PENNSYLVANIA Greyhounds race past Tigers, 20-13

Interceptions by Brandon Boron and Todd Porterfield helped seal the 'Hounds' win.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- The last time Sharon and Wilmington met, the Greyhounds needed overtime to win.
In Friday's rematch, the 'Hounds won another close one -- upsetting the Tigers 20-13 in a key Mercer County Athletic Conference matchup.
"I always enjoy playing Sharon, only because of the great rivalry between the two teams," said Wilmington coach Terry Verrelli. "It is not a hatred type of thing because we respect their program and they respect ours. It is just an exciting game when these two teams get together, and tonight was no different."
Wilmington drove inside Sharon's 20-yard line four times in the first half, but the 'Hounds led just 3-0 at halftime on Jason Montgomery's 23-yard field goal.
"It is always a concern when you get down there and don't get the ball into the end zone and put points on the board," said Verrelli. "But you have to keep playing the game. We were playing good enough defense that it wasn't critical, but obviously you want to get the points."
Sharon coach Bo Reichart said he felt good about only being down by three points.
"They probably should have been up 21-0," said Reichart. "Our defense hung in there, we got some turnovers, we got the ball back and we played on their side of the field all night. When you do that, eventually you are going to lose, but hey, that is part of the game."
Only lead
The Tigers (4-3, 3-1) took their only lead of the night on Wilmington's first possession of the second half as Leroy Taylor intercepted a Tim Hughes pass and returned it 36 yards for the score.
"I thought the tide would turn," Reichart said. "[But] they bounced back and didn't let adversity hit them in the face, but then I don't think we did either. Our backs were against the wall for most of the night, and I thought we played OK. We didn't play well, but we played OK."
But as good teams will do, Wilmington (3-4, 3-2) came right back to score on its next two possessions, a 16-yard sprint to paydirt by Brandon Boron followed by a 2-yard run by Adam Ligo to take a 17-7 lead. The Greyhounds' second score was set up at the Sharon 34 when Luke Smith pounced on a Tiger fumble.
After the Tigers scored on their first possession of the final period to make it 17-13 Wilmington, the 'Hounds sealed the win with interceptions by Boron and former Sharon defensive back Todd Porterfield.
"The injuries just keep piling up for us, and although we had a lot of young kids in there, they held their ground enough to win the game," Verrelli said. "Just playing defense, we have come a long way since the first two games of the season, and those were certainly two big plays for us tonight."