This column was originally published in the Oct. 30, 2012, edition of The Mercury.

There have been quite a few conversations this fall about Pioneer Athletic Conference quarterbacks, or who exactly is the best of the bunch. There’s been quite a few names tossed around and, generally speaking, all have been part of the discussions, too.
And it sure seems as though everyone has had a valid argument for getting their favorite onto the coaches’ ballot, which will be filled out and voted on early next month.
Hey, if you think Obama-Romney is a toss-up (or so we’re told), try separating what has become the Elite Eight of the PAC-10 (and that is in no way a political slam on the remaining two).
But if anyone has put together as impressive a football campaign as any other — up to this point of the season, that is — it’s been Pottsgrove’s Tory Hudgins.
Yes, he has as good if not better offensive line in front of him as anyone else has. Yes, he has as good a fullback and tailback behind him as anyone else has. And yes, he is arguably as one-dimensional running with the ball as any of the other quarterbacks.
And your point is…
“He is exceptional,” Perkiomen Valley head coach Scott Reed said after watching Hudgins take control throughout the second half of last Friday’s 42-28 win in the showdown between the PAC-10 co-leaders.
Hudgins’ strength, his actual value for his Pottsgrove teammates and constituents throughout the Falcon football community, is his ability to read defenses, see the field in front of him, make the right decisions, his resiliency, his intensity and, most important, his competitiveness.
Of all those attributes, Reed and the Vikings got an up-close look at that competitiveness.
Trailing 28-21 late in the third quarter, Hudgins guided the Falcons on a 98-yard scoring drive — taking care of the final 74 himself with a dash to the end zone — which got his team back to even at 28-21. Then in the fourth quarter, with 5:46 remaining, Hudgins positioned himself under center and guided the Falcons on a 92-yard scoring drive — accounting for the final 51 with a run that may be remembered for a long, long time because of his determination not to go down, breaking tackle after tackle on his way to the game-winning score with just under two minutes left.
“We didn’t wrap him up,” Reed said. “Then again, he’s been doing that, making those kind of plays, all season.”
Hudgins finished with 214 yards — pushing his PAC-10 career mark to an even 2,000 and his overall career total to 2,684. He’s only lost one league game in his two years as a starter, and was under center throughout Pottsgrove’s drive to the District 1-AAA title last season.
It will be hard to overlook Hudgins on the PAC-10 ballot. Then again, because of the deep field of quality quarterbacks – like Methacton’s Brandon Bossard, Owen J. Roberts’ Jarrad Pinelli, Perkiomen Valley’s Rasaan Stewart, Phoenixville’s Chris Demey, Pottstown’s Sage Reinhart and Spring-Ford’s Hank Coyne, all of whom have put up big numbers running, passing or a combination of both — head coach Rick Pennypacker may end up penciling his name under the athlete category.
Hudgins may just be the winner, regardless of where his name appears.
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Pottsgrove needs one more win for its area-record sixth straight season of 10 or more wins. Going into Friday’s game at Phoenixville, the Falcons have compiled an overall record of 66-12 since the start of the 2007 season — with two PAC-10 and two District 1-AAA titles during that stretch.
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The Hill School, which avoided its first winless season in 16 years by defeating heavily favored Mercersburg Academy last Saturday, renews its rivalry with Lawrenceville this Saturday afternoon in Pottstown. It will be the 110th meeting in the series that began in 1887 and has been played, without interruption, every year since 1919. The Rams have lost the last two, but won seven of the previous 12. Still, they trail the Larries in the series, 61-38-10. … This weekend, Perkiomen School closes out what has to be a very satisfying year for head coach Tom Calvario, whose Panthers travel to St. Andrew’s down in Delaware. Perk needs a win to finish its second-best season since the football program was brought back in 1999. A 6-1 overall mark — with the exception of a 7-1 run three years ago — would be Perkiomen’s best since going 8-1 in 1971.

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Spring-Ford’s Hank Coyne, with a minimum of two games remaining in his senior year, moved ahead of former Pottstown standout Terrence Shawell and into second place for career passing yardage in the PAC-10. … Pottstown’s Sage Reinhart went over the 3,000-yard career passing mark last weekend.
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Hats off (and a personal “Thank You”) to all area schools — from the players and coaches to their cheerleaders and bands — who participated in and supported Cancer Awareness Month.