'Hounds lose heartbreaker
Wilmington (14) vs. Sharon (20)
Written: Oct 23, 2010
By ED FARRELL
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
Sharon was deadlocked at 14 with Wilmington during the waning seconds of last night’s District 10, Region 3-AA showdown. Sharon High skipper Bob Fromm decided to furnish a flashback from the playbook’s crinkled, yellowed pages. He went back to basic, backyard ball — the flea-flicker.
Ian Crawford caught Jason Ondic’s lateral, who pivoted to square his shoulder. The right-handed Crawford then connected with speedster Steven Bittler, who evaded Anthony Derrick and dove in the end zone for a 20-14 Tigers’ triumph.
“We told ’em all week, ‘We’re not gonna have many bullets left when we’re done with this thing, so we’re gonna take a shot at winning it,’ ” Fromm related from Tiger Stadium.
Wilmington had won eight straight at Sharon’s expense, including last season’s D-10 Class AA title tilt. But the win — Fromm’s first garnered against the Greyhounds as Tigers’ taskmaster — secured Sharon the region crown.
“It’s never easy, coming out on a Friday night against a team like that,” Fromm admitted. “But we secured ourselves a championship (Friday) night. You know, the mantra is to go and try to get (a championship) outright this year — and we still have business to take care of there.
“But to the seniors who were on the field, we needed them to believe they could get it done,” Fromm continued, “and beginning (Thursday) night, we could see it in their eyes.
“It’s so easy after you’ve been doing it for a while, to tell where your kids are mentally — sometimes; then sometimes it’s perplexing. But I had a good feeling (Friday) night looking into their eyes, and they came out (Friday) night and got the job done.”
Sharon (4-0 region, 7-1 overall) surged to its seventh straight victory, while Wilmington (3-2, 5-3) — which had a four-year chokehold on the district championship — has lost as many games this year as in the past two seasons combined.
“You hate to lose it that way, but it was a great effort,” Greyhounds coach Terry Verrelli said. “I’m proud of the way they stuck together, down 14 at the half. (During the first half) we really didn’t move the football at all. But we did come back, and to get two scores and tie ’em up, it was a great effort on our part.
“It’s always a great game, whenever (Sharon and Wilmington) play. This one came down to the wire. ... It was just one of those plays that got away from us.”
Jason Ondic and Marc Martell — plus a pair of Jason Sypolt PAT kicks — staked Sharon to a 14-0 margin at intermission on scoring sprints of 56 and 31 yards in the first and second stanzas, respectively.
But with Derrick digging for 3- and 4-yard TDs — culminating respective 10-play, 66-yard and seven-play, 56-yard scoring drives — the Greyhounds had themselves primed.
However, after Derrick’s second score with 2:52 remaining in the third quarter, the teams traded a handful of punts. Wilmington wasted an opportunity a minute-and-a-half into the fourth frame. Highlighted by Jake Devido’s 34-yard run, Wilmington advanced from its own 22 to Sharon’s 21. But on a fourth-and-5 reverse, Josh Tekac’s toss to Sutton Whiting in the end zone fell incomplete.
Ultimately, Tekac’s shanked 21-yard punt with 1:01 left to play helped set up Sharon’s game-winning score.
Ondic, orchestrating the offense from the Tigers’ 44, pitched a 12-yard pass to Vandell Spicer and then spiked the ball with 42.2 seconds to play. Martell was hammered by the Greyhounds for a 4-yard loss on second down. So Sharon, without any timeouts, had to hustle.
On third-and-14 from the Tigers’ 48-yard line, Ondic threw back to his left to a waiting Crawford. Crawford pivoted and passed to Bittler, who battled Derrick to the end zone’s pylon with 3.2 seconds remaining. After a series of laterals on the ensuing kickoff, Whiting was downed at Sharon’s 39 as time expired.
Ironically, Wilmington will have to hope it qualifies for the D-10 playoffs. The Greyhounds won the 2008 commonwealth crown and have advanced to the PIAA Final Four in four consecutive seasons.
“I’d have to think District 10 would take three teams,” Verrelli mused. “If that stuff comes around, that’s great. But I would think that we would make the playoffs. We’re improving, and that’s what we’re looking for.”
For Fromm, the win was vital on two levels.
“I told them all week, ‘It’s a region game; it’s a home game. We’re undefeated at home. We want to stay on pace with the region (standings) to put ourselves in position to win a region championship.’ That’s what we were talking about all week long,” Fromm related. “On the flip side of that, we haven’t beaten (Wilmington) yet — since I’ve been here. And to get over that hump is huge for us and for our kids.”
Notes: Whiting went for a game-high 121 yards rushing — helping give the Hounds’ offense a 252-148 edge in yards — offsetting Ondic’s 95-yard performance. Bittler also pilfered a pass. Sharon stalwart Justin Yuran sustained what appeared to be a shoulder injury on the last play of the third quarter.
WILMINGTON SHARON
13 First downs 9
217 Net Rushing 148
11 Passes Attempted 8
3 Passes Completed 5
1 Passes Intercepted 0
35 Yards Passing 91
252 Total Yards 239
0-0 Fumbles-Lost 2-0
6-59 Penalties-Yards 7-56
WILMINGTON 0 0 14 0 — 14
SHARON 7 7 0 6 — 20
Scoring plays
SHARON — Jason Ondic, 52-yard run (Jason Sypolt kick).
SHARON — Marc Martell, 31-yard run (Sypolt kick).
WILMINGTON — Anthony Derrick, 3-yard run (Harrison Sturm kick).
WILMINGTON — Anthony Derrick, 4-yard run (Harrison Sturm kick).
SHARON — Steven Bittler, 48-yard pass from Ian Crawford (run failed).
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