Sparks will fly when resurgent New Castle hosts Montour in Parkway battle

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, October 2, 2025 | 11:33 PM

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Fireworks punctuate every New Castle touchdown at Taggart Stadium, a home-field tradition that the Red Hurricanes have enjoyed even more lately.

Might the budget need an increase?

“We always have a plethora of fireworks here,” New Castle coach Fred Mozzocio said. “It’s the fireworks capital of the world.”

But the pyrotechnics aren’t the only reason for “oohs” and “aahs” nowadays. New Castle is off to a 5-1 start behind a promising freshman quarterback who just led the team to a long-awaited win over Aliquippa.

Now, New Castle (5-1, 1-0) has a chance to prove its status as a Parkway Conference contender when No. 4 Montour (4-2, 1-0) visits at 7 p.m. Friday. The Red Hurricanes have lost three straight in the series since a 2021 win.

There’s no clear favorite yet in a conference that finished last year with tri-champions.

“It’s definitely up for grabs,” Mozzocio said. “I know that every game we play is going to be the biggest game of the year, starting last week and then this week with Montour.”

A year ago, Montour, Aliquippa and West Allegheny shared the conference title while New Castle finished 1-4 in the Parkway. Montour has outscored New Castle 150-20 over the past three seasons combined, which included a 51-6 win last year.

But the Red Hurricanes have seen a resurgence in Mozzocio’s second year as coach.

“New Castle has really turned it around up there,” Montour coach Lou Cerro said. “Good for Fred. He’s a good coach. We’re looking forward to going up there.”

Both teams have young, first-year starters at quarterback. New Castle’s Marino Graham is a freshman. Montour’s Brandon Bennett is a sophomore.

The 5-foot-10, 150-pound Graham has passed for 716 yards and 10 touchdowns while also rushing for a team-high 548 yards and seven scores. His top targets are Kai Cox and Chase Lemmon, who have 16 catches each.

Marino tossed a touchdown to Lemmon and rushed for two more scores in last week’s 18-12 victory over Aliquippa.

“He’s very, very poised beyond his years,” Mozzocio said. “He doesn’t try to do too much. … If he does make a mistake, he usually doesn’t make the same mistake twice.”

Bennett threw for three touchdowns last week when Montour defeated Blackhawk, 28-7. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound quarterback has passed for 940 yards and eight touchdowns.

Zander Stern has a team-high 25 catches and freshman Archie Collins has 15.

“Obviously, everything runs through the quarterback with all of the (read-pass options) and everything that we do,” Cerro said. “You’ve got to make the right reads.”

Bennett is joined in the backfield by running back Caden Halajcio, a senior with 781 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. Halajcio is a third-year starter having his best season yet.

He rushed for 185 yards and scored twice in Week 4 against Mars.

“He’s been very patient running the ball the last couple of weeks,” Cerro said. “We lean heavily on him, no doubt.”

Both coaches said eliminating penalties was a key for winning Friday’s game, understandable for teams that rely on young players. Montour starts only three seniors.

“We want to cut back on penalties,” Mozzocio said, “especially presnap stuff we can control.”

Said Cerro: “We have to cut down on penalties. We are horrific at penalties.”

New Castle’s win over Aliquippa was the team’s first since 1987, having lost 10 in a row to the Quips in the four decades since. As a 1985 New Castle graduate trying to bolster his alma mater, Mozzocio saw some added value in winning last week’s game at home with the fireworks and all.

“Everybody is familiar with Aliquippa and their tradition and their winning ways,” Mozzocio said. “It was good to win in front of your junior high and Pop Warner kids. It was big for the program.”

New Castle will try for another home win over a ranked opponent this week. The Red Hurricanes last defeated Montour, 14-10, in 2021.

“We’ve had good, spirited practices all week,” Mozzocio said. “Everybody is excited and prepared for the challenge ahead.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Montour, New Castle