PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: 2008 ’Hounds define team effort
Written: Dec 17, 2008
 By JOHN D’ABRUZZO
jdabruzzo@ncnewsonline.com
It all began in August.
That’s when Wilmington High football coach Terry Verrelli got in his players’ ears to remind them that nothing had been won yet.
Sure the Greyhounds were the two-time defending District 10 champs with a pair of trips to the PIAA Class AA semifinals under their belts. But Verrelli made sure they understood that they were guaranteed nothing. It was a fresh start.
The goal was the same — putting forth a complete team effort in hopes of winning a state championship.
That goal was validated Saturday afternoon in Hershey.
Wilmington captured the first state football crown for the program and for Lawrence County with a thrilling 35-34 double-overtime win over Philadelphia West Catholic in the Class AA final at Hersheypark Stadium.
“We proved everybody wrong,” senior captain Dallas Hartman said. “We beat a very good West Catholic team. Last week, we beat a really good Aliquippa team. And now we’re the best team in the state.”
A total team effort enabled the ’Hounds to battle back from a 14-point deficit in the first half, tie the game in the third quarter and then tie it again at the end of regulation. And it was in overtime that both Wilmington’s offense and defense shined with show-stopping and game-defining plays.
For its performance, the Wilmington football team is Lawrence County’s Athletes of the Week, as selected by The New Castle News sports staff. The award is sponsored by Washington Centre Physical Therapy.
“They made plays when they had to make plays,” Wilmington defensive coordinator Brian Cooper said. “It was different people at different times throughout the whole season. They worked hard as a team and came together at the right time.
“That’s just hard work and believing in yourself.”
The state championship game was no different from the rest of the season with a number of players coming up with key plays during the course of the game.
Defensively, senior Carson Sharbaugh led the way with an incredible 11 tackles and one sack. Senior cousins, Matt Wagner and Shane Wagner, each had seven tackles and an interception. Juniors Derrick Burns and Chad Palladino recorded seven tackles each, while senior Clint DeRosa made six.
Shane Wagner and Burns were responsible for laying out West Catholic quarterback Curtis Drake on the game’s final play. Drake optioned to his left, but was tripped up by Wagner and then flipped down by Burns.
Shane Wagner orchestrated Wilmington’s attack. He completed 5 of 14 attempts for 74 yards and ran for another 27 yards on seven carries. His biggest play was at the start of overtime when he scored on a fourth-and-16 run.
He also scored on an 11-yard run in the third quarter.
“I guess we’ve gotten used to playing like this,” Shane said. “This is pretty much what we’ve done all season.”
Burns had a pair of 1-yard scoring runs, and junior Jake DeMedal had a 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Sutton Whiting paced the running game with 65 yards followed by DeMedal with 56 and Burns with 46.
All of those running touchdowns were set up with big receptions from Sharbaugh (2 for 15 yards), DeMedal (1 for 32) and Matt Wagner (1 for 29).
As for their coach, who talked about team unity from the get-go, Verrelli credited his seniors.
“It’s always the senior group that sets the pace,” Verrelli said. “The rest of the team takes from the motivation and the leadership they have. If they didn’t have it, you wouldn’t get that team aspect.”
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PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: 2008 ’Hounds define team effort
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