Varsity Football

Panthers win season finale

ERIE — The Saegertown football team defeated non-region opponent Iroquois 49-6 on Friday night. With the win, the Panthers end their season with a record of 2-8.

The Panthers jumped out to a 33-0 lead at halftime and never looked back.

Hank Shaffer had himself a game for the Panthers after catching three passes for 61 yards. Shaffer also added 42 yards on the ground. Shaffer accounted for a total of four touchdowns (two rushing and two receiving).

Aaron Shartle led the Panthers with 116 yards on the ground on 18 attempts. Reese Wilkinson and Wyatt Burchill added 62 and 47 rushing yards, respectively. Shartle and Burchill each earned a rushing touchdown.

Panthers quarterback Sully Zirkle completed five of 10 passes for 79 yards and three touchdowns.

Panthers fall to Golden Eagles in Region 1 action

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

HERMITAGE — The Saegertown football team lost to Region 1 opponent Kennedy Catholic 41-27 on Saturday. With the loss, the Panthers now go down to 1-8 on the season.

Simeir Wade had a monster performance for the Golden Eagles, accounting for six touchdowns total (two passing, three rushing and one receiving). Wade passed for 113 yards and added 190 on the ground. Wade also contributed 79 receiving yards on five catches. Damian Harrison compiled 97 yards through the air with a passing touchdown.

For the Panthers, Sully Zirkle completed 10 of 27 passes with 147 yards and two touchdowns, both of which were caught by Wyatt Burchill. Overall, Burchill hauled in six passes for 124 yards. Aaron Shartle added 66 yards on the ground on 14 attempts. On special teams, Hank Shaffer returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown.

Saegertown will conclude regular season play on the road against Iroquois on Friday in a non-region matchup.

Panthers fall 78-12

SAEGERTOWN — The Saegertown football team was defeated 78 12 at the hands of Region 1 opponent Reynolds on Friday night. With the loss, the Panthers are now 1-7 overall with an 0-6 record in region play.

The Raiders opened the game with 26 first-quarter points and didn’t look back. The Panthers’ 12 points all came in the second quarter.

The Raiders were led by Jalen Wagner, who rushed for 263 yards and four touchdowns on nine attempts.

Raiders quarterback Brayden Mc-Closkey finished 7-of-10 while throwing for 238 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Both of the touchdowns were caught by Haydin McLaughlin, who finished with 208 yards on four catches.

For the Panthers, Sully Zirkle was 14-of-38 with 169 yards and one touchdown to Damen Rossey. Hank Shaffer caught two of the those passes for 65 yards. Wyatt Burchill and Reese Wilkinson finished with 53 and 38 receiving yards, respectively.

On the ground, Aaron Shartle led the way with 57 yards on 11 attempts. Burchill added 42 yards while Wilkinson contributed 31. Burchill also rushed for a touchdown.

Saegertown will be back in action on next Saturday as they go on the road to take on another region foe in Kennedy Catholic at noon.

Panthers fall to Ike

RUSSELL — The Saegertown football team fell to Eisenhower 3518 in a non-region matchup on Friday. The Panthers are now 1-6 while the Knights remain undefeated at 7-0.

The Knights led 21-6 at halftime and added two third-quarter touchdowns to go up 35-6.

Benji Bauer led all rushers with 131 yards on 17 attempts to go along with a pair of touchdowns. Knights quarterback Ryan Chambers went 11-14 with 212 yards and two touchdowns. Wyatt Lookenhouse caught 12 passes for 183 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

For the Panthers, Sully Zirkle finished 8-16 with 146 passing yards and two touchdowns (one passing and one rushing). Hank Shaffer earned four catches for 89 yards. Shaffer also had an 85-yard kick return for a touchdown in the third quarter.

Saegertown will return to Region 1 play when it hosts Reynolds on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.

Blue Devils pull away from Panthers 41-19

By Alex McGinley

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS — The Cambridge Springs football team took control of the second half against PENNCREST rival Saegertown 41-19 on Friday.

“Backyard brawl No. 2 down in the books,” said Cambridge Springs head coach Nate Liberty. “Great to get the win. Proud of these boys. I wanna say our halftime adjustments with our coaches and how they went in, got on the board, every one of our coaches came out with a game plan in the second half. I love my coaches. They did one heck of a job making halftime adjustments. That’s how you know when coaches are good and that’s what we did. The players executed it.”

After the Blue Devils scored the first two touchdowns of the game, the Panthers responded with two touchdowns in the second quarter. The Panthers missed one of the extra point attempts, so the Blue Devils went into the locker room with a one-point lead.

The Panthers failed to move the chains on their first possession in the second half. Kaiden Boozer then blocked the punt and Preston Gorton returned it 37 yards for a touchdown. On the Panthers’ next possession, Brandon Webster returned an interception 26 yards to the endzone. A little over two minutes into the second half, the Blue Devils were up 27-13.

“It was huge,” Liberty said. “Big bad Boozer again. Preston getting that one, not going down... It was huge. Loved it.”

The Panthers pulled within one possession after quarterback Sully Zirkle scored from one yard out. The Panthers were down 27-19 with 8:37 left to play.

However, immediately after Zirkle’s touchdown, Brett Kania bobbled Hank Shaffer’s squib kick and returned it 71 yards to put it back to a two-possession game.

After the Panthers turned it over on downs, Van Jones scored from 16 yards out to seal the win for the Blue Devils.

Brett Kania led the Blue Devils with 40 rushing yards while Van Jones added 37 yards. Quarterback Morgan Applebee finished 5-of-6 with 66 passing yards and a touchdown. Bryce Kania and Preston Gorton each recorded first-half touchdown receptions. Gorton scored on a trick-play pass from Brett Kania.

“Everyone’s kicking butt,” Liberty said. “We didn’t give up. We didn’t quit. It was awesome.”

Luke Young and Reese Wilkinson led the Panthers with 65 rushing yards each. Young gave the Blue Devils’ defense fits after Zirkle kept tossing the ball to him the first half. Young wasn’t much of a factor in the second half as the Blue Devils’ defense adjusted.

“Luke is a very hard runner and a good athlete all around,” said Saegertown head coach Jim Wolfgang. “He had a great first half.”

With the win, the Blue Devils move to 4-2 overall with a 3-1 mark in Region 1 play. They will go on the road to take on Lakeview next Friday at 7 p.m.

The Panthers are now 1-5 overall with an 0-5 record in region competition. They will go on the road to take on Eisenhower on Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. for a non-region matchup.

“I gotta go back and watch film and see where it went wrong,” Wolfgang said. “Even if it was a couple of big plays.”

“The two plays, it was like quicksand, we couldn’t get out of our own way,” Wolfgang continued. “Back to film, back to practice and get ready for next week.”

Panthers shut out Union City for first win of season

By Mary Ann Mook

SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE

UNION CITY – The Saegertown Panthers had more than just a “W” to celebrate when they traveled to Union City on Friday night for a non-region football game and came home with a 35-0 shut out victory.

They were also celebrating their first win of the season, moving to 1-4 overall.

With the loss, Union City drops to 2-3 overall.

“You made it happen,” Panthers coach Jim Wolfgang told his players after the game.

What Panthers players Henry Shaffer, Sully Zirkle, Reese Wilkinson, Damen Rossey and Logan Corner did was make the scoreboard light up. Zirkle threw two TD passes and scored another on a blocked punt.

Shaffer started making it happen, scoring one of his two touchdowns on a 29-yard TD pass from Zirkle with 6:07 left in the first quarter. Shaffer’s PAT was good for a 7-0 lead.

Shaffer added more of the same in the second on a 45yard scamper, upping the lead to 13-0.

Before the quarter ended, Zirkle recovered a blocked punt and ran the ball 35 yards for another Panther score. Joseph Petrucelli’s two-point conversion run failed, but Saegertown held a 19-0 lead going into the locker room.

On Saegertown’s first possession of the third quarter, Wilkinson found the end zone from 17 yards out. Shaffer’s PAT put the Panthers up 26-0.

On Union City’s next possession, Saegertown’s Logan Corner tackled the Bears’ quarterback, Clay Thomas, in the end zone for a safety and a 28-0 Panther lead.

Before the quarter ended, Damen Rossey caught a 29--yard TD pass from Zirkle. Shaffer’s extra point gave the Panthers the last score of the night and the win.

Wolfgang said they won because they played as a team.

“They pulled together as a team and played four quarters of football,” Wolfgang said. “They executed everything like they were supposed to do.” Saegertown had 306 offensive

yards, while holding Union City to 66.

Aaron Shartle had 12 carries for 57 yards. Luke Young had 10 carries for 83 yards, Zirkle had five rushes for minus 11 yard.

Zirkle completed four of seven passes for 126 yards.

Shaffer had two receptions for 77 yards.

Union City’s Thomas completed two of six pass attempts for 37 yards. Fellow Bear Steven Klakamp had two receptions for 37 yards.

Panthers fall to Mustangs 42-24

HAYFIELD TOWNSHIP — Saegertown lost to Mercer 42-24 on Friday in a Region 1 matchup.

Mercer led 35-0 at halftime. Scoring in the second half for the Panthers was Luke Young and Aaron Shartle on the ground. Shartle also caught a touchdown pass from Sully Zirkle.

Zirkle was 7-17 with 110 yards. On the ground, Young rushed for 33 yards, Shartle 32 and Joe Petrucelli 32. Hank Shaffer had one carry for 27 yards.

Saegertown is 0-4 overall and in the region. The Panthers will play at Union City next week in a non-region game.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Instant classic

Cochranton wins overtime thriller at Saegertown

By Alex Topor

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

HAYFIELD TOWNSHIP — At the end of regulation, the Saegertown Panthers blocked a field goal attempt and sent the game into overtime.

Cochranton head coach Mike Feleppa took note of that.

After an Isaiah Long rushing touchdown in overtime to tie the game, Feleppa made a gutsy call. He sent out the field goal unit, but with typical kicker — and quarterback — Noah Cummings at holder. On the snap, Cummings stood up and passed to an uncovered Long in the flat for a successful two-point conversion. The Cardinals won 22-20 at Canon Memorial Field on Friday in a Region 1 matchup.

“I didn’t want to line up and go for two because I felt they could defend the play,” Feleppa said. “I felt the fake was the right call at that point. I didn’t think they would guard us, they didn’t and we executed.”

Saegertown had the first possession in overtime. On the first play, quarterback Sully Zirkle fired a bullet to Hank Shaffer on a slant for a 10-yard touchdown. The Cardinals blocked the point after attempt to keep the Panthers’ lead to six points.

“We played well, we just came up short when we needed to make that big play,” Saegertown head coach Jim Wolfgang said. “I’m very proud of our kids. We went into the game down three starters on offense. The kids stepped up, the younger kids stepped up and played well.”

Cochranton struck first in the game. Senior Dustin Miller powered his way in from seven yards out to give his Cardinals a 6-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Saegertown’s Luke Young scored on the goal line. A successful Shaffer extra point put the Panthers in front. About two minutes later, Zirkle connected with Shaffer on a slant. Shaffer broke a tackle and ran 21 yards for a touchdown and a 14-6 lead.

The Cardinals answered late in the quarter. Cummings faked a handoff and connected with an uncovered Brayden Schlosser for a 27yard touchdown. On the twopoint attempt, Cummings rolled to his right and passed to Foulk for two points to tie the game at 14.

In the second half, neither team could score any points.

Cochranton went for a fourth and one on its own 19yard line and was stuffed by the Panthers’ defensive line. Despite starting in the red zone, Saegertown couldn’t convert and turned the ball over on downs.

In the fourth quarter, Cochranton drove deep into the red zone twice but came up empty handed each time. One of which came at the end of regulation when Saegertown blocked the potential game winning field goal.

“It was a hard fought battle by both teams,” Feleppa said. “Hats off to Saegertown. We made a lot of mistakes, but somehow someway we found a way to win.”

Overall, Cochranton outgained Saegertown 277 yards to 142. Foulk led the Cards with 126 rushing yards. Miller added 56 on the ground.

“A win is a win. I thought the kids competed for four quarters,” Feleppa said. “We need to execute better. I think we had the ball in the red zone in a goal-to-go situation three times and didn’t score on two of them. We need to clean that up, but as far as the kids effort and competing, I’m very proud of them.”

For Saegertown, Shaffer caught two touchdowns for 51 yards receiving. The team had 59 rushing yards and 83 passing.

“We’ll get back to work on Monday, watch film and see where we broke down at,” Wolfgang said. “We’ll come out next week and be consistent and tighten up and run things the way we need to run them.”

Saegertown is 0-3 overall and in region play. The Panthers will host Mercer next week in another region game.

The Cardinals move to 1-1 overall and 1-0 in region action. Cochranton hosts Kennedy Catholic next week in a Region 1 affair.

“We’re 1-0 in the region and that’s important. I told the kids what happened two weeks ago doesn’t matter right now,” Feleppa said. “We’re gonna build on this and move forward. Always looking through the windshield and not the rear view mirror.”

Alex Topor can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at atopor@meadvilletribune. com.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Falling short

Missed opportunities doom Panthers in loss

By Alex McGinley

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

STONEBORO — It was a tale of two halves during Thursday’s Region 1 matchup between Saegertown and Lakeview.

The first half ended with the Sailors holding a one-possession lead. However, the Sailors flipped the switch in the second half and pulled away from the Panthers to take a 35-15 win. The Sailors earned their first win of the season while the Panthers fall to 0-2.

The Sailors achieved the win without completing a single pass. The Sailors relied on their run game, which amassed a total of 242 yards.

“I need to watch film,” Saegertown head coach Jim Wolfgang said. “I need to see what happened. We were in it, but it broke down.”

The Sailors outscored the Panthers 21-8 during the final two quarters. While the Sailors didn’t start getting separation until the fourth quarter, the only points in the third came courtesy of a Saegertown safety. Sailors running back Mitchell Tingley was tackled in the end zone by Aaron Shartle.

Right before the safety, the Panthers had a chance to put six points on the board. However, the Panthers were stuffed at the one-yard line for a turnover on downs.

The Sailors took advantage of missed opportunities by the Panthers by scoring 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. A touchdown by Sean Cole and two more from Danick Hinkson expanded the Sailors’ lead to 35-9.

“We wanted to play a 48-minute football game,” Lakeview head coach William Hickman said. “I’ve been saying all week, we’re like a stick of dynamite, we just need to light the fuse. These kids are starting to believe and I know it’s there. We just need to prove it on the field.”

Hinkson accounted for four total touchdowns, including a 81-yard kick return in the second quarter. Hinkson led the Sailors with 95 rushing yards while Tingley added 81.

“Our running game was very good,” Hickman said. “Mitchell is a punishing type running back. He punishes people and Danick is a track star.”

The Panthers had many opportunities to put more points on the board and extend drives. Overall, the Panthers finished 1-6 on fourth-down conversions. The Panthers also turned it over twice and allowed two Sailors’ onside kick recoveries.

“This was a different team than last week that came down here to play,” Wolfgang said. “Whether it be the short week, school starting, we were missing targets.”

The Panthers will seek to turn things around next

Friday when they host Crawford County rival Cochranton at Canon Memorial Field at 7 p.m.

Down to the wire

Tigers stop Panthers at goal line, win 34-26

By Alex McGinley

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

SAEGERTOWN — It’s fitting that a week one matchup between two PENNCREST rivals would be decided in the final seconds.

That’s exactly what happened on Friday night at Canon Memorial Field as Maplewood’s defense came up with a goal line stop as the clock ran out to beat Saegertown 34-26. The win gave head coach Jason Wargo his first win with the Tigers.

“It’s nice,” Wargo said. “More importantly, I’m just glad to get the first game behind us. I said in the beginning of the week, I’m just excited to get the first game behind us, see what type of team we’re gonna have, what we’re gonna be, what our identity’s gonna be... I’m just glad that we won a football game. It just feels like winning another football game. I’ll probably think back on it later on and say it feels really good, but I’m just more glad to get through the first week.”

However, the game did not end without controversy. After the Tigers stopped the Panthers on what was the final play of the game, Saegertown head coach James Wolfgang thought he had one timeout left, but the referees told him he had none. As a result, the Panthers had to scramble to get another play off, but they were

unable to as the clock expired.

“I swear I had another timeout and then the refs wouldn’t set the ball so we could spike it,” Wolfgang said. “We all believed we had a timeout, so I was trying to call and they told me I didn’t.”

The whole game between the two rivals was a backand- forth affair that saw no team lead by more than eight points.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Maplewood led 21-20. After the Tigers recovered a fumble, quarterback AJ Proper rolled to his left and found Garrett Butryn for a 32-yard score. However, the extra point was blocked to keep it at a seven-point game.

The Panthers responded right away on the ensuing drive. Hank Shaffer returned the kickoff to the Tigers’ 45-yard line. The Panthers’ offense drove all the way to the end zone on a 10-yard run by Wyatt Burchill. Having missed two extra points earlier in the game, the Panthers decided to go for the two-point conversion. It failed and the Tigers held on to a 27-26 lead with 7:20 left in the game.

Later in the quarter, Maplewood running back Elliot Beuchat punched it in from three yards to give the Tigers some breathing room. Sadie Thomas converted on the extra point to make it an eightpoint game. Despite the close game, the Tigers led for most of the game. The Tigers took the lead on the opening kickoff after Dorian Doubet returned the ball 70 yards. Doubet also had an interception towards the end of the first half. Doubet’s interception led to a drive that ended in a two-yard run by Ben Gilberto. Gilberto’s touchdown tied the game at 14 going into the locker room.

“Dorian stepped up,” Wargo said. “He did a great job. He’s a junior and I was anxious to see how he would be like for us. Right off the bat, he returns the kickoff. I think he had a pick for us and some other nice plays. I’m really happy and proud of him too.”

Gilberto picked up right where he left off last

season. The senior recorded 148 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 26 carries.

“Tough as nails,” Wargo said. “The kid did a great job. He was hurting. He was having problems with his leg there cramping up, but I can’t say enough about what he did. Tough kid. Really proud of him.”

The Panthers’ running game also showed up Friday. Aaron Shartle led the Panthers with 63 yards. Wyatt Burchill was right behind him with 62 yards. Zach Yoder and Reese Wilkinson compiled 45 and 40 yards, respectively.

“I feel the run game was strong and we blocked it well,” Wolfgang said. “Our run game is there.”

Both teams will play games on the road. Saegertown will go to Lakeview on Thursday while Maplewood will play Iroquois on Friday. Both games will start at 7 p.m.

Alex McGinley can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by e-mail at alexm@meadvilletribune. com.

James Wolfgang leads re-energized Saegertwon locker room

By Jim Hunter

SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE

Remember when Saegertown’s team morale was at an all-time low a few years ago when the Panthers barely had enough players to field a team?

Those doldrum days are over. The Saegertown community can thank their head football coach, James Wolfgang. Beginning in his inaugural season six years ago, Wolfgang has re-energized Saegertown’s locker room like the days when legendary coach Merle Darcangelo was leading his Panthers in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

The Wolfgang-led Cats are ready to do some damage in 2022.

“You can tell there is positive atmosphere in camp,” said the upbeat Wolfgang. “The guys are ready to get the season started. I believe in this group. It should be an exciting year.”

Wolfgang’s offensive package has a new wrinkle this season as two-year starting quarterback Hank Shaffer, who battled injuries last season and played only four games, has moved to wideout.

How come, coach Wolfgang? “We started preseason with four quarterbacks and Hank wanted to make the move. He makes our offense stronger with the move and he brings a certain energy no matter where he is playing at on the field. He adds a new dynamic to our offense.”

The consummate team player, right there: Hank Shaffer.

Who are the other three quarterbacks? Senior Sully Zirkle, sophomore Wyatt Burchill and freshman Luke Young. The starter? Wolfgang was not sure at time of interview.

“All three guys are capable of leading us,” said Wolfgang, who started Burchill in their first scrimmage.

Wolfgang has a solid 1-2 punch in the backfield in senior Zach Yoder and sophomore Aaron Shartle, who rushed for 354 and 364 yards, respectively, last season.

“Yoder will lead us, and I think we should be fairly balanced with speed and power,” said Wolfgang, who will also call running plays for junior Joe Petrucelli and sophomore Reese Wilkinson.

Saegertown’s offensive line will be led by seniors Blake Boylan and Damen Rossey.

The same on the defensive side, along with Yoder and Shaffer.

The Panthers will have a successful season if … “If these guys continue on the path they are on and gel together, we will be successful,” said Wolfgang.

A better team outlook than seven or eight years ago, for sure.