Fans who plan to attend today’s District 10 football game between Youngsville and Mercyhurst Prep should be aware that kickoff is 2 p.m. The game originally was scheduled for 7 p.m., but officials moved up the time recently.
Again, Youngsville and Mercyhurst Prep play at 2 p.m. at Veterans Stadium.
Youngsville Eagles
Coach (season, record): Luke Alex (2nd season, 10-1)
2011 overall record: 10-1
2011 region record (place): 8-0 (champion)
2011 playoff results: Lost to West Middlesex 47-0 in the District 10 Class A quarterfinals.
Top players lost: Cory Craig, Sawyer Dininny, Sam Lucas, Dalton Maze, Stephen Beattie, Sage Sivak, Ryan Rickerson, Kyle Rickerson
Top returning players: Jordan Gurdak, Rocco Gatta, Tylor Keyes, Jacob Marino, T.J. Hardy, Seth Wachter, Syler Wolfe
Assistant coaches: Eric Rozanski, Chad Edwards, Mike Wright, Don Hardy, Andy Chase
Outlook: Youngsville had one of its best seasons in program history in 2011 with a 10-0 regular season, Region 2 title and spot in the District 10 Class A playoffs. The Eagles were gutted by graduation and will need some of the underclassmen to step up this fall. Cory Craig, Sawyer Dininny, Sam Lucas, Dalton Maze, Stephen Beattie, Sage Sivak, Ryan Rickerson and Kyle Rickerson are gone and leave huge holes to fill. Craig was an all-district pick at defensive back and was an all-region quarterback. Dininny and Beattie were voted to the all-region first team at offensive and defensive line, while Lucas and Sivak were voted first-team linebackers. Maze was a second-team defensive back and Ryan Rickerson was a second-team offensive lineman. The Eagles lost a total of seven starters on offense and eight on defense.
Youngsville will be in reload mode instead of rebuild. The Eagles return first-team linebacker Jordan Gurdak and first-team defensive back Rocco Gatta. T.J. Hardy, a first-team kicker, is also back at wide receiver and defensive end. Gurdak and Gatta bring experience to the backfield while Jake Marino is taking over at quarterback. Youngsville will have plenty of new faces and the Eagles must get big-time contributions from underclassmen to compete for the Region 2 title. Youngsville opens at Fairview before two huge home games with Iroquois and Cambridge Springs. The biggest game of the year could be Sept. 29 in Erie against Mercyhurst Prep after an intense showdown last fall.
Schedule
August
31 at Fairview 7
September
7 Iroquois* 7
14 Cambridge Springs* 7
21 at Maplewood* 7
29 at Mercyhurst Prep* 7
October
5 Union City* 7
12 at Seneca 7
19 Cochranton* 7
26 at Eisenhower* 7
November
2 Sheffield 7
*Region 2 games
Wednesday: Region 1
– Tom Reisenweber
District 10 teams Cathedral Prep, Grove City, Hickory, Linesville and Mercyhurst Prep remain among the top 10 in the state, according to this week’s Pennsylvania Football News rankings. Click below to see the rankings:
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
Youngsville Eagles
Coach (season): Luke Alex (1st season)
2010 overall record: 2-8
2010 region record (place): 2-6 (tied for eighth)
2010 playoff results: Did not qualify for the District 10 playoffs.
Top players lost: Aaron Niemeyer, Nathan Smith, Jared Camp, Christian Bundy, Derek Gifford
Top returning players: Sawyer Dininny, Sam Lucas, Cory Craig, Jordan Gurdak, Rocco Gatta, Sage Sivak, Ryan Rickerson, Dalton Maze
Assistant coaches: Chad Edwards, Mike Wright, Eric Rozanski, Adam Vincent and Don Hardy
Outlook: Youngsville is looking to turn things around this season under new head coach Luke Alex. Not only with the Eagles have a new system in place and a fresh approach, but quarterback Cory Craig is back after sitting out most of 2010 with injury. Also back for Youngsville are Sawyer Dininny, Sma Lucas, Jordan Gurdak, Rocco Gatta, Sage Sivak, Ryan Rickerson and Dalton Maze. All provide experience and depth for the Eagles this season. Alex knows he has a veteran group back and commented that this group has been in the system the longest and they know it well. Lineman Jake Marino and wide receiver/defensive back Kyle Rafalski are new to the varsity level and are looking to make an impact right away.
The biggest issue for the Eagles last year was scoring in the red zone. Youngsville is looking to cut down on its turnovers and to start putting points on the board when in the red zone. The Eagles are deep at the skill positions but will need to develop the offensive and defensive lines a little more. Youngsville’s passing game suffered without Craig last year but could be vastly improved.
The Eagles have a strong defense and that will be especially important in Region 2. Youngsville will go up against big teams that love to run the ball and slowing them down will be key. The Eagles hit the road three of their first four games with only a home game against Maplewood in the mix. Youngsville will get Mercyhurst Prep at home but the Eagles might need to pull the upset in order to compete for the Region 2 title. The Eagles have experience and talent this fall and if they can stay healthy, they might be looking at a District 10 playoff spot in November.
Schedule
September
2 at Seneca 7
9 at Union City* 7
16 Maplewood* 7
23 at Iroquois* 7
30 Mercyhurst Prep* 7
October
7 at Eisenhower* 7
14 at Cambridge Springs* 7
21 Conneaut, Ohio 7
28 at Cochranton* 7
November
4 Saegertown* 7
Look for the Kickoff magazine at a Country Fair near you beginning Aug. 15. The 112-page magazine previews the upcoming District 10 football season, including top returning players, schedules, stats and more.
Thursday: Region 1 and 2 previews
– Tom Reisenweber
Youngsville Eagles
Coach: Tony Tridico
2008 overall record: 2-8
2008 region record (place): 2-6 (seventh place, Region 2)
Playoff results: Did not make the playoffs
Top players lost: QB/DB Lucas Shafer, OL/DL Luke Reed, OL/DL Jeremy Saporito, TE/LB Jake Lucas, QB/DB Neil Koontz, RB/LB Kyle Luther
Top players returning: RB/LB Mike Gibson, QB/DB Cory Craig, RB/LB Sam Lucas, WR/DB Dalton Maze
Key games: Oct. 2 vs. Cochranton, Oct. 8 at Harborcreek Youth
Outlook: Although the Eagles did win two games last season, they could really struggle this year. That is, if Youngsville has a team. The Eagles were placed on probation by the Warren County School District last year because of declining participation. If Youngsville does not have at least 22 players on the roster this fall, the school board could suspend the program and cancel the season. The probation is not a District 10-enforced rule, but the school board has the power to make such a move if it is in the best interest of the school. Youngsville has never had huge numbers but usually enough for a first and second team on both sides of the ball. The 2008 team fell to 20 players at times because of injuries and graduated 11 seniors (including Lucas Shafer, who had 904 of Youngsville’s 1,628 total yards). Unless 13 players come from the incoming freshman class or other classes of players who decide to play this year, Youngsville could be in danger of losing its season.
Schedule
September
4 at Seneca 7
11 at Cambridge Springs* 7
18 Mercyhurst Prep* 7
25 at Eisenhower* 7
October
2 Cochranton* 7
8 at Harborcreek Youth* 7
16 Iroquois* 7
23 at Union City* 7
30 Saegertown* 7
November
6 Sheffield 7
* Region 2 game
Tuesday: Our look at Region 3 begins with Greenville
In 2008, Saegertown was the class of Region 2 with a very talented team. Unfortunately for the Panthers a lot of talent graduated and the head coach resigned. Dave McDonald takes over as a first-year coach and some rebuilding to do from last year’s team. Cambridge Springs, Union City and Iroquois were all solid playoff teams but did not fare well against the powerful Region 1. There was a little controversy with the playoff selections as Iroquois and Mercyhurst Prep finished with the same region record. The District 10 handbook, at the time, stated the team with the best overall record advanced. Iroquois had the better record even though Mercyhurst Prep beat the Braves head to head. The rules have changed with head to head being the first tiebreaker this season. Mercyhurst Prep, Iroquois and Cambridge Springs will be solid with Saegertown and Union City in the hunt. Eisenhower could be a very dangerous sleeper with plenty of starters returning. Here are last year’s standings:
Region 2
Region Overall
y-Saegertown 8-0 12-1
z-Cambridge Springs 6-2 7-4
z-Union City 5-3 7-4
z-Iroquois 5-3 6-5
Mercyhurst Prep 5-3 5-5
Eisenhower 4-4 4-6
Youngsville 2-6 2-7
Cochranton 1-7 1-9
Harborcreek Youth 0-8 0-10
y-clinched region championship
z-qualified for playoff spot
Key 2009 games: Oct. 1 Cambridge Springs at Mercyhurst Prep, Oct. 9 Cambridge Springs at Eisenhower, Mercyhurst Prep at Iroquois, Oct. 23 Mercyhurst Prep at Saegertown, Oct. 30 Iroquois at Cambridge Springs
Predicted champion: Mercyhurst Prep
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