STRONG VINCENT HIGH SCHOOL
1330 West 8th Street
Erie, Pennsylvania  16502

Strong statement

Strong Vincent's Dwayne Jenkins celebrates with teammates after winning the District 10 Class AAA championship against Franklin on Saturday at Veterans Stadium. The colonels won 36-15. (Erie Times-News photo by Janet B. Campbell)

Joe Mattis
joe.mattis@timesnews.com

Franklin saw the real Strong Vincent at Veterans Stadium on Saturday night.

The Colonels avenged their loss to the Knights by beating Franklin 36-15 for the District 10 Class AAA title.

Vincent earned its first D-10 championship since 1991, the same year it won the PIAA title.

The Colonels showed a crowd of 2,900 that they were better than the team that lost at Franklin 21-7 in the fifth week of the season, a loss that eventually resulted in Vincent sharing the Northwest Conference title with the Knights.

"I think they knew from films that the first game we played them, that wasn't Strong Vincent football," coach Tom Cacchione said. "They knew we were capable of doing what we did tonight."

Vincent (10-1), winner of six straight, will play District 8 champion Perry (10-1) into the first round of PIAA interdistrict play, probably at South High Stadium in Pittsburgh.

The Knights, who had their seven-game winning streak snapped, finished the season with a 9-2 record.

Junior halfback Mario Henry paced a ground attach that totaled 282 yards. He gained 97 yards on 17 carries and scored three touchdowns.

His first TD came from 6 yards out and gave the Colonels a 14-8 halftime lead. Henry also scored the final two TDs of runs of one yard and 15 yards.

"They were all on a sweep to the left," Henry said.

"The outside was there. They were blitzing to the middle so we took what they gave us to the outside,"Henry said.

Junior fullback Derek Selby, who ran for 80 yards on 13 carries, gave Vincent an 8-0 lead on a 1-yard plunge on the Colonel's first possession of the game.

Franklin's talented senior quarterback Rich Cerro scored from the 1 in the second quarter to tie the game.

Late in the first half the Colonels faced a third-and-16 at the Franklin 45. Junior quarterback Duane Hemphill rolled back to pass, found his receivers covered, and took off down the right sideline. He was finally pushed out of bounds on the 1 after running over a tackler at the 10. Hemphill's scramble set up Henry's first TD run and a 14-8 halftime lead.

"That was a beautiful play, and you can't design that," Cacchione said. "That was just a scramble. They were blitzing a lot. I told him to pull it down and run. We've been telling him all year, 'Duane, you are as fast as anybody on the field. If you get an opening, run it.' "

"I was blocking for him," Henry said. "They weren't expecting him to run and he took it almost all the way."

Junior halfback Brandon McLaurin ran 8 yards to give the Colonels a 21-8 lead in the fourth quarter.

"You may stop one of us, but you can't stop all three of us," Henry said of Vincent's trio of running backs.

Senior center Jeff Ernst said he and his teammates on the line get a thrill out of being a part of every touchdown.

"We're the horses," he said. "All they have to do is hop on the chariot and get on it."

Brian Schmidt ran 4 yards for a Franklin touchdown to cut Vincent's lead to 21-5, but Henry scored twice after that to the delight of the Colonels' fans.

The last time the Colonels were in the playoffs was three years ago when Jeff Ernst's older brother Jay was playing for Vincent.

"It feels great to be the D-10 champion," Jeff Ernst said. "When I was in 9th grade, my brother was here. This is for him and for everyone else who didn't get a change to be here."



JOE MATTIS

can be reached at 870-1676 or by e-mail.


Last changed: November 09. 2003 7:33AM