Tonight I found myself at Tiger Stadium in Sharon as the homestanding Tigers hosted the visiting Rockets of Slippery Rock. It was a matchup in Region 5 2A under considerable cloudy skies as the sun set in the west in the early going.
Lane Voytik, the Tigers quarterback, was not only playing with a high ankle sprain that I was worried about going into the game, but he was also playing with a heavy heart following the recent death of his grandfather.
Sharon won the coin toss, but they deferred to the second half.
The first quarter was a defensive struggle, with neither side able to gain an early advantage through the first 12 minutes of the contest. But then, just 12 seconds into the second quarter, Lane Voytik through a touchdown pass to Ty Eilam from 31 yards out to draw first blood for the hosts. As I watched the Tigers celebrate, I was probably thinking that Voytik was looking up to the heavens and said, "This one's for you, grandpa."
The touchdown made the halftime score 7-0 in favor of the host Tigers.
In the late stages of the third quarter, CJ Parchman hit pay dirt when he caught a 19 yard touchdown reception from Voytik to make the score 14-0 Sharon. That's how the game would end.
Eilam and Voytik were both named co-players of the game for tonight. The win capped an emotional week for Lane Voytik and his family. I suppose that Tigers coach Jason McElhenny gave Voytik the game ball tonight knowing that Voytik wanted to play tonight when he didn't really have to play following the death of his grandfather.
Next Saturday evening I plan to be at the Pines in Sharpsville as the Tigers take on the Sharpsville Blue Devils. Stay tuned to this blog for my preview post of the matchup.
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