The Erie Times-News takes a look at 25 topics when it comes to high school football. The series of 25 topics will run daily until the beginning of the regular season on Aug. 23.
21. Can Conneaut and Titusville continue to build in Mercer County?
The Conneaut and Titusville football teams have been trying to rebuild their programs over the past two years. This fall looked promising for both programs as they are both in their third years with their coaches and have young teams that are now seniors.
Then District 10 released the new regions.
After years of playing with Crawford County and Venango County, the two teams were placed with some of the best Class 3A teams in the state. The Rockets and Eagles have five weeks to schedule other games, but they’ll play each other as well as Grove City, Hickory, Sharon and Slippery Rock in region play.
Being thrown into the Mercer County meat grinder can end up two different ways. There is a precedent for future success after playing in Mercer County. Conneaut was in a Mercer County region for several years after consolidating Conneaut Lake, Conneaut Valley and Linesville. In the second PIAA two-year cycle, Conneaut beat Cathedral Prep in one of the best District 10 championship games in D-10 history. There is also a precedent for no success. A few cycles ago, Saegertown was rolling as a Class 1A team but had a fluke enrollment year and played two years in Class 2A. The Panthers were placed in a Mercer County region and those two brutal years nearly closed the program.
Question No. 22: Will District 10 have any 2,000-yard passers after most of them graduated in the spring?
Titusville could hold its own in some region games. The Rockets are littered with seniors that have started since sophomore year when Mike Reynolds took over as the head coach. Jaxon Covell can play any position and excel at those positions on both sides of the ball. He’s getting interest from schools like Westminster, Allegheny and Fordham after rushing or 1,353 yards and 16 touchdowns, catching 27 passes for 541 yards and six touchdowns and collecting 65 tackles and two interceptions on defense last fall. He is back as a senior with quarterback Ian McDonald, who threw for 1,041 yards and 12 touchdowns and ran for eight touchdowns. He has several returning weapons in Kameron Mong, Brett Schmidt and Aiden Yoder, as well as tight end JJ Miller. The Rockets also have returning starters on the offensive line in Burke Hancock, Drew McQuown, Riley Winters, Dom Merrit and Cameron Kerr.
Question No. 23: Can an Erie County high school football team end an 18-year District 10 title drought?
Bryce Watkins and Winters are returning starters at defensive tackle, Mong and Schmidt at defensive end, Jaiden O’Neil and Miller at linebacker and Broden Sellen, Alex Hartshorn, Balek Ross, Covell and McDonald in the secondary.
Conneaut is also loaded with returning players after losing just two seniors to graduation in Max Getz and Logan Groover. Quarterback Ben Easler threw for almost 800 yards and eight touchdowns last fall, while running back Joe Furgiuele started just five games at fullback last year and ran for more than 100 yards in four of them. He rushed for more than 800 yards in a nine-game season. Phoenix Humphreys is back at wide receiver and Alex Paskorz returns at tight end to complement a solid offensive line. Drew Dygert, up to 6 feet 7 inches and 220 pounds as a junior, is a three-year starter at left tackle and defensive end. Colton Ellis is a four-year starter on the line moving from center to guard. Add in Christian Gillette, Devin Miller, Noah Leone and Scott Wheeler and the Eagles have a strong offensive line.
On defense, Dygert, Leone, Gillette, Ellis and Paskorz return on the line with Miller and Wheeler at middle linebacker, Furgiuele and Mitchell Blood at outside linebacker, Brady Stright, Brayden Feeney and Humphreys at cornerback and Johnny Sandau at safety.
Conneaut and Titusville have improved over the past two years and might have been big-time contenders to make the playoffs if placed in the northern 3A region. The two teams didn’t receive any favors from District 10, but both teams could rise to the challenge with senior-laden teams.
Contact Tom Reisenweber at treisenweber@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNreisenweber.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Can Conneaut and Titusville football improve in Mercer County region?
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