
Wilmington Wins First District 10 Title Since 2020
Tagged under: District 10, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs
Shane Lux | November 17, 2024
Transfer – Wilmington grinds out their first District 10 title since 2020 with a 26-21 victory over Greenville.
It wasn’t perfect, but the Greyhounds gave head coach Brandon Phillian one fantastic birthday present.
“Bringing the District 10 championship trophy back to Wilmington for the first time since 2020 just feels incredible,” said Phillian. “I’ve been blessed and fortunate to be an assistant under Terry Verrelli. he taught me so much, and then I was blessed to have the opportunity to take over this proud program as the head coach. Three years in a row, three District 10 titles, then suddenly, we go three years without one. That makes this one feel the sweetest of all, going through ups and downs, highs and lows. One of our favorite sayings is through adversity comes character.”
With Wilmington and Greenville moving down a class, a district final between the two schools wasn’t out of the question. When the Trojans eliminated the defending district champion Cambridge Springs 27-26 last week. The Week 1 rematch was now inevitable.
On a warm August 23rd night in New Wilmington, the Greyhounds knocked off the Trojans 28-7. Wilmington built a 21-0 lead in the second quarter and never looked back.
Greenville also never looked back. The Trojans won 11 straight games and put themselves in a position to win their first District 10 title of the 21st century.
However, Wilmington had other plans. Like their opening night matchup, the Hounds jumped out to a 20-7 first-half lead thanks to a pair of touchdown runs from Chase Mitcheltree and a 1-yard plunge from Jamie Miller.
Micheltree, who rushed for 127 yards on 24 carries, capped an 8-play 43-yard drive with a 6-yard run, opening the scoring.
Chase Mitcheltree 6 yd run, Wilmington 7 Greenville 0, 6:40 1st, @ChaseMitcheltr @BobGreenburg pic.twitter.com/uFNOBXOkhB
— Shane Lux (@PFN_Luxy) November 17, 2024
“This feels great to bring a District 10 championship back to Wilmington,” Mitcheltree said. “All the credit goes to my offensive line – it’s all them. I love my big boys up front. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. We all work well together in the running game, and we’re not a selfish backfield.”
Greenville immediately tied the game when Nick Soldrich completed a 40-yard pass to Cael Thruber, who then lateralled to Justin Schell, who ran the remaining 40 yards, tying the game at seven after a quarter.
The Greyhounds regained the lead on the initial snap of the second quarter when Jamie Miller scored on a 1-yard run following a 50-yard drive that took 11 plays.
Miller rushed for a game-high 130 yards on 21 carries.
After Greenville was forced to punt from their end zone, Wilmington took advantage of the short field as Mitcheltree scored on a 15-yard run a play later.
The Trojans came right back as Schell hauled in a 39-yard touchdown from Soldrich, who did a great job extending the play. Soldrich completed 11 of 20 passes for 221 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Schell caught seven balls for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
On the Greyhounds’ ensuing possession, Rudy Gentile intercepted Wesley Vass-Gal late in the first half, and Greenville drove into the red zone, where the Wilmington defense stiffened and blocked Tristen Saeler’s 24-yard field attempt at the horn.
“That was huge,” Phillian said. “Not only getting that lead but maintaining it right before the half. For us to hold them and hold the lead and the momentum. I would have liked us to start the second half better than a three-and-out, but holding them there was huge.”
Wilmington pushed their lead to 26-14 after three quarters when Mitcheltree scored his third rushing touchdown on a 3-yard run late in the third quarter on a drive that ate up most of the clock after the teams traded punts to begin the second half.
In the final stanza, Greenville gave it one more shot. They drove 71 yards in ten plays and scored on Thurber’s 1-yard run with 9:56 to play.
Cael Thurber 1 yd run, Wilmington 26 Greenville 21, 9:56 4th, @caelthurber2 @BobGreenburg pic.twitter.com/IpZhGWZygm
— Shane Lux (@PFN_Luxy) November 17, 2024
“The game went how we thought it would,” said Phillian. “We knew it was going to be a battle. They were much improved from the opening week and did some nice stuff offensively with some of the laterals and tricky stuff that are tough to defend, to their credit. I tip my cap to them for a well-played game tonight.”
Their defense recovered a Mitcheltree fumble at the 14-yard line with 5:05 remaining. After gaining one first down, the Trojans faced a fourth-and-long.
On gadget play, Justin Schell caught a 7-yard pass from Soldrich at the Trojan 35-yard line before the hook-and-ladder to Thurber, where he was forced out of bounds at the Greyhounds 48-yard line just before the sticks.
“I think my heart skipped a couple of beats as that play unfolded on our sideline,” said Phillian. “Our guys were relentless in their pursuit of the football. They gave up, and we were able to stop them a yard or two short. That arguably the biggest play of the game.”
Wilmington then picked up a pair of first downs to seal the victory. They advance into the state playoffs, taking undefeated District 9 champion Port Allegany.
“We’ll get back to work and start studying film tomorrow,” concluded Phillian. “Port Allegany is having a great season and is a proud program. They’re no stranger to district titles and won one in 2022. We know we’re going to have a well-coached, tough opponent.”
Game Highlights:
Wilmington 26 Greenville 21
Score by Quarters
Greenville – 7 7 0 7 – 21
Wilmington – 7 13 6 0 – 26
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
W – Chase Mitcheltree 6 yd run, (Ryder Trevo pat), 6:40 – 8-43
G – Justin Schell 40 yd pass from Nick Soldrich, (Tristen Saeler pat), 6:19 – 1-80
Second Quarter
W – Jamie Miller 1 yd run, (Trevo pat), 11:58 – 11-50
W – Mitcheltree 15 yd run, (kick failed), 7:45 – 1-15
G – Schell 39 yd pass from Soldrich, (Saeler pat), 4:13 – 8-76
Third Quarter
W – Mitcheltree 3 yd run, (rush failed), 0:50 – 14-69
Fourth Quarter
G – Cael Thurber 1 yd run, (Saeler pat), 9:56 – 10-71
Individual Stats
Rushing: W – Mitcheltree 24-127, Miller 21-130, Cael Kettering 4-16, Michael Mistretta 3-11, Freddie Zehetner 1-(-2), Team 3-0. Totals: 56-282. G – Soldrich 10-3, Rudy Gentile 8-77, Cael Thurber 5-17, Teage Calvin 1-1. Totals: 24-98.
Receiving: W – Rowan Miller 1-18. G – Thurber 3-79, Schell 7-130, Keith Covert 1-12.
Passing: W – Wesley Vass-Gal 1-for-2, 18 yards, 1 INT. G – Soldrich 11-for-20, 221 yards, 2 TD, Thurber 0-for-1.
Interceptions: G – Gentile.
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