PIAA FOOTBALL

The PIAA handbook may refer to it as sudden-death overtime but Jim Wildman, who always dances to the beat of a slightly different drummer, chooses to refer to it as "sudden-life.’’

Call it what you will -- heart-stopping if you’re from Sharon; heart-breaking if you had to travel back to Tyrone on Saturday afternoon -- but Sharon’s 21-14 overtime victory in the commonwealth’s Class AA quarterfinals would have to be hailed as one for the ages.

"When the playoffs started, I put the phrase on the greaseboard: ‘Sudden-life.’ We’re gonna call it ‘sudden-life,’ because if you keep winning, you keep breathing,’’ Wildman, the stoic Sharon mentor related after annexing his 199th career coaching win.

By virtue of its victory at Farrell’s Anthony J. Paulekas Stadium, Sharon (12-1) will meet Aliquippa (13-0) -- a 14-6 winner over Waynesburg in Saturday’s WPIAL title tilt -- next weekend in the western regional finale at a site and time to be announced.

Sharon advances to the PIAA Class AA Final Four for the second time in three seasons. After 48 minutes of regulation ended in a 14-all deadlock, the fifth quarter was decided in a heartbeat.

Sharon senior tailback Carmone Parchman sprinted 10 yards around left end on overtime’s initial play from scrimmage, then the voracious Tigers’ defense mauled Tyrone on its four downs from the 10-yard line.

"What a game! That’s gotta be one of the greatest high school games you’re ever gonna see!" gushed gracious Tyrone head coach John Franco (117-58-2), who led the Eagles to last season’s state title. "That’s what I told our kids. This, to me, is what high school sports is all about: Every kid, giving every ounce of himself for the cause, and expending himself totally on the field. And if you’ve never been part of it, you won’t understand it. But if you’re an athlete or a you’re a coach and you’ve been a part of it, you can’t get anything more fulfilling.’’

After season-opening setbacks, both teams won 11 consecutive contests to reach this juncture. Sharon entered as The Harrisburg Patriot-News’ top-ranked AA commonwealth contingent, while Tyrone followed in fifth. On Saturday, both teams rallied from 7-point deficits to forge deadlocks at 7 at intermission and 14 with 8:36 remaining in regulation.

Quarterback Brandon Hoover staked Tyrone to a 7-0 lead when he ran 16 yards in the first frame, culminating the Eagles’ game-opening 11-play, 51-yard, 6-minute, 22-second drive. He later caught tailback Jesse Jones’ 5-yard flea-flicker pass, which knotted the count at 14.

Although Tyrone statistically dominated the first half -- outgaining Sharon 99-55 and amassing nine first downs compared with the Tigers’ two -- the Tigers turned the emotional pendulum in their favor with 75 seconds remaining in the half.

Hoover, on a first-down play from his own 40-yard line, was sacked by Sharon senior Kevin Harris, who coerced a fumble that was caught by Terrance Phillips, who sprinted 33 yards for a touchdown. The first of junior Jim Morocco’s three successful conversion kicks squared the score at 7.

"Our coaches were telling us to be patient and, at first, we weren’t being patient at all,’’ the huge Harris related from the postgame, midfield mayhem of a celebration. "But eventually our emotions, our enthusiasm, started going up, and at one point, there was the big play, when Terrance Phillips ran it in, and our emotions went straight up.

"I knew I had to go out there and do something. All game, our coaches were telling us to be patient, but it didn’t seem like anything was coming. But all of a sudden I just made the big play,’’ the University of Pittsburgh-bound Harris simply explained.

"That was the killer!’’ Franco admitted. "It was like we gave them seven points. The ball was wet and Brandon got hit and it slips out of his hands and pops right into (Phillips’) hands, and you know it’s your day whenever that happens.

"That’s unfortunate because, really, their offense only scored one touchdown on us, in that respect,’’ Franco continued. "And to hold a team like that to one touchdown, offensively, in four quarters, I think, says a lot. But that was a big turning point in the game, absolutely.’’

Emotionally uplifted, Sharon commenced the second half by coercing Tyrone into a 3-and-out opening offensive series, then the Tigers embarked on a 10-play, 54-yard, 5-minute, 23-second drive. Parchman, who finished with a 30-carry, 130-yard, 2-TD performance, capped the sequence by exercising the essence of second-effort. Sweeping left, he was stopped by Tyrone’s 255-pound Scott Gummo, but bounced off, eluded Jones, then sprinted nine yards to his 33rd touchdown of the season and a short-lived Sharon lead, 14-7.

However Tyrone, aided by a post-possession foul assessed against Sharon, responded. Hoover’s fourth-down punt was fielded by Parchman, who, when hit immediately by Michael Mueller, fumbled, although Phillips recovered. But Sharon was whistled for illegal use of hands, and the subsequent 10-yard penalty enabled the Eagles’ to maintain possession at their own 49-yard line.

Eleven plays later -- on a play Franco installed in Friday’s final tune-up practice -- Jones took Hoover’s fourth-and-5 pitch, swept right, stopped, then threw back to Hoover, alone in the left flat. Gummo’s second successful placement kick served as the equalizer.

On Sharon’s subsequent series quarterback Mike Schneider’s second-and-10 pass was picked off by Tyler Mertiff, who returned the interception 29 yards to the Tigers’ 12-yard line with 7:45 remaining. The Eagles actually lost two yards on three plays, and Gummo was summoned to attempt a 30-yard field goal from a slight angle. However, playing with a broken left foot -- a right-footed placekicker’s plant foot -- the kick, though long enough, sailed wide left, retaining the tie with 6:23 left.

In 10 plays -- highlighted by third-down, drive-sustaining conversion runs of six yards by Phillips and 12 by Schneider -- the Tigers advanced 57 yards to Tyrone’s 37-yard line. However Schneider’s third-and-13 pass slipped through tight end James Barnett’s fingertips with 45 seconds to play. Morocco was called in and pooched a 21-yard punt to Tyrone’s 16-yard line, and the Eagles elected to run one play, allowing regulation time to expire.

So Sharon, awarded the initial overtime possession, collectively recalled last season’s 24-7 setback to Tyrone and did some serious soul-searching.

"We told each other in the huddle on the sideline that we had to reach deep down, and that’s exactly what we did: We reached deep down in our hearts, and we stuck it to them,’’ Harris summarized.

With four plays at its disposal and beginning from Tyrone’s 10, the Tigers turned to Parchman, who swept left for the go-ahead TD, and Morocco tacked on the PAT for a 21-14 margin.

"(On Friday) we extensively went over the overtime procedures, so there were no questions,’’ Wildman related. "Late in the game we began to talk about what we were going to do if we did win (the coin toss). So there were no surprises, so to speak. The kids weren’t surprised; they knew what to expect, and we knew what we wanted to do when it started.’’

Tyrone’s turn did not fare as well. Jones, limited to a 2-plus season-low 64 yards on 29 totes, was stopped for no gain, then dropped for a 3-yard loss. Hoover’s third-and-goal pass from the 13, intended for Brad Tuskovich, was broken up by Parchman. Then on fourth down, Barnett barreled through Tyrone’s tough interior, and harassed Hoover into a harmless incompletion thrown into a vacated left flat.

"We thought we had the four plays ready that we wanted to run in that situation, and we didn’t execute as well as we would’ve liked but, again you’ve got to credit their defense for that,’’ Franco said of Sharon.

"I sort of figured that they’d give it to Jesse on first down, and they did, and we stuffed it,’’ began Sharon defensive coordinator Mike Donato. "After that, if it was a second-and-long situation or third-and-long situation, we knew they’d have to do something that they didn’t really want to do, and we just told our kids to be aware of the trick plays, read their keys and react to the ball, and everything would take care of itself.

"When (Tyrone) called timeout on the fourth-down play, I told everybody just to ‘stay home,’ don’t let them get that trick play on you, and we’ll just take it as it goes ‘cause they’ve got to get the ball in the endzone,’’ Donato added.

Wildman (199-73-6), Mercer County’s all-time winningest scholastic grid mentor, has twice taken Tigers’ teams to the PIAA pinnacle. Now he is a step shy from returning there, this time at Hersheypark Stadium’s hallowed turf where this past summer he was inducted into the state coaches’ Hall of Fame.

"I think it depends on what happens hereafter. I’d like to look back, two weeks from now, with everything turning out and say it (the victory over Tyrone) was the most gratifying win, but I think at this point it depends on what we do with it. But, yeah, it would rank up there probably in the top three (career wins),’’ Wildman admitted.

Notes: Jones concluded his scholastic career with 99 touchdowns and 6,895 yards rushing to finish fifth in PIAA annals behind East Stroudsburg’s James Mungro (8,432), Honesdale’s Terrin Ash (7,748), Fort Cherry’s Mike Vernillo (7,646), and Southern Columbia’s Jerry Marks (7,066).

Franco -- 117-58-2 at Tyrone, (40-45-2 at Altoona)

ALTOONA, Pa. -- Sharpsville High football Coach Paul Piccirilli was scheduled for knee surgery this coming Wednesday, but that has been postponed. It’s amazing how you don’t feel pain in your leg when you’re walking on air!

In fact, for a guy with a bum leg, Piccirilli was moving pretty sprightly as he and his team left Altoona Mansion Park Stadium field Friday with a 28-6 victory over Windber in the PIAA quarterfinals. The veteran coach had enough pop in his hop to probably run all the way to the Western Regional Class A Championship game against Rochester next weekend if need be.

"I don’t know how these kids do it," said a proud Piccirilli, whose team has been an underdog all the way through the playoffs since the opening District 10 semifinal win over Union City. "That was a good football team we just beat."

Of course, everyone else is starting to realize what Piccirilli and his coaching staff already knew: Sharpsville is a pretty darn good football team also! Even in a steady downpour on a cold night in Altoona.

But while the last two victories over Kennedy Christian, 14-7, in the D-10 finals and over Curwensville, 7-0, last week were in doubt to the final whistle, the Blue Devils took some of the pressure off the coaches and fans as they jumped to a 21-0 lead and were never in jeopardy.

"It’s nice to get those early turnovers and take advantage of them," said Piccirilli, whose defense notched two fumbles -- one returned for a touchdown -- and an interception to grab a 13-0 halftime margin that could have been even more.

The Blue Devils kicked off to open the contest, but on the second play from scrimmage, a Windber fumble was jumped on by Sharpsville’s Matt Holsopple at the Sharpsville 44. The Devils drove to the Ramblers 8-yard-line where they stalled and a 26-yard field goal attempt by Ray Rotell just missed to the left.

However, five plays later the Devils were back in business on offense after Shawn Taylor intercepted Windber’s talented quarterback Jeff Slatcoff at the Windber 28. This time the Devils weren’t to be denied as on a third-and-8 play, Bill Stiger scored from 26 yards out on a deceptive quarterback keeper. Rotell’s kick was good for a 7-0 lead with 9 seconds remaining in the first period.

Early in the second frame, the Devils marched from their own 48-yard line to within inches of the Windber goal. But on a fourth-down quarterback sneak, Stiger appeared to be in for a touchdown before he fumbled and the side judge ruled touchdown. However, the other refs overruled the call and since a Windber player recovered in the end zone, they awarded the ball to the Ramblers on the 20.

"I was upset," said Piccirilli. "We were in down there."

That could have been a big momentum shifter, but the Sharpsville defense wasn’t about to let that happen. Late in the period and with Windber backed up in their own territory, Slatcoff completed a short pass to receiver Nick Costantino. But Costantino was hit hard by a Devils defender and the ball bounced free on the turf.

Sharpsville’s Randy Veccia dribbled the loose pigskin, then picked it up and raced 28 yards to paydirt. The point-after kick failed, but the Devils were on top 13-0 with only 1:07 left before intermission.

At the start of the second half, it didn’t take long for Sharpsville to put the game on ice -- 46 seconds to be exact. Veccia gave the Devils good field position at the Windber 45 with a nice kickoff return. Three plays later, senior running back Eric Major ran left, then cut inside a crushing block by running mate Ron Haywood and sprinted untouched 35 yards for a score. Quarterback Bill Stiger hit Taylor with a two-point conversion for a commanding 21-0 lead with 11:14 left in the third stanza. Windber didn’t quit and rode the passing arm of Slatcoff to their only score of the game. Slatcoff completed 7 passes on the drive and scored the touchdown himself on a 1-yard keeper with 11:17 remaining in the game.

The Ramblers had some thin hope after forcing the Devils to punt, but on a third-down play Slatcoff was under a heavy rush and threw a pass that was picked off by Brandon Pavone at the Windber 31. Pavone turned on the jets and raced to the end zone for a TD. Rotell’s kick made the final score, 28-6.

"That kid is one heckuva quarterback," said Piccirilli in praise of Slatcoff, who completed 17 of 33 passes, with 3 interceptions, for 182 yards, all but one yard of the team’s total offensive output.

"We told our inside linebackers, when they rushed to key on him," said Piccirilli. "We told the defensive backs to stay with their coverage, even if it looked like he might run. The Devils spelled off their defensive linemen -- Blase Iorio, Holsopple, Chad Buccarelli and Taylor -- by subbing Dave Wallace who hadn’t seen much playoff duty. The undersized Wallace had a 10-yard sack.

"Our guys get after people," said Piccirilli. "They couldn’t stop Blase, but he was getting tired. Wallace did a great job when he was in there."

Quarterback Stiger kept the Ramblers defense off-balance with some tricky ball-handling and elusive moves when running the ball.

"Billy does what’s needed of him," said Piccirilli. "That’s all we ask. We saw some films of Windber against Wing-T teams and we kind of knew what they would do against some formations. We popped a couple of big ones on them. They are one of the fastest teams we’ve played, but our first three steps are as quick as anybody."

In fact, even with the bad knee, Piccirilli’s first three steps were as quick as anybody when he ran to celebrate with his team when the game ended!

NOTES: The victory was the second straight over a previously unbeaten team for the Devils, now 10-2 on the season. "This was a total team effort, players and coaches," said Piccirilli, "And I want to thank the Sharpsville administration for allowing us to come down here and stay overnight. That allowed us to be relaxed for the game instead of driving three hours to play."

KARNS CITY -- It’s hard to stop one quality running back. Imagine how the Bradford Owls felt while trying to stop three.

Saturday afternoon, the Wilmingon backfield trio of Jonathan Hall, Mike Oestreich and Brandon Whiting combined for 320 yards and five touchdowns as Wilmington rolled District 9 champion Bradford, 35-0, in a PIAA state quarterfinal clash.

A junior halfback, Whiting ran for 169 yards and a touchdown, while senior halfback Hall picked up 76 yards and two scores on 11 runs. Fullback Oestreich added 75 yards and a touchdown on just eight carries.

Meanwhile, Whiting capped a 28-point first-half outburst with an electrifying 74-yard punt return for a touchdown.

While the Greyhound offense was averaging eight yards per play, the ‘Hounds Hammer defense fired its sixth shutout of the season, holding the Owls’ offense to 1-of-13 proficiency on third down and 54 first-half yards.

"I think if you can control the line of scrimmage offensively and defensively, you’re gonna win football games," Wilmington head coach Terry Verrelli said. "I think offensively, our line got off the football and drove them back."

Yet, Wilmington’s first drive gave no indication of an offensive outburst as a sack and two motion penalties forced a punt, following Brandon Boron’s 50-yard return of the opening kickoff.

The ‘Hounds’ offense warmed up in the intermittent rain on their second possession, though.

Whiting converted a third-and-four with an 11-yard run, while Hall earned another first down with a 12-yard dash. With 3:55 left in the quarter, Hall raced 19 yards along the left sideline into the end zone.

The first of five Phil McCann extra points gave Wilmington (12-1) a 7-0 lead.

After a three-and-out, Wilmington quickly moved 81 yards in 82 seconds for a 14-0 lead. Quarterback Matt Coad tossed a 13-yard strike to tight end Chad Harper, putting the Greyhounds in Bradford territory.

On the ensuing play, Oestreich bulled over the left side, broke free from the pile and raced 42 yards for the Greyhounds’ second score with 18 ticks left in the first quarter.

"They’re strong up front," Bradford (9-3) head coach Tim Walter said. "That’s their forte -- to run the football. They did a good job of that today."

Wilmington’s lead grew to 21-0 with 3:51 left in the first half as Whiting stormed 47 yards for his 27th touchdown of the season.

"They are a very good football team," Walter said. "They are fundamentally sound. Whiting is one heckuva back. We knew we had to stop him."

The Wilmington defense then stonewalled Bradford, stuffing the Owls’ rarely-used pass attack.

The ‘Hounds’ upfield rush forced an intentional grounding penalty for a loss of 14 yards on first down. Defensive end T.J. Chambers then hauled down quarterback Kevin Rose for a 4-yard loss.

"It’s difficult when you don’t throw the ball all year to start throwing the football and be proficient at it," Verrelli said of run-oriented Bradford. "Defensively, we bent a little bit, but I think we did a good job."

On fourth down, Bradford punter Ken Ciolek booted a 35-yard kick to the Wilmington 26. Whiting caught the ball and took several steps to his right before reversing his field.

Whiting ran toward the sideline, then turned upfield and followed a convoy of blockers downfield before waltzing into the end zone with 58 seconds left in the half.

"That was a great effort on his part, certainly. What a punt return that was," Verrelli praised. "Again, that’s where they’re all pulling together. There were so many guys that came back (and made blocks). That’s why this team is winning."

"We had one guy miss him twice and we had no contain from the outside," Walter said.

"He got up the sideline and with his speed, he’s gone. We knew we had to play very, very well to beat this team and it just didn’t happen. Give credit to them. They’ve got a very good football team."

The Owls continued to battle in the second half, however, assembling a 10-play, 69-yard drive to open the third quarter.

Halfback Elliott George picked up 31 yards on a buck sweep, while Jim Nuzzo gained 15 up the middle. The drive stalled, however, and Ciolek’s 29-yard field goal attempt drifted left of the goalpost.

"The sweep hurt us a little. They got some yards on it," Verrelli said, "but they didn’t have enough offense to get on the board. That’s a tribute to our defense."

Wilmington capped the scoring on its first drive of the second half as a 45-yard Whiting sprint put Wilmington at Bradford’s 25.

Coad hit Matt Krawchyk for 14 yards, while Hall’s three-yard run put the Greyhounds up 35-0 and triggered the rolling-clock "mercy" rule.

The win places Wilmington in the Class AAA Western Region final against WPIAL kingpin West Allegheny next weekend. West Allegheny defeated West Mifflin, 21-7, in the WPIAL finals Saturday night.

"We just take one at a time and we go back and get ready for the next one," Verrelli said.