Warren’s Carter Pascuzzi (11) celebrates a touchdown from Tommy Nyquist (22) in the Dragons’ 50-28 win over Girard two weeks ago at Youngsville High School. After six years without a high school football game at Mike Shine Field, Warren — which co-operates with Youngsville — will be playing there for the second time in three weeks due to the renovation of War Memorial Field in Warren. Times Observer photo by Jon Sitler
After losing his first two games in convincing fashion, Warren is looking for his third straight win in this swing a 2022 high school football season.
A winning record wouldn’t be so odd for the Dragons, who are looking to move to 3-2 with a home win on Saturday night. The who and the where became the unknown part for five weeks. For the second time in three weeks, Warren’s 6 p.m. home game Saturday against Fairview will take place at Youngsville High School, due to delayed construction at War Memorial Field in Warren. And with the Dragons moving to Class 3A this season, they encounter another somewhat unknown non-regional opponent in the Tigers. The last time these two teams met was four years ago on the opening night of the 2019 season after playing four consecutive years.
“Youngsville has become our home away from home”, said Warren’s coach Mark Morelli. “I think our team is comfortable playing there. It was a great atmosphere to play there two weeks ago and we expect the same tonight. As for Fairview, they’ve had a few coaching changes over the years, but in the past two years they seem to have stabilized the program a bit.
“They are 2-2, they have athletes in their skill positions, a 1,000 yard back and a good sized line,” adds Morelli. “Their two wins are against Mercyhurst Prep and Harbor Creek; their two losses were against Fort LeBouef and Meadville. If we want to succeed we have to play better than we did last week against Conneaut. Fairview is in the same boat as us, so it should be a competitive game.
After two losses in which Warren allowed a total of 100 points, the Dragons outscored Girard in a 50-28 out-of-region win at Youngsville High School. Last week, it took a last-second field goal from first-year kicker Gavin Rex and a Herculean rushing and receiving game from running back Tommy Nyquist to escape Linesville with a 10-7 victory.
“Week number 5, we are 2-2; football season has its own set of ebbs and flows,” said Morelli. “Each week brings a new set of challenges. I think our kids have embraced the weekly and weekly routines that come in a season. Last week was a lesson in not letting our guard down. We didn’t play well, but we found a way to win the game. This week we need to bounce back and bring our ‘A’ game against Fairview. We are certainly capable of doing that.
