Familiar foes Hickory, SR meeting again
The football teams at Hickory and Slippery Rock high schools do not need to be introduced to one another. They know each other well. Very well.
When the squads face off Friday at Wilmington High School’s Greyhound Stadium for a District 10 Class 3A semifinal playoff, it will be the seventh time since the beginning of the 2020 season that the Hornets and Rockets will have met.
“There’s no surprises between us,” said Hickory coach Bill Dungee. “I respect the heck out of Larry (Wendereusz, Slippery Rock coach) and his staff. Every time we play each other, there’s no chirping, it’s just good football.”
The teams also collided in a district semifinal last year and the Rockets won 23-17. Slippery Rock won a regular season game, 23-20, at Hickory earlier this fall, but Wendereusz knows his team must play better if it is to extend its season.
“We have to clean up our special teams,” he said. “In the first game, Hickory scored on a punt return and had another touchdown set up by a fumbled punt.”
The Rockets (6-4) are coming off a 41-28 quarterfinal win over Oil City. Senior running back Maddox Allen rushed for 191 yards and three touchdowns.
Allen has 882 yards and a 7.3 yards-per-carry average this season. He is also a threat in the passing game with 25 catches for 304 yards.
“We thought he was capable of having a solid year,” Wendereusz said. “He’s worked his tail off to get to where he’s at.”
Dungee is well aware of Allen’s abilities, but added: “We have to eliminate the big plays and it all starts with their quarterback, William Mokel.”
A three-year starter, Mokel has passed for 1,899 yards with 17 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. He’s added 287 yards and three scores on the ground.
Senior John Sabo (42 receptions for 598 yards and eight scores) leads the receiving corps.
The Rockets opened the season with three straight wins, but entered the postseason by losing four of their previous six games. Adding optimism to their hopes of playing for a district championship for the second straight year is an offensive line that is beginning to jell.
The group includes center Braiden Reich, guards Mathew Cratty and Austin McFarland and tackles Brody Galcik and Isaac Bell. The line played very well last week despite an injury to guard Blaise Mullen.
“I think we expected a lot of good things from the line too early this year,” said Wendereusz. “But they’re working together and when you do that consistently, you’re going to get better.”
Slippery Rock’s defense may have to take their chances in a guessing game against the Hornets, who are playing two quarterbacks.
Logan Woods is the established starter and has over 1,500 yards this season with 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. But Zander Telesz has entered games and added 358 yards and four scores.
“Their offense is a lot of smoke and mirrors,” Wendereusz said. “They use a lot of motion to try and get you out of position. We have to get in our gaps and know our responsibilities.”
The Hornets do not have a dominant ground game. As a team, they’re averaging just 105 yards per game. They gained 130 yards in last week’s 33-28 win over General McLane.
Sean Kennedy and Daymar Trawick have combined for 521 yards and six scores on the ground.
That earlier loss to Slippery Rock was the fourth straight setback for the Hornets (5-5). Since then, they have won three of four contests. The turnaround began with a 24-14 win over Grove City Oct. 7.
“We spent an entire month losing,” said Dungee. “Our guys could have lost their focus, but they didn’t. They kept working and improving.”
Due to schedule alterations brought on by COVID-19, Slippery Rock played Hickory three times in 2020, with the Hornets winning all the contests.
Friday’s other semifinal matches Grove City against Sharon.
