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Hickory Rolls Into District 10 Title Game

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

| November 11, 2023

Farrell – Hickory advanced to their first District 10 final since winning it all in 2020 with a 38-7 victory over Grove City Friday night at Farrell High School.

The Hornets controlled the contest from start to finish and dominated all three aspects of the game. It was a far cry from when the two teams met on October 6th, as the Hornets had to rally from a 15-7 second-half deficit.

“We came ready to play,” said Hickory head coach Bill Dungee. “We’ve been waiting to put a game together like this in all three phases. We felt we left some points on the field in the first meeting. I’m so proud of these guys; freshmen came off the bench to help us tonight. I have to give a shootout to Grove City. Those guys have been a pain in my butt for the last four years coaching against them. To be the champion, you must beat the champion, and now we’ll get our opportunity.”

On Friday night, they scored on their first three possessions to build a 17-0 second-half lead. Their most impressive drive was their initial one when Hickory drove 75 yards in 16 plays and opened up the scoring on Luke Nevil’s 6-yard reception from Zander Telesz with 2:30 remaining in the first quarter following a 9-minute 30-second drive.

“I told the guys that we wanted to come out and establish ourselves to go up 7-0,” Dungee said. “We did it early with some play-action passes, and when we got into the red zone, we needed to pound the rock. That’s what we worked all off-season for.”

Driving 67 yards in four plays, the Hornets extended their lead to 14-0 when Telesz scored on a 16-yard run – his 47-yard pass to Tylon Cousin set up the touchdown. Cousin led all receivers with six catches for 128 yards.

Succeeding Telesz’s first interception, Hickory pushed their lead to 17-0 when Lukas Jones booted a 37-yard field goal.

Grove City, which struggled to move the ball, did drive 62 yards on the ensuing possession only to turn the ball over on downs at the Hornets 6-yard line.

The Eagles would get on the scoreboard late in the first half when they blocked a punt at the Hickory 33-yard line, leading to Hunter Hohman’s 3-yard run with three seconds remaining in the first half.

Hohman led Grove City by rushing for 25 yards while completing 12-of-22 passes for 74 yards with a pair of interceptions.

Late in the third quarter, following an excellent punt return by Timmy Krivosh to the Eagles 20-yard line, freshman Kelvin Morrison scored on a 4-yard run, making the score 24-7 after three.

In the final stanza, Hickory put the exclamation point on their victory when Telesz intercepted his second pass of the night and, on tip drill, was able to corral the ball and race 98 yards for a touchdown.

“Zander came out and did it with his legs and arm,” said Dungee. “He made an outstanding and athletic play on that interception, and then to return it for a touchdown was phenomenal. Every day, he’s working hard to get better.”

Zander Telesz had a big night for the Hornets as he completed 8-of-14 passes for 152 yards while rushing for 42 yards, intercepting a pair of passes on defense, and accounting for three total touchdowns.

“It feels amazing to make plays on both sides of the ball,” said Telesz. “Not many players can do that, so I’m different, I guess. I couldn’t do it without my offensive line. I believe Grove City has the defensive line in District 10, but my line held up nicely. They were the two-time defending district champs and are a great team, but we came to play tonight and earned this one.”

After holding Grove City on downs at their 35-yard line, Morrison scored his second touchdown to close the scoring with 2:16 to play – Morrison rushed for 47 yards on ten carries, while Sean Kennedy chipped in with 46 yards on the ground.

Hickory will now look for revenge on Sharon in the District 10 AAA final. The Tigers beat the Hornets 12-0 on September 8th. Sharon beat Oil City in the other semifinal 39-16.

“I don’t have thought on that game. I’m just thanking Jesus that we’re heading to the district championship,” concluded Dungee. “We are going to enjoy this one. They have beaten us in the last two regular seasons. You couldn’t ask for more.”

Grove City concluded their season at 7-4 after back-to-back District 10 titles.

“Obviously, you never want to see your season end,” said Grove City head coach Sam Mowrey. “It’s a sad night, but we’re so proud to be able to work with this group of kids, and they fought hard to the end. We’re proud of our boys. They made some big plays tonight, and we sputtered on offense a little, but we couldn’t be prouder of this group of seniors.”

Game Highlights:

 

Hickory 38 Grove City 7

Score by Quarters

Grove City – 0 7 0 0 – 7
Hickory – 7 10 7 14 – 38

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

H – Luke Nevil 6 yd pass from Zander Telesz, (Lukas Jones pat), 2:30 – 16-75

Second Quarter

H – Telesz 16 yd run, (Jones pat), 9:57 – 4-67

H – Jones 37 yd field goal, 5:55 – 7-20

GC – Hunter Hohman 3 yd run, (Jonah Stucchio pat), 0:03 – 3-33

Third Quarter

H – Kelvin Morrison 4 yd run, (Jones pat), 0:54 – 3-20

Fourth Quarter

H – Telesz 98 yd interception return, (Jones pat), 7:49

H – Morrison 1 yd run, (Jones pat), 2:16 – 5-35

Individual Stats

Rushing: GC – Hohman 10-25, Dominic Garzarelli 9-14, Bode Stevenson 10-55. Totals: 29-94. H – Telesz 8-42, Sean Kennedy 11-46, Kelvin Morrison 10-47, Will Archie 5-8, Keenan Scullin 3-27. Totals: 37-170.

Receiving: GC – Gavin Lutz 4-28, Nathan Greer 4-22, Stevenson 1-3, Lucas McCreadie 3-21. H – Tylon Cousin 6-128, Scullin 1-18, Nevil 1-6.

Passing: GC – Hohman 12-for-22, 74 yards, 2 INT. H – Telesz 8-for-14, 152 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.

Interceptions: H – Telesz (2). GC – Lutz.

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