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McDowell Wins 7th Straight D10 6A Title

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

| November 2, 2024

Edinboro – Seventh Heaven.

The 2024 season has been up-and-down for the McDowell Trojans football team. Friday night at General McLane’s Linden Field was more of the same, though, in the end, the McDowell can call themselves District 10 6A champions for the seventh consecutive season.

“It feels pretty good, especially being my first one,” said McDowell first-year head coach Aaron Slocum. “This group of seniors we’ve been with for the last four years makes this one even more special.”

A season ago, McDowell rolled to the district title with a 58-30 victory. This night, nothing came easy, as Erie gave the Trojans all they wanted to handle.

Much like their first contest on September 13th, McDowell jumped to an early lead. They then held off a resilient Royals squad for a 28-14 victory.

In the first matchup, McDowell used three second-quarter touchdowns to build a 20-7 halftime lead. Friday night, the Trojans used a big defensive play followed by two long rushing touchdowns to jump ahead 21-0 early in the second stanza.

The two rivals felt each other out on the opening possessions, and Erie High took over at its 11-yard line to begin their second drive. On a 3rd-and-5, Kameron Bastow intercepted Marqwan Darnell on a tipped ball and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown.

“I switched from safety to corner for this game. So it was a little bit of an adjustment for me,” said Bastow. “I have to give the credit to my linebackers for tipping the ball straight to me. They made it easy for me to pick the ball off and take it all the way back. That was a great momentum-setter. I’m glad we were able to get off to the start we did.”

With momentum on their side, McDowell’s following two possessions ended in long touchdown runs. Stephon Porter, who had a 55-yard touchdown against the Royals on September 13th, raced 58 yards on a nearly identical play, giving the Trojans a 14-0 lead after a quarter.

Early in the second quarter, quarterback Blayze Myers capped a 5-play 68-yard drive with a 60-yard keeper, and McDowell was in complete control, up 21-0 with 8:18 to play in the half.

“Blayze and Stephon have been consistent all year,” said Slocum. “They’ve done a great job leading our offense. We executed really well in the first half and first quarter. We made some silly mistakes in the second quarter and let them get back into the game.”

Myers completed 7-fo-14 passes for 46 yards but gained 72 yards rushing on six carries.

Erie High wasn’t going down without a fight and scored two consecutive touchdowns in the final seven minutes to pull within a touchdown.

Following Myers’ touchdown run, Shaiede Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 67 yards to the Trojans’ 30-yard line, where Amari Farmer scored on a 22-yard run three plays later.

The Royals then took over at their 24-yard line with 4:15 to play in the half and marched 76 yards in ten plays, with Giovanni Crosby catching a 31-yard touchdown from Darnell at the 1:31 mark.

McDowell led 21-14 at halftime.

“That second score was a bad call defensively on my part,” said Slocum. “Momentum was in their favor. We went into halftime and talked about it. The kids did an excellent job listening and coming out in the second half.”

In the second half, Erie had its best opportunity to tie or take the lead when it put together a 14-play drive that lasted most of the third quarter.

However, Darnell threw incomplete on 4th-and-5 at the Trojans 12-yard line with 52 seconds to play in the quarter.

“That was just mistake after mistake on that drive,” Slocum said. “It doesn’t have to be that hard. But it is what it us,”

Erie would take back over at their 31-yard line in the fourth quarter, but McDowell pushed them backward on three straight plays, and a 12-yard punt put the Trojans at the Royals’ 23-yard line.

Blayze Myers connected with Daymar Dickerson for an 18-yard completion, and two plays later, Porter scored his second touchdown from a yard out with 6:36 to play.

Stephon Porter rushed for a game-high 92 yards on 18 carries.

Erie made one last-ditch attempt to pull within a touchdown driving inside the McDowell 30-yard line. On fourth down, Bastow made his second massive defensive play of the night with a strip sack on Darnell, where they ran out the remaining clock.

“That was the first blitz I ever ran,” Bastow said. “That was a great time to call it. He did not see me at all. I was flying in and just hit the first time I saw; that was about it.”

The Trojans’ defense stepped up when necessary in the second half, pitching a shutout for the final two quarters.

Marqwan Darnell led Erie High as he passed for 158 yards but completed only 12 of 30 passes and gained six yards rushing on 20 carries. Amari Farmer ran for a team-high 50 yards, while Shaiede Smith chipped in with 40.

McDowell will now play a familiar foe in State College. The Trojans beat the Little Lions 47-20 at Gus Anderson Field a season ago. State College boasts a 9-1 record.

Game Highlights:

McDowell 28 Erie 14

Score by Quarters

Erie – 0 14 0 0 – 14

McDowell – 14 7 0 7 – 28

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

M – Kameron Bastow 24 yd interception return, (Alex Sontheimer pat), 7:31

M – Stephon Porter 58 yd run, (Sontheimer pat), 4:16 – 1-58

Second Quarter

M – Blayze Myers 60 yd run, (Sontheimer pat), 8:18 – 5-68

E – Amari Farmer 22 yd run, (Giovanni Crosby rush), 6:56 – 3-30

E – Crosby 31 yd pass from Marqwan Darnell, (rush failed), 1:31 – 10-76

Fourth Quarter

M – Porter 1 yd run, (Sontheimer pat), 6:36 – 5-23

Individual Stats

Rushing: E – Darnell 20-6, Shaiede Smith 7-40, Farmer 8-50, Crosby 3-7, Christian Hamilton 2-7, Arydah Pacley 1-1. Totals: 41-111. M – Porter 18-92, Daymar Dickerson 2-2, Myers 6-72. Totals: 26-166.

Receiving: E – Crosby 4-65, Markel Pope 3-31, Pacley 1-5, Jamere Hansbrew 2-63, Farmer 1-(-1), Smith 1-(-5). M – Porter 1-0, Dickerson 2-25, Jake Hower 1-6, Kayden Dodds 1-1, Gavin Magorien 1-9, Bastow 1-5.

Passing: E – Darnell 12-for-30, 158 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. M – Myers 7-for-14, 46 yards.

Interceptions: M – Bastow.

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