This column was originally published in the Sept. 27 edition of The Mercury.

Just in case you didn’t notice, and most likely haven’t, one-third of the Pioneer Athletic Conference season will be over and done with – in the books, as they say – after this weekend’s games.

Just in case you didn’t notice, and in all likelihood few have, one-half of the entire regular season will be over and done with – in the books, as they say – after this weekend’s games.

The fact there are six more PAC-10 rounds to go (five before the postseason playoffs kick off, with the final abbreviated round on Thanksgiving morning), may not seem like too big of a deal, at least for the moment. And the fact everyone still has half of their regular season to play, sure doesn’t seem like a big deal, either.

But you can bet the house a lot of area coaches were fully aware of those timelines when they headed into their respective film rooms late Friday night or early Saturday morning. And you can bet the whole darn housing development some were feeling a sense of urgency before they even sat down and flipped on the projector (oops, their computer and media player).

“This season is just crazy,” said Perkiomen Valley head coach Scott Reed. Absolutely crazy. “The Class of 2011, the seniors who played a year ago, was one of the best ever in the PAC-10,” Reed added. “Now we have a bunch of new kids trying to make a new for themselves all around the league.”

Pottsgrove, the team most felt needed some time – perhaps an entire season to rebuild after Chestnut, Greene, Polamalu & Sons took their business off to college – is 3-0 and all alone atop the PAC-10 standings. That’s a legitimate 3-0, too, with a pair of wins over a couple of opponents most coaches, players and fans absolutely agreed on as being the league’s front-runners, or contenders.

Right behind the Falcons, at 2-0, are Perkiomen Valley, Phoenixville and SpringFord.

Perkiomen Valley, which could’ve easily opened camp with name tags because of all the new faces, wasn’t even mentioned – not even in a whisper – during those early “contender” conversations. Yet last weekend, the Vikings upended a team that a week earlier upended one of those contenders. Phoenixville hasn’t had a winning record in the league in three years. Spring-Ford had to replace 10 of 11 starters on defense, and was supposed to surrender a heck of a lot more points than it would likely engender.

Methacton and Pottstown are both 1-1, but absolutely capable of taking down anyone on any given weekend as their seesaw start has already revealed.

And then there are the others – Boyertown, Owen J. Roberts, Pope John Paul II and Upper Perkiomen.

Boyertown and Upper Perkiomen were two of the teams everyone was talking about long before the season kicked off. Both were not only expected to contend, but ease their way into the District 1 playoffs. Believe it or not, both are 0-2 in the PAC-10 and, respectively, 22 and 1-3 overall. If you want to talk about a sense of urgency, sit down for a brief chat with Mark Scisly and Keith Leamer.

Don’t overlook Owen J. Roberts and Pope John Paul II, either. Not yet. If not for the Chestnut, Greene, Polamalu & Sons act, the Wildcats may have had three PAC-10 titles instead of a share of one. So a portion of the current Boys of Bucktown roster remembers how good winning feels and are none too happy about being 0-2 right now. And if PJP ever gets its defense together – if only for three-quarters of any given game to go along with arguably the league’s best passer and his gang of reliable receivers – well, watch out may be the best way to say it.

“You never like to use athleticism with entertainment, but this (season) sure is entertaining,” Reed said. “Every week is definitely a new chapter, a new story. Every week the matchups are different. For us, last week it was speed (against Pottstown), and this week it is size (against Boyertown).

“I think you’re going to continue to see a lot of things (no one expects to happen) happen. I don’t know if any of the games are or will be upsets, either. All I know is every week you better bring your lunch and go to work … play your best. There just aren’t any easy ones, absolutely none, this year.”

Speaking of going to work, this Friday’s late shift will be a grueling one.

For starters, Pottsgrove is at Spring-Ford – and yes, despite only being the final day of September, this one could go a long, long way in determining who wins the PAC10. It’s been a long, long, long time since the Rams have gotten the best of the Falcons, too (which we’ll reveal more of on Friday). … Phoenixville will meet its toughest opponent to date with a visit to Pottstown; Boyertown will obviously attempt to unleash its frustrations on host Perkiomen Valley; and both Pope John Paul II and Owen J. Roberts look to get into the win column in Bucktown. … Saturday afternoon, Upper Perkiomen will likely have the same mental approach as Boyertown – freeing itself of two weeks of frustrations, that is – when it travels to Methacton.

Two area quarterbacks are among the state’s leaders – in two different categories – through four weeks of play. Daniel Boone’s Tom Bodolus is second among quarterbacks in rushing (and 20th among all ballcarriers) with 570 yards. Among quarterbacks, he trails only Ringgold’s Percy Law, who has 688 yards. Pope John Paul II’s David Cotellese is 10th among quarterbacks in passing with 884 yards. He is second, unofficially, in District 1 behind Octorara’s Dan Solomon, who has thrown for 965 yards.

Spring-Ford’s Ryan O’Hara is on pace to erase part of the kick scoring section in The Mercury area’s record book. Through four games, O’Hara is a perfect 21-for-21 on point-afters and has converted 3-of-4 field goals for 30 points. … Perkiomen Valley’s Kyle Chudoba tied the PAC-10 singlegame mark for field goals in a game when he hit on three in last Friday’s 29-21 thriller over Pottstown.