Crawford County could be the home of District 10's top running backs this fall
The Erie Times-News takes a look at 25 topics when it comes to high school football. The series of 25 topics will run daily until the beginning of the regular season on Aug. 23.
19. Could Crawford County be the home of the top rushers in District 10?
District 10 had 13 rushers break 1,000 yards last year and only six are back this fall. The top four of those six rushers are from Crawford County. Oil City's Ethen Knox, the all-time rusher in D-10 history, is gone to graduation along with Lakeview's Mitchell Tingley, Ben Miller of Wilmington and Dajoure Hollingsworth of Cathedral Prep. The four led D-10 in rushing yards and all four went over 1,500 yards last fall.
The top returning rusher is all-around athlete Jaxon Covell of Titusville, who ran for 1,353 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior. Next is Meadville duo Jordan Lawrence and Bradyn Miller. Lawrence had a breakout sophomore season with 1,336 yards and 10 touchdowns on 159 carries, while Miller was one of the toughest runners in D-10 last year with 1,327 yards and 21 touchdowns on 139 carries. Cambridge Springs standout Brett Kania, who ran for 1,310 yards and 19 touchdowns is another top rusher back, while Meadville's Jacoby Thompson and Conneaut's Joe Furgiuele could also be top rushing threats as well giving Crawford County plenty of backs to watch.
There are other top rushers back this season that could step up and have big years. Harbor Creek's Tyshawn Jones ran for 1,145 yards and 14 touchdowns last year, while Farrell speedster Juelz Johnson ran for 1,042 yards and nine touchdowns. Hickory's Kelvin Morrison had a big freshman season with 812 yards and nine touchdowns on 100 carries, while Eisenhower's Logan Penley ran for 867 yards and five touchdowns.
Mercyhurst Prep quarterback Paul Johnson, who transferred to Erie High, ran for 958 yards and 17 touchdowns last year as a sophomore but could see a different role with the Royals, while quarterbacks Nolan Cary of Corry and Zander Telesz of Hickory ran for 695 yards and 649 yards, respectively.
Contact Tom Reisenweber at [email protected]. Follow him on X @ETNreisenweber.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Crawford County could be the home of District 10's top running backs
