Great expectations await Tigers

Hopes are running high for the Tigers, who return 23 lettermen and a slew of starters -- 7 on each side of the ball -- from a team that finished 8-3 and advanced to the District 10 AA championship game a year ago.

Leading the returnees are a trio of seniors, who, before they're through, will be the most experienced players in head coach Jim Wildman's 22-year tenure. That threesome, who have combined to play or start in 150 games -- approximately 50 each -- in their storied careers are quarterback Jeff Valentino, record-setting running back T.J. Phillips and wideout Ralph Odem.

''When you have three kids, for example, like Odem, Valentino and Phillips who came up as freshman and those kids played on two teams that went to Altoona (for the state finals) and played a lot as freshmen, and you build a team around that,'' said Wildman, Mercer County's winningest coach with a career mark of 165-67-6. ''Then add 18 other seniors, it's always great to have a senior class that kind of knows what's expected of them. And I think these seniors realize, too, that a Sharon team hasn't made their mark of distinction, so to speak. We've had winning seasons, but we don't make tee-shirts that say, Ô8-3: Great Season' or Ô8-1: Nice Job.'''

Valentino, who started in a state championship game at quarterback as a freshman, stacks up favorably with some of the best signal-callers who have come through the program during Wildman's stint. And Wildman is expecting big things out of him this season.

''Jeff has worked extremely hard,'' Wildman said. ''For people who saw Jeff play basketball, he plays football the same way. He works very hard on both offense and defense. He's been in the weight room and has been with us in the summer conditioning program.''

The the 6-foot-4, 195-pounder also attended several camps this summer at Pitt, West Virginia, Toledo, Bowling Green and the Metro Index Camp.

''He hasn't sat around playing catch with me or somebody else in the backyard,'' Wildman said. ''He has a vision, he knows what he wants to do. He's a kid who'll put the team first, and then hope that throwing for a 1,000 and running for a 1,000 might come, and get us where we want to be.''

Phillips, a two-time Heralded 22 selection and a seconf-team all-state back as a junior, is on pace to smash all of Sharon's and Mercer County's career rushing records.

Entering his senior season, Phillips, a 6-2, 210-pound running back, has 3,966 yards -- currently fourth-best in Herald annals -- and is on pace to smash the records held by former Tiger great Mike Archie (5,136) and Greenville's Joe Korcinsky (5,197).

Last week, Phillips was named by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as one of the top 25 prospects in Pennsylvania. He has also gained national recognition, including a mention in a recent USA Today also as one of the top players in the state.

Both Valentino and Phillips are getting serious looks from several NCAA Division I schools. Valentino has been contacted by, among others: Pitt, WVU, Maryland, North Carolina State, Indiana University in Bloomington, and several Mid-American Conference schools. Phillips is getting interest from Tennessee, Maryland, North Carolina, N.C. State, Syracuse, Pitt and West Virginia.

''With Jeffrey, who has the GPA and SAT scores, most of them are going to kind of wait and see what he does in the first half of the season,'' Wildman said. ''And T.J., they're kind of waiting to see what he does with a pencil and paper.''

The Tigers will certainly need all of their horses right off the bat as they face perennial powers Woodland Hills of the WPIAL and Boardman, Ohio of the Steel Valley Conference in their first two games. Helping those horses get ready is a new facility under the stadium that houses new lockerrooms, meeting rooms, offices and a weight room.

''The facility is absolutely beautiful,'' Wildman said. ''The school district should be commended for spending the money they did'' -- approximatedly $600,000 according to Wildman -- ''and our Touchdown Club is in the process of raising in excess of $80,000 for chairs and stools and lockers and weight equipment. We've also had a lot of businesses and professionals and individuals in the community who've come forward to lend a hand.

''The kids appreciate it immensely and they've taken care of it. And certainly this is the nicest it could be for any group thus far.''

As far as MCAC AA play, which will include Wilmington, Reynolds and Mercer along with the Tigers this season, Wildman isn't too sure he wants to accept the favorite's role just yet, although it wouldn't concern him anyway.

''I'm not sure I'd say we would be the favorite,'' Wildman said. ''Our kids haven't won anything for two years in terms of a championship. But, not to sound egotistical, being a favorite is not new for us around here, so we won't approach things any differently. But my pick would be Wilmington.''

Which has had a stranglehold on the Tigers like no other team in recent memory since moving to the MCAC in 1994. Since beating Wilmington in their first meeting in Ô94, the Tigers have dropped four consecutive tilts to the Hounds.

Assisting Wildman are: Bill Sham (tackles), who Wildman said ''has been with me as long as dirt's been around''; Dan Schneider (centers, guards, defensive ends); John Baldinelli (quarterbacks, secondary); Mike Donato (running backs, linebackers); Jim's son Brian (wide receivers and linebackers); 9th- and 10th-grade coaches Bo Reichart, Chris McComb and Jeff Krecek, and 7th-8th grade coaches Kenny Smith, Tom Hall and John Vannoy.