This column originally appeared in the Oct. 2, 2012 print edition of The Mercury.

Anyone who has followed Pottsgrove football the last 24 years, or since Rick Pennypacker took over the program, is well aware of the Falcons’ pound-it-out, on-the-ground offense. In other words, they run, run, and run some more.

But few have noticed, or at least properly acknowledged, Pottsgrove’s pound-everyone-else-to-the-ground defense.

Since the Pioneer Athletic Conference kicked off its inaugural run back in 1986, Pottsgrove has permitted the fewest points per game (just over two touchdowns). In eight of the previous 26 seasons, or nearly one-third of them, Pottsgrove has led the league in fewest points allowed.

If there was ever a better example of just how well the Falcons can play defense it was this past Friday night, when they didn’t just shut down but shut out defending champion Spring-Ford, 26-0.

That, regardless of who wants to believe it — especially with just over half of the PAC-10 grind still ahead — may go a long, long way in determining who wins this year’s title … if only because the last four times Pottsgrove opened with four straight league wins it went on to win all nine and ran off with league championships each season.

“I’d say our kids shocked us a little,” Pennypacker said Sunday night after viewing the game film gave him an even better look at the defensive effort.

The Rams entered the affair averaging a few inches shy of 390 yards and an eye-popping 42 points a game. They may not have had the dangerous Jarred Jones to carry the ball, but they had the very capable Yousef Lundi filling in for the injured standout. They also had the very proficient Hank Coyne to throw the ball, and a handful of reliable receivers to catch it.

But the Falcons held their guests to well under the norms, limiting Lundi to just over three yards a pop; using pressure up front and blanket coverage in the secondary to force Coyne into a harrowing 10-for-31 night that included his first two interceptions of the season; and, most important, kept every single Spring-Ford soul out of the end zone.

“We actually wanted to make (Spring-Ford) throw the football,” Pennypacker said. “We felt we matched up with them man-to-man. Hey, we have a lot of respect for Coyne, and we knew it was a risky game plan, but things worked out.”

It worked out very well because of the play up front from nose guard Anthony Pond; tackles Zach Birch and Max Wickward, and ends Patrick Finn and Sene Polamalu; because of the play from linebackers Jeff Adams (team-high 12 tackles) and Nick Brennan (eight tackles, interception); because of the play in the secondary from corners Marquis Barefield and Michael Fowler and safeties Jalen Mayes (interception) and Riley Michaels.

The combined efforts kept Spring-Ford off the board for the first time since Week Six of the 2010 Pioneer Athletic Conference season. Since that setback, the Rams ran off 14 straight wins — including last year’s 49-35 romp over Pottsgrove — and outscored their opponents by an average of just under 21 points a game during that stretch.

“(Spring-Ford) just ran right through us last year,” Pennypacker recalled. “We didn’t want that to happen again this year. We put eight and nine guys in the box, basically telling them to go ahead and throw on us.

“I think we may have caught them off-guard a little bit with that. We forced Coyne to (throw the ball) a little quicker, and our secondary kids were playing so well he didn’t have anyone to throw to on a lot of those plays.”

Pennypacker, along with defensive coordinator Bill Bradford, were very concerned with Spring-Ford’s size.

“They’re not just big up front, but their receivers are big, too,” Pennypacker explained. “(Zameer) McDowell, (R.J.) Sheldon and (Gary) Hopkins are great receivers, and they’re big. Our kids in the secondary aren’t anywhere near that big. But Barefield, Fowler, Mayes and Michaels were all over the field.”

As were most of the Falcons. “We handled (Spring-Ford’s) run a lot better this year,” Pennypacker added. “We were a little surprised we were able to force them to throw the ball as much as we did because of it. We felt we had a good scheme.

“But we also knew we had to play a perfect game and hope (Spring-Ford) didn’t play a perfect game. I’ll say this, our kids played flawless football for three quarters. To shut them out … (Spring-Ford) is a very, very good football team. That’s a credit to coach Bradford and his staff, and to our kids.”

* The Falcons haven’t exactly lost their way finding the end zone, either. They’re averaging an area-best 45.4 points a game behind a big offensive line and the running of tailback Mark Dukes and quarterback Tory Hudgins. But if there is another team — other than the Falcons and Rams, of course — to be wary of it would be Perkiomen Valley. The Vikings, who put up a school-record 57 points against Pottstown two weeks ago to break the mark of 55 they scored in a rout of St. Pius X five years ago, have punched up 35 points or more in all four of their PAC-10 games this season. That’s already the program’s second-best mark behind the seven games of 35-plus points back in 2007.