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By TOM HOUSNICK; Times Leader Sports Writer
Saturday, December 06, 1997 Page:
ALTOONA- Sharpsville executed its game plan to perfection in Friday’s PIAA
Class A championship game.
Riverside seemed unsure of what its game plan was.
The result was a 10-7 Sharpsville victory in front of 3,409 fans at Mansion
Park.
In the process, the Blue Devils (14-1) captured their first state title and
allowed the west to win the A championship for the fourth time in the past
five years.
“We got frustrated, but we knew if we stuck to our game plan, we’d win,”
said Brad Sarchet, whose interception with 19 seconds left sealed
Sharpsville’s victory. “We played our base defense and kept them under control
most of the time.”
Sharpsville’s undersized defense, which included 145-pound defensive ends,
limited Riverside to 250 yards total offense, including 98 yards rushing.
“We never seemed to get any rhythm going offensively and that’s my fault,”
said Riverside coach Steve Armillay. “Jeremy (Ransom) is a rhythm-type runner
and we never were able to get him going.
“They are a good football team, but I don’t believe they are in our
category. (The problems) start with me. I don’t think we had the kids as
prepared as they should have been.”
Riverside led 7-3 until Sharpsville took advantage of an interception by
Brad Watson. It was one of four Viking turnovers.
The Blue Devils then marched 63 yards in eight plays for the game-winning
score, a 28-yard pass from John Napotnik to Brian Watson with 2:03 left in the
third quarter. Riverside defensive back John Jezorwski seemed to intercept the
pass, but the ball went through his hands.
Riverside drove to the Sharpsville 9 in the fourth quarter. Two running
plays netted seven yards before quarterback Harry Armstrong faked a handoff up
the middle and attempted to score around the right side.
However, with several Blue Devil defenders draped on him, Armstrong tried
to stretch the ball over the goal line, only to have the ball stripped.
Again, Brad Watson was in the right place and recovered the ball for a
touchback.
As Riverside was in the huddle and headed toward the line on the fateful
play, the Viking coaching staff was calling for a time out.
“We wanted to run the same play but to the strong side of the field,”
Armillay said. “We didn’t execute well, especially down at the goal line. That
hurt us.”
Riverside (13-2) took a 7-0 first-quarter lead on Armstrong’s 29-yard pass
to Mark Jones to cap a seven-play, 51-yard drive.
Ransom recovered the ensuing kickoff, fumbled by Sharpsville’s Brian
Watson, but the Vikings failed to capitalize.
The Blue Devils scored with 51 seconds left in the second quarter on a
25-yard field goal by Aaron VanZanten, the first field goal in Class A finals
history. The drive lasted 17 plays and covered 52 yards.
On the game-winning drive, Sharpsville scratched out a first down rushing
before connecting on consecutive 28-yard completions. The first was caught by
Mark Ramsey, who had four catches for 69 yards.
Justin Napotnik had 62 yards on 19 carries. Of those, 41 yards came as the
Blue Devils were running out the clock late in the fourth quarter.
John Napotnik, Mercer County’s all-time leading passer, completed only
seven of 20 passes for 104 yards.
“All year long, we felt we’d get here. All the talk about East Coast
football, we showed that we can play football in the west,” the senior
quarterback said.
Ransom, who had more than 2,000 yards rushing entering the game, managed
only 46 yards on 21 carries. Armstrong was 16 of 31 passing for 152 yards for
Riverside, which saw its nine-game winning streak halted.
Sharpsville 0 3 7 0-10
Riverside 7 0 0 0- 7
First Quarter
Riv- M. Jones 29 pass from Armstrong (McNulty kick), 0:03
Second Quarter
Sharp- FG VanZanten 25, 0:51
Third Quarter
Sharp- Brian Watson 28 pass from Jo. Napotnik (VanZanten kick), 2:03
Fourth Quarter
No scoring
A-3,409
Sharp Riv
First downs|| 11|| 15
Rushes-yards 33-113| 31-99
Passing| 104|| 152
Comp-Att-Int 7-20-0 16-31-2
Return Yards|| 41|| 20
Punts-Avg. 5-31.6| 3-32.3
Fumbles-Lost| 1-1| 2-2
Penalties-Yards| 9-84| 8-51
Time of Possession 21:37| 26:23
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Sharpsville- Ju.Napotnik 19-62, Jo. Napotnik 9-41, Lucas 2-7, Brian Watson
3-3. Riverside- Ransom 21-46, Armstrong 6-30, Gronski 3-15, M. Jones 1-8.
Passing
Sharpsville- Jo.Napotnik 7-20-0-104. Riverside, Armstrong 16-31-2-152.
Receiving
Sharpsville- Ramsey 4-69, Brian Watson 2-30, Ju.Napotnik 1-5. Riverside-
Gallagher 6-62, B. Jones 3-24, Ransom 3-4, M. Jones 2-41, Oustrich 2-21.
AP PHOTO
Sharpsville linebacker Mike Germano, bottom left, tackles Riverside
quarterback Harry Armstrong as he flips over in Friday’s PIAA Class A
championship game in Altoona. Sharpsville’s Jim Tucker (39) assists.
PIAA F OOTBALL C HAMPIONSHIPS