Sharpsville edges Wilmington in close contest

SHARPSVILLE, Pa.-- The Sharpsville Blue Devils defeated the Wilmington Greyhounds by a score of 20-14 last Friday in a non-conference matchup.  

A back-and-forth contest, the single-A Blue Devils found a way to top their double-A counterpart with the help of two touchdowns from senior wide receiver Tyler Luchey.

Luchey says his team stayed focused on this week’s non-conference game, even with an important region matchup next week.

“We know we had Lakeview next week,” Luchey said. “We weren’t trying to look forward to Lakeview, this win is big.  It makes us closer as a team to beat a double-A team such as Wilmington.”

Along with two touchdowns, Luchey racked up 113 yards receiving on seven catches.

Wilmington played without starting quarterback Cody Llewellyn, who was sidelined because of a blood disorder.

Freshman backup quarterback Dom Gargiulo took over for the ‘Hounds under center. Wilmington also occasionally went to a single-wing formation where Greyhound running backs took the snap.

The Greyhounds got on the board first in the opening period on a one-yard run from Tyler Donati.

Sharpsville evened the score in the first quarter with a 25-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Bryan Stafford to Luchey.

Luchey gave the Blue Devils a 14-7 advantage in the second quarter on a 21-yard touchdown catch from Stafford.

After a scoreless third quarter, Sharpsville running back Joey Pagliaroli widened the Blue Devil lead to 13 points on a 25-yard touchdown run.

Late in the fourth quarter, Hounds senior running back Nic Pugh reached the end zone on a 17-yard run, making the score 20-14.

On the next Sharpsville drive, Pugh picked off a Stafford pass, and returned it deep into Blue Devil territory.

However, on the first play of the Greyhound drive, Gargiulo fumbled the snap, and the Blue Devils recovered.

The Greyhounds would get the ball back, and converted on a fourth and 25 pass play from Donati to Pugh, putting the ‘Hounds on the Blue Devil four yard line with just seconds to play.

Two plays later, Donati handed the ball off to Pugh, but Sharpsville linebacker Derrick Smith stopped the run in the backfield as time expired, sealing the 20-14 victory for the Blue Devils.

Wilmington senior defensive end Jon Yohman says mistakes plagued the ‘Hounds all night.

“It wasn’t [Gargiulo], it was simple mistakes,” Yohman said. “If we would have eliminated those mistakes, we should have come out victorious.”

Yohman hopes his team can benefit from the close loss.

“Hopefully, it opens our eyes a little,” Yohman said. “Hopefully it makes us practice harder, makes us go thoroughly through our plays during practice and helps the scout team give us a better look.” 

The Greyhounds fall to 5-2 on the year with the loss.

Sharpsville improves to 6-1 on the season, and will face off with Lakeview next Friday at home at 7 p.m.  

Wilmington will be back in action next week when they host the Sharon Tigers. Kickoff is slated for Friday at 7 p.m. at Greyhound Stadium.

Greyhound Roundup Week 7 Wilmington vs. Sharpsville from WCN 24/7 on VIMEO on Vimeo.