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Girard High School will have a homecoming bonfire Oct. 6 at 7 that will be open to the community.

The gathering will take place on the north side of the high school, near the softball fields, off Lake Street.

The YellowJackets will play host to Fort LeBoeuf Friday at 7 p.m.

The Erie Times-News and GoErie.com are continuing District 10 football preview coverage this week, leading up to Friday’s season openers. Starting Sunday, the preview coverage included Region 6, McDowell and Region 4. The coverage will continue through Thursday. Included in each preview are complete rosters for each team.

Earlier, the Times-News published the 112-page Kickoff preseason guide and posted the online Summer Huddle series on the Varsity blog.

Check out the links to the Times-News team previews:
Sunday: McDowell preview
Sunday: Region 6
Monday: Region 4
Tuesday: Region 5
Wednesday: Region 2
Thursday: Region 3
Thursday: Region 1

Nate Smialek

Congratulations to former Girard football player Nate Smialek, who was the winner of this year’s Chad Vogt Memorial Scholarship.

The award annually honors a premier Erie County  student-athlete in the name of Vogt, a Harbor Creek multi-sport standout who was one of the premier athletes in Erie County League history. He died in 2002 at the age of 29.

This year’s runner-up was Eric Lasher of General McLane.  Other nominees were Alec Gluvna, Corry; Erin Stroup, Fairview;  Rebecca Cooper, Iroquois; David Osterberg, Northwestern; Adam Weismiller, Harbor Creek and Justin DeCoursey, Seneca.

Former winners:

2008: Brett Veshecco,  Fort LeBoeuf (Penn State)
2009: Joe McIntire, Fort LeBoeuf (Edinboro)
2010: Jessica Kocan, Fairview (Georgetown)

Girard YellowJackets

Jim Funk

Coach (season, record): Jim Funk (2nd season, 4-6)
2010 overall record: 4-6
2010 region record (place): 3-3 (fourth)
2010 playoff results: Lost 28-7 to Sharon in the District 10 Class AA quarterfinals.
Top players lost: Jordan Dudas, Joe Sobucki, Nate Smialek, Anthony Stuart, Hunter Erdman, Justin Zadorozny, John Vogel, Tyler Tome
Top returning players: Jake Kalicky, Austin Platz, Hayden Erdman, Brandon Hall
Assistant coaches: Mike Zona, Pat Erdman, Josh Chiocco, Bill McNally, Ron Platz, Tracy Dinger
Outlook: It should be an interesting year in Girard this fall. The YellowJackets will basically have a new backfield and will search for a new set of standouts. Talented running backs Joe Sobucki, Jordan Dudas and Tyler Tome have graduated as well as quarterback Justin Zadorozny. Wide receiver Anthony Stuart graduated as well, leaving second-year coach Jim Funk with almost no experience at the skill positions. All-region members Hunter Erdman (lineman) and John Vogel (linebacker) have also graduated, leaving holes on the offensive line and on defense.

Jake Kalicky

Austin Platz

Jake Kalicky, a fullback/linebacker, took on a leadership role in the offseason in the weight room and could be an impact player this season, along with Austin Platz, Hayden Erdman and Brandon Hall on the offensive line. Christian Bock could step into a starting role as a linebacker, while Hunter Jones could be an impact player at wide receiver. Almost all starting jobs are open this fall, which should create some intense competition in camp.

Girard is a young team and might go through some growing pains this season. The ‘Jackets’ schedule won’t be easy this season. It includes a season-opening road game at Class AAA Corry along with home games against Class AAA teams Oil City and Fort LeBoeuf. The biggest stretch for the ‘Jackets this season will come in September. Girard will host Harbor Creek and Northwestern – two teams the ‘Jackets will battle for a playoff spot – along with an important road game at North East.

Schedule
September
2 at Corry 7
9 Harbor Creek* 7
16 Oil City 7
23 Northwestern* 7
30 at North East* 7
October
7 Fort LeBoeuf 7
14 Fairview* 7
21 at Seneca* 7
28 at General McLane* 7
November
4 Bye

Wednesday: Greenville

– Tom Reisenweber

It will be a season of emotion for the Girard football team. The YellowJackets are still shaken by the death of longtime coach Mina George during the offseason. Former assistant Jim Funk takes over the head coaching job. The good news is that Funk some talent to work with, especially in the backfield, where quarterback Justin Zadorozny, running back Jordan Dudas and receiver/running back Joe Sobucki are back.

Photo galleries are now available from the Girard-Fairview and Corry-East games.

Readers can view or purchase photos from the two games.

Four photo galleries from District 10 games are now available for viewing on GoErie.com.

Check out photos from Thursday’s Cambridge Springs-Mercyhurst Prep game, and Friday’s Cathedral Prep-East, Girard-General McLane and Fairview-Fort LeBoeuf games.

All photos are available for purchase.

There were several football standouts this weekend. You pick the best. Or, let us know who we missed.

Casey Pace, RB, Fort LeBoeuf, 15 rushes, 179 yards, 2 TDs

Scottie Frisina, QB, Corry, 15-of-20 passing 250 yards, 2 TDs; 9 rushes
104 yards, 3 TDs

Justin Wiley, RB, Cathedral Prep, 18 rushes, 82 yards, TD; 3 catches
90 yards, 2 TDs

Shyquawn Pullium, QB, Cathedral Prep, 10 rushes, 120 yards, 2 TDs; 92 passing yards, 2 TDs

Zach Greenawalt, QB, McDowell, 16 rushes, 120 yards, 2 TDs

Pat Pascarella, RB, Bradford, 16 rushes, 242 yards, 4 TDs

Matt Sleppy, DB, Iroquois, 42-yard fumble return for winning TD

Cory Lee, RB, General McLane, 12 rushes, 108 yards, 2 TDs

Cody Crosby, QB, Eisenhower, 21-of-30 passing, 315 yards, 2 TDs

Gary Brown, QB, East, 10-of-13 passing, 195 yards, 3 TDs; 5 rrushes, 29 yards, TD

Josh Williams, RB, Girard, 7 rushes, 108 yards, TD runs of 65 and 23 yards

Billy Sobucki, two-time, 1,000-yard rusher

Girard YellowJackets

Mina George

Coach: Mina George
2008 record: 7-4
2008 region record (place): 5-3 (fourth place, Region 4)
Playoff results: Lost 41-0 to Wilmington in the first round of the District 10 Class AA playoffs.
Top players lost: QB/DB Pat Dunn, RB/DB Jake Kennedy, FB/LB Jack King, WR/DB Mark DiFucci, S Mike Campbell, K/P Brian Fisher, OL/DL Corey Groh, TE/DE Bobby Morrow, OL/DL Zach Tome
Top players returning: RB/DB Billy Sobucki, RB/DB Josh Williams, FB/LB Tyler Tome, WR/DB Kyle Marzalen, QB/DB Justin Zadorozny, OL/DL Brenton Carr
Key games: Sept. 18 at Corry, Oct. 2 at General McLane, Oct. 30 at Fairview

Josh Williams, 700-yard rusher in 2008

Outlook: The YellowJackets have plenty of talented players returning from  their 2008 playoff team.  Girard’s top four rushers are back, and that’s a key factor for a run-heavy team led by coach Mina George — the winningest coach in Erie County history with 225 victories. Leading the way for Girard is two-time, 1,000-yard running back Billy Sobucki. He has been a workhorse for the YellowJackets since his sophomore season. He rushed 247 times for 1,081 yards in 11 games last season while scoring nine touchdowns.  Josh Williams, another returnee, rushed for 705 yards and seven TDs. The duo will cause matchup problems for most of the teams in Region 4. Also back are Tyler Tome (233 yards) and Kyle Marzalen (205 yards). Junior Justin Zadorozny took over at quarterback last season when veteran QB Pat Dunn went down with a severe knee injury. Zadorozny stepped in to complete 8-of-24 pass for 107 yards and two touchdowns while  throwing three interceptions. With the maturity of Zadorozny in the offseason, the ‘Jackets could be more unpredictable because of their increased ability to throw the ball. Girard will see what it’s made of right off the bat as the ‘Jackets host Eisenhower, a darkhorse Class A team, the first week before playing rival Harbor Creek and traveling to Class AAA Corry the two weeks after. If the ‘Jackets perform well in those early season tests, Oct. 2 at McLane and Oct. 30 at Fairview could decide the region title. If they are able to get consistent line play, the ‘Jackets could be a force to be reckoned with in Region 4.

Schedule
September
4 Eisenhower 7
11 Harbor Creek* 7
18 at Corry 7
26 Seneca* 7
October
2 at General McLane* 7
9 Fort LeBoeuf* 7
16 at Northwestern* 7
24 Maplewood* 7
30 at Fairview* 7
November
6 at North East* 7

Sunday: Region 4: Harbor Creek

Fairview's Jared Lane is the top returning rusher from Region 4 after piling up 1,153 yards in 10 games last season.

When Region 4 was created, District 10 almost recreated the Erie County League. The only stranger was Maplewood and the only teams missing were Corry and Iroquois. North East surprised a few people and played its way to the region championship over former Class AAA team General McLane.  North East’s only problem last year was running into a hot, underrated Slippery Rock team in the D-10 playoffs. McLane, on the other hand, was the only Region 4 team to advance past the first round of the D-10 playoffs. The Lancers knocked off a tough Greenville team but couldn’t handle eventual PIAA champion Wilmington. McLane will have to replace all-around athlete Kellen O’Neill to run the offense. Fairview and Girard were right in the thick of the region race for most of the year but ran into injury problems late. With the ‘Pickers and Lancers losing important starters to graduation, Region 4 is up for grabs this season: Here is a look at last year’s standings:

Region 4
Region Overall
x-North East 8-0 9-2
z-General McLane 7-1 9-3
z-Fairview 6-2 7-3
z-Girard 5-3 7-4
Fort LeBoeuf 4-4 4-6
Seneca 2-6 3-7
Northwestern 2-6 3-7
Maplewood 1-7 3-7
Harbor Creek 1-7 2-8
x-region champion
z-qualified for playoff spot

Key 2009 games: Sept. 11 General McLane at North East, Oct. 9 Fairview at North East, Oct. 30 Girard at Fairview, Nov. 6 General McLane at Fairview, Girard at North East
Predicted champion: North East