Farrell pulls out 6-0 win over Sharon

The Steelers scored on the final play of the game.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
FARRELL, Pa. -- With two seconds to go in a scoreless game against Sharon, Farrell High football coach Lou Falconi says he called his second play of the game -- another timeout.
The Steelers were 63 yards away from scoring.
"My son wanted to kill me," said Falconi of one of his assistants. "He said, 'what are you doing?'
"They're young kids so I said let's go for it," Falconi said. "To tell you the truth, I wasn't mentally ready for overtime."
The Steelers called for sophomore quarterback Kent Patton to throw a quick fade, essentially sending the wide receivers sprinting and hoping for a miracle.
Patton's wobbly throw to the near sideline was far from his best and senior wideout Byron Moss had to pull up and wait.
Game-winning catch
Grabbing it near the sideline at about the Sharon 40, Moss stopped to keep himself inbounds and eluded Sharon defensive back Justin White. Then he took off running down the sideline, racing ahead of the stunned Tigers for the only score in Farrell's 6-0 victory Friday at Farrell Stadium.
"I never really thought it would work, but Byron Moss is the fastest kid on our team," Falconi said. "He didn't get in the game much tonight and I don't think they knew who he was to have any real respect for his speed."
Before his final completion, Patton completed 2-of-8 passes for 11 yards.
"I wasn't feeling any pressure," said Patton of the final call. "He's got some speed. That was close."
Nearly stepped out
Moss said he didn't realize how close he came to stepping out of bounds and sending the game into overtime.
"I was really just thinking cross the [goal] line," Moss said. "I played for Sharon when I was a little kid so this felt good.
"Man this is big, to let people know that Farrell is here in the D-10," said Moss, referring to Farrell going back to District 10 after years in the WPIAL. "And there's a lot more to come."
Sharon coach Bob Fromm called the heartbreaking defeat "a terrible way to lose. I just can't describe the feeling for the kids.
"They played their hearts out for every bit of this game except for the last two seconds," Fromm said. "We had a lapse and that's what can happen."
After the Steelers dominated the first quarter, momentum swung in Sharon's favor until midway through the fourth quarter.
Blew scoring chance
The Tigers' best chance to score came late in the second quarter when they had first-and-goal at the Farrell 5.
The Steelers defense stiffened, stopping quarterback Todd Rearick for a 2-yard loss, running back A.J. Johnson for no gain and running back Kellen Harris for a 3-yard loss.
On fourth down (after Falconi called timeout), Farrell defensive back Dan Odem intercepted Rearick's pass and returned it 56 yards. But an illegal blocking penalty brought the ball back to the Farrell 3.
Four plays later, Joshua DeCarmen punted from his end zone, but the first half ended with the Tigers on the Farrell 9.
Limited offense
Offense was limited and punts were everywhere (15 total).
The Tigers rushed 35 times for 100 yards with Kellen Harris leading Sharon with 43 yards on 15 carries and Johnson getting 40 yards on 13 tries.
Desmonde Jennings replaced Rearick as quarterback in the third quarter, completing 1-of-3 passes for 9 yards.
"Offensively, we could never get in a rhythm, we could never move the sticks more than twice [in a series]," Fromm said.
Defensively, the Tigers limited the Steelers to 58 yards rushing on 30 carries. Terrell Jackson gained 43 of them on 19 carries.
"We have to regroup tomorrow and make sure we get over this [quickly]," Fromm said.
williams@vindy.com