Sharpsville cruises to victory over Wilmington
Wilmington (0) vs. Sharpsville (27)
Written: Nov 15, 2014
 By CNHI News Service
SLIPPERY ROCK — Shutting out a Wilmington High football team once is never easy, but to do it twice?
“They’re a better team than we are,” said veteran Wilmington coach Terry Verrelli after watching Sharpsville notch a 27-0 victory in the District 10, Class A semifinals last night at Slippery Rock University.
Following up on a 40-0 victory over a then injury-depleted Greyhounds club, the Blue Devils again were dominating on both sides of ball.
“I never expected it,” said Sharpsville coach Paul Piccirilli of a second straight blanking of the Wilmington. “But our defense has been playing very well.”
The victory sets up a rematch with West Middlesex in the District 10 title game next Friday at a time and site to be determined.
“They are talented on offense and defense and they have size,” said Piccirilli of the Big Reds, who the Devils defeated 14-7 earlier in the year. “It’s a classic matchup. But our kids look forward to playing them.”
Sharpsville got off to a slow start against Wilmington last night, muffing the kickoff to start at its own 19. On the first play the shotgun snap went through the hands of quarterback Luke Henwood and Henwood recovered at the 4.
After punting, the Devils defense came through since Wilmington had the ball at the Devils 38. Mitchell Swartz came up with key sack on the series and the Greyhounds had to punt.
It didn’t take long for Sharpsville to overcome the slow start. Back at its own 12, Henwood found Dayne Smith on a wide receiver screen and Smith carried to paydirt, rambling down the left sidelines. Nick Henwood kicked the extra point.
“Our defense making that stop after we gave them the ball in our territory was big,” Piccirilli said. “If they’d have gone up 7-0 there, I don’t know what would have happened. And then when Smitty caught that pass and took it took the house, that really set the tone.”
A short time later, in the second quarter, it was another big play for a Devils score. On a fourth-and-inches play from midfield, senior Greg Popatak took the snap and burst through the middle, cutting left as he outran the Greyhounds for a 50-yard TD. The PAT failed.
Wilmington had a good scoring shot midway through the second stanza after forcing a fumble as quarterback Henwood attempted to pass. Taking over at the Sharpsville 22, the Greyhounds moved to the 3, but were stopped on a fourth down run. From there, the Devils marched 97 yards to score with 13 seconds left in the half. The tally came on a 4-yard pass from Henwood to Popatak.
The Devils dominated the statistics, picking up 259 yards on offense to only 14 for Wilmington.
The defensive front and linebackers Brady Hogue, Chris Mueller, Smith, Swartz, Popatak, Kahaliq Ragster, Tyler Wansack and Jacob McCall controlled the line of scrimmage.
It was more of the same in the second half. Sharpsville (9-3) widened the lead early in the third period when George Keck cut loose up the middle on a 26-yard TD run. Popatak hauled in a pass from Henwood for the points after and a 27-0 margin.
Sharpsville drove deep into Wilmington territory later, but the drive stalled at the 12.
Still, the Blue Devils defense left nothing to chance as they controlled the rest of the game.
“I knew we would have to pass the ball,” Piccirilli said. “I would like to see us run better, but we did get it going with Popatak and Keck. Popatak is a real horse and Keck has the unique ability to find a whole when another hole is closed.”
Keck rushed for 112 yards on 12 carries, while Popatak totaled 98 yards on eight totes.
Henwood passed for 159 yards, hitting 6 of 12 passes.
While Sharpsville moves on, Wilmington (6-5) closes out an injury-laden season, that still saw the squad finish in a five-way tie for the Region 1-A crown. “We’re young,” Verrelli said. “And that can hurt you in a big game. But young players get older so we’re looking forward to next year.”
Wilmington seniors this season included Cody Llewellyn, Moses Morris, Nick Patterson, Ian Behm, Jacob Sotter, Brendan Monstwil, James Gardner, Dakota Boyle, Shae Clarke, Mitchell Whiting, Sa Sopounareit, Josh Wrightson and Marc Peoples.
WILMINGTON SHARPSVILLE
6 First downs 16
47 Net Rushing 263
13 Passes Attempted 13
2 Passes Completed 7
0 Passes Intercepted 0
32 Yards Passing 171
79 Total Yards 434
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-2
2-24 Penalties-Yards 5-40
WILMINGTON 0 0 0 0 — 0
SHARPSVILLE 13 6 8 0 — 27
Scoring plays
SHARPSVILLE — Dayne Smith, 88-yard pass from Luke Henwood (Nick Henwood kick).
SHARPSVILLE — Greg Popatak, 50-yard run (kick failed).
SHARPSVILLE — Popatak, 4-yard pass from Henwood (pass failed).
SHARPSVILLE — George Keck, 26-yard run (Popatak pass from Henwood).
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