PIAA FOOTBALL Sharon, Devils ready for next step

Sharpsville takes on Bishop Carroll Friday while the Tigers meet Bishop McCort Saturday.
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
The next step. That is what Sharpsville and Sharon High football teams will be trying to take this weekend when they continue play in the second round of the PIAA state championship tournament.
Sharpsville (11-1) will tangle with Bishop Carroll (11-1) Friday in a 7 p.m. start at Sharon's Tiger Stadium, while Sharon (9-3) will face Bishop McCort (10-2) Saturday in a 1 p.m. start at Altoona's Mansion Park Stadium.
Sharpsville's loss came in the third game to Pius X (10-9). Since then, the Blue Devils have been rolling.
Devils leaders: Leading their offense is tailback Ron Haywood, who comes in with 1,184 yards on 183 carries and 18 touchdowns. Eric Major is also a strong running threat for Sharpsville, with 920 yards on 134 totes.
In last week's win over Coudersport, Haywood scored twice, while Major led the Devils in rushing with 107 yards on 18 carries.
Randy Veccia, who jump-started the Devils in last week's win with an 84-yard kickoff return to begin the game, has carried the ball 43 times for 331 yards.
The Devils don't throw the ball much, but when they do, it is behind the much-improved arm of sophomore quarterback Mark Anglin, who took over for returning starter Bill Stiger when Stiger went down in the preseason with a knee injury.
Anglin has completed 37-of-91 attempts for 566 yards with five interceptions.
Brandon Pavone has been Anglin's favorite target with 25 receptions for 248 yards.
The Blue Devils have scored 352 points (29.3 ppg) while only having given up 99 (8.3)
Sharon's season has been one that resembles a roller coaster.
The Tigers started strong with three easy wins over Cornell, Cardinal Mooney and Grove City, but then lost to Columbus Bishop Watterson.
The Tigers split their next four games, defeating Mercer and Hickory before losing to Reynolds and Wilmington in overtime.
But from that point on, the Tigers are spotless, showing impressive wins over Slippery Rock, Mercyhurst Prep, North East and previously-unbeaten Karns City.
Varied offense: Sharon runs a varied offense, running more than passing, but the Tigers have shown the ability to do both with success.
Leading the Sharon ground game is fullback Justin Schweiss, who comes in with 629 yards on 152 carries. Quarterback Mike Schneider also has the ability to tuck the ball away and run, accumulating 309 yards on 74 carries.
Mike Bochert, who was listed as a backup quarterback for much of the season, was pressed into duty as a running back in the wins over North East and Karns City, and the sophomore responded with 225 yards on 38 carries and four touchdowns in the last two games.
Schneider is a strong-armed right-hander who has thrown for 989 yards, completing 64-of-131 attempts. He has only been intercepted twice during the dozen games.
Schneider's leading receiver has been Gary Malgieri, with 16 catches for 198 yards, while Richard Manning also has the ability to find the open spot and has caught 10 passes for 160 yards.
The Tigers have scored 340 points (28.3 ppg.) while having allowed 122 (10.2 ppg).