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The Sharon Tigers will be looking to get back on track this season after a disappointing 2011. Sharon starts the season, as usual, at rival Farrell before four winnable region games. The toughest stretch will come in the second half of the season with road games at Hickory, West Middlesex and Wilmington before hosting Grove City for Homecoming on Oct. 26 and Senior Night the week after against Sharpsville.

Scrimmages
Aug. 18 Franklin 10 a.m.
Aug. 25-26 at Strong Vincent TBA
Regular season
Aug. 31 at Farrell 7
Sept. 7 at Saegertown* 7
Sept. 14 Titusville* 7
Sept. 21 at Greenville* 7
Sept. 28 Reynolds* 7
Oct. 6 at Hickory* 1
Oct. 12 at West Middlesex 7
Oct. 19 at Wilmington* 7
Oct. 26 Grove City* 7
Nov. 2 Sharpsville 7
*Region 3 games

Football schedules will be posted as they are sent into the Erie Times-News. Here are links to the previously announced schedules: Union City, General McLane, Corry, McDowell, Saegertown, Cathedral Prep, Fairview and Meadville.

– Tom Reisenweber

Click here for video of the Hickory-Sharon brawl that ended Friday’s game with 10 minutes, 8 seconds left. Hickory was declared the winner after being ahead 43-7 at the time of the fight. Game officials met at midfield after things cooled down and decided to end the game. School administrators and PIAA officials will review video this week to see if suspensions are in order.

– Tom Reisenweber

Four area teams — one in each class — are ranked in the first Harrisburg Patriot-News state poll of the season.

McDowell, which competes in the WPIAL Northern Seven Conference, is ranked ninth in Class AAAA.

Grove City, the 2010 District 10 Class AAA runner-up, is No. 8 in AAA. Cathedral Prep, the two-time defending D-10 AAA champ, is listed under teams to watch.

General McLane is ranked No. 10 in AA after a 10-2 season in 2010. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst Prep is No. 10 in Class A.

Other D-10 teams to watch are Hickory and Sharon in AA and Farrell in A.

Click below to see the state poll:

Read the rest of this entry »

Two District 10 teams are ranked and seven others are listed among “others to watch” in the Pennsylvania Football News preseason state rankings, which were released Wednesday night.

Cathedral Prep leads all D-10 teams with a No. 4 ranking in Class AAA. The Ramblers are coming off a trip to the PIAA Class AAA semifinals and return record-breaking junior quarterback Damion Terry.

Defending District 10 AA champion Sharon is ranked 10th in AA.

Meanwhile, listed among “others to watch” are the following D-10 teams: Grove City in AAA, General McLane, Hickory and Wilmington in AA, and Farrell, Linesville and West Middlesex in A.

Click below for the complete rankings:

Read the rest of this entry »

Sharon Tigers
Coach (season, record): Bob Fromm (7th season, 52-28)
2010 overall record: 11-3
2010 region record (place): 5-0 (champion)
2010 playoff results: Won the District 10 Class AA championship. Lost 21-7 to Forest Hills in the PIAA Class AA first round.
Top players lost: Demond Davis-White, Justin Yuran, Jordan Rearick, Jalen Jackson, Steven Bittler, Marc Martell, Brandon Wallace, Craig Ballew, Vandell Spicer, Marion Lampkins
Top returning players: Jason Ondic, Ian Crawford, Jesse Rodgers, Joe Tomko, Dante Bagnall, Danen Malloy
Outlook: Sharon put together and impressive run in 2010 and despite a late-season injury to quarterback Jason Ondic, the Tigers claimed the District 10 Class AA championship. Sharon will need to find a few underclassmen to step up this fall to repeat that success. The Tigers lost nine all-region players to graduation and will have their work cut out for them in camp. The good news is the return of both quarterbacks – Jason Ondic and Jesse Rodgers – after solid seasons in 2010. Ondic was one of the top quarterbacks in District 10, while Rodgers was impressive running the offense with Ondic on the bench because of injury.

Ian Crawford also returns for Sharon to provide some leadership and experience along with safety Danen Malloy and Joe Tomko at linebacker. The Tigers’ biggest concerns in camp will be the offensive and defensive lines as well as the backfield. Sharon will have a brand-new set of running backs to replace Marc Martell, while all-region linemen Justin Yuran, Jordan Rearick, Jalen Jackson and Brandon Wallace are gone. Dante Bagnall is likely to take over at running back and has the ability to take on a heavy workload.

Sharon will hit the ground running this fall with the annual Steel Bowl against rival Farrell. The Tigers also have big tests against Hickory and Warren JFK in September. If Sharon can escape the first half of the season without losing a region game, the Tigers will get a chance to win the region title on Oct. 21 at Wilmington.

Schedule
September
2 Farrell 7
9 at Reynolds* 7
16 Hickory* 7
23 Titusville* 7
30 at Warren JFK 7
October
7 at Slippery Rock 7
14 Fort LeBoeuf 7
21 at Wilmington* 7
28 at Greenville* 7
November
4 Oil City 7

Look for the Kickoff magazine at a Country Fair near you beginning Aug. 15. The 112-page magazine previews the upcoming District 10 football season, including top returning players, schedules, stats and more.

Tuesday: Sharpsville

– Tom Reisenweber

Sharon Tigers
Coach: Bob Fromm
2008 Overall record: 10-2
2008 Region record (place): 6-1 (second place, Region 3)
Playoff results: Lost to Slippery Rock 27-10 in the District 10 Class AA semifinals
Top players lost: QB/S Todd Rearick, WR/LB Mike Tomko, G/DT Justin Norcross, TE/DE Dustin Norcross, C/DT Tom Chavara, G/DT Terry Flaugher,  OT/DT Cody Tolonie, OT/DE Bob Bears
Top players returning: WR/CB Ron Howard, RB/LB Kevin Brown, WR/CB Louis Brown, RB/LB Cameron Brown
Key Games: Oct. 9 vs. Wilmington, Oct 23 vs. Greenville

Louis Brown is back at wide receiver for Sharon

Outlook: Sharon had a successful season last year that didn’t end one win short of the district championship game. It finished 9-1 with the only regular-season loss being a 42-7 defeat handed down by region, district and state champion Wilmington. The Tigers had the region player of the year playing quarterback and an all-district 10 wide receiver catching passes. Todd Rearick was the quarterback, and he threw for 1,840 yards and 28 touchdowns while leading Sharon in rushing with 429 yards and three touchdowns. Mike Tomko caught 45 passes for 840 yards and 13 touchdowns on his way to all-district and all-region first-team honors at wide receiver. Sharon also had four first-team all-region selections in total and nine representatives on the all-region second team. Three members of the Tigers’ offensive line made the second team, but all three graduated. Sharon returns a few skill position players who made all-region teams and who contributed last year. Ron Howard was a second-team all-region selection on offense and defense. He ran for 272 yards and three touchdowns last season and caught 15 passes for 234 yards with two touchdowns. Jordan Moss was a second-team, all-region defensive selection at defensive back along with Howard. But Sharon coach Bob Fromm said that Moss might not be able to return to the team if surgery is needed to repair an injury he suffered during wrestling season. The Tigers also return a wide receiver in Louis Brown, who had 15 catches last season and scored five touchdowns. The Tigers will have big shoes to fill on offense and defense. The huge loses on both sides of the ball could lead to a drop-off this season. Sharon had a difficult end of the season as it fell one game short of a rematch with Wilmington in the D-10 Class AA semifinals.

Schedule
September
4 Farrell 7
11 at Reynolds*    7
17 Oil City* 7
25 Slippery Rock* 7
October
2 at Carrick (Pittsburgh)  3:30
9 Wilmington* 7
16 at Titusville*    7
23 Greenville* 7
30 at Seneca 7
November
6 at Hickory* 7

* Region 3 game

Sunday: Region 3: Slippery Rock

Wilmington's Derrick Burns, one of the top running backs and linebackers in District 10, already has committed to the University of Pittsburgh.

Region 3 was the best Class AA region in 2008 with the best AA team in the state: Wilmington. The Greyhounds blew through the regular season schedule not losing on region game before making an impressive run to the PIAA championship. In fact, Wilmington’s only loss last year was a surprising 22-21 setback to Karns City in the final regular-season game. The Greyhounds return plenty of starters and should be a force once more in the region. Sharon is perenially a tough team but still fell short to the Greyhounds. Slippery Rock almost pulled off the upset of the year as the Rockets pushed Wilmington to overtime in the District 10 championship. Region 3 had three of the final four teams in the D-10 playoffs, including both teams in the title game. Here is a look at last year’s final standings:

Region 3
Region Overall
x-Wilmington 7-0 15-1
z-Sharon 6-1 10-2
z-Greenville 4-2 7-3
z-Slippery Rock 4-2 9-3
Titusville 2-5 4-6
Hickory 1-6 2-7
Oil City 2-4 3-6
Reynolds 0-6 0-9
x-region champion
z-qualified for playoff spot

Key 2009 games: Sept. 25 Slippery Rock at Sharon, Oct. 9 Wilmington at Sharon, Oct. 30 Slippery Rock at Wilmington
Predicted champion: Wilmington