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Hickory Rallies Past Sharon For Second Straight District 10 Title

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

| November 16, 2024


Slippery Rock – Khalil Houston’s 4-yard touchdown reception from Zander Telesz with 18 seconds to play gave Hickory a thrilling 37-31 victory over Sharon for their second consecutive District 10 AAA title.

In a game nearly identical to their September 13th clash, Hickory scored two touchdowns in the final 2:40 to win a dramatic district title.

“This feels,” awesome said Hickory head coach Bill Dungee. “But it feels awesome for them. That kid Zander Telesz, I’m just going to say it. It’s not easy to play quarterback for me. I’m hard on them, putting a lot on his plate. He’s just a grinder, all heart, and a playmaker. I’m just so happy for those seniors to get it back-to-back. I’m happy for my son. He’s out against Ike Friday, who’s trying to run through him. He’s hanging on for dear life. I love it. I’m proud of them. It feels great.”

When Ra’Keem Highes intercepted Telesz at the Sharon 2-yard line with the Tigers up 24-23 in the fourth quarter, the Hornets likely felt like a quick 3-and-out would do the trick.

Instead, the Tigers quickly drove 98 yards in six plays, scoring on Terrian White’s 46-yard touchdown run with 6:57 to play, putting Hickory in a 31-23 hole. Ike Friday added a 38-yard gain on the drive.

Though things may have looked bleak, Hickory focused on the next play and drove 51 yards in eight plays. Quarterback Zander Telesz scored on a 2-yard run with 2:40 left, cutting the deficit to 31-29.

Telesz was stopped on the potential game-tying 2-point conversion, and Ra’Keem Hughes recovered the onside kick for Sharon.

With two timeouts, Hickory forced a punt in three plays and took over at their 38-yard line with 1:17 to zero timeouts remaining.

“I actually told Zander we would win by a field goal,” Dungee said. “I didn’t know if we were going to get a touchdown. He said I know, coach, we’re good. These guys believe. They just believed. It was all heart. We talk about culture and that culture right there. Hats off to Sharon, I got a ton of respect for coach McElhaney and those Tigers. He went through many injuries this year and had that team rolling. You can’t for anything more than that ending.”

Looking like Joe Cool from 80’s out there, Telesz led the game-winning 8-play 62-yard drive. He threw a 17-yard completion to Khalil Houston before adding rushes of 23 and 10 yards on quarterback draws down to the 4-yard line.

On 2nd-and-goal from the four, Telez took the snap and fired to a wide-open Houston for the game-winning score with only 18 seconds to play.

“It started with defense. We had to get that 3-and-out,” Telesz said. “Jadon (Phillips) had an excellent punt return, getting the ball around the 40-yard line. We ran our 2-minute drill and got down there and scored. With a defense like this, you have to take advantage of their mistakes, and they did not guard Khalil. Before the game, coach Dungee told him he would make a big play. I saw him in the corner of my eye, snapped the ball, and threw a touchdown pass to win the game.”

Zander Telesz completed 6-of-14 passes for 125 yards and three touchdowns, adding 103 rushing and a score.

“To go back-to-back means a lot to us,” said Telesz. “Especially with them being our rival. We have lost to them in the regular season for the last two years. We knew that wasn’t supposed to be how the game should end. We had to come out tonight and show everyone we could be champions. A trophy on the line tonight meant a lot to both teams, but we showed we wanted it more.”

However, the game was not over, as Tigers quarterback Ethan Engelmore threw a 30-yard completion to Kare’mez Norris and, with a personal foul penalty on the Hornets, set up Sharon at their 21-yard line with five seconds to play.

Having one last-ditch attempt to pull off the miracle, Engelmore’s pass was batted down in the end zone, setting off a vast Hornets celebration and leaving the Tigers heartbroken for only the second time this season.

The ending was nearly indistinguishable from their September 13th matchup.

Hickory trailed 20-14 in that contest with 1:09 on the clock and the ball on their 15-yard line. The Hornets moved the ball to the Tigers’ 14-yard line before Telesz’s pass was broken up in the end zone, ending the game.

Read the full story from September 13th here.

“The thing is, people criticized me for running the draw, but it’s part of our 2-minute drill,” Dungee said. “It didn’t work out the first time, but it worked perfectly this time. You have to go with what you believe and what you practice. We knew if the look were there, Zander would take the draw. I told them to trust me. It was all trust. They could have looked at it as it didn’t work last time. But they didn’t. I was playing for the field goal. But they kept saying in a 3-man front. I said we’ll take the opportunity. That last play was just a heads-up by Zander when they were misaligned. We had seen on film that they left our slot uncovered when they were in their bare defense like that. I’m so proud of those guys.”

For Hickory, it marks the second consecutive season last lost to Sharon in the regular season only to get their revenge and win the District 10 AAA title over them.

The two schools swamped field goals in the opening 12 minutes as Yousef Kanan and Logan Stanford booted 35 and 38-yard field goals, respectively.

Super sophomore Kelvin Morrison scored the game’s initial touchdown on the opening play of the second quarter as he hauled in a short pass from Telesz and raced 60 yards to the end zone.

The pace of the game picked up in the second quarter, and Sharon responded with a 2-yard run from Ike Friday, tying the game at ten.

In a bizarre coincidence, Hickory scored with 2:40 left in the first half and Sharon with 18 seconds left in the half—the same time on the clock as the two Hickory touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Hickory took a 16-10 lead when Trevor Borowicz caught a 9-yard touchdown from Telesz, capping a 7-play 57-yard drive.

Ka’Keem Hughes then returned the ensuing kickoff to the Hornets’ 29-yard line. On fourth down, he hauled in a 22-yard pass from Engelmore before catching a 6-yard touchdown that put the Tigers in front 17-16 at the half.

Sharon then failed to corral the second-half kickoff, and Hickory recovered at their 31-yard line, leading to Morrison’s 7-yard touchdown.

Kelvin Morrison paced the Hornets with 134 yards rushing on 22 attempts while adding one reception for 60 yards and a touchdown.

Late in the third quarter, Sharon went ahead 24-23 when Friday scored on a 17-yard run following a 61-yard drive.

Ike Friday led the Tigers with a game-high 162 yards on 24 carries.

The Hornets will face 13-0 District 6 champion Penn Cambria in the state quarterfinals. Last season, Hickory defeated District 6 champion Central 26-13 at Altoona’s Mansion Park Stadium.

Game Highlights:

Hickory 37 Sharon 31

Score by Quarters

Hickory – 3 13 7 14 – 37

Sharon – 3 14 7 7 – 31

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

S – Yousef Kanan 35 yd field goal, 8:47 – 4-3

H – Logan Stanford 38 yd field goal, 3:17 – 13-43

Second Quarter

H – Kelvin Morrison 60 yd pass from Zander Telesz, (Stanford pat), 11:47 – 3-61

S – Ike Friday 2 yd run, (Kanan pat), 9:34 – 7-52

H – Trevor Borowicz 9 yd pass from Telesz, (kick failed), 2:40 7-57

S – Ra’Keem Hughes 6 yd pass from Ethan Engelmore, (Kanan pat), 0:18 – 7-29

Third Quarter

H – Morrison 7 yd run, (Stanford pat), 10:31 – 4-31

S – Friday 17 yd run, (Kanan pat), 1:25 – 8-61

Fourth Quarter

S – Terrian White 46 yd run, (Kanan pat), 6:57 – 6-98

H – Telesz 2 yd run, (rush failed), 2:40 – 8-51

H – Khalil Houston 4 yd pass from Telesz, (Telesz rush), 0:18 – 8-62

Individual Stats1

Rushing: H – Morrison 22-134, Telesz 13-103, Jamal Calhoun 5-18, Jadon Phillips 1-4, Team 1-0. Totals: 42-259. S – Friday 24-162, Engelmore 5-14, Kare’mez Norris 1-4, White 5-80. Totals: 35-260.

Receiving: H – Morrison 1-60, Borowicz 1-9, Phillips 2-29, Houston 2-27. S – Hughes 3-40, Friday 1-(-5), Norris 3-59.

Passing: H – Telesz 6-for-14, 125 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, Team 0-for-2. S – Engelmore 7-for-15, 94 yards, 1 TD.

Interceptions: S – Hughes.

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