By Ed Farrell

Herald Assistant Sports Editor

Sharon High’s storied football program annexed a milestone, though no Tigers touchdowns were tallied in its 600th triumph.

Sharon was sitting on 599 wins entering tonight’s tilt at Seneca; however Athletic Director Paul Torr was notified Thursday by Seneca school officials the Bobcats will forfeit because of injuries and illness. That may or may not prove fortuitous for the Tigers, who learned earlier this week they lost starting senior signal-caller Ronnie Howard for a minimum of 3 weeks to a lower leg stress fracture.

Tigers’ taskmaster Bob Fromm installed sophomore Jason Ondic to spell Howard. The forfeit buys Fromm another week of easing Ondic’s orientation into orchestrating the offense; the converse, though, is that taking reps against the scout team in practice does not simulate game-speed conditions.

The current Sharon situation brings to mind a similar scenario from the program’s halcyon days.

In 1995 — after sustaining several injuries, one of which incurred by starting quarterback Anthony Snowell — the Tigers took on Berwick for the PIAA Class AAA championship with freshman Jeff Valentino at the helm. According to Herald archives, Valentino played well in taking the Tigers to a double-overtime win over Belle Vernon in the state semifinals, before bowing to Berwick in the title tilt at Altoona’s Mansion Park Stadium.

Coming off an “Instant Classic” in last week’s win over Greenville (27-26), Howard had no sooner tossed a trio of TDs in that triumph then sustained the injury in a freak post-game accident. Foregoing the forfeit, Fromm will forge forward.

“We’ve moved on already,” the 6th-year Tigers’ taskmaster said. “We’ll evaluate how (Ondic) does and see if we need to make any adjustments ... ”

Fromm said Ondic has practiced well and played well at the junior varsity level, and the youngster also has taken a few snaps this year when Howard — a converted tailback by virtual of necessity at the season’s outset — periodically returned to tailback to give Sharon’s opponents a different look.

A former Sharon standout signal-caller, Fromm has worked with Ondic’s throwing mechanics, relating, “He’s not a ‘typical’ quarterback, but he’s improved every step of the way between this year and last year.”

Philosophically, Fromm forecasted, “Immediately, you have to figure out how you’re going to approach this. Either you step up — everybody on the team has to grab a little harder on the rope — or not. But it’s not just one person; the responsibility’s going to be put on everybody. Injuries are part of the game.

“ ... We’ll be fine,” Fromm continued. “We might have to change a few things, and without Ron we’ll be hamstrung a little bit. But that means there’ll be a little bit more pressure on that offensive line and a couple more guys in the backfield, maybe by committee.”

Tonight’s Games