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Farrell Pulls Away From Wilmington

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

| November 12, 2023

Hermitage – Farrell scored 30 consecutive points to down Wilmington 36-7 Saturday night at Hickory High School.

The Steelers erased a 7-6 second-quarter deficit to earn their place in the District 10 title game next weekend against Mercyhurst Prep.

“We wanted to come out with a decent gameplan and get gritty,” said Farrell head coach Anthony Pegues. “We didn’t look like we should have, but we ground it out and got the win.”

Farrell has now made their ninth consecutive appearance in the district final and will look to win their third straight title over an unbeaten Lakers squad that cruised to a 49-0 victory over Sharpsville in the other semifinal contest.

Beating the Greyhounds 34-6 on September 28th, Saturday’s final score may have looked similar, but the start of the contest did a complete 360.

In their regular season matchup, Farrell jumped out to a 22-0 lead after a quarter, 28-0 by halftime, and led 34-0 before Wilmington scored a touchdown with 1:30 to play.

It was a different story Saturday night, though the game began about the same as 1:28 in Brandon Chambers caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Kabron Smith three plays after the Greyhounds lost a fumble on their second snap.

Wilmington, however, was unshaken, and the ‘Hounds drove 64 yards in 16 plays, eating up the rest of the first quarter clock, scoring on Ben Miller’s 6-yard reception from Buddah Book to begin the second frame.

“I give all the credit in the world to our players,” said Wilmington head coach Brandon Phillian. “We had two bye weeks in a row with a lot of time to focus on this game. It started with a belief, and our kids bought into that belief. You could see it in the way they fought and battled tonight. To take the lead 7-6, that’s living, and we were living there for a good portion in that first half.”

The ‘Hounds recovered an onside kick at the Steelers’ 48-yard line. Then drove to Farrell’s 25-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.

Wilmington thought they had scored another touchdown as a penalty negated Miller’s apparent 13-yard run.

“When we recovered that onside kick, I felt like those two drives in the first half were our most sustained drives, but we weren’t able to finish the second one,” Phillian said. “We got down close but had a couple of setbacks, which was unfortunate. To see Ben go over and the play called back on a penalty was very disheartening. Assuming we make the extra point, it’s 14-6, which would’ve changed the game’s complexion. But there’s no doubt that I’m very proud of our team and how they battled, competed, and fought tonight.”

Although Farrell would lose a fumble on their next drive, the Steelers forced back-to-back three-and-outs to back control of the game heading into the locker room.

“We knew what their game plan would be,” Pegues said. “They were going to run the clock down, dink and dunk, and take what they can get, and you saw that on that 16-play drive. We only had the ball four times in the first half, but that’s what they would do. They wanted to keep our offense off the field, but then we hunkered down and got it done.”

Kabron Smith and Julius Phillips connected on touchdown passes of 42 and 24 yards in the final 2:17 of the first half. Smith’s second touchdown toss to Phillips was set up by a long punt return from Juelz Johnson to the ‘Hounds 24-yard line.

Both scores at the end of the first half were 1-play touchdown drives. Farrell only had four offensive possessions in the opening 24 minutes and ran only 12 offensive plays.

“That was the game plan they wanted to execute, which they executed well. What else can you say,” said Pegues. “But the sign of a good team is that you fight through it and find a way to win. ”

In the third quarter, Juelz Johnson showed he wasn’t done on special teams as he grabbed a punt and took it back for a 70-yard touchdown.

Wilmington’s best second drive ended in the hands of Brandon Chambers as his interception came after the ‘Hounds had driven nearly 50 yards in nine plays.

The Greyhounds rushed for 205 yards on the game as Tyler Mikulin rushed for a team-high 85 yards on 20 carries, with Ben Miller chipping in with 80 yards on 21 attempts.

The Steelers closed out the scoring in the fourth stanza when Danny Odem caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Smith with 8:13 to play.

Kabron Smith led the Steelers, completing 8-of-13 passes for 170 yards and four touchdowns. Julius Phillips caught two passes for 66 yards and two scores, while Odem caught three balls for 60 yards and a touchdown.

“Kabron is that type of kid, and he’s our leader,” Pegues said. “He kept that offense ready to go after he saw them go on that drive and kept them warm. He made some big plays and helped get us the win. With Simeir Wade unable to play, we knew someone else needed to step up. Julius Phillips did that tonight. He filled those shoes nicely.”

Farrell will now meet unbeaten Mercyhurst Prep for the District 10 AA Title.

“My guys will be up for that game,” Pegues concluded. “Sometimes my guys get a little lackluster. Coming into tonight, our guys understood that they could win the game. They weren’t really in the mood to play the game. I guarantee next week that won’t be the case.”

Wilmington finishes their season at 4-6.

“This is a great group of seniors,” said Phillian. “They’re tremendous young men. I’ll have lasting relationships with those guys as they move through life. They are tremendous competitors and even better people. It’s definitely a group I couldn’t be more proud of.”

Game Highlights:

 

Farrell 36 Wilmington 7

Score by Quarters

Wilmington – 0 7 0 0 – 7
Farrell – 6 16 8 6 – 36

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

F – Brandon Chambers 19 yd pass from Kabron Smith, (pass failed), 10:32 – 3-48

Second Quarter

W – Ben Miller 6 yd pass from Buddah Book, (James Winters pat), 11:55 – 16-64

F – Julius Phillips 42 yd pass from Kabron Smith, (Marion Norris from Smith), 2:17 – 1-42

F – Phillips 24 yd pass from Smith, (Danny Odem from Smith), 0:21 – 1-24

Third Quarter

F – Juelz Johnson 70 yd punt return, (Odem from Smith), 7:40

Fourth Quarter

F – Odem 44 yd pass from Smith, (pass failed), 8:13 – 4-40

Individual Stats

Rushing: W – Miller 21-80, Tyler Mikulin 20-85, Chase Mitcheltree 5-9, Book 2-10, Aidan Gardner 4-25, Team 3-(-4). Totals: 55-205. F – Juelz Johnson 5-42, Chambers 2-22, Rhashaud Dunbar 1-29, Aaron Pegues 1-(-5), Team 2-(-36). Totals: 11-52.

Receiving: W – Miller 1-6. F – Phillips 2-66, Chambers 2-8, Marion Norris 1-36, Odem 3-60, Stevie Dean 1-(-7), Omario Boatwright 1-13.

Passing: W – Book 1-for-5, 6 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. F – Smith 8-for-13, 170 yards, 4 TD, Pegues 2-for-3, 6 yards.

Interceptions: F – Chambers.

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