Sharon tops Farrell, 14-7, to capture Steel Bowl

August 30, 2008 01:21 am

— By Ed Farrell
Herald Assistant Sports Editor

Fans identify with athletes and teams because they admire a player and/or team’s identity. For fans of Sharon High football, past success has been the product of running the ball.
So with Friday night’s season-opening Steel Bowl backyard rivalry tied at 7 with approximately 10èminutes remaining, Tigers taskmaster Bob Fromm scrapped the spread offense and took a page from the playbook of the past.
“It’s good that we can adapt and do what we need to do to win ballgames,” Fromm summarized from Anthony J. Paulekas Stadium’s sod following his Tigers’ 14-7 triumph.
Junior tailback Ron Howard had a career night with a 16-carry, 109-yard rushing performance that included the game-winning 2-yard plunge with 3:25 remaining.
After forcing Farrell to relinquish the ball on downs a yard shy on a 4th-and-7 play from their 23-yard line, the Tigers traversed 83 yards in 13 plays, consuming 7 minutes and 9 seconds. Howard highlighted the series with 8 totes for 64 yards, including a 38-yard jitterbug burst on a 2nd-and-10 from Sharon’s 38.
“It wasn’t just me. It was my team helping me, boosting me up, it was the fans, it was everybody!” the high-fiving Howard related. “I was just seeing my team’s faces. I didn’t want them to lose this. We’ve got seniors and this was their last time in the Steel Bowl, and I wanted to do this for them; not for me, for them.”
Sharon’s spread somewhat sputtered during the first half, amassing only 77 yards on 27 snaps. Ultimately, however, the Tigers toted the ball 35 times, outrushing Farrell 159-110.
“When you play against Farrell, the old adage is, ‘run right at ’em, because you can’t run around them because there’s too dang much speed on the field,’ ” Fromm explained. “We decided it was best for us to go away from what we were doing and run right at them, and our kids responded.”
Frustrated Farrell head coach Jarrett Samuels found it difficult to fathom his team’s 13 penalties that cost them 80 yards. With less than 4 minutes remaining in the third quarter Steelers’ signal-caller Danny Odem optioned 5 yards for an apparent go-ahead score, but it was negated by a holding call. That, plus a subsequent delay-of-game penalty forced Farrell to punt.
“We’ve got work to do — as coaches and players,” Samuels said. “There were just too many miscues out there. We worked on them over and over and over. I don’t know if it was first-game jitters or what. But that was the more disciplined team tonight, that was the more determined team tonight, and they earned it.
“Discipline. The same thing we talked about all offseason, all during camp, and we didn’t come out and execute,” Samuels continued. “Missed tackling, jumping offsides, 80 yards in penalties. We cannot come out here and play a team of this caliber and expect to win.”
The first half finished in a 7-7 stalemate.
Farrell forged a 7-0 lead with 4:08 remaining in the period when Odem and Dion Eilam collaborated on a 16-yard TD toss on a fade in the right corner of the end zone over Louis Brown. There again, however, the Steelers were set up 1st-and-goal at the Sharon 5 following Robert Trudo’s 67-yard fumble return. But back-to-back fumbles by Donté Pinkins and Odem, coupled with an illegal substitution penalty, forced Farrell into a 3rd-and-goal from the 16.
Sharon signal-caller Todd Rearick responded from that fumble by orchestrating a subsequent 14-play, 65-yard drive that consumed 6:52 — aided by a quartet of 5-yard offsides penalties assessed against the Steelers. Rearick recorded the score on a 1-yard keeper with 9:46 left in the half.
The scoreless third period was virtually inconsequential.
Following Sharon’s go-ahead score in the fourth frame, Eilam’s 32-yard kickoff return afforded Farrell field position at its 37-yard line with 3:18 remaining. However the drive stalled on downs when Odem’s 4th-and-5 screen pass to Eilam ended 2 yards shy of a first down. Four Howard carries later, time expired.
Fromm found a motivational measure for his squad: Answering adversity, part of which was the product of a lackluster performance in a recent scrimmage. Perhaps, too, the Tigers took another opportunity that occurred with 40 ticks to play in the first frame when offensive lineman Donnie Flynn lay motionless on the ground following a scrum. Flynn was wheeled away to a local hospital, reportedly as a precaution for a neck injury. His post-game status was unknown.
“ ... We told them last year how the game would go, and we told them this year, every single thing out here would not go our way. And the measure of a man is how you deal with that adversity, and I can’t be any prouder of my kids than tonight,” Fromm summarized, adding, “When it’s Sharon-Farrell, it’s any way you can get it done.”
Notes: Howard had the benefit of running behind a line that included Zach Porreca, Cody Tolonie, Nick Juranovich, Terry Flaugher, Tom Chavara, Bob Bears and Matt Heutsche. ... Farrell split its first 4 games last season, then won 7 straight en route to the District 10 semifinals. Samuels said, “We had good leaders last year, and we’re hoping our leaders this year will step up and carry the torch ...” Eilam eased to a third-quarter first down from punt formation with an 11-yard run following a high center snap. He also pilfered a Rearick pass. Both of those Steelers series ended in punts, however.
———
SHARON 0 7 0 7 14
FARRELL 7 0 0 0 7
Scoring plays
F — Eilam, 16 pass from Odem (West kick)
S — Rearick, 1 run (Flaugher kick)
S — Howard, 2 run (Flaugher kick)
Team stats
SHARON FARRELL
13 First downs 6
159 Rushing yards 110
40 Passing yards 63
15-4-1 Att-comp-int 12-6-0
199 Total yards 173
2-1 Fumbles-lost 3-0
1-10 Penalties-yards lost 13-80
Individual stats
Rushing: SHARON — Howard, 16-109, Rearick 9-23, C. Brown 5-21, K. Brown 5-6; FARRELL — Hailstock 10-43, Odem 7-35, Pinkins 8-31, Whitman 1-5, Eilam 3-(-4).
Passing: SHARON — Rearick 15-4-1, 40; FARRELL — Odem 12-6-0, 63.
Receiving: SHARON — Tomko 2-14, L. Brown 1-16, D. Norcross 1-10; FARRELL — Eilam 3-24, Blue 2-33, Pinkins 1-6.

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