PENNSYLVANIA Sharon gets first win, 26-6

The Tigers kept Mercer winless on the season.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MERCER, Pa. -- When Sharon visited Mercer for Friday night's District 10, Region 3 clash, both teams were looking for their first win of the season.
Now that the issue has been settled, Mercer (0-4, 0-3) is still looking for that evasive first win as the Tigers (1-3, 1-2) won 26-6.
For rookie Sharon coach Bob Fromm, it was his first career victory following three losses to open the season.
"I am happy with the win, but I am especially happy for the 53 kids on this team," said Fromm. "They have definitely worked hard enough and I told them for the past two weeks that they deserved it, but we just didn't get it done for one reason or the other."
Mercer scores first
The Mustangs opened the scoring in the first five minutes of the game when Eddie Decker kicked a 22-yard field goal, his first of two three-pointers in the game.
However, for the remainder of the half, it was the passing game of Sharon, featuring quarterback Mike Snyderwine and flanker Delon Bournes that carried the Tigers to a 13-6 halftime lead.
Bournes, who caught five balls for 72 yards, scored a pair of touchdowns. The scoring plays covered 24 and 32 yards, the first reception a one-handed, over-the-shoulder effort by Bournes.
"He [Bournes] is an athlete," Fromm said. "We have a few playmakers and he is one of them. He would be the first one to tell you that we work every day on that one-hand catch.
"We felt going in that we could expose the perimeter on them and throw the football down the field. That is what got us the two touchdowns in the first half and then we held on."
TD passes difference
Following the game, Mercer coach Gary Krenzer agreed with Fromm that the touchdown passes were the two big plays of the game.
"Sharon has made a living on the big play this year," said Krenzer. "I reminded the kids in our pre-game talk that we had to take the big play away from them. As it turned out, they [Sharon] were able to capitalize on our mistakes and for that, I have to give them credit."
With Sharon holding onto a precarious 13-6 lead, Devon Motley provided what turned out to be the gamebreaker for the Tigers as he hauled in a punt and returned the kick 42 yards for a score with 3:48 left in the third period.
"That was definitely a big play for us," said Fromm. "Any time special teams score for us it is a big play because it is a momentum swinger.
"Right before that, we stalled a little bit [on offense], but after we pinned them deep, the defense came on the field and did their job. We had good blocks all the way down the field, he [Motley] saw a lane, got up in it and as a result, made a big play for us."
Kellen Harris closed out the scoring for Sharon when he went in from 9 yards out with four minutes left in the game. Adam Miller added the PAT.