Hickory Edges Farrell 13-12 In Saturday Night Triller

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Shane Lux | August 24, 2025

Hermitage – Hickory grinds out a tough 13-12 victory over Farrell.

Everyone in Northwestern Pennsylvania knew that the game between Hickory and Farrell was the most hyped of the weekend, which is why Hornet Stadium was rocking on Saturday night.

In fact, the game featured the second-ranked teams in the state in Class AA and AAA, respectively, according to PaFootballNews.com.

Sometimes, the most hyped games fail to live up to expectations created by fans and media; other times, they play out exactly how everyone hoped.

Saturday night went to the latter, as did the 2024 contest, in which Hickory squeaked out a 35-31 victory.

Though the 2025 rendition didn’t see as much offense, it may have very well exceeded expectations in sheer drama.

“They always say the first one is the toughest to get,” said Hickory head coach Bill Dungee. “No matter how many guys you have returning, every team is a new team. So you don’t know how guys are gonna react, especially when you’re losing a three-year starter at quarterback and you’re bringing in a sophomore.”

Two schools battled through a scoreless first quarter in a hard-hitting afair, where it became pretty apparent it would be a lower-scoring contest.

“We came in expecting a brawl,” Bill Dungee said. “You know, a brawl in a sense on the field. Exactly what we got, they’re fast, physical. We preach speed and physicality, we knew it was going to be that, you know, they got Juju Johnson, and they know they got the big offensive line, their linebackers. They’re extra physical. Their safeties get involved in the run game. And you know, we had to match that physicality, and I think that’s a great way to start the season off.”

Though it looked like Hickory had taken the opening kickoff back for a touchdown as Christian Dungee raced to the end zone, but a holding penalty on the play negated the touchdown. It was one of two on the night.

The Hornets then went on a 16-play drive only to see Farrell’s defense stiffen up and force a turnover on downs at their 29-yard line.

On their ensuing drive, Hickory again went on a methodical march of 14 plays and opened the scoring on Christian Dungee’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Trevor Borowicz.

“Oh, it’s amazing because I think personally this is the hardest game all season for us,” Borowicz said. “We were just ready to go from the jump. We pushed through adversity after a couple of touchdowns were called back due to our mistakes. It was stellar to get that first touchdown.”

To that point in the game, Hickory had run 30 offensive plays to just four for Farrell.

“To be honest, that was going into the game plan, said Bill Dungee. “You know, we might not have all the weapons on the perimeter that we’ve had in past years, but you know, we can go 13 personnel. We can go 14, and we want to pound the rock. Anytime Juelz Johnson is not touching the football, Calvin Morrison is. I think that’s a good recipe for us.”

In fact, both schools had only two possessions in the half. The Steelers had driven the ball to the Hornets’ 25-yard line during those four plays primarily due to a 42-yard run for Juelz Johnson, but lost a fumble two plays later.

Johnson led Farrell with 188 yards on 21 carries.

When they took the football at their 21-yard line following Hickory’s score, the Steelers drove 66 yards in ten plays but turned the ball over on downs at their 13-yard line on 4th-and-5 to close the first half.

However, Farrell started the second half with a bang as Jadon King-Vincent took the kickoff back 87 yards, and in 15 seconds, the game was all tied up.

The rest of the third quarter saw a Hickory punt, and Aaron Pegues nearly connected with Dorean Cain on 4th-and-20 early in the final stanza.

That’s noteworthy because on the subsequent snap, Kelvin Morrison found a hole and raced 73 yards for a touchdown with 8:26 to play.

“I knew I could trust my teammates, and they can trust me when we need a big play,” Morrison said. “I trust my speed and my blockers. I knew on that play once I got into the open field, they weren’t going to catch me.”

As advertised, Morrison rushed for 198 yards on 24 carries.

Less than two minutes later, Aaron Pegues, this time connected with Dorean Cain, who sprinted past the Hornets’ on his way to a 41-yard touchdown with 6:55 to play. Farrell’s 2-point rush failed, and the Hickory held a slim 13-12 advantage.

Holding on downs at their 39-yard line with 3:59 to play, Farrell had one final shot to win the game. But a 4th-and-5 turned into a 4th-and-15 with back-to-back false start penalties. An illegal touching penalty against the Steelers ended the drive and the game with 1:26 to play.

“This was a tough game against a real good team,” said Farrell head coach Anthony Pegues. “We have a lot to clean up, and we will be better.”

Both schools are in action again next Friday night as Hickory travels to University Prep, while Farrell plays host to Fort LeBoeuf.

Game Highlights:

Hickory 13 Farrell 12

Score by Quarters

Farrell – 0 0 6 6 – 12

Hickory – 0 6 0 7 – 13

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

H – Trevor Borowicz 7 yd pass from Christian Dungee, (kick failed), 4:24 – 14-75

Third Quarter

F – Jadon King-Vincent 87 yd kickoff return, (pass failed), 11:45

Fourth Quarter

H – Kelvin Morrison 73 yd run, (Callum Darraugh pat), 8:26 – 1-73

F – Dorean Cain 41 yd pass from Aaron Pegues, (rush failed), 6:55 – 4-55

Individual Stats

Rushing: F – Juelz Johnson 21-188, Pegues 5-16, Jason Marshall 2-5. Totals: 28-209. H – Morrison 24-198, Dungee 10-17, Team 2-0. Totals: 36-215.

Receiving: F – King-Vincent 1-8, Nemo Jones 2-12, Dorean Cain 1-41. H – Jadon Phillips 5-23, Morrison 2-12, Borowicz 1-7.

Passing: F – Pegues 4-for-12, 61 yards, 1 TD. H – Dungee 8-for-11, 42 yards, 1 TD.

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