Football games don’t come any better than the one Linesville and Mercer squared off in last season. Leads changed, kicks were blocked, others were returned and the fans witnessed both sides make one big play after the other. Yet in the end it was Mercer claiming victory, downing Linesville by the skinniest of margins, 32-31.

Of course, Linesville and Mercer are somewhat different football teams this year. But the stakes will be just as high when the Lions and the Mustangs — the last two undefeated teams in Region 1 — reconvene on the gridiron in a 7 p.m. kickoff in Linesville.

“I hope we can have a game as exciting as last year,” Mercer coach Pat McClearn said.

You wouldn’t rather just have a blowout?

“No. You know what, I wouldn’t,” he said. “I like these kinds of games — a nice, close game that comes down to end. That’s what high school football is all about.”

Actually, Linesville wouldn’t really know, as far as close games go this season. The Lions have posted sizable wins over Cambridge Springs, Kennedy Catholic and Lakeview by a combined score of 135-19. Their closest game was last week’s 34-point, 56-12 win over Lakeview.

“Yeah, actually with Lakeview’s size it was nice to see our kids do a nice job against that,” Gould said.

Gould was particularly glad to see his team do well against a bigger team, because that’s what the Lions will see again this week with Mercer lining up experienced blockers like tackle Rich McCullough (6-foot, 265), center Ray Dominguez (5-10, 270) and guards Nick Ream (6-1, 305) and Nick Nan (6-2, 250).

“They’re a nice big group,” Gould said.

“We have most of our line back from last year,” McClearn said. “We had to replace our right tackle and a tight end, but the rest are back. And we’ve had to rely on them.”

With its front line clearing a path, the Mustangs have also put up some solid wins this year. They finally broke a string of losses to Mercyhurst Prep (26-14) to start the season. And they followed that up with a 20-0 shutout of Farrell.

“Mercyhurst Prep was a big win for us individually,” McClearn said. “But they were a young team, not quite the quality of Linesville. And Farrell had problems with kids being out.”

Farrell was temporarily missing a handful of players due to some disciplinary issues. Still, Gould isn’t about to dismiss Mercer’s victory over the Steelers.

“Farrell was missing (quarterback) Danny Odem and one of their running backs,” Gould said. “They are a different team with those kids there. But no matter what, Farrell is still dangerous.”

Both Linesville and Mercer lost some big play-makers from last year’s teams. Mercer, in fact, took severe hits in that category when it graduated fullback Justin Angermeier and receiver Weston Schaa. Angermeier had 178 yards against Linesville last year. And Schaa made some key catches on third and fourth downs, saving the Mustangs’ skins when the Lions had them backed up.

Quarterback Andrew Erdos is back from last year. He’s thrown for 103 yards and two touchdowns and has rushed for 124 more yards. However, his main job this year has shifted to handing the ball off to running backs Terrence Davis (257 yards, two TDs) and Rawlins Huntley (215 yards, three TDs).

“Last year, we had more big-play type guys,” McClearn said. “This year we’re more conservative — three or four yards a crack, more sustained drives, ball security. Not having penalties on offense will be important for us. And, hopefully, we can put some drives together.”

Linesville also graduated a tough fullback last year in Doug Williams, who led the team in rushing. Yet, the Lions have discovered new ways to move the ball.

“We’ve been trying to mix it up better, not just pounding fullback, fullback, fullback,” Gould said.

Senior Doug Farley has done a nice job as Linesville’s primary back in the first three games, gaining 367 yards on 44 carries and scoring three touchdowns. And junior quarterback Trevor Litwiler has really expanded Linesville’s aerial capabilities, completing more than 72 percent of his passes for 364 yards and five touchdowns.

“(Linesville) is much more a speed team than a power-oriented team like last year,” McClearn said. “The guys that were complimentary to Williams have stepped up and are now running the show.”

The Lions have also had a secondary back enter the game each week and provide some nice yardage and even a couple scores. In Week 1 it was junior Walt Litwin. In Week 2, freshman Jimmy Kearns made some solid contributions. And last week, sophomore Stephen Gaetano had a nice game.

“We’ve been mixing in different guys in the backfield and those kids have done well,” Gould said. “That’s been nice. We haven’t been trying to do that. We’re not looking to throw the ball to anyone in particular or give anyone more carries than anyone else. But every game someone steps up and has nice game. We’re not just a one-dimensional team like we might have been last year.”



Pete Chiodo can be reached at 724-6370 ext. 275 or by e-mail at pchiodo@meadvilletribune.com.