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Maplewood’s AJ Proper scans the field during a game against Saegertown last month.
Maplewood’s AJ Proper scans the field during a game against Saegertown last month.
The District 10 schedule-makers sure know how to open a football season, especially in Region 1.
Opening the season with a 34-26 win over arch-rival Saegertown two weeks ago, Maplewood (2-0) plays PENNCREST school, and another strong rival, Cambridge Springs (1-1) tonight in its home opener at 7.
“It is interesting we are playing our second PENNCREST game in the opening three weeks,” said Maplewood first-year coach Jason Wargo. “You never get a break in Region 1. It’s our home opener and it should be rocking.”
Wargo & Co. enter the backyard brawl with a lot of confidence as they manhandled Iroquois, 40-20, last week. Is there more giddy-up in the players’ steps, coach?
“You can tell the players are excited, but I need to do my job as a coach to keep them focused and stay with our long-term goal in getting better each game. I told them the rear-view mirror has been knocked down. We need to keep looking forward.”
Against Iroquois, Wargo’s standout running back, Ben Giliberto, chewed up the Braves from start to finish, rushing for a career-high 299 yards on only 20 carries.
Giliberto was a game-time decision, too.
“Honestly, we weren’t sure he was going to play as he was still nursing a Charley horse, suffered in the Saegertown game,” said Wargo. “He had a monster game. He did a great job hitting the holes. Midway through the fourth quarter, I pulled him, and I could tell he was mad at me. I told him that he did enough.”
As for Cambridge Springs running game, the Blue Devils had a tough time gaining yards in their 27-14 loss to Eisenhower last week.
“Their defensive line smoked us,” said Cambridge Springs coach Nathan Liberty. “They’re not huge, but they have nice size. They get off the football fast. We couldn’t generate any running game at all.”
Liberty was forced to go to Plan B: Throwing the ball, and sophomore quarterback Morgan Applebee was solid, completing 16 of 35 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns.
Liberty didn’t hesitate when asked for his scouting report on Maplewood: “No. 2 is very, very good.” No. 2? Who else, Giliberto.
Continuing, Liberty said, “He is their playmaker. You can’t take him down with just one player. We need all 11 hats on him.”
Wargo’s scouting report on Cambridge Springs:
“Nathan has done a good job with them. They are competitive and play hard every down. Their offensive and defensive looks can take you out of your game plan. I’m expecting a tough game.”
To go 3-0 on the season, the Tigers must …
“We need to be more efficient in ball control. I know we had more yards than Iroquois, but they controlled the time of possession. We also need to be more discipline defensively. Offensively, we need to take what they give us.”
Jim’s pick: Maplewood 21, Cambridge Springs 14.
Sports Editor Alex Topor’s pick: Maplewood 28, Cambridge Springs 14
Sports writer Alex McGinley’s pick: Maplewood 24, Cambridge Springs 21
Cochranton (0-1, 0-0 Region 1) at Saegertown (0-2, 0-2 Region 1)
Cochranton coach Mike Feleppa and Saegertown coach James Wolfgang both had the same answer when asked for the main key in tonight’s Region 1 clash:
“Play four quarters of football.”
Both Cochranton and Saegertown are coming off disappointing losses as the Cardinals were shutout by Eisenhower, 41-0 in their season opener two weeks ago and the Panthers suffered a 35-15 loss to Lakeview last week.
Feleppa went back to the basics in the two weeks of practice: “We went back to working on fundamentals and trying to correct our mistakes that we made against Eisenhower.”
When asked for his biggest concerns, the second-year Cardinals’ mentor said, “All of them right now. We didn’t do much of anything great in our last game. We got beat in all three phases of the game. We need to become better at tackling, blocking, and protecting the football.”
As for Saegertown’s loss to Lakeview, Wolfgang walked off the turf agitated – his Panthers were in the game until midway in the fourth quarter.
“It was a hard-fought game, but we lost focus with about seven minutes left in the game. Up to that point, it was a five-point game.”
Jim’s pick: Saegertown 26, Cochranton 20.
Topor’s pick: Saegertown 21, Cochranton 13
McGinley’s pick: Saegertown 21, Cochranton 18
Harbor Creek (0-2, 0-0 Region 5) at Conneaut (0-2, 0-0 Region 5)
Conneaut first-year coach Josh Blood’s pre-game comments for tonight’s Region 5 contest against Harbor Creek are evident: The Eagles are taking baby steps in getting better.
“In last week’s loss to Seneca (34-6), we had less missed assignments, and it was clear we are making progress in all phases of the game,” said the upbeat Blood. “In our practices this week, I can tell we are improving in all the areas.”
Blood witnessed a bright sign against Seneca: Senior running back Ethan Stright’s rushing skills, who rambled for 114 yards on 15 carries.
“Ethan had a great game,” said Blood.
As for Harbor Creek, Blood isn’t buying into the Huskies’ 0-2 record.
“I’ve told the players not to disrespect their record as they have played two good teams in Hickory and Fairview. They are big and physical and throw a lot of formations at you.”
The Eagles can pull off an upset win if …
“We get our running game going early,” said Blood, “and, limit our mistakes, and get an A-plus effort from everyone.”
Jim’s pick: Harbor Creek 42, Conneaut 7.
Topor’s pick: Harbor Creek 35, Conneaut 13
McGinley’s pick: Harbor Creek 30, Conneaut 14
Conneaut sophomore quarterback Ben Easler had a night last week like no other high school signal-callers in the United States.
Immediately after the post-game locker room meeting with the coaches and players, Easler bolted to his father’s (Jason) truck. They had to get to Sharon Speedway as fast as possible so the heralded 15-year-old stock car driver can race in the feature event.
Like father, like son – the elder Easler put the pedal to the metal, and they made it to Sharon Speedway in time … barely.
“When Ben got in the truck, I told him we had a legitimate shot at making it,” said Jason Easler. “By the time we got to the pits, Ben was already in his race suit. He hopped out, jumped into the modified, and I got him strapped in. The guys there already had the set up all done and car ready to race when we got there, so he immediately drove up to line up. We were the last car to get lined up, and probably only five to 10 minutes after getting to the track, he was on the track getting ready to go green.”
The Easlers were prepared for a possible last-second entrance as they already had the car towed there, and the father kept tabs on the night’s events by communicating with his pit crew.
“I had a few people keeping me posted on where they were throughout the night in the program, and we got lucky as we were running our feature last. When the game was over, I messaged them at the track and knew we would need some help with cautions, but thought we might have a chance to make it.”
The Easlers got the necessary help.
How did the racing phenom fare? Starting in last position, Easler – who has won five feature events this year en route to winning the RUSH Sportsman Modified Series points championships at both Sharon Speedway and Raceway 7 – zoomed up to a 10th-place finish.
“There were no cautions,” said Easler. “We could have used a few of them.”
The kid is amazing behind the wheel.
Two players deserve this honor: Meadville’s Brady Walker and Maplewood’s Ben Giliberto.
Rushing for 119 yards and two touchdowns and recording two sacks defensively, Walker punished Butler on both sides of the football, propelling the Bulldogs to an emotional 21-14 victory over the Golden Tornado.
“Brady played one of the best games I have ever seen,” said MASH nine-year coach Ray Collins. (Note: Please read more comments from Collins on Walker’s stellar game in the sidebar portion).
As for Giliberto, the Tigers’ dynamo was spectacular against Iroquois, rushing for a career-high 299 yards and two touchdowns.
Maplewood coach Jason Wargo summed up Giliberto’s dominating performance in three words: “A monster game.”
Tribune helmet stickers: Meadville’s Nic Williams, who had two interceptions, including a 99-yard return for a touchdown; Conneaut’s Ethan Stright, who rushed for 114 yards against Seneca; Cambridge Springs sophomore quarterback Morgan Applebee, who threw for 193 yards and three touchdowns in the Blue Devils’ 27-14 loss to Eisenhower.
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