Logan Powell in the final match. Earlier in the day he recorded a pin and a technical fall.

“Devyn Fleeger was kind of our big surprise,” Wenner said, referring to the sophomore as the “talk of the tournament” for Cranberry. Fleeger came into the competition seeded fifth in the 152 bracket. In his second bout of the day, he won a 2-0 decision over second seed Caleb Furgeson of Port Allegany.

“It was a big upset,” Wenner said.

Fleeger finished the day in second place.

Also earning a second was junior Brayden McFetridge, who competed in the 215 weight class.

Also earning spots in the regional tournament were freshmen Dane Wenner, 138, third place; Conner Reszkowski, 126, fourth; and Daniel DeLong, 132, fourth.

“Everybody did exactly what they should have done. Our young kids are tough,” Wenner said. “Overall, I’m really pleased with these kids. Their work ethic is really good.”

The Cranberry wrestlers move on to the North West Regional AA Tournament slated for March 4 and 5 at Sharon High School.

They will be joined by wrestlers from other area squads who competed District 10 AA tournament also held this weekend at Sharon High School.

Sophomore Cael Dailey was Franklin’s top wrestler with a third place finish at 106. In District 10 the top eight qualifiers advance due to the number of competing schools. He will be joined at the regional event by teammate junior Jonah Heckathorne, who placed eighth at 160 pounds.

Crawford County will be well represented at regionals with several champions among those moving on in the competition.

Cochranton’s senior Jack Martinec won the 132 bracket, and will be joined by seven team members who qualified.

Junior Brock Covell won the 172 weight class to place highest among Titusville’s seven qualifiers.

Conneaut Area representatives will be champions sophomore Hunter Gould at 120 pounds and junior Collen Hearn at 160 pounds. Saegertown has six wrestlers moving on, including senior Hunter Robison who won the 113-pound division.

Cambridge Springs and Maplewood each have two qualifiers.

See additional photos at sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p747975047.

No contest

2/26/2022

(Editor's note: The story was updated to include the District semi-final game information and the Erie First Christian scoring stats.)

Sometimes you feel sorry for a team.

The photo above is telling in that it features mostly Franklin's starters getting excited at the end of the game. These kids were on the bench, not because of foul trouble or disciplinary measures, but because they just put up so many points it didn't make any sense at all to let them risk getting injured or to keep putting up even more points against a small squad of kids from Erie First Christian who just are not really in the same league of ability. Why rub it in on a group of kids who are just out trying as hard as anyone else.

Franklin is just a very, very good basketball team.

Erie came out looking like they might compete, they scored a quick four points and it was 5-4. Then Franklin turned it on. Full court pressure put up point after point. Erie scored two more in the first and two in the second quarter. They added only four more in the third. Against Franklin's bench, they only scored six in the fourth.

At the end of the game, excitement filled the gymnasium as the Knights seemed destined to reach the century mark. The game ended 94-18, but it wasn't an exciting game because it was such a lopsided affair.

The Knights have what it takes to go all the way, but they need to be focused when challenged and rise to the occasion when things aren't going as smoothly as they are accustomed to. The great test for the Knights, as they start plating tougher and tougher teams, will be just how well they hold their composure and overcome having to play better and better teams.

Their next test will be against the 10-13 Mercyhurst Prep Lakers at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Slippery Rock University. In that game, Easton Fulmer will become Franklin's all-time leading scorer when he hits his first bucket.

Down the stretch, the Knights will need to avoid falling into the Buster Douglass syndrome where the underdog dominates the superior. If they stay focused they should be able to hoist the district trophy. Coach Jason Fulmer is likely coaching lessons like Douglass' upset over Mike Tyson or the New England Patriots' undefeated season ending in a Super Bowl loss against the New York Giants.

Lessons to keep the high scoring Franklin squad in check.

After districts, they will then be tested by other teams with well-coached, deep bench potential teams who want that state title every bit as much as they do.

There is still some exciting basketball in the future for this squad.

And though the reserves got some good playing time Friday in their blowout victory, they will likely be riding the pine more and more as they attempt to make it to Hershey. But they are good reserves who help prepare this team each week in practice and when called upon to perform, they have seemingly been up for the task.

Please see more photos at https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p901500705

Rocky showed determination down the stretch

2/25/2022

(Editor's Note: This story was updated to include the time and location of the semi-final game.)
It isn't easy to win a game when you've been beat for a little more than three quarters. But that is what Rocky Grove did Friday night in Oil City. In the opening round of the District 10 class AA bracket, the Orioles took on Mercer, a team they beat twice this season. The Mustangs came out looking like those two losses were just learning exercises for them and they now knew how to beat this strong Rocky Grove squad.

And they did look that way.

They were stealing the ball, forcing the Grove into off-balanced shots and sinking the shots they needed... until the fourth quarter. That is when the Orioles stormed back. And most importantly, when it came time to sink free-throws they did. It was a testament to not giving up, to staying focused on their game and putting it on the line when it mattered most.

D'Andre Whitman got five of his 12 in the clutches of clutch free-throws to put the game out of reach for the Mustangs in the fourth.

It was the difference.
Rocky Grove didn't really beat Mercer by seven points - it was a dead-even game, except the free throws made all the difference in the end. The score finished at 51-44 ending the Mustang's season.

Brett Stevenson was game-high scorer with 14 points, mostly gotten from behind the three-point arc. Reece Henderson was also his usual solid self pouring in 12.

Rocky Grove (18-5) moves on to face West Middlesex who is 13-10 on the season after they dumped Saegertown from postseason 73-58. They will square off Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Meadville High School.

See more photos below and at https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p728138776

Franklin also advanced by trouncing Erie First Christian 94-18. Photos from that game will be posted tomorrow.

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Oil City and Cranberry combined squad set to take on D9

2/24/2022

Eight wrestlers for Cranberry’s co-op squad with Oil City earned top-five seeding at the District 9 AA wrestling tournament Saturday at Clarion University.
Elijah Brosius is the team’s highest seed with the top spot in the 106-pound weight bracket. The freshman, who has a 26-4 record, receives a bye in the first round of the tournament and will face off against Bryden Letendre of Sheffield (13-14) in the quarterfinals of the one-day competition.
Senior 113 pounder Michael Stanley (15-12) and junior 215 pounder Brayden McFetridge (15-5) are seeded third.

The young squad also received top-five placements for sophomore Devyn Fleeger (20-13), fifth, 152 pounds, and Walker Willey (11-11), fourth, 285 pounds; and freshmen Conner Reszkowski (22-9), fourth 126 pounds, Daniel DeLong (13-12), fourth, 132 pounds, and Dane Wenner (27-6), third, 138 pounds.

The 14-team tournament is expected to get underway at 9:30 a.m. The second session is slated to start at 3:45 p.m. and will include the Hall of Fame inductions, Parade of Champions, consolation finals and championships.

The complete brackets for all the weight brackets are available online at http://live.pa-wrestling.com/2021-2022/district-9-aa/.
A story on the District 10 AA wrestling tournament, which gets underway Friday at Sharon High School was posted earlier this week.

Top finishers from the District 9 and District 10 competitions will move on to the North West Regional Tournament to be held March 4 and 5 also at Sharon High School.

D10 basketball playoff schedule announced

2/20/2022

The PIAA has announced the District 10 playoff schedule for boys and girls basketball and four Venango County teams made the cut.

The competition gets underway as the Oil City boys (14-8) take on Harbor Creek (17-5) in the Class 4A quarterfinals competition at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Hagerty Family Events Center in Erie.

The Franklin and Rocky Grove teams will be in action Friday, both playing at the Oil City High School House of Hustle. The Orioles (17-5) will play Mercer (11-11) at 6 p.m. for the first round of the Class 2A division. The Knights (20-2) will take on Erie First Christian (7-15) at 7:30 p.m. for a quarterfinal matchup in Class 3A.

The Franklin Lady Knights (14-8) are the only Venango County girls team to make the playoffs. They will compete in Class 5A against Grove City (14-8) at 3 p.m. Saturday at Mercer High School.

For a complete list of all the District 10 basketball brackets go to http://piaadistrict10.org/tournaments.

We plan to cover as much of the local team playoff action as we can. In the meantime, check out hundreds of pictures from the basketball season at our photo website.

Wrestling is heating up, district champions will be crowned

2/20/2022

Franklin High School had five wrestlers qualify for the District 10 AA tournament after placing in the top seven at the Section 2 competition Friday and Saturday at Sharon High School.

Sophomore Cael Dailey had the highest finish for the team, taking second place in the 106-pound bracket. He will be joined at the D-10 tournament by teammates Kadin Karns, junior, fourth place, 215 pounds; Jonah Heckathorne, junior, fifth place, 160 pounds; Cael Ziegler, senior, sixth place, 152 pounds; and Kanyon Crawford, freshman, sixth place, 285 pounds.

The District 10 AA tournament is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Sharon High School.

Dailey will face Elijah Lazar of Girard; Ziegler will meet Clay Thomas of Union City; Heckathorne will meet Gregory Roae of Maplewood; Karns will be against John Duran of Fort LeBoeuf; and Crawford will wrestle Zachary Baldwin of Girard.

A complete list of the District 10 AA brackets is available online at http://live.pa-wrestling.com/.

The Titusville High School wrestling squad moves forward into the districts with all its team aqualify as the squad took fourth place in the Section 2 contest.

Junior Brock Covell, who went into the tournament as the third seed, led the Rockets by taking the top of the 172-pound division. He will receive a bye in the first round of the District 10 AA tournament when it kicks off Friday.

The team had second-place finishes from sophomores Trenton Rodgers at 126 pounds and Kaleb Brunst at 189 pounds, and senior Lodge Nosko at 285 pounds.

Also moving on to districts are sophomores Nate Stearns (132}, Gavin Donaldson (138) and Landon Wolfkiel, (145) and freshman Jaxson Covell (152), who all finished in fourth place, as well as senior Kolin Baker (215) who finished in sixth place.

Conneaut Area High School may have only had five wrestlers in the competition, but they had two champions. Sophomore Hunter Gould took the 120-pound bracket and Collin Hearn finished in first place at 160-pounds. They will be joined in the district tournament by Will Schell, sophomore, sixth place, 126 pounds; Mitchell Blood, freshman, seventh place, 138 pounds; and Logan Groover, sophomore, seventh place, 152 pounds.

The Cranberry wrestling team, which includes athletes from Oil City, will be back in action next weekend as well. The squad will compete in the District 9 AA tournament Saturday at Clarion University.

Dailey and Karns advance to D-10 section semis in Sharon

2/18/2022

Two Franklin wrestlers moved into the semi-finals of the District 10 section 2 tournament Friday night at Sharon High School.

Sophomore Cael Dailey pinned Reynold's Brayden Ranalli in 30 seconds to move forward in the 106 weight bracket. He will start Saturday by facing off with Leyton Zacherl of Commodore Perry.

Junior Kadin Karns also recorded a fall in 3:01, defeating Kolin Baker of Titusville, to head on to the semi-final match in the 215-pound bracket.

On the second day of the competition, Karns will meet the top seed in the weight class Braiden Reich of Slippery Rock.

Freshman Trenton Rice recorded Franklin's only other win on the day.

He pinned Luke Kalmeyer of Slippery Rock in 3:56 to advance into the quarterfinals for the 138-pound division. In his second match of the night, he fell to Cody Hamilton of Grove City.

Also representing Franklin at the tournament are Dallas Ross, sophomore, 120; Crue Etzel, freshman, 126; Trevor Hamilton, senior, 132; Logan Gavin, junior, 145; Cael Ziegler, senior, 152; Jonah Heckathorne, junior, 160; Hunter Martsteller, junior, 172; and Kanyon Crawford, freshman, 285. They move to the consolation brackets.

Titusville had a good night with eight of their nine wrestlers advancing. See The Titusville Herald for more on those wins.

Below see more photos from sectionals on Friday. You can view more by visiting this website.

Rocky Grove held off Lakeview to win final home stand

2/11/2022

Quietly, but with determination, Rocky Grove has become 'the other' basketball team in the area.

As Franklin has been blowing out opponents on the way to an undefeated (so far) season in their region, the Grove has been a little more of gritty in getting win after win.

Rocky Grove is doggedly been finding ways to win games. During their last home game of the season Friday, the region third-place Orioles showed their ability to manage a game with patience and take advantage when opportunities present themselves.

In the first half against Lakeview, they were simply being beat. They stayed in sight of the Sailors, but couldn't seem to get that little something extra to catch them.

Then, in the second half, their full-court pressure started to work, Lakeview got sloppy and the Orioles took advantage at key moments en route to a 53-44 win.

The Sailors put a body guard on Isaac Clayton in such a way coach Ryan Umbenhaur was calling lawyers to get an emergency PFA order for his player. Other Orioles like D'Andre Whitman stepped up to fill the gap.

Clayton was shut down entirely in the first half and the Sailors led. But Clayton, on defense, proved he could take the ball into his own hands via steals and score to start the second half. Though it was still difficult for him to get touches, he ended up contributing solidly in the second half.

When it came down to it, coaching and team patience was the difference that turned the game around.

The Orioles have two more games, both away - Tuesday against Mercer before the final game Thursday against a very strong Kennedy Catholic team, who is undefeated at the top of the region.

The "other" Franklin area team is having a very fine season themselves and have been giving their fans plenty of reason to cheer.

Below are a few more photos from the court including another squad that have been with this team all year long providing them with support and cheers.
It was their last home game as well.

There is also an update on a story we did last week about a fun picture taken earlier this season.

LEFT: Alex Zinz held true to his word and corralled the team together for another post introduction selfie.

I'll teach him how to turn his phone sideways before next season so he can get everyone in a horizontal selfie. Haha. This team has been fun to photograph.

See more photos at https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p522484701

Route 8 Rivalry is a website dedicated the long history of the Oil City and Franklin football rivalry by former sports editor Penny Weichel. It is an amazing labor of love and valuable resource for history. It is our go-to here at 8and322.com.

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