Wilmington rebounds against Sharon
Wilmington (21) vs. Sharon (7)
Written: Oct 10, 2009
By DAN IRWIN
d_irwin@ncnewsonline.com
SHARON — It was gut-check time here last night for Wilmington High.
Turns out, the gut was just fine, and the Greyhounds ran up it all night long.
Senior fullback Josh Phillian did most of the honors, churning out 108 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries to key the ’Hounds’ 21-7 PIAA District 10 Region 3-AA triumph over arch-rival Sharon.
Meanwhile, Wilmington also turned in what head coach Terry Verrelli called “the best defensive game we’ve played” in bouncing back from last week’s loss to Hickory and avoiding a season-killing, two-game losing streak.
“You have to keep digging until you find something is working,” Verrelli said about this team’s ability to create hole after hole in the middle of the Tigers’ defense. “We had some things set out for this game.
“It opened up, and they never really wanted to stop it, I guess. It sure helped us tonight offensively.”
Phillian gave Wilmington (3-1 in the region, 5-1 overall) a 7-0 lead on a 13-yard run with 1:34 left in the first half. And after Sharon (3-1, 4-2) knotted the score on a 24-yard Ron Howard run to open the third period, Phillian muscled his way into the end zone from 1-yard out early in the fourth to put the ’Hounds up to stay.
“The linemen just kept opening up holes, and I just ran through them,” Phillian said. “They made it easy for me.”
So proficient at picking up the tough yards was Phillian that he helped set up Wilmington’s game-clinching touchdown without even touching the ball.
On second-and-eight at Wilmington’s 17-yard line, quarterback Jake DeMedal faked a handoff to Phillian that brought Sharon defenders converging on the center of the line. DeMedal, meanwhile, sprinted around right end and down the sideline for 58 yards before being caught from behind by Howard.
“That’s basically what we do with the wing-T,” Phillian noted. “Everybody has to fake. Sutton (Whiting) and Derrick (Burns), they both faked for me, that’s what opened up the runs for me — that and the line blocking.
“I faked for Jake, and Jake (who finished with 128 yards on 13 carries) made a great play. He’s a great athlete, and he just turned it up. Luckily, we punched it in at the end.”
A 21-yard Phillian scamper three plays later set up Wilmington at the Sharon 5, and Whiting took it in from there with 1:54 remaining to cinch the win.
Whiting’s run capped a seven-play, 95-yard drive set up by what arguably was the Greyhounds’ biggest defensive series of the year.
Just when it seemed Wilmington might take its 14-7 lead and run off a hefty chunk of clock, DeMedal was stripped of the ball, and Sharon recovered at the Greyhounds’ 10. The Tigers, though, turned the ball over on downs with five minutes to go after netting just five yards in four plays against the resurgent ’Hounds Hammer defense.
Overall, Sharon managed only 131 total yards, including 83 on the ground.
“We played much better defensively tonight, obviously, than we did last week,” Verrelli said. “They (the Tigers) had the same type of speed (as Hickory), but they really didn’t get any big plays. I think that was the key tonight.
“I think that (the goal line stand) definitely showed they’re playing much better defense than they did before. That was the best defensive game that we’ve played.”
WILMINGTON SHARON
16 First downs 9
317 Yards Rushing 126
30 Yards Lost 43
282 Net Rushing 83
12 Passes Attempted 9
4 Passes Completed 4
1 Passes Intercepted 0
55 Yards Passing 48
337 Total Yards 131
2-1 Fumbles-Lost 1-0
4-34 Punts-Average 7-31.7
3-30Penalties-Yards 5-35
WILMINGTON 0 7 0 14 — 21
SHARON 0 0 7 0 — 7
Scoring plays
WILMINGTON — Josh Phillian, 13-yard run (Bryce Wilson kick).
SHARON — Ron Howard, 24-yard run (Jason Sypolt kick).
WILMINGTON — Phillian, 1-yard run (Wilson kick).
WILMINGTON — Sutton Whiting, 5-yard run (Wilson kick).
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