Published Saturday, Oct. 26, 1996
'Hounds 27, Tigers 7
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Wilmington fans go wild as the 'Hounds dealt Sharon their first defeat of the year. Tiger Stadium in Sharon was packed with a sellout crowd Friday for the game. (David E. Dale/Herald)
Wilmington bops Sharon for AA crown
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GREYHOUNDS EARN PLAYOFF BERTH; TIGERS STAY HOME
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By Ed Farrell
Herald Sports Writer
A full moon climbed steadily in the sky over Sharon High School's Tiger Stadium Friday night, and that proved prophetic, an omen, if you will, because the 'Hounds were baying in full throat.
The Wilmington Greyhounds' defense yielded its initial _ and to this point _ only touchdown of the season to host Sharon. However, a versatile, time-consuming offense converted 11-of-15 third-down conversions, including a trio for touchdowns, as Wilmington tamed the Tigers, 27-7.
By virtue of the victory, Wilmington (6-0, 9-0) annexed the Mercer County Athletic Conference's Class AA crown and an opportunity to defend its District 10 title. Sharon (5-1, 8-1), conversely, must live with the gut-wrenching reality that its season has concluded after back-to-back trips to the PIAA Class AAA championship game.
``You'll see this team in the western finals; Wilmington'll be in the western finals,'' forecasted veteran Sharon mentor Jim Wildman. ``This was the District 10 championship. They'll beat the District 9 team, they'll beat the District 5 or 6 team, and my guess is they'll play (District) 7 in the western finals.''
Many were those who questioned the District 10 committee's decision to admit only the game's winner to the playoffs, rendering the once-beaten loser to spectator status. There also were those who quietly maintained that Wilmington's 7-0 regular-season defeat of Sharon a year ago may not have been legitimate, any more than the Greyhounds eight consecutive shutouts entering the contest.
``Hey, I'd say we answered everybody's questions around here,'' Wilmington veteran head coach Terry Verrelli, standing at mid-field moments after the victory, said. ``You know, we didn't play anyone (in terms of high-calibre competition) ... we can't compete with (physical) size. Look at the scoreboard,'' Verrelli, his eyes gazing to the distance. ``Even though it's (turned) off, I can remember what it was.''
Wilmington's win was a product of a dominant second-half performance, in which quarterback Todd Smargiasso turned a 7-7 stalemate at the intermission into a solid, undisputable victory.
Smargiasso engineered a pair of 6-play, third-period scoring drives, converting third-down situations into both scores.
On a 3rd-and-11 play from his own 37-yard line, Smargiasso drilled a pass to Jon Tekac, who caught the ball at midfield, collided with Steve King, then sprinted untouched to the end zone to complete a 63-yard play from which Sharon never recovered.
The Tigers' ensuing drive resulted in a 3-and-out sequence, and Smargiasso promptly directed a 6-play, 44-yard march that required only 2:44. A 29-yard pass play to T.D. Mitcheltree highlighted the drive and set up the 'Hounds at the Sharon 5-yard line. Three plays later, on 3rd-and-goal, Smargiasso optioned right with 4:20 remaining in the frame, and Wyatt Campbell's third successful conversion provided Wilmington with an insurmountable 21-7 bulge.
Sharon, in 10 plays, advanced to Wilmington's 13-yard line, but T.J. Phillips was stopped two yards shy on a 4th-and-5 effort on the second play of the final frame, and the Tigers never again threatened until the outcome was secured.
``If I sit here long enough, I could go back and say, `Well, you know, maybe if we could've caught this pass, or, whatever,' but the second half, it was, you know, open the book, close the book. It's pretty simple,'' Wildman, speaking in the subdued Sharon locker room, assessed, ``The bottom line was, defensively, we just didn't tackle well.''
Although Wilmington's second-half dominance could not be questioned _ the Greyhounds outgained the Tigers, 279-165 during the game's final 24 minutes _ the final margin may have be deceptive. On a 2nd-and-12 play with only 62 seconds remaining, Tekac displayed the full breadth of his sprinter's speed, cutting back at the line of scrimmage, bouncing to the right corner, and blistering 92 yards for the punctuation point.
``I tell you, this is a more mature bunch of kids than I ever expected or even thought that they were,'' Verrelli said in reference to his club's businesslike demeanor. ``They kept it in perspective. They were satisfied with the fact that this was all or nothing. There was no griping or whining about the fact that we might not get in (to the playoffs).
``No, I mean, they came here to play or go home,'' Verrelli related.
The first half stood in stark contrast to the second. Midway through the first frame, Wilmington embarked on a 10-play, 64-yard drive that consumed 5:15. Highlighting the series were three third-down conversions: Connections of 4 and 13 yards from Smargiasso to Mitcheltree and Demetrious Rich, respectively, and Smargiasso's own 1-yard score, in which he burrowed into the left side of his line on 3rd-and-goal with 1:54 remaining in the quarter.
However Sharon responded with a 6-play, 73-yard scoring drive, as Phillips rambled around the right side from six yards out on the opening play of the second stanza. Jeff Songer's conversion kick knotted the count at 7 and halted Wilmington's incredible, 8-game, 33-quarter, 396-minute, 4-second scoreless skein.
But the Tigers never again seriously threatened to score until the series that spanned into the fourth frame and on the game's final play, when Jeff Valentino connected with Byerly for 36 yards down to the Greyhounds' 6-yard line as time expired.
``How can you expect that difference (in the final score), playing the No. 1 team in the state?'' Verrelli rhetorically asked in response to a question regarding the final margin. ``Hey, we came to play. I had no idea what the score was 'gonna be, but I knew we were coming to play.''
``We said at the beginning of the game that execution was the name of it and, certainly, their third-down execution was awesome,'' Wildman said in praise of the Greyhounds. ``And really I wouldn't pull any punches here: They deserve all the praise. That was a great football game in the first half; in the second half, they blocked better, they tackled better, they executed better, and they deserve all the credit in the world, really. They were a better football team in the second half. When you're 7-7 at the half and somebody plays better that you the second half, it's simple.''
The finality of Sharon's season coming to an end almost was overwhelming, judging by the stunned silence and downcast eyes.
``If the public thinks it's fair for a 5-and-4 team to go, and an 8-1 team to stay home, and the District 10 committee thinks that, then that's what we'll live with,'' said Wildman. ``I just said (to the Tigers), `There's not much I can say that's gonna make a whole lot of sense to you, right now in an emotional situation,' We gave it an effort, and they were the better football team in the second half and they deserved to win.
``They deserve all the plaudits. Tonight, they were the best AA team in Mercer County.''
For his part, Verrelli refused to be drawn into comparisons or hyperbolic rhetoric, succinctly summarizing,
``Hey, I don't need to be No. 1,'' he said, his eyes sparkling under the full moon's glow. ``I just want to keep winning.''
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Updated Saturday, Oct. 26, 1996.