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Fairview Wins First Region Crown Since 2015

Tagged under: District 10, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| October 19, 2024

Fairview Township – Fairview won its first region title since 2015 with a 24-7 victory over North East Saturday afternoon.

For Fairview, Saturday marked a special afternoon as the Tigers are guaranteed a share of the District 10 Region 5 crown for the first time in nearly a decade.

Since taking over in 2020, head coach Mark Sobeleski has taken the program from a 3-6 record in 2019 to Region 5 champions in five seasons.

“We were just talking to the kids about how if people knew how far we’ve come,” Sobeleski said. “We’ve had to work through a ton to get here in five years. We were forfeiting games a year before I got here. We were able to keep clawing and fighting. We’ve been able to make the playoffs the last couple of seasons but have never been able to take that next step. Beating Fort LeBoeuf two weeks ago was a big step for us. Those seniors have earned this, which will stay with them for the rest of their lives.”

In that 2019 season, Fairview had a forfeit loss to Mercyhurst Prep. Those days are well behind the Tigers.

Fairview has experienced its fair share of adversity this season, as it lost starting quarterback Vincent Campoli during a Week 5 loss against Oil City.

Nevertheless, the Tigers kept fighting back and bounced back following a 40-7 loss against Corry last week. Fairview is now in a three-way tie with the Beavers and Fort LeBoeuf.

“That game got away from us last week,” Sobeleski said. “We could have tucked our tail between our legs after that. We were a little beat up, and you have to be on your a-game against a team like Corry.”

A loss on Saturday would have given the Region 5 title to the Bison and Corry. But that wouldn’t happen, and Joey O’Reilly was a big reason.

O’Reilly rushed for a game-high 212 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown.

“It’s been nine years since we won the region,” O’Reilly said. “It says 2015 over on the wall over there. So it’s going to be nice to put up 2024. It’s the line. I run behind those guys. They pave the way, and I’ll find the end zone, hopefully. It takes all of us, not just me, to move the ball downfield and score. Carlo is a great quarterback; he’s a junior, so we’ll have him next year, too.”

The Tigers struck on their opening possession as Tyler Divecchio hauled in a 66-yard touchdown pass from Carlo Cimino three minutes into the game. Divecchio caught three passes for 95 yards.

“He can sling the ball around out there, Sobeleski said of Cimino. “Vinny Campoli is such a big part of this turnaround. I want to talk about that for a minute. I know how hard it is for him and his family not to have him out here playing. It’s hard on us, too, because he was our leader. Carlo being able to throw the ball was the difference in the first half.”

Following a fumble recovery at the Grape Pickers’ 37-yard line, Cimino threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Ty Bendford 44 seconds into the second quarter.

Carlo Cimino completed 11-of-18 passes for 145 yards with a pair of touchdowns. He has passed for 451 yards, five touchdowns, and five interceptions since taking over as the starting quarterback in week six.

Fairview jumped out to a 21-0 lead when O’Reilly scored on an 18-yard run at the 7:30 mark of the first half, capping a 5-play 58-yard drive. O’Reilly also had a 22-yard gain on the possession.

North East got on the scoreboard late in the first half when they drove 65 yards in five plays, with Bryson Galloway throwing a 17-yard touchdown pass to Carter Crozier with 56 seconds left in the half.

Galloway completed 9-of-27 passes for 130 yards, while Crozier caught five for 76 yards.

The Tigers put the game on ice in the fourth quarter when Daniel Lindenbeger booted a 27-yard field goal with 7:37 to play.

Fairview will close the regular season when they travel to Carter Field to play Titusville next Friday night. North East will look to close their season with a victory when they travel to winless Warren.

Game Highlights:

Fairview 24 North East 7

Score by Quarters

North East – 0 7 0 0 – 7

Fairview – 7 14 0 3 – 24

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

F – Tyler Divecchio 66 yd pass from Carlo Cimino, (Daniel Lindenberger pat), 8:53 – 3-85

Second Quarter

F – Ty Benford 29 yd pass from Cimino, (Lindenberger pat), 11:16 – 4-37

F – Joey O’Reilly 18 yd run, (Lindenberger pat), 7:30 – 5-58

NE – Carter Crozier 17 yd pass from Bryson Galloway, (Joel Morey pat), 0:56 – 5-65

Fourth Quarter

F – Lindenberger 27 yd field goal, 7:37 – 6-62

Individual Stats

Rushing: NE – Ethen Ringer 7-17, Galloway 9-27, Pascal Laporte 2-0, Team 1-(-4). Totals: 19-40. F – O’Reilly 28-212, Josh Lockett 5-25, Cimino 2-8, Ty Bendford 1-1, Robert Benford 1-3, Team 2-0. Totals: 39-249.

Receiving: NE – Crozier 5-76, Jayden Wittman 1-20, Colton Owens 1-22, Logan Latimore 1-6, Jayden Whittman 1-6. F – Divecchio 3-95, Ty Benford 3-36, Robbie Chevalier 1-5, O’Reilly 1-1, Robert Benford 2-2, Brady King 1-6.

Passing: NE – Galloway 9-for-27, 130 yards, 1 TD. F – Cimino 11-for-18, 145 yards, 2 TD.

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