There are four games – and only four in the entire state of Pennsylvania – that feature unbeaten teams going up against one another this weekend.

None are bigger, at least in District 1, than Bishop Shanahan, the No. 2 ranked team in the Class AAA points standings, visiting Henderson, the No. 3 ranked team in the Class AAAA points standings. District 4 has a similar showdown with Lewisburg, No. 2 in Class AA, traveling to Southern Columbia, No 1 in Class A. And up in District 11, there’s No. 1 Easton hosting No. 2 Whitehall in what is expected to be an out-and-out brawl between the AAAA rivals.



Just don’t think you have to leave work early, fill up the tank, and head on out to one of them … not when there’s going to be yet another one brewing up in Birdsboro between Pottsville and Daniel Boone.

Two unbeaten teams – both ranked among the Top Five in their respective district playoff points standings, both legitimate Inter-County Section One contenders … and two teams that don’t necessarily care for one another when they get together on a football field.

“(Pottsville) is our biggest test so far,” said Daniel Boone head coach Dave Bodolus.

Bodolus should know, too.

When Pottsville moved into the I-C back in 2006, the Blazers greeted the Tide with a 48-26 rout. That led to a share of the section title for the Blazers, while the Tide had to settle for runner-up honors. Pottsville would narrow the differentials – on the scoreboard, that is – the next two seasons, but still couldn’t get by Daniel Boone until last year (a 19-13 overtime thriller). That outcome left both teams one win shy of sharing the title with Conrad Weiser.

Who knows what may or may not happen in the next five weeks for the Blazers and Tide. But it seems like this particular game sure goes a long way in dictating who finishes where in the I-C standings as well as the District 11 and 3 playoff points standings.

“(Pottsville) isn’t as big as they usually are,” Bodolus said. “But they are quicker. Defensively

they are very aggressive and they get to the ball quickly. So yes, this is our biggest test so far.”

Daniel Boone has rolled over four opponents, but those four – Donegal, Susquehannock, Columbia and Twin Valley – are all 1-3 at this point. Pottsville had a noticeably stronger schedule with wins over Wyomissing (3-1), Stroudsburg (1-3), Blue Mountain (2-2) and Conrad Weiser (3-1).

Bodolus is aware of that, as he is with the Tide’s personnel.

“They want to run the ball our of their wing-t offense,” he explained. “Both their fullback (Cliff Newton) and halfback (Derek Knight) run well and both have gotten good yardage. They throw a little off play-action, and they’ll try to go deep to their one wide receiver (Anthony Kelly).”

Newton has run for 451 yards and Knight has added 305. Kelly is Pottsville’s leading receiver with 11 catches for 170 yards. But going into tonight, Bodolus has no idea who’ll be handling the handoffs and throwing the football. Third-year quarterback Matt Shields missed last week’s game with an injury and is questionable. But the Tide didn’t seem miss a beat last week with backup Tyler Heffner, who was not only good on 5 of 10 attempts for 71 yards and a touchdown but ran for three scores as well.

“(Tyler) is about the same (as Shields), only with less experience,” Bodolus said.

Pottsville’s defense, hurt by a preseason injury to all-state lineman Brad McKeone, held Daniel Boone to one of its lowest productions of the 2009 season and created three turnovers in the process. But Pottsville has surrendered 94 points this time around, which could reveal a weakness or two the Blazers have always seemed capable of exploiting.

And there are certainly a few Blazers or more capable of exploiting any defense thrown at them. Tom Bodolus has thrown for an area-high 909 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s gone to nine different receivers thus far. And the other fella behind him, Darrell Scott, has provided enough offensive balance – with 645 yards, an average of over 10 yards a carry, and six touchdowns – to keep the pressure off the junior quarterback.

“It should be a good game … it usually is,” Bodolus said.

RYAN’S EXPRESS

Owen J. Roberts senior Ryan Brumfield has now officially completed The Mercury Area football hat trick – moving up to and replacing St. Pius X graduate Zack Pierce as the No. 1 player on the career charts for yards rushing, total offense and scoring.

Brumfield, who has a good number of carries to go before erasing Pierce’s career carries mark, has run for 6,599 yards, accumulated 7,261 yards of total offense, and scored 506 points. He also has an area-high 16 games of 200 yards or more rushing.

MOVING UP

Pottsgrove’s Rick Pennypacker can become the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s winningest coach with a victory tonight at Pottstown. Pennypacker is currently tied with Lansdale Cathoic’s Jim Algeo with 129 apiece. … Falcons running back Maika Polamalu has moved up to the 14th spot on The Mercury area career rushing chart with 3,338 yards. He needs 162 more to become the 12th back to go over 3,500 and 662 more to become just the seventh to over 4,000 yards in a career. Pottsgrove’s top two on the chart are Brent Steinmetz (4,752) and Brent Carter (4,056). … Upper Perkiomen needs a win Saturday for the 275th in the history of its football program.

SACKED

Perkiomen School’s scheduled Saturday matinee with the unbeaten Maryland Christian Saints has been canceled. Head coach Tom Calvario said the Panthers (1-2) have added a game to their schedule, though, and will host Emily Fisher Charter School on Friday, Oct. 8 (4 p.m.). EFCS, located in Trenton, N.J., lost its opener to Morrisville (29-12) and also came up short against Conrad Science, Del. (24-22). The team plays at Germantown Academy on Saturday.