Talking Sports with Seeley

Sizing up the wrestling competition

2012-01-23T18:12:00.002-05:00

This column originally ran in the Jan. 9, 2012 edition of The Mercury.

Like a lot of coaches in the Pioneer Athletic Conference and around District 1, Spring-Ford's Tim Seislove has been keeping both eyes on Owen J. Roberts' wrestling results this winter. But when he hears all the talk about how his own team could challenge the Wildcats for the PAC-10 championship, maybe even a district duals title, well, those words fall on deaf ears.

"Owen J. Roberts is heads and tails the best team in our district," Seislove said. "Owen J. Roberts and Norristown are above everyone else. Then you can throw about 10 other teams in the hat and take your choice."

A lot of people have indeed had an eye on unbeaten OJR, which has a wealth of talent and depth, or enough to make a run at a second straight league championship and, quite possibly, that district dual title.

But regardless of what Seislove says, or refuses to hear, the Rams haven't been able to escape the spotlight, either. Their quick start, 12 straight wins before a 38-28 loss to District 3-Class AA's top-ranked Biglerville in last Saturday's final of the Canner Duals, is the big reason, too.

The Rams have gotten the expected punch from their lightweights, a group of veterans that features Chase Brown, Sean Hennessey, Jimmy Stong, brothers Adam and Jason Dombrosky and Jesse Quave from 113 up through 145 pounds. But they're also getting some unexpected jabs from the upper portion of the lineup, namely Jon Cooper, Dan Dipipi, Tyler McGuigan and Dan Lawrence at 152, 160, 170 and 182, respectively. And they're slowly getting more and more consistency from Mason Romano, Josh Boyer and Zach Dorsey, two sophomores and a junior, who usually occupy the final three spots in the lineup.

"We're happy where we're at," Seislove said. "We're 12-1, so we can't complain."

But ...

"In wrestling, records can be very deceiving. It's one sport you can't look at records, and everyone should know that. We haven't wrestled the toughest schedule. We have wrestled some tough teams that, in the beginning, I felt we had a good shot at beating if we wrestled well."

The Rams have, for the record, wrestled quite well thus far. They've beaten, rather handily, four upper-level District 1 teams at the Abington Duals, crushed a couple of PAC-10 opponents, and had a good run at the Canner Duals, defeating longtime District 11-AA challenger Pine Grove, stuffing Southern Columbia, and topping Wyomissing, the No. 7 team in District 3-AA, before the setback to Biglerville.

The long road trips are over for now, with seven PAC-10 matches ahead of them.

"Traveling isn't anything new because (former head coach) Pat Nugent started doing that years ago here," Seislove said. "It's important to find good competition, the kind of that's your (own program's) top competition. You try to build a schedule, a tough schedule, with teams you can be competitive with.

"But now we have the meat of our schedule ahead of us. Nothing's easy in the PAC-10, and then you have the district duals in between those matches."

Spring-Ford will not overlook its next three opponents: Pottsgrove, Pottstown and Perkiomen Valley. But then there's a trip to Upper Perkiomen on Wednesday, Jan. 25; the opening round of district duals the following night; and, just two days later, the showdown with visiting Owen J. Roberts.

And don't forget the closing fireworks with Methacton and Boyertown.

"We're improving. We're getting better," Seislove said. "But our big concern is staying healthy. We have quite a few freshmen, a lot of inexperienced kids in the lineup, especially up top. They're good kids who work hard. But we have to stay healthy.

"You have to understand that we don't have any superstars. We don't have one kid who I can say is definitely going to go to states. We don't have any standouts, no superstars. But we do have good, hard-working kids."

Enough to everyone else around the PAC-10 and District 1 rather interested.

Frankie Krauss (145/152), Cooper and Dorsey are three freshmen getting a lot of mat time for Seislove. Dipipi, Mike Spohr (182) and McGuigan, an impressive 19-5 thus far, spent most of last season with the junior varsity. Lawrence blew his knee out early last year and missed most of the season, while Romano, a sophomore, opted to return to wrestling after sitting out his freshman year.

Upper Perkiomen returning state qualifier Wolfgang McStravick didn't wrestle the final day of last weekend's Battlefield Duals down in Va., after suffering a mild concussion the previous night. He is expected back in the lineup sometime this week.

The most improved team since the start of the season? Methacton, hands down. The Warriors have won their last two tournaments -the Wetzel Classic and Octorara Duals- and are 10-2 overall.

Owen J. Roberts has seven of the preliminary Top 10 seeds for this weekend's rugged Escape The Rock Tournament at Council Rock South, quickly becoming one of the top events in Pennsylvania if not the entire East Coast. Andrew Kinney (145), who'll go for his 100th career win Wednesday night against Perkiomen Valley, drew No. 6; freshman Demetrio D'Orsaneo (132), Kyle Shronk (152) and James Warta (195) drew seventh seeds; and freshman Derek Gulotta (113), Colby Frank (126) and Mike Lenge (160) are all 10th seeds.

Boyertown senior Jon Neiman needs two wins for 100 and should reach the milestone Saturday at the Cumberland Valley Duals.

Pottstown will recognize all Trojan wrestling alumni prior to its Wednesday, January 18th match against Phoenixville. The festivities including honoring the program for reaching 500 dual meets. All alumni are asked to arrive at the high school at 5:30 p.m. for food and beverages. The presentation begins at 6:25. Alumni planning to attend should contact head coach Jamie Gill at jgill@pottstownsd.org.

For those who haven't already heard, the PIAA state tournament will undergo a major change in March. And if anyone thought the new weight classes were a joke, the final day of states -- Saturday, March 10, to be exact -- may be an absolute comedy, but no one will be laughing.

The normal schedule featuring consolation finals for the seventh, fifth and third places on three mats followed by the championship finals on one mat is no more. That's right, no more. The new format (take a deep breath now) is all finals, consolations as well as the championships in each weight class, will be wrestled simultaneously, Class AA at two in the afternoon and Class AAA at seven that night.

Seems as though someone lost their headgear and got slammed a few times.

According to PIAA Executive Director Bob Lombardi, the change is the result of the three-day tournament ending way too late, which it does (usually around 11 p.m.). There is a genuine concern for kids on the road that late and about the costs of hotels/motels for an additional night in the Hershey area.

Lombardi's concerns are warranted, and no one in the PIAA office has ever been as supportive of wrestling as Lombardi has for the past twentysome years

However, Pennsylvania is among the best states (if not the best) in wrestling. In a sport that battles year in and year out for respect, this is one particular move from its own governing body that undermines that fight. A few other states have been going with the "all-finals-together" format, but who cares. This is Pennsylvania, be the best -- or, as one former state champion said, "set the trend."

10 for 2011

2012-01-23T18:00:00.003-05:00

It's been three months now, but in all likelihood most if not every one of the girls on this past fall's Owen J. Roberts soccer team are still searching for the answers - an explanation, some sort of rationalization, why teammate Kelsey Kramer died in an automobile accident.

Soon after hearing about the incident later that night and into the wee hours of the following morning, and trying to comprehend the tragic news of her death less than 24 hours later, the Wildcats could've called it a season right then and there. The 16-year-old junior wasn't as much one of their stars on the field as she was their superstar off it.

"Whenever someone on this team was down (Kramer) was able to cheer them up," said OJR head coach Joe Margusity.

Ironically, the day the Wildcats needed someone to cheer them up the most, their genuine friend and teammate with the infectious smile and spirit always so capable of doing just that, was not among them.

"The girls cried for three days," Margusity said.

Then they rallied around one another, leaned on one another, dedicated the remainder of their season to Kramer and, despite heavy hearts, played their way through the Pioneer Athletic Conference and District 1 playoffs to reach the PIAA-Class AAA state semifinals where their incredible run ended following an overtime setback to Pennridge on an unseasonably warm evening in mid-November at Harriton High School.

It wasn't just a loss that ended an extraordinary season, but a loss that dug deep into the Wildcats' collective soul and tugged at the heart of their team that had overcome such long, long odds and the kind of adversity very, very few high school teams in any sport ever experience.

The Owen J. Roberts girls' resilience and strength, the determination many felt Kramer provided them spiritually, has been selected as The Mercury's Sports Story of the Year.

"To see where we came from, how we were ripped apart, I think (people) underestimated us, underestimated how adversity bonded us together," OJR keeper Cassie Popp said after the exhausting, season-ending 2-1 loss to Pennridge.

"Going out for that first game (after Kramer's death) was hard for the girls," Margusity added. "But playing that game brought some sort of solidarity with it. It brought all of us together."

It kept them together, kept them believing in one another. And more than a few attributed their passion to play, and play as best they could every minute of every game, to Kramer.

Popp felt it, felt that passion, during teammate Rachael Carpenter's team chat prior to the Pennridge showdown.

"Before the game, "'Carp' was saying how we're all here tonight, our coaches and our friends," she said. "It was kind of strange, too, because it just felt as though Kelsey was right there with us, right there in the middle of our circle.

"You always want to win, especially for your seniors. We wanted so badly to win this for Kelsey, too. (Her memory) always seemed to give us that extra punch, that extra spark. This (loss) hurts right now, hurts a lot. The tears will come later."

They did.

The remaining Top 10 Sports Stories of the Year were:

GOLDEN BOY

Ithaca College's Seth Ecker, a graduate of Pottstown High School, became the area's first NCAA wrestling champion, and only the second national champion in any bracket, after pinning down the gold medal at 133 pounds during the Division III Championships at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Ecker decisioned RIT's Mike McInally, 6-2, for the title and finished his season at 30-3. Later, Ecker and teammate Jeremy Stierly, an Owen J. Roberts graduate and national runner-up, were both named to the NCAA Academic All-America team.

HAT TRICK

Owen J. Roberts' Ryan Brumfield, Upper Perkiomen's Ron Gillespie and Pope John Paul II's Tom Lang won gold medals during the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University. Brumfield, who may long be regarded as one of the top all-around athletes in OJR as well as Mercury-area history, cleared 6 feet 10 inches to win the Class AAA high jump. Gillespie, who later in the summer gave a verbal commitment to play football at Temple University, ran away from everyone to win the Class AAA 200 meters. And Lang capped his outstanding career by defending his state title, this time in Class AAA, in the javelin.

ONE MORE TIME

Despite losing more than half of its starters from the previous football season, Pottsgrove regrouped after an early-season setback to eventual champion Spring-Ford, got noticeably better week after week after week and captured its second District 1-Class AAA championship in three years, defeating longtime rival Phoenixville, 42-13 at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School, for the title. The Falcons, under head coach Rick Pennypacker, were led offensively by all-state junior Madison O'Connor and quarterback Tory Hudgins and defensively by Steve Ambs, Robbie Curtin and Danny Michaels. Their season ended in the PIAA quarterfinals to eventual Class AAA state champion Archbishop Wood.

QUEENS OF THE COURT

Boyertown and Spring-Ford staged one of the most memorable girls basketball championship games in Pioneer Athletic Conference history, with the Bears coming away with yet another come-from-behind, triple-overtime 56-51 victory that even left a huge crowd at Perkiomen Valley High School exhausted. But it was just the beginning of a historic postseason run for Boyertown. Behind a starting lineup featuring guards Kelly Furman and Jess Schlesman, center Kaitlyn Eisenhard, and forwards Brooke Mullen and Krista Schauder, the Bears would play their way into the PIAA-Class AAAA Final Four and finish with 28 wins, equaling the school record.

PINNING IT DOWN

Owen J. Roberts, which hadn't won a wrestling title since 1975, or an actual outright title since dominating the Ches-Mont League back in 1966, swept the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship for the first time with a perfect 9-0 mark. Head coach Steve DeRafelo and the Wildcats then went one better, pinning down the Section Four team title for only the second time â€“ and first since 1973, and the District 1-AAA South team title for the very first time.

WORLDY

Nicole Barnhart, a Boyertown High School and Stanford University graduate â€“ and backup goalie on USA's last two world championship teams, played a key role in helping the USA qualify for the Women's World Cup. She served as a backup to Hope Solo, who returned from a shoulder injury, for the championships then signed on as a keeper for the Philadelphia Independence in the WPS.

BACK ON TOP

Spring-Ford ended a 13-year drought by winning the Pioneer Athletic Conference football championship, and winning the title outright for the first time since 1995. Head coach Chad Brubaker had to replace 10 of 11 starters on defense. But a number of unsung Rams stepped up on that side of the ball and, combined with outstanding play from quarterback Hank Coyne, sophomore running back Jarred Jones and wideout Andrew Scanlan, the team went unbeaten in league play and qualified for the District 1-AAAA playoffs for the first time in the program's history.

KING AND HIS COURT

Pope John Paul II may have just opened its doors for the first time, but the Golden Panthers' boys basketball team sure had a way of closing the door on its opponents. Head coach Jack Flanagan called the shots from the bench and Mercury Player of the Year Paul Mills provided the leadership from end line to end line for PJP, which defeated neighboring rival Spring-Ford in an exciting Pioneer Athletic Conference Final Four championship game.

RAM TOUGH

The Spring-Ford baseball team's dynamic blend of quality pitching, reliable defense and potent offense may have been one of the best in the 25-year history of the Pioneer Athletic Conference. Led by ace right-hander Mike Oczypok, catcher as well as leader-extraordinaire James Hoff and the hot bat of Ryan Conway, the Rams swept both the PAC-10 and District 1-AAAA championships. Head coach Bruce Brobst's team would play all the way to the state final before falling to Conestoga, 6-3 in 10 innings, at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on the campus of Penn State University.

HONORABLE MENTION

Boyertown graduate Ali McEvoy and Hill School graduate Colleen Gulick help the University of Maryland to the NCAA women's field hockey championship.
Upper Perkiomen's Tom Hontz goes over the coveted 300 career win mark and a week later becomes the area's winningest wrestling coach with his 304th victory.
The Pottsgrove boys cross country wins the Pioneer Athletic Conference team title, the very first in the history of the Falcons program.
The Spring-Ford boys track and field team wins the Pioneer Athletic Conference team title, the very first in the history of the Rams' program.
The Owen J. Roberts girls field hockey team captures its third straight Pioneer Athletic Conference championship, matching the league record set by Phoenixville (1990-92).
The Boyertown girls lacrosse team won its eighth straight Pioneer Athletic Conference title to equal its own league record set from 1992-99.

Looking back at wrestling history

2012-01-23T17:54:00.002-05:00

This column originally ran in the Dec. 26, 2011, edition of The Mercury.

No one bought me a singlet (Thank God, what a sight that would be); any headgear (no need, brain is already damaged on one side); or a mat (I have no clue for what) for Christmas. I did get two gift cards I cherish the most, one for Wawa (coffee and the workers are the best) and one for Dick's (always stocked with Titliest golf balls), even a high-end surround sound system I was too cheap to buy myself (bless my daughters and their husbands).

But with the wrestling schedule down for the holidays and having a few days off, well, it allowed me to open up the sports files -or the wrestling files, in this instance- to study (for the umpteenth time) and share a little history.

Have fun reading some of the trivia (or insignificant notes only someone like me would find interesting). Also, don't take my personal "Top Fives," the top five wrestlers from each of the area's schools, too seriously considering I compiled the lists in about a half-hour (thus I likely overlooked one of your favorites)-- but the effort was there.

Did you know?

* The area's first postseason champions were Owen J. Roberts' Bill Christman, Jim Kulp and Ron Bean. Although sanctioned postseason wrestling began in 1934 and sectional wrestling began in 1957, it wasn't until 1963 when Christman (138 pounds), Kulp (145) and Bean (165) won their respective weight classes in the Section Three Tournament. Christman was also the area's first two-time postseason champion when he won his second Section Three title the following year (1964).

* Spring-Ford's first two postseason champions included a future Medal of Honor winner. In 1964, after 112-pound Florine "Butch" Mungin won the Rams' first with a gold medal at the Section Three Tournament, teammate Dave Dolby followed suit at 180 pounds. Three years later, Dolby - who died on August 6, 2010 - was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during the Vietnam War.

* The first time an area school had four successive champions in a postseason tournament occurred in 1966, when the Section Three finals opened with Bill Lawrence (95), Sandy Sweisford (103), Jim Maack (112) and Charles Lawrence (120) capturing the first four weight classes. The following week, Sweisford became the area's first District 1 champion.

* Mike Meko (1974) and Chris Beasley (1991) are the only two Pottsgrove wrestlers to win sectional, district and regional titles in a single season.

* Perkiomen Valley's only state medalist is Bill Neil, who won the PIAA state title at heavyweight in 1977 - and later played in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

* District 1's first Outstanding Wrestler Award recipient at the PIAA state tournament was Methacton's Chuck Murray (1984).

* Phoenixville's Jason Meister and Pottstown's Seth Ecker are the only area graduates to go on and win national titles in college. Meister, now the head coach at West-Mont Christian, was a two-time NCWA champion (and two-time runner-up) for Baptist Bible. Ecker, currently a junior and Academic All-American at Ithaca College, won an NCAA Division III title last season.

* The best winning percentage among area coaches belongs to the late Nelson Stratton of Methacton, who was 173-31-1 (.844) in 11 seasons. Five of the top eight winning percentages are actually owned by former Methacton coaches - Chris Lloyd (.783 in three seasons); Tony Haley (.688 in two seasons); Dennis Kellon (.686 in 18 seasons); and Bill Moser (.671 in five seasons).

Fab Fives

OK, here we go, the area PIAA-member school's Top Five (listed alphabetically to avoid additional arguments).

Boyertown: Jesse DeWan, Nick Hyatt, Alex Pellicciotti, Fred Rodgers and Mike Spaid (with Jody Munch so close to the bunch). Daniel Boone: John Clemens, Chris Gallino, Mike James, Carmello Marrero and Colin Martucci. Methacton: Jeff Albano, Brad Clark, Dan Covatta, Jon Moser and Chuck Murray. Owen J. Roberts: Aaron Brown, Nick Fuschino, Don Kulp, Jeremy Stierly and Scott Syrek. Perkiomen Valley: Kevin Kehs, Bill Neil, Tim Smith, Steve Van Alsine and Tom Watts. Phoenixville: Tom Bearden, Jeff Below, Mark Cagle, Steve McGovern, and Jason Meister. Pottsgrove: Chris Beasley, T.J. Demetrio, Mike Meko, Ken Norris and Zach Robinson. Pottstown: Joey Allen, Brian Campbell, Seth Ecker, Jeff Green and Paul Green. Spring-Ford: Tom Ingram, Matt Moley, Mike Moley, Jason Shivak and Tim Waller. Upper Perkiomen: Brent Fiorito, Zack Kemmerer, Brad Rozanski, Chris Sheetz, Mark Smith and Derek Zinck (that's six, but I couldn't eliminate one).

The holiday tournament feast picks up again today, but three dates to mark on the new 2012 calendar: Jan. 18 - Owen J. Roberts at Upper Perkiomen; Jan. 25 - Spring-Ford at Upper Perkiomen; and Jan. 28 - Spring-Ford at Owen J. Roberts. The survivor of the 10-day round-robin will in all likelihood win the Pioneer Athletic Conference title.

OJR in Beast mode

2012-01-17T17:26:00.004-05:00

This column originally ran in the Dec. 19, 2011, edition of The Mercury.

They call it the "Beast", short for the Beast of the East for a reason. It's unquestionably a demanding and exhausting two days of wrestling as any other. And any other includes the mighty Iron Man in Ohio, the Reno Tournament of Champions out in Nevada, the Minnesota Christmas Tournament up near the Twin Cities and, of course, Pennsylvaniaâ€™s own PowerAde at Trinity High School.

The "Beast" provides the ultimate challenge for a wrestler because of the mental preparation needed before even stepping on the mats, and the physical endurance required to return to those mats time and time again .. for as many as seven, eight or more bouts in a single weekend.

And to think the test unfolds on a stage that features as much if not more individual talent than anyone may ever see in one setting during their entire career.

So when the Owen J. Roberts entourage got back into Bucktown early Sunday night with a bunch of filled-out brackets but not a single medal, head coach Steve DeRafelo wasn't whimpering, weeping or whining.

Like many before him, including Pioneer Athletic Conference rivals Pete Ventresca of Boyertown, Tim Seislove of Spring-Ford and Tom Hontz of Upper Perkiomen, all of whom can relate to the "Beast" experience, DeRafelo realized it may not be the medals as much as the mettle, or the resolve, that counts most during those two very grueling winter days in Delaware.

The bottom line is that no other inindividual or dual tournament, or practice room routine on any given weekend, will help the Wildcats better prepare for the grind that lies ahead of them â€» and better prepare them to deal with all the lofty expectations.

"I thought we had a pretty good showing," DeRafelo said. "You think about how a lot of our kids lost right away, but (all but two) of them came back to get at least one win. I thought we did pretty well."

DeRafelo and his staff focused on and worked on the moves made as well as the moves not necessarily made over the weekend when everyone returned to the practice room Monday afternoon, and they likely worked on reinforcing that resolve.

The Wildcats, all 14 of them, went a combined 23-28 at the "Beast." Not bad considering a couple of very promising freshman lightweights still weren't in the lineup. Not bad at all considering unbeaten upperweight Nick DeAngelo watched instead of wrestled when a couple of teammates moved down a weight class and squeezed him out of the lineup. And when considering they finished 21st among ninetysome teams.

"Like I said, a pretty good showing," DeRafelo reiterated. "The only team from (District 1) who finished better than us was Norristown (15th), but that's a team with five or six lights-out studs. In a tournament like (the "Beast") you're going to do well with that many outstanding individuals.

"We're just not a tournament team. We don't have a lot of studs. We don't have anyone who medaled at states. But we have what I feel is a very good dual-meet team. So to finish 21st .. our kids did well."

One Wildcat in particular who did well was Demetri D'Orsaneo, who has as promising credentials as any freshman to roll through OJR in recent memory. The 132-pounder knocked off two seeded opponents, including a state champion and state runner-up, in a three-bout run Saturday that put him in the quarterfinals. But then he got tutored by Blair Academy's nationally ranked Mark Grey, who not only won his fourth straight "Beast" title but the OW award as well.

Another solid showing came from 126-pound teammate Colby Frank who didn't look at all like the freshman regional qualifier of a year ago during the season-opening Bear Duals, but who responded with four wins and, like D'Orsaneo, came oh so close to getting into the medal rounds. And DeRafelo had to be pleased with newcomer Jim Warta, who moved down to 195 and went 3-2.

"A lot of our kids stepped up their game a lot," DeRafelo said.

Quote of the Week comes from Pittsburgh Central Catholic's 195-pound "Beast" champion Perry Hills, the Vikings' star quarterback who has committed to Maryland: "Every quarterback should wrestle," Hills told InterMat when talking about the mental and physical toughness of the sport.

OJR's Andrew Kinney is the area's winningest active wrestler with 92 career wins going into this week. Boyertown's Jon Neiman is one back with 91 after going 7-0 and winning his 160-pound bracket at the Jarvis Memorial Tournament last weekend. Teammate Eddie Kriczky (126) was also golden at the tournament. Also closing in on the 100-win milestone are Upper Perkiomen's Wolfgang McStravick (78) and Spring-Ford's Chase Brown (75).

It was an interesting weekend for Easton head coach Steve Powell, a Henderson graduate. Powell guided his Rovers to a third-place finish at the Reno Tournament of Champions and also got to watch his former three-time state champion and current defending NCAA champion Jordan Oliver put on a clinic. The Oklahoma State junior had five straight first-period pins (in a ridiculous total time of 5:44) to win the 133-pound title and OW honors in the college portion of the Reno T of C.

With most schools out for the holidays, college wrestling was light last week. But No. 5 Penn State (4-1) leveled Lock Haven, 50-0, on Sunday. The Eagles' Zach Heffner, a freshman out of Boyertown, was tech-falled by defending national champion Quentin Wright at 184. Davidson's Ben Hartshorn (Conestoga) dropped to 6-7 on the season after losing a decision at 141 pounds in the Wildcats 27-19 setback to Ohio Northern. And Drexel, with Nick Becattini (Conestoga) falling 8-3 at 184 pounds, nudged Northern Colorado, 26-11.

Hontz pins down a milestone

2012-01-17T17:09:00.003-05:00

This column originally appeared in the Dec. 12, 2011 edition of The Mercury.

Tom Hontz has a good memory — or at least you'd think it.

This past weekend, he was asked if there's any one win or any one match that stood out above all others in his 22 years as Upper Perkiomen's head coach.

"Obviously, the match with Nazareth in the semifinals (of the 2006 PIAA-Class AAA Team Duals) out in Hershey," Hontz said, recalling Chris Sheetz's last-second miracle move that helped the Indians stun their District 11 rival, 27-26. "And earlier that same season (Dec. 23, 2005), when Easton came down to our place. We had like seven pins (in the 49-26 rout), and Easton coach Steve Powell said he couldn't ever remember any of his teams being pinned that many times in a match."

Funny, Hontz forgot to mention Saturday afternoon's 44-25 whipping of Wyoming Valley West during the second round of the Quakertown Duals.

It was the 300th of his career.

So much for the short-term memory.

"Oh, it's kind of a neat milestone," he said.

It isn't every day, or year for that matter, when a wrestling coach sits in on 300 matches let alone has the opportunity to win 300. But Hontz did on Saturday, joining Boyertown's Bruce Hallman and Pottstown's Jim Tsakonas as the only area coaches to reach the "neat milestone." Hontz actually added two more wins Saturday to move into a tie with Tsakonas (302), and if the Indians are able to get by North Penn and Perkiomen Valley this Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, he'll not only move ahead of Tsakonas but Hallman (303) as well to become the area's winningest coach.

And he'll have done it quicker than both Hallman (24 seasons) and Tsakonas (26).

"I would think that means we've done some good things consistently through the years," Hontz said.

That Upper Perkiomen, or Hontz, to be more specific, has done.

But no one in their right wrestling mind would've thought all the wins, all the Pioneer Athletic Conference championships and all postseason titles the Indians have accumulated were possible when Hontz took over the program in 1990.

"We struggled at first," Hontz said, his memories of those early years as vivid as any other. "One of our first goals was to put out a full lineup. In the beginning here we were forfeiting four or five weight classes. Sometimes we were beat before we even started (a match).

"It took a while. But we had some good people running our midget programs, guys like Brian Berlanda and Ken Gaugler. Everyone, at all levels of our program, started getting together and working together."

Don't think Hontz didn't welcome the help, or the support. He was, after all, just out of Duke University, only 22 years old and getting his feet wet in his first job as a teacher and coach.

"I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into," he explained. "The only coaching experience I had was being around other coaches (during his wrestling career at Quakertown High School and Duke). I was kind of copying what they did.

"I was very inexperienced, and pretty foolish in regards to having any kind of experience working with kids. I didn't understand that at first. So it's pretty amazing how all that evolved."

Hontz initially drew on what he learned from his former coaches: Dave Evans at Quakertown and Bill Harvey at Duke. As years passed, he didn't hesitate to pick up a few pointers from two of Pennsylvania wrestling's best: Nazareth's Ray Nunamaker and Powell.

"They say the best teachers are those who steal from other teachers," Hontz said, breaking into a laugh. I've been around some of the best. But what we do isn't all that much different from anyone else. We stress fundamentals, emphasize hard work. We want everyone on the same page."

For longer than some care to remember, the Indians have been just that: on the same page season after season after season.

After a rather uneventful start, Hontz guided the Indians to a record nine straight Pioneer Athletic Conference championships (1998-2006), a string that would've extended to 10 in a row if not for a wrestler's residency violation that eventually erased six of eight league wins and 16 others that season. He already owns a league-high 133 wins going into Thursday's PAC-10 opener against Perkiomen Valley.

And beyond all the section, district and regional team titles, Hontz has guided Upper Perkiomen into the state spotlight. He owns five district duals titles, the 2006 team following up that memorable win over Nazareth with a 46-19 rout of Easton for the state championship.

Five of District 1's seven winningest wrestlers, including state-record holder Zack Kemmerer (199 career wins), have been part of Hontz's program.

"I've been fortunate," he said. "For a number of years there we went on a magical ride with some amazing kids. And we feel it's still that way. We have a lot of great kids."

Enough to keep Hontz's mind occupied and busy creating some new memories.

"We had some rough times there and we didn't always know how things would work out," he said. "But it's been fun. I'm pretty sure I'll be back next year, but after that we'll sit down and evaluate things like we always do."

Hontz teaches a social studies gifted humanities class for 9th and 10th graders and 11th grade history at Upper Perkiomen. He has also been involved with the football program for 16 years, six at the high school and the last 10 at the junior high.

Hontz is the 17th coach in District 1 to pass the 300-win plateau. Up next after Hallman and West Chester East's Mike Colley is C.B. East's John Tomlinson and Hatboro-Horsham's Ralph Wetzel, who are tied for 12th on the list with 307 wins apiece.

The only District 1 coach to reach 300 wins quicker than Hontz was Pennsbury's Joe Kiefer, who retired following last season after 25 years and 411 career wins.

'Mind-boggling' journey continues for Pottsgrove

2011-11-30T18:29:00.003-05:00

Originally published in the Nov. 28 edition of The Mercury.

After last year’s loss to Strath Haven in the District 1-Class AAA final, no one asked Rick Pennypacker if he thought he could get his Pottsgrove football team back to the very same game this year. Good thing, too, because they would’ve likely gotten one of those hem-and-haw responses. Something like, “No way.”

Back in August, a few days after the summer practices kicked off, Rick Pennypacker actually was asked if he thought he could get his Pottsgrove football team to the District 1-Class AAA final. His response was, “No way.”

So last Saturday night, moments after Pottsgrove defeated Phoenixville for the District 1-Class AAA title, Pennypacker – never one to be lost for words – actually stammered a bit.

“This is mind-boggling,” he said.

It may have been the most honest response the Falcons coach has uttered since taking over the program 23 years ago.

No one, with the possible exception of the Falcons themselves, could have (or even should have) thought about returning to the district final for a third straight year. No one, because as often as it was talked about or written about, there was no avoiding the fact four-year starters Terrell Chestnut and Maika Polamalu, who both went on to Division I-A schools, as well as veterans like T.J. Demetrio, Dan Foust, Kayvon Greene, Chris Nester and Tyler Wysochanski all graduated, as did reliable kicker Zach Robinson. Together, they occupied 13 starting positions on both sides of the ball.

The Falcons lost a little more than half of their football team, thousands and thousands of yards of offense (and nearly as many points), and a your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine number of big hits and tackles because of graduation.

But the gang that did return – among them Steve Ambs, Eric Bonenberger, Madison O’Connor, Dylan Pritchard and Scott Schollenberger up front on offense, and Robby Curtin, D.J. Ludy, Danny Michaels and Curran Wilson on defense – regrouped. Then they rallied around quarterback Tory Hudgins, who didn’t necessarily evoke too many oohs-and-aahs from the Falcon faithful a year ago while taking snaps for the injured Chestnut.

And after losing their season opener to Norristown and getting overrun by Spring-Ford four weeks later, no one outside the Falcons camp should’ve been thinking district anything.

But the Falcons reloaded and shot by everyone, seven straight opponents in all, to get to the district final for the third straight year. They made it eight straight – with 1,000-yard running back Mark Dukes on the sidelines with a broken ankle – by taking down Phoenixville last weekend.

“You always have to have that mentality you can win,” Hudgins said following Saturday night’s postgame celebration. “The loss to Norristown was a setback, but we got better every week.”

So much better they’ve already surpassed last season’s offensive numbers and are within 28 points of matching the school record for points in a season. Now they’re one game – or one win – away from playing in the eastern final. Now they’re two games – or two wins – away from playing in the state final.

And while everyone from here to Timbuktu will say Pottsgrove has no chance whatsoever this week against Archbishop Wood – the No. 1 ranked Class AAA team in Pennsylvania – odds are the Falcons won’t be listening. They’ll show up, line up, and give it up … that is give it their best shot, which they’ve done – and done well – all season.

Seemingly lost in all the Thanksgiving Day and district championship excitement was Spring-Ford closing out a perfect PAC-10 run and Phoenixville playing two – that’s two – very, very respectable games in a period of four days.

For the Rams, it was their program’s first title in 13 years and first outright championship in 16 years. And while the offense put up big numbers all season – thanks in part to quarterback Hank Coyne and the emergence of sophomore running back Jarred Jones – it was hard to overlook what they did on the other side of the ball – where an entirely rebuilt defense (just one returning starter) came up with enough big hits and big stops to set the table for their explosive offense.

Unfortunately, the Phantoms had to deal with both Spring-Ford and Pottsgrove in those four days. They had the Rams pacing the sidelines and their fans on the edge of their seats until a penalty in the waning moments denied them one last possession, one last chance for the upset. And despite being less than 100 percent to go again three days later, they never quit – not after falling behind following Pottsgrove’s very first play from scrimmage, or on the final play when Ryan Yenchick ran for 19 yards.

Kind of says a lot about the players and the coaching staffs at Spring-Ford, Phoenixville and Pottsgrove – three teams, one of which wasn’t really considered a PAC-10 contender let alone a PAC-10 champion, and two others that weren’t even thought of as district contenders let alone finalists.

MESSAGE FROM AFAR: The web has enabled nearly everyone from everywhere to read everything they want these days. And while I’ve received emails from friend and foe from as far away as Europe, Asia and Australia, the most interesting arrived Thursday morning … all the way from Afghanistan.

Jim Morrison – a 2003 graduate of St. Pius X – found time to write while serving his country there and made it clear how disappointed he was to read about the possible end of Thanksgiving Day football. Morrison was a member of the Lions’ team in 2001 that lost the Pioneer Athletic Conference title to Pottsgrove on Thanksgiving Eve before coming back two nights later to crush WB-Meyers in the PIAA-Class A quarterfinals up in Wilkes-Barre.

“I remember talk of moving the game or postponing the game (with Pottsgrove) because of the playoffs,” Morrison wrote. “I also remember the resistance to do that by our team because of the importance of the Thanksgiving game. It seems sad that (people) can get rid of such a tradition.”

LION-HEARTED: Speaking of keeping the Thanksgiving Day tradition alive…

St. Pius X graduate Gerry Rogers – who just last month was inducted into the Tri-County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame – and other former Lions (and coaches) chose sides and played some old-fashioned sandlot football in their second annual Turkey Bowl early Thursday morning at Manderach Park in Limerick Township.

The participants, along with family and friends, provided the breakfast and coffee prior to the 8 a.m. kickoff. In the end, the Parkinson brothers reportedly led their team to a 22-20 victory.

“We’re preserving the tradition,” said Rogers, who along with oldest son Josh, a redshirt freshman at Villanova, played in the game and accompanied Mrs. Rogers – that would be Cindy – to Pottstown later in the morning to watch their youngest son Tyler and his Owen J. Roberts teammates take on the Trojans. “Anyone interested in joining us next year is welcome.”

Remember that … it may be the only game in town (or towns in this area).

OOPS: Apologies are in order for overlooking Pottstown’s Olatunde Oladipo in Sunday’s column. A senior, Oladipo converted seven point-afters on Thanksgiving to become the third area kicker this season to tie the PAC-10 single-game record for placements. Pottsgrove’s Nick Bleakley and Spring-Ford’s Ryan O’Hara (twice) equaled the mark earlier this season.

The Sideline, Week 13

2011-11-30T18:18:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving's last supper? It doesn't have to be

2011-11-30T18:14:00.002-05:00

Originally published Nov. 25 in the print edition of The Mercury

If I was asked once I was asked close to 50 times … all within two or so hours on one of the warmest Thanksgiving mornings in recent memory.

The question (to paraphrase the many posed) was, “Why do we have to give up Thanksgiving Day football?”

The truth is, no one has to.

Yes, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association is expected to approve the proposed “shorter season” during the third and final reading next month (according to just about every source imaginable in this great state of Pennsylvania, bet your house those fellas will, too). But nothing in that proposal will prevent anyone from playing football on Thanksgiving. Summer practice will kick off in mid-August, like it always has. But the regular season will end a week earlier, on the final weekend of October.

And that’s the problem … the big, big problem for the Thanksgiving Day football diehards.

Finding an opponent or opponents to fill in or cut into what will be a three week or more layoff between the end of the regular season and Thanksgiving will be difficult. A couple of athletic directors, even a few coaches, said it may be impossible. They aren’t fibbing, either.

Most if not all programs in District 1 will likely to line up (or cram) their respective future schedules into the new 11-week window. They’ll go with one of two scenarios – 1-and-10 or 2-and-9. That’s one week of practice capped off with a scrimmage, then 10 games; or the customary two weeks of practices and scrimmages, followed by nine games.

For the larger leagues, like the 10-team Pioneer Athletic Conference alignment, that means it’ll make the most sense to go with the 1-and-10 – a week of practice and scrimmage, then one non-league game followed by nine league games. It makes the most sense, that is, for those who put the postseason playoffs high on the priority list, or second only to winning the PAC-10 championship. However, others can still schedule those one or two non-league games, play eight league games, and finish up on Thanksgiving morning. But again, the problem will be filling that gaping hole in the schedule – or finding an opponent to play – on that first weekend of November.

While it may sound easy enough to do, it won’t be. Most if not all programs, even those that haven’t even come close to qualifying for the playoffs in the twentysome years they’ve been in existence, are going to shut down, pack up the gear and call it a season before flipping the calendar over to November.

One very interesting twist to all of this, though, is that the PAC-10 is split right down the middle with five Class AAAA schools and five Class AAA schools. Since 1988, when St. Pius X became the league’s first team to play in the postseason, through an antiquated qualifying process thrown in the trash a long, long time ago, only four schools – Boyertown (twice), Owen J. Roberts (once), Perkiomen Valley (once) and Spring-Ford (once) – have qualified for the AAAA playoffs. Methacton, the other quad-A representative, made back-to-back appearances in the AAA bracket back in 1994-95. For any of those five to have a legitimate chance of advancing into the postseason, using the current playoff points format, they’re going to have to defeat a Class AAAA non-league opponent and run the table in the PAC-10. One loss may not block that path, but two likely (if not assuredly) will, because so many other teams pick up big points week in and week out competing in leagues full of AAAA opponents.

The PAC-10’s remaining five schools in the AAA bracket – Phoenixville, Pope John Paul II, Pottsgrove, Pottstown and Upper Perkiomen – won’t mind the new “shorter season.” They shouldn’t, either. It benefits each and every one of them.

Former members Great Valley and Lansdale Catholic, which won a few district and sub-regional titles as well as a state championship, were often busy in the postseason. Phoenixville made three previous appearances before this season and will be lining up Saturday in the district final against Pottsgrove, which is in its eighth playoff run (all since 2000). Pottstown and Upper Perkiomen have made one and six playoff appearances, respectively.

And while there have only been four instances in which PAC-10 teams have had to juggle the schedule to accommodate one or two teams’ postseason games – like this week with Phoenixville moving its traditional Thanksgiving Day game against Spring-Ford up to Wednesday night – those four instances have created more than enough scheduling commotion and concern for players’ health and well-being … enough for most of those involved to say “enough already with Thanksgiving Day football.”

As hard as that is for diehards like myself to digest, it does carry considerable weight.

But there are still some area school officials – and some may be a stretch – who have actually said (or hinted as much) that they’d like to see their Thanksgiving Day games continue. Others have made it clear they have absolutely no interest in maintaining the tradition that, locally, has spanned four generations.

No one wants high school football players sitting around for nearly a month between games. That’s unfair to them, as well as to just about everyone else affiliated with the programs. Then again, except for the other diehards – those who want the regular season to end the final weekend of October to allow the “few” here and around the state to compete in the postseason – no one can quite comprehend the thought of no football in November, let alone no football on Thanksgiving.

Stay tuned. Or, as one area athletic director said this week, “it’s going to be at least another few months before anything is set in stone” for most of the PAC-10 football programs.

Thanksgiving Leftovers: No one anywhere around these parts enjoyed Thursday’s games more than members of Pottstown’s undefeated 1961 team. The grown-up youngsters, along with now grown-up assistant coach Bill Kerr, were treated to refreshments before the game in the Pottstown Middle School and recognized prior to the game, then walked together to midfield to serve as the Pottstown’s honorary captains for the coin flip. Then they watched the Trojans nearly duplicate their own 58-0 romp from 50 years ago with a 49-6 win over Owen J. Roberts. … OJR’s head coach for that game back in 1961, the legendary Henry “Hank” Bernat, also took in the game (from the opposing stands, of course). … Former Pottstown head coach Bill Rogers, who just completed his 53rd year of coaching the game – guiding the Trojans’ middle school program again this past season – was also in attendance. … Pottstown athletic director Pat Connors earned some props for his organization of Thursday’s special events. Great job by the second-year A.D., as well as by former A.D. John Armato. … Also, a rousing round of applause for the Owen J. Roberts and Pottstown marching bands, still two of the best around (and dare we say another important part of the Thanksgiving Day tradition).

Looking Ahead: Check out Saturday’s edition of The Mercury for an in-depth preview of the District 1-Class AAA final between Phoenixville and Pottsgrove, which kicks off later that afternoon (4:00) at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School. … Also, check out Sunday’s edition for the district championship game story and more, and also for a look at the complete listing of the now-completed 2011 Pioneer Athletic Conference (only) team and individual leaders.

A memorable Thanksgiving week on tap

2011-11-30T18:12:00.001-05:00

This column was originally published in the Nov. 22 edition of The Mercury.

Unless Mother Nature changes her tune, or you happen to be the Frosty Freddy Football who doesn’t even get a chill until the temperatures dip under zero with accompanying gusts of wind, dress warm this week. Before it’s over, it’ll be the area’s busiest Thanksgiving week of high school football on record.

And unless coaches and administrators at area schools change their tune, it’ll be the very last Thanksgiving week of high school football as we’ve come to know it.

What’s so ironic is that if the tradition and pageantry of Thanksgiving football does indeed end — as most predict it will — this last one may well be one of the most eventful since it all began way back in the early 1900s.

It all kicks off Wednesday night, when Spring-Ford travels to Phoenixville for its rescheduled (or pushed up) Thanksgiving Day game; continues Thursday morning with Upper Perkiomen at Boyertown and the area’s longest-running series featuring Owen J. Roberts and Pottstown at Grigg Memorial Field; and finishes up Saturday with Phoenixville and Pottsgrove playing for the District 1-Class AAA championship at, at, at… who-knows-where.

Oops – word just in – the Phantoms and Falcons will play 1 p.m. at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School.

It took nearly three full days for everyone to get on the same page – and agree to what was on that page, as in time, date and site – for that district championship game. And it wasn’t that anyone needed another dose of disorder, but when Phoenixville and Pottsgrove both won their district semifinals last Friday night, the chaos began.

And before it ended, or when officials announced the exact time, date and site for the championship game at 11:15 a.m. Monday, one of the principles in the process was ready to “get a damn arbitrator.”

Calling the entire course of action frustrating would be an understatement.

But it’s not without precedent:

• Exactly 10 years ago, Pottsgrove – after losing the District 1-AAA final at Strath Haven the Friday before Thanksgiving – came back to defeat St. Pius X the night before Thanksgiving to deny the Lions a share of the PAC-10 championship and win the title outright. Two nights later, Pius regrouped, traveled up to Wilkes-Barre, and crushed nearby WB-Meyers in the PIAA-Class AA state quarterfinals.

• In 2007, Pottsgrove defeated Rustin and Franklin in its first two postseason games, thumped St. Pius X the night before Thanksgiving, then got thumped itself two nights later by Garnet Valley in the District 1/12-Class AAA Subregional final.

• Two years ago, Pottsgrove defeated Upper Moreland and Rustin in the first two rounds of the District 1-AAA playoffs, and St. Pius defeated Del Val Charter and Calvary Christian in the first two rounds of the District 1/11-Class A Subregional playoffs. The Falcons and Lions met Thursday morning – both agreeing to play their junior varsity teams – and Pottsgrove won easily to cap a perfect run through the PAC-10 in the final game between the two schools (Pius closed its doors the following June). Two days later, Pottsgove outlasted Interboro in overtime for the district title, while Pius fell to Tri-Valley in the first round of states.

In case you didn’t notice, in all three of those previous instances Pottsgrove had to come back two days after its Thanksgiving Eve or Thanksgiving Day games to resume its postseason schedule. And St. Pius X had to come back two days after its two Thanksgiving Eve and Thanksgiving Day games to resume its postseason schedule.

For the record, the PAC-10 has a rule that all league games must be played – so there was no way around not playing the Spring-Ford and Phoenixville game; the district agreed, several years ago, that all district finals in the Class AAAA and AAA brackets would be played at a neutral site with turf – and despite admirable attempts to get the Phoenixville-Pottsgrove showdown played somewhere within the PAC-10 neighborhood, those attempts failed because PAC-10 schools with turf had already begun winterizing their facilities and the costs to reverse that work would’ve been exorbitant.

Everyone involved, from the coaches and athletic directors at Phoenixville and Pottsgrove to the District 1 officials – namely executive chairman Rod Stone, executive secretary Bob Ruoff and football chairman Bob Boyer – was frustrated after two-plus days of trying to establish a time, date and site … and mentally wasted after desperately trying to keep everyone happy in the process.

For that, they more than earn a round of applause.

But after this week, the odds are you will not – repeat – will not be hearing any round of applause on any area football field on Thanksgiving Day.

The Hill School, right smack in the middle of the Mid-Atlantic Prep League title chase until dropping its final three games, got a pick-me-up of sorts last week when Adam Regensburg, Fred Santarelli and Jack Mellgard were among the All-MAPL first-team selections.

Regensburg, who broke Hill’s single-season receiving record and had eight interceptions, was a two-way pick at receiver and defensive back. The Towson-bound Santarelli was named as an offensive lineman and Mellgard as a linebacker.

“Regensburg was a dynamic player for us who plays on both sides of the ball,” Hill head coach Grey Simpson said. “It was no surprise he was voted to the first team on offense and defense, and he was in the conversation as a Player of the Year (candidate), too.

“Santarelli was a dominant offensive lineman, clearly one of the top lineman in the MAPL, and was a unanimous selection. And Mellgard was a unanimous selection at linebacker, the deepest position in the MAPL. (Mellgard’s) contributions to our team were praised by all the league coaches.”

The Rams also had four players receive honorable mention – Santarelli (defensive lineman), Nate Mueller (linebacker), Kwame Larbi (running back) and Grant Smith (quarterback).

Sad news hit the Owen J. Roberts football community this past weekend when it was learned Charles Nesley, the father of assistant coach Chuck Nesley, passed away.

The 62-year-old Nesley, a longtime member of the Bucktown Boosters and as big a supporter of the program as anyone, was a 1968 graduate of OJR. He played football for Henry Bernat, and won’t likely ever be named to any all-time team this or all-time team that. But one thing Nesley did do was play the game like few others. He played every single down as if it was his last one, played every single down as if it was the difference between winning and losing a championship. And if he had a broken finger, broken leg, broken ribs or concussion, as long as he could stand, he was out on the field… playing to win.

Not surprising, it’s how his son (Chuck) and daughter (Jen) competed, both in high school and college.

Yes, he will absolutely be missed. Charles leaves us with so many great memories, a blessing in itself. But what many of us will remember most about Charles Nesley was that as hard as he played the game, he was just as soft-hearted a man as a husband to Sue; as a father to Chuck and Jen; and as a genuine friend – with that quirky smile – to countless others.

The Sideline, Week 12

2011-11-30T18:10:00.000-05:00

Hostile Takeover

2011-11-30T18:08:00.000-05:00

This column originally appeared in the Nov. 18 edition of The Mercury.

LOWER POTTSGROVE — Most weekends, Rick Pennypacker will take a glimpse of scores from around Southeastern Pennsylvania. In all likelihood, he'll sneak a peek to see just how Strath Haven is doing, too.

No one would blame him if he did.

Before this season, Pennypacker led Pottsgrove to the District 1-Class AAA final in six of seven postseason appearances. In four of those six championship games, Pennypacker watched Strath Haven first disassemble and then defeat his Falcons. And forget the scores - 35-7 in 2000, 35-19 both in 2001 and 2003, and 42-28 a year ago - because they didn't even seem to be that close.

So back on October 1 - or the halfway mark of the regular season - when Pottsgrove and Strath Haven had identical (and very uncharacteristic) 3-2 records, Pennypacker wasn't exactly gazing into any

crystal ball and seeing another game with Strath Haven in the Falcons' future.

"If you would have told me in the beginning of the year that we would be playing Strath Haven in the district semifinals I would have laughed at you," Pennypacker said earlier this week. "Really, I would've laughed at you."

Well, no one is giggling right now.

Not with Strath Haven visiting Pottsgrove tonight in, you guessed it, the District 1-Class AAA semifinals.

The Panthers, who didn't even come close to winning yet another Central League title and were given little or no chance of adding to their record 11 district titles and two state championships after their dismal start, did a reverse … an impressive reverse, that is. They won four of their next five, qualified for the postseason, and avenged one of those two early losses in last Friday night's opener by defeating Marple-Newtown, 31-7.

Then again, so did the Falcons. They ran off five straight wins, all but one rather lopsided wins, too. Then they took care of Pope John Paul II last Friday night, 44-19.

"(Strath Haven) was a young football team, and they had to play Marple-Newtown and Garnet Valley early on," Pennypacker said. "But they've gotten better, a lot better, and that's what Strath Haven seems to do every year.

"But our kids have gotten better, too. And that's a credit to our kids and to our coaching staff. Everyone believed in what they were doing."

So much so that tonight's fifth meeting, is so intriguing … despite those past results.

"Our kids are not in awe of (Strath Haven)," Pennypacker said. "They believe they can beat (Strath Haven). They've prepared well all week, and they're excited to be playing that team. We feel it's a reward to be where we are right now."

The Falcons' reward is going up against a team very similar to the one Pennypacker and his staff have seen before.

Strath Haven (8-3) isn't at all fancy. Head coach Kevin Clancy's scheme is plain and simple - run, run and run some more, play defense, then run, run and run even more.

James Griffin, the Panthers' feature ballcarrier and only big contributor back from last year's rout of the Falcons down at Coatesville High School, has 1,055 yards and 13 touchdowns. Andrew Crawford (641 yards, 10 TDs), Keith DeCindis (519 yards, 9 TDs) and Tevon Howie (475 yards, 5 TDs) provide more than just a breather for Griffin in the run game, too. And quarterback Kevin Mohollen, believe it or not, has thrown even fewer times than Pottsgrove's Tory Hudgins. In last weeek's win over Marple-Newtown, Mohollen didn't even attempt one pass.

"I honestly don't know if (Strath Haven) is as good a team as they were last year," Pennypacker said. "But I do know they're good. It seems like every time we play them they're peaking. Right now they're as good as any team we've seen this year."

If there is a key to the Falcons' fortunes, it may lie up front with their offensive line -with center Zach Birch, guards Dylan Pritchard and Scott Schollenberger, tackles Eric Bonenberger and Madison O'Connor, and tight end Steve Ambs. The sizeable gang has actually helped Hudgins (1,033 yards, 20 TDs), Robbie Curtin (710 yards, 11 TDs) and Danny Michaels (316 yards, 3 TDs) - and Mark Dukes (1,043 yards and 9 TDs) before he went down with a broken ankle - run up more yardage than Strath Haven this season.

But no one has presented such an imposing challenge to the Falcons' front six as Strath Haven does with such defensive personnel as veteran Jake Morris (team-high 73 tackles), Josh Johnson, Kevin Sherry, Howie, Brian Vendetta (team-high three sacks), and P.J. Plummer. A year ago, the threesome of Morris, Plummer and Howie combined for 219 tackles to help anchor the Panthers to that District 1-AAA title.

"We have to play fundamentally sound football because Strath Haven does," Pennypacker said. "We have to match that. If we get out of our fundamentals, if we don't play fundamentally sound, it could get ugly."

That means not only on the offensive side of the ball, but on the defensive side as well. Containing Strath Haven's run game, creating mistakes and turnovers, will be paramount for the Falcons - who have gotten solid play throughout the season from D.J. Ludy, Curtin, Seth Figueroa, Curan Wilson, Nick Brennan, Marquis Barefield, Christian Simpkins and Michaels.

"All I can tell you is that Strath Haven's very good, as good as advertised," Pennypacker said. "And we don't get tired of (playing them). Our kids don't worry about (the earlier losses), either. That's past history to them. They know to be the best you have to beat the best.

"A lot of people will say you can't beat Strath Haven. But you have to get to the point where you have the opportunity to play Strath Haven, which means you have to win a lot of games just to get into the playoffs, to get a chance to play Strath Haven. To get another chance kind of says something for us. Believe me, our kids will be ready and they will play hard."

Courageous Wildcats endure, even in defeat

2011-11-16T17:12:00.005-05:00

This wasn’t supposed to be the season Owen J. Roberts mirrored its great teams of years past, specifically the 2003 state champion and 2005 state runner-up teams.

Not with just five seniors in the starting lineup and only seven on the entire roster. Not after an anything-but-promising start.

And definitely not after junior Kelsey Kramer – a teammate as well as genuine friend to everyone associated with the OJR soccer program – died Sept. 23 following an automobile accident in East Coventry Township.

The Wildcats could’ve packed it in and shut it all down the moment news of the 16-year-old Kramer’s passing circulated throughout the high school that morning. They could’ve called it a season right there and then.

They could’ve called it a season before they courageously stepped back onto the soccer field three days later, but instead went out and won … and won, and won and won some more – 11 straight games, to be specific, to reach the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship.

But after Boyertown deprived the Wildcats that title, and another loss denied them a coveted District 1 title – after the very few remaining expectations they were clinging to virtually vanished – no one would’ve blamed them had they called it a season.

Again, the bold and brave bunch responded … and played their way into Tuesday night’s PIAA-Class AAA state semifinal against Pennridge at Harriton High School.

Unfortunately, after nearly 85 spirited minutes – or 4:44 into overtime, when Pennridge’s Megan Shenk scored off a corner to give the Rams a 2-1 win – the Wildcats had to call it a season.

Had to…

There were, surprisingly, few tears.

But there were oh so many heavy hearts.

It wasn’t just a loss that ended an extraordinary season, but a loss that dug deep into Owen J. Roberts’ collective soul and tugged – tugged oh so very hard – at the heart of a team that had overcome such long, long odds and the kind adversity few high school teams, fortunately, ever experience.

“Every team, every club team, always has its naysayers,” OJR goalie Cassie Popp said as her teammates strolled ever so slowly to the team bus. “But to see where we came from, how we were ripped apart… I think those (critics) underestimated us, underestimated how adversity bonded us together.

“Just look what we’ve done. We got through the ups and downs in the PAC-10, the ups and downs in districts. We made a promise to one another to do our best.”

They made a promise to a departed but not forgotten teammate to not only get back on the soccer field, but to get out there and play hard, for 80 minutes or however long it took, each and every game.

“The day we found out about (Kramer’s death), it was obviously devastating to all of us,” Popp recalled. “I know our first practice we just tried light stuff, but our heads weren’t in it and our hearts weren’t in it.

“And then in our first game (following the accident) against Pottsgrove, it was like trying to run through water. But after we scored that first goal it was like we all realized we could score, we could win.”

After that 5-0 win over Pottsgrove, Popp said seeing that first goal was “like a dam breaking … a reaffirmation that we could do it.”

They did indeed do it, and throughout that 11-game winning streak – as well as every game that followed, including Tuesday night’s against Pennridge – the memory of Kelsey Kramer was their rallying cry.

Don’t think head coach Joe Margusity didn’t notice, either.

“Going out for that first game (after Kramer’s death) was hard for me and hard for the girls,” Margusity remembered. “But playing that game brought some sort of solidarity with it. It brought all of us together.

“I was more worried about the girls wanting to continue to enjoy life. We all needed each other for support, and I felt it was my job to get them back out on the field.”

The Wildcats didn’t just step back onto the field and go through the motions, though. They played as well if not better than most expected.

They were playing again Tuesday night – one of only four Class AAA girls’ soccer teams in all of Pennsylvania to be playing Tuesday night.

Yes, Popp, Holly Sullivan, Juliana Provini, Emily Morgan, Gabby McKee, Katie Dempsey, Rachael Carpenter, Taylor Murphy, Steph Tamburro, Meghan Antrim, Bridget Gallager, Jess Buffa and Maddy Cantello all played … and all played well.

In the end, this team didn’t quite match the achievements of those 2003 and 2005 teams. But some who will say no team – not even the 2003 and 2005 teams – could match this team’s will to win … or its courage.

“Before the game, ‘Carp’ was saying how we’re all here tonight – our coaches and our friends,” Popp said, quoting a portion of Carpenter’s pregame pep talk. “It was kind of strange, too, because it just felt as though Kelsey was right there with us, right there in the middle of our circle.

“You always want to win, especially for your seniors. We wanted so badly to win this for Kelsey, too. (Her memory) always seemed to give us that extra punch, that extra spark. This (loss) hurts right now, hurts a lot. The tears will come later.”

Turkey Day games getting chopped?

2011-11-16T17:09:00.002-05:00

Next week may be the final Thanksgiving Day football feast for this area.

For those who would welcome such news, don’t get too excited yet. For those who would be disheartened by such news, don’t get too upset yet.

Not quite yet.

Some coaches – not all coaches, mind you – have made it clear they’re in favor of starting their respective Pioneer Athletic Conference seasons a week earlier and finishing up their regular seasons on the first weekend of November. And they’re not alone, either. Starting early and finishing early, or squeezing the season into 10 weeks, seems to be what most coaches around the state favor as well.

The PIAA is expected to make that entire lot very happy by the end of the year. After two readings and subsequent lopsided votes supporting the condensed 10-week regular season, the PIAA will no doubt accept – following next month’s third and final reading – the proposal.

So, unless the good Lord allows Aloysius Lilius and Pope Gregory XIII to email Earth’s authorities a new version of the calendar they invented for us way back in the late 1500s (the one we still use to this day), get prepared for 10-game seasons in the future.

Ten … that’s it. Kick it off the first weekend of September, finish it up the first weekend of November – 10 weeks, 10 games.

So, the only way anyone is going to play more than 10 games is to qualify for the postseason, or earn a spot in district play through one of two formats – point standings and power ratings – currently used to determine who does and who does not qualify for the playoffs.

Mind you, teams will still be permitted to play beyond that date, even on Thanksgiving. But finding a non-league opponent to help cut into what would otherwise be a three-week layoff for teams not involved in the playoffs would be difficult. Asking players to go through the motions for three weeks of practice and then ignite their competitive fires after the long layoff would be unfair, too. And those are all challenges subject to finding two schools who actually want to play one another on Thanksgiving.

A couple of scheduling conflicts in the past – how St. Pius X and Pottsgrove played one game on a Wednesday night and another in what would be their final game on Thanksgiving with junior varsity players because of playoff games ahead of them on those respective weekends – have also weakened the support for Thanksgiving Day football.

There could be another conflict next week, too. If Phoenixville defeats Academy Park in Friday night’s District 1-Class AAA semifinal, the Phantoms would face a Thanksgiving Day game with Spring-Ford – which needs a win to clinch the PAC-10 title outright – and then have to come back either Friday or Saturday to play for the district title.

If that scenario unfolds, rest assured it will, in all likelihood, take whatever stuffing right out of Thanksgiving Day football.

So, for now at least, two of the area’s three remaining Thanksgiving games – Boyertown and Upper Perkiomen and Phoenixville and Spring-Ford – seem destined to be pushed up to earlier dates on their respective schedules beginning next season.

The jury is still out, as they say, on the third matchup – Owen J. Roberts and Pottstown – the area’s only genuine Thanksgiving Day rivalry. The Wildcats and Trojans have been lining up against one another on Thanksgiving morning for more than 50 years now. Their game still has the support of a few coaches, some administrators, and a whole lot of fans. They have, as many say, the utmost respect for its tradition.

Who knows for sure, but they may also have the only game in the surrounding neighborhoods on Thanksgiving beginning next year.

The Pottsgrove-Pope John Paul II game in last week’s District 1-Class AAA opening round was the third instance in which Pioneer Athletic Conference teams have gone up against one another in the postseason, each time in the AAA bracket.

Upper Perkiomen avenged a 41-14 regular-season loss to Lansdale Catholic by defeating the Crusaders, 29-26, in the first round of districts in 1997. Perkiomen Valley also avenged a 36-27 regular-season loss to LC by defeating the Crusaders, 48-14, in the first round of districts in 1998. Ironically, Upper Perkiomen and LC shared the PAC-10 title in 1997, and Perkiomen Valley and LC – along with Spring-Ford – shared the title in 1998.

There have been two other games in which PAC-10 schools have played one another in the postseason, only not when both were members of the league. In 1995, Methacton – which would join the Pioneer Athletic Conference 13 years later – defeated Great Valley, 20-14, for the District 1-AAA title. In 2008, Great Valley – in its first year out of the PAC-10 and back in the Ches-Mont League – dropped a double-overtime 30-29 thriller to Owen J. Roberts in a District 1-AAA opening round game.

If Phoenixville defeats Academy Park and Pottsgrove gets by Strath Haven this Friday night in the two District 1-AAA semifinals, it would set up a first time all-Pioneer Athletic Conference district final.

Spring-Ford surrendered 60 points to Coatesville in last Friday night’s District 1-Class AAAA debut, which matched the school record for most points allowed in a game. The only other time a Spring-Ford team allowed 60 or more points was in a 60-3 loss to PAC-10 champion Pottstown in 2002. The three points – Eric Gall’s field goal, which capped the Rams’ first drive of the evening – were the only points the Trojans permitted during the entire regular season. … PAC-10 schools are 0-5 – and been outscored 194-80 – in Class AAAA district playoff games.

The Sideline, Week 11

2011-11-16T17:05:00.001-05:00

Motivational speaker Hillier entertains at Spring-Ford

2011-11-16T17:01:00.003-05:00

There are a lot of people who firmly believe camps, clinics and combines are essential in the development of a young athlete. Camps to learn the fundamentals, clinics to refine them, and combines to see just how one measures up against others … mandatory means to stardom, perhaps even a college education and more.

Others, like Mickey McDaniel, the athletic director at Spring-Ford High School, firmly believe there are two considerably more important elements, or necessities, in the development of a young athlete – character and leadership – and firmly believes neither can be cultivated on any playing field, or at any camp, clinic or combine.

So McDaniel called on Craig Hillier, who speaks to more than 75,000 student-athletes a year – and to more than two million since 1990 – to convey that invaluable message to an estimated 125 more at Spring-Ford recently.

“To have the opportunity to have someone such as Craig Hillier speak to our student-athletes about character and leadership is a privilege we needed to take full advantage of,” McDaniel said. “It was an incredible opportunity for our student-athletes.”

A native of Lakeville, Minn., Hillier’s high-energy, two-hour program and contagious enthusiasm captivated everyone – from the student-athletes to McDaniel, coaches and administrators in the Spring-Ford auditorium. He was, in a word, fascinating.

“This has to be a win for the people on the other side,” Hillier said, nodding from the stage to the seats prior to his program. “The bottom line … this is about the kids.”

Hillier never once strayed from that bottom line, mixing trivia questions, music, games and laughs in with timely and both striking and inspiring remarks.

He has written two books, “Playing Beyond The Scoreboard” and “How To Step Up As A Team Leader And Still Keep Your Friends.” And as good a read both are, neither bring his message about character and leadership to life as his upbeat, absolute fun and educational program on stage.

“I like to mix in some fun and games, and throw in a serious point here and there, because minds opened through some humor get the message,” Hillier explained.

Hillier quieted his audience from the outset.

“You have to learn to stretch yourself,” he said. “Think about what you can do and what you’re willing to settle for. The difference between an average high school career and an awesome high school career is learning to stretch a little bit.”

And part of that stretching, he added, is knowing that decisions made are decisions that determine direction.

“Every time you decide to do something, ask yourself, ‘If I do this, where will it take me? If I do this, how will I feel about it tomorrow? If I do this, will I be proud to tell others about it?’” Hillier said.

To borrow a time-worn cliché, Hillier tells it like it is. He speaks his own language, a language understood by young and old alike. A father of two, he knows what it is like to be a parent. He has an insight into what his own teenagers’ lives are all about.

Knowing what those lives are about, and helping them through what can be awfully demanding years, is what Hillier dives into.

“My goal is to help kids, help them navigate through the challenging times,” he explained. “You know, you don’t have to be great to start something. But you must start something to be great. There are just so many opportunities out there. You have to get involved.

“You have to be fundamentally strong, too, or you will struggle. Sometimes the smallest adjustment will make the biggest difference. We all have to learn to think different at times, learn to see what other people may not see.”

And never once, he added, forget about the three “Rs” … and he wasn’t referring to that other cliché of reading, ’riting and ’rithmetic.

“Resiliency, respect and responsibility,” Hillier emphasized. “Resiliency … always remember that whenever there’s a setback there’s a comeback. Respect is such a huge piece in all this, too … like with the bullying today – remember you don’t have to be friends with everyone, but be friendly with the people you go to school with. And responsibility…

“You have to learn what you’re supposed to do and when you’re supposed to do it. You have to have that ability to respond. Mistakes can be great moments when you’re trying to do something right and you mess up. Mistakes can be reckless moments when you’re trying to do something stupid. Learn the difference.”

Understanding responsibility, accepting it, can be the difference between being a victor and victim, too. The victor learns and grows. The victim, on the other hand, will be shamed, and likely want to share the blame.

“Life is like a one-way street,” Hillier said. “You can always look back, but you can’t go back. So remember when you make a mistake, and remember how you’ll never want to feel like that again.”

Hillier admitted it is so easy for student-athletes – all young people, for that matter – to fall into traps. He acknowledged the challenge of wanting to fit in, and how that challenge may include at one time or another, trying alcohol, drugs and tobacco.

Not only are all three unhealthy, all three are illegal … and just one sip or one puff can prove to be so costly.

“Maybe those type of things look appealing because some other people, maybe even some friends, are doing them,” Hillier explained. “But don’t buy into the lie of the high. One night (of what others may think is fun) can destroy a life.

“Remember, there are way too many good things going for you. There is no need to experiment with drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Like I said, with every kick comes a kickback. Do not let shame ruin your game. Be responsible.”

Hillier’s underlying message? Take charge of your life, and take charge of it now. Be a role model. Be a leader, not a follower.

“There are so many opportunities to step up and lead,” he said. “So when that ball of opportunity comes your way, don’t drop it. That one time is your chance, it’s your opportunity. Don’t stop, don’t back off … it’s your time.”

From top to bottom, it’s been a memorable season for PAC-10

2011-11-08T18:03:00.003-05:00

It seems as though the high school season just kicked off. Yet all that remains this week (other than the playoffs, of course) is one Pioneer Athletic Conference matchup, a handful of non-league games, and the storied Hill-Lawrenceville showdown. Then there are the three Thanksgiving morning games … a treasured tradition that, in all likelihood, will get the death sentence in the coming months after the PIAA officially approves a shorter and much earlier-ending season.

But what is so ironic is how this Pioneer Athletic Conference season opened with so many questions and evolved into one with even more. It has been, if nothing else, one of the most unpredictable in recent memory.

Expectations exceeded reality for a couple of teams. Players, coaches and fans, even the media, were guilty in their preseason opinions of Boyertown and Upper Perkiomen – both of whom had more than a few holes to fill in their lineups and lugged large, large targets on their backs from the get-go. Few people, if any, thought Pottsgrove and Spring-Ford were ready to make the impressive runs they have – not when the Falcons lost two of the best players to ever step foot on a PAC-10 field and a slew of other veterans to graduation; not when the Rams lost all but one of their starters on the defensive side of the ball to graduation.

Still, it wasn’t so much the disappointing downfall of two teams and startling surge of two others as much as it was what so many others provided the PAC-10 this fall.

Phoenixville, which saw two straight (and two very promising) seasons devastated by injuries, stepped up front-and-center as a contender. The Phantoms were among those in the chase until last week’s loss to Pottsgrove, but could still have something to say about who or whom wins the PAC-10 title when they entertain Spring-Ford on Thanksgiving.

Methacton, which hasn’t had much to shout about since enlisting in the PAC-10 three years ago, took Phoenixville down to the wire before losing by four points; lost by just two points to Pottsgrove; and had Spring-Ford on the run before losing by a couple of touchdowns. But the Warriors turned it around since, winning three in a row that – regardless of Thursday’s outcome up at neighboring Perkiomen Valley – clinched their first winning season in the PAC-10 and first winning season overall in 11 years. That’s a big step for head coach Paul Lepre and his program, and a giant leap for the PAC-10 in its collective effort to become even more competitive.

Perkiomen Valley had so many new faces show up for Day One of summer camp that head coach Scott Reed and his staff thought of giving everyone a name tag. The Vikings opened with three straight wins before mounting injuries – painfully similar to what Phoenixville had endured the previous two seasons – left them hobbling. But the emergence of a sophomore quarterback and so many other unknowns around him kept the Vikings competitive, so much so they had league leader Spring-Ford on its collective heels throughout last Friday night’s game.

Pope John Paul II – the team that only a year ago survived just one game and gave up a whopping 40-plus points every weekend – stumbled out of the gate with three losses. The Golden Panthers reversed their ways in a hurry, though, winning four of their next six, taking Phoenixville to the final minute before falling in one of those two losses. Two months ago, if anyone would’ve uttered PJP and district playoffs in the same sentence they would’ve been called for unsportsmanlike chit-chat and ordered to stay home every weekend in September, October and November. But guess who’s playing over at Pottsgrove again this Friday night?

Most will claim Pottstown and Owen J. Roberts haven’t had a lot to shout about. But Pottstown sure opened some eyes early on with wins over Boyertown and Phoenixville (sandwiched around a disheartening come-from-ahead loss to Perkiomen Valley), and despite a few injuries that have played into their recent five-game tailspin, they too had Spring-Ford with its back to the wall just two weeks ago. And Owen J. Roberts, which graduated nearly its entire offense and defense – a gang of veterans who produced 30 wins, a PAC-10 title and three postseason appearances – nonetheless plugged away. The Wildcats had three games in their grasp, and none of those three included the one-point setback to Upper Perkiomen or the double-overtime loss to Methacton.

A darn good season after all … and it isn’t over yet.

* * *

Perkiomen School closed out its season last weekend, finishing up 4-4. While most would say .500 is no big deal, well, it actually was up in Pennsburg.

Head coach Tom Calvario, in just his second season, had a roster of 24 players. Repeat, 24 players. His team played a much, much stronger schedule this season, too. That, along with the lack of depth, became oh so evident down the stretch when the Panthers dropped their final three games.

But 4-4? Not bad at all. And it was the eighth time in 13 years – or since 1999, when the program was brought back after a six-year hiatus – Perkiomen has had a .500 or better mark.

* * *

Hill School’s game on Sunday with Blair Academy marked the 50th anniversary of the Rams’ 66-0 blast of the Bucs – which remains the second-highest number of points ever scored by a Hill team and the second-largest margin of victory in the history of the program. The Rams couldn’t match those numbers from back in 1961, of course, as they fell to Blair and slipped out of the Mid-Atlantic Prep League title chase.

They can erase that memory in a hurry, though, and put an exclamation point on its season with a victory this Saturday at Lawrenceville. It’ll be the 109th meeting between the two rivals – who make up one of the longest-running scholastic football series in all of America.

Pennypacker, Furlong keeping teams focused on big picture

2011-11-08T17:53:00.004-05:00

This column originally ran in the Nov. 4 edition of The Mercury

Pottsgrove and Phoenixville are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the District 1-Class AAA playoffs point standings. All the coaches, all the players, and all their parents – probably mom-mom and pop-pop, too – are fully aware of that.

So one would think there’d be a bit of that “No. 1 vs. No. 2” frenzy tonight when the two meet one another at Pottsgrove.

Not for Rick Pennypacker. Not for Bill Furlong.

Not when both head coaches are still looking for improvement, and are desperately seeking it with revised line-ups due to injuries – specifically the loss of a player who may have been as responsible as any other for getting their teams to the enviable position they’re in at this juncture.

Pennypacker and the Falcons will be without Mark Dukes, who broke his ankle in the first half of last week’s win over Perkiomen Valley. Furlong and the Phantoms will be without Tim Hunt, who injured his knee during last week’s win over Upper Perkiomen.

Taking one player out of the lineup may not seem all that devastating, mind you. But Dukes had run up 1,043 yards and scored nine times as the Falcons’ workhorse taillback and was an integral part of the defensive secondary. And Hunt may have been one of the Phantoms’ – if not the entire Pioneer Athletic Conference’s – best two-way tackles.

So looking for improvement, and looking for it in a game with so many regular-season and post-season implications as this one, suddenly becomes an even more complex challenge.

“I’m not as concerned about the district seeding as I am with seeing our team continually improve,” said Pennypacker, who knows a win will keep his Falcons at No. 1 and also just a game back of Spring-Ford (who Phoenixville plays on Thanksgiving) in the PAC-10 championship chase. “I know you can be the No. 1 seed for districts and get knocked out right away if your team is not peaking, not playing better, each week.

“Every game we’ve played the past month or so (since the loss to Spring-Ford five weeks ago) has been a big game for us. We knew if we lost just one of them we were almost assured there would be no shot at a share of the PAC-10 title. We knew if we lost just one of them we’d be looking at a lower seed for districts, or the chance of not even making the playoffs.”

For Pottsgrove, which has won a pair of PAC-10 championships and finished second twice since 2007 – not to mention qualified for the playoffs and won a District 1-AAA championship in that four-year period – being at the top of its game week in and week out is expected … regardless of who is or who isn’t in the lineup.

Furlong, of course, is looking for the same improvement from the Phantoms.

“We are trying to approach this game like every other game this year,” he explained. “We want to eliminate mistakes, execute assignments, and see the kids leave it all on the field. Sure, we want to see that improvement, but we want our guys to be proud of their efforts, win or lose.

“We need that great effort by our guys keeping the emotion out of (tonight’s game). They can’t get too high or too low during the game. They have to play with enthusiasm, with passion … but not emotion.”

The Falcons will have to do it without Dukes. The Phantoms will have to do it without Hunt.

For Pottsgrove, it may mean a few more passes from Tory Hudgins. The junior quarterback, who has run up 865 yards and 17 touchdowns himself, has only gone up top 44 times. But he’s completed 24 of them, one-third of which have ended up in the end zone.

“(The loss of Dukes) certainly makes things more difficult,” Pennypacker said earlier this week. “Now we have to find someone else to run the ball. Maybe we’ll have to allow Hudgins to air it out, or maybe even move him to tailback and play a sophomore at quarterback. I’m not sure what we’re going to do, but we have a huge problem.”

Pennypacker’s defense, which got stand-up performances from four sophomores in last week’s win over Perkiomen Valley, faces a few problems in slowing down or stopping Phoenixville’s offense, too.

The Phantoms, who haven’t turned the ball over once their last three games, have run the football 394 times. Quarterback Alec McQuiston and backs Vinny Nattle, Ryan Yenchick and Travis Andrews have accounted for 380 of those 394, which have averaged out to just over 277 yards a game thus far.

Trying to maintain the space to run, or provide the necessary time to throw – which McQuiston has done well when required (50 of 91 for 578 yards and five touchdowns) – and doing it successfully without Hunt will be key, too.

“Of course we will try and establish the run, just as we have all year,” Furlong said. “We know coach Pennypacker will have answers, though, so we must have answers for his answers.”

“We’ll need a tremendous effort from all 11 of our kids (on defense) in order to stay on the field with Phoenixville,” Pennypacker said. “They scare you because they have those four guys, four tough kids who can hurt you and give you nightmares. We know this is our toughest game so far and if we slack off one bit we’ll be run off the field.”

* * *

Pope John Paul II, arguably the big surprise this season, visits Upper Perkiomen tonight looking for a win to clinch the No. 7 seed in the District 1-AAA playoffs – which would mean a likely rematch with either Phoenixville or Pottsgrove in next week’s first round.

The Golden Panthers (4-4, 5-4), unlike both Phoenixville and Pottsgrove, have gotten most of their offense – 78 percent of it, to be exact – through the air. They’ll need yet another strong effort from the offensive line to give David Cotellese the time and space to pick apart an Upper Perkiomen defense that allows only 69 yards a game, or 163 less than what PJP is accustomed to every weekend.

“Nothing has changed here with our kids,” said PJP head coach Mike Santillo, whose team has reversed a 1-3 start by winning four of its last five games. “Our kids are the same this week as they were in the off-season, the same as they were the first day of practice back in August.

“They continue to take one game at a time and let the chips fall where they may. Our captains – Jacob Gribb, Matt Bildstein, David Cotellese and Ryan Ignatovig – have been leading the way since the day they were named (captains) last February.”

The Sideline Week 10

2011-11-08T17:50:00.001-05:00

Inexperience not slowing Pottsgrove

2011-11-08T17:45:00.002-05:00

This column originally ran in the Oct. 28 edition of The Mercury

Rick Pennypacker doesn’t buy into rebuilding, restructuring, remodeling, recreating, whatever you care to call it, even when graduation hits his Pottsgrove football program so hard you’d think there was nothing to do but endure a complete renovation.

Back in June, after bidding a painful farewell to eight seniors who occupied a combined 14 positions in the offensive and defensive starting lineups – eight seniors who led (or watched from nearby) the Falcons capture a couple of Pioneer Athletic Conference championships, qualify for the postseason for four straight years, and win the school’s first District 1-AAA title – Pennypacker still wasn’t in that patch-it-up and mend-for-awhile mode.

Not even after the Falcons opened the season with a 27-20 loss to Norristown.

“We always have high expectations here,” Pennypacker explained earlier this week. “We set our goals every year as we have in the past, regardless of our talent. I think every coach does that, so we’re not the exception in that regard.

“We lost more than just the Big Three (Terrell Chestnut, Kayvon Greene and Maika Polamalu) last year. We lost guys like T.J. Demetrio, Dan Foust, Chris Nester, Zach Robinson and Tyler Wysochanski, too. That was a good group. But we still felt we had a core of kids who would be able to compete.”

Well, they sure have been competing … again.

Going into tonight’s game at Perkiomen Valley, the Falcons (6-1, 6-2 overall) are just one game back in the loss column to Pioneer Athletic Conference leader Spring-Ford – which sacked them with their lone league setback four weeks ago – and just one win away from officially clinching a fifth straight postseason appearance and home game for the first round of the District 1-AAA playoffs.

There’s no question the Falcons have improved significantly since the season kicked off, and they’ve done so thanks to the blue-collar work ethic up and down both lines and the added touch of a skilled workforce behind them. Winning has been restored since the setback to Spring-Ford. And if they’re forced to settle for runner-up honors (for the third time in the last five seasons), it may be one of the best finished works Pennypacker and his staff have ever crafted.

“We played well enough to win against Norristown,” Pennypacker said. “We had some breakdowns due to inexperienced players on the field. The Spring-Ford game was all my fault because our defensive game plan asked some of our kids to do things they weren’t ready to do. Spring-Ford is a great team and well-coached, and they played with more emotion than we did. But (the loss) was my fault because I should’ve simplified the game plan more than I did.”

Nothing has been simple – for Pottsgrove’s opposition – since, though.

“We tweaked a few things, but it was more about practicing fundamentals, and practicing them hard. We had to come right back (after Spring-Ford) and play a very good Methacton team. We could have lost that one, too, but our kids hung tough. Since then, I’ve leaned a little more on our veterans, guys like Steve Ambs, D.J. Ludy, Robbie Curtin and Danny Michaels.

“Plus we feel in order to win consistently in our league you have to be able to run the ball and stop the run. (Eric) Bonenberger, Ambs, Scott Schollenberger and Madison O’Connor have played well up front for us in that regard. We’ve leaned hard on them, mainly because we lost five of our seven people up front on defense. But they’ve responded. Our young kids have matured, too.”

The youth movement has been led by, among others, quarterback Tory Hudgins, who saw time last season when Chestnut went down with an injury but was always surrounded by all those veterans. This year, Hudgins has run the Falcons’ option offense – and an occasional power-I offense – quite well. He’s taken 108 snaps himself, stretched them out to 771 yards, and scored 15 times. He complements Mark Dukes (993 yards rushing) well. And in the limited passing game, Hudgins has completed more than 50 percent of his passes, and exactly one-third of his 21 completions have gone for touchdowns.

“Our biggest surprise has been the emergence of some of our young kids,” Pennypacker said. “We’re playing four or five sophomore at times, and they’ve been a blessing depth-wise at some positions. And I’m not surprised but very pleased with both Hudgins and Dukes, who are both juniors.

“Hudgins is exactly who you want as your quarterback. He’s very smart, plays within himself, and rarely gets rattled. He never gets too high or too low, and plays as he practices every week. That’s all you can ask.”

Pennypacker will be asking for more of the same tonight when Pottsgrove meets the Vikings, a team that may be wobbling a bit with so many injuries but a team that has been anything but a pushover for the Falcons in seasons past.

“I don’t want to hear about how they’re banged up because (head coach Scott Reed) does a great job down there and he’ll have his team on an emotional high for us,” Pennypacker said. “They always give us fits … always.”

The last thing the Falcons need are those fits, especially when considering how hard they worked to fit together a lot of their own pieces to position themselves where they are now.

“When we looked at our schedule in the beginning of the year we were afraid we could be out of everything after the fifth week of the season,” Pennypacker explained. “But our seniors have been great. They’ve known all along what it takes to win, and even though most people counted us out of everything, our seniors didn’t.

“We struggled early, and we’re still not where we want to be or where we need to be to compete in the playoffs. But we’ve made progress. We’ve improved. Now we want to win out, get the (first-round home game) in the playoffs, and make that Thanksgiving Day game between Phoenixville and Spring-Ford mean something.”

* * *

The Falcons have won three in a row and 11 of the last 12 meetings against Perkiomen Valley, with only three of those wins in blowout fashion. … The Vikings got a strong effort last week from their offensive line, featuring center Sean Leary; rotating guards Sean Kilkenny, Robbie Thacker and Austin Gansz; tackles Jeff Morrow and Devin Chou; and tight end Jaime Biddle. … Head coach Scott Reed: “Last week’s win was truly a team win. We had a number of individuals step up on offense, defense and special teams. But Pottsgrove is a very tough opponent, a team that’s big, fast and well-coached.”

The Sideline Week 9

2011-11-08T17:44:00.000-05:00

The Sideline Week 8

2011-11-08T17:42:00.000-05:00

The Sideline, Week 7

2011-11-08T17:37:00.000-05:00

Playoff races heating up a little early

2011-11-08T17:32:00.001-05:00

This column originally ran in the Oct. 25 edition of The Mercury

The Pioneer Athletic Conference race is close. The Berks Football League Section One chase is as close if not closer.

And for now, there is little to separate the contenders from the pretenders in the playoff points standings and power ratings.

There isn’t a whole lot of football left to be played, either.

Just two weeks for most teams, or two games that will determine who wins a conference or league title – or puts them in a position to win it (don’t forget Thanksgiving morning’s card) … and just two weeks for five area teams to either seal the postseason deal, or close it out with the annual rally cry of “wait’ll next year.”

For four of the five area teams — Spring-Ford, Pottsgrove and Phoenixville from the PAC-10 and Daniel Boone from the BFL — there is little if any margin for error in their respective drives to a league championship. Some even need help from some others to reach that objective. And all four of those teams, along with Pope John Paul II, can ill-afford a loss this week or next if they’re thinking of retaining a high-and-mighty seed for the postseason (or hoping to get a pass into the postseason to begin with).

Daniel Boone, despite losing its first game of the season last Friday night to visiting Governor Mifflin, has already clinched a spot in the District 3-AAAA playoffs. The Blazers, at No. 1 in the district’s power ratings for two weeks, slipped one spot to No. 2, behind once-beaten Cumberland Valley, following the setback. They need one win to guarantee themselves a Top 8 seeding and first-round game on the home turf.

But they need two wins, neither of which will be easy considering they’re both on the road against Conrad Weiser and bitter rival Exeter – who own identical 7-1 records and share second place with Daniel Boone in the BFL’s Section One standings, all one game behind Governor Mifflin. The Blazers also need additional help – ironically from both Exeter and Conrad Weiser, who line up against Mifflin the next two Friday nights – if they’re to get their hands on no worse than a share of another Section One title.

Nothing like a playoff atmosphere before the playoffs even begin, eh?

The next two weeks will also determine if Spring-Ford can clinch no worse than a tie for its first PAC-10 championship since 1998 and its first playoff appearance ever.

Despite their shutout of Owen J. Roberts last Saturday, the Rams dropped from No. 7 to No. 8 in the District 1-AAAA points standings. There is a bit of a gap between them and No. 9 Henderson, but the Rams could win again this week (at Class AAA Pottstown) and lose more ground depending on how Henderson and others around them fare this weekend against AAAA opposition.

The arithmetic doesn’t get any easier for Phoenixville, Pottsgrove and Pope John Paul II in the Class AAA bracket. Seven of the Top 10 teams in the AAA bracket – including No. 1 Springfield-Delco and No. 2 Marple-Newtown – all lost last weekend. SF-Delco remained at No. 1, but Phoenixville and Pottsgrove are now No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, and Pope John Paul slipped one spot to No. 8.

So Friday night, Phoenixville needs to get by visiting Upper Perkiomen – one of the highest-scoring series in the PAC-10, by the way. And the same goes for Pottsgrove, which must get by host Perkiomen Valley. If both do, there will be a whole heck of a lot on the line when Phoenixville visits Pottsgrove the following week. Phoenixville needs a win and some help to stay in the PAC-10 race through Thanksgiving’s game with the Rams. The Phantoms also need a win to clinch a berth in the AAA playoffs. Pottsgrove, just one game back of Spring-Ford, needs a win (and some of that same help from either Pottstown or Perkiomen Valley) to have any hopes of winning or sharing another PAC-10 title. And, like Phoenixville, the Falcons need a win to clinch yet another berth in the AAA playoffs.

Forget the “ifs” for Pope John Paul, though. There are none. Plain and simple, the Golden Panthers must win both of their last two games – both at home against Boyertown and Upper Perkiomen – to extend their season. Anything less, pending a collapse by everyone above and below them in the points standings, will likely deny them a spot in the eight-team AAA bracket.

* * *

Methacton has plenty to play for over the next three weeks. The Warriors are all even at 4-4 with a chance to finish over .500 for the first time since going 8-3 back in 2000. The Warriors, under second-year head coach Paul Lepre, close with Owen J. Roberts, Pottstown and neighboring Perkiomen Valley. … Pottstown needs to win out for its first winning season since 2002. … Upper Perkiomen also needs to win out to avoid its first back-to-back losing seasons since 1999-2000. … Owen J. Roberts, devastated by graduation when the season kicked off and hurt even more as its inexperienced lineup got hit with injury after injury, needs a win to avoid its worst season since a 1-10 run back in 1995.

* * *

The Hill School resumes its Mid-Atlantic Prep League schedule Saturday afternoon against visiting Blair Academy. The Rams (2-0, 3-3 overall) finish with Hun and Lawrenceville, both at home as well.

Blair is 3-0 (5-1 overall) and playing very well; Hun was playing well until getting upset by Peddie last weekend; and Lawrenceville, well, it doesn’t really seem to matter how the Big Red are playing, at least not until they get together with the Rams in one of the nation’s longest-running and (most unpredictable) football rivalries.

Blazers were ready for stiffest test yet

2011-11-08T17:30:00.003-05:00

This column was originally published in the Oct. 21 edition of The Mercury.

One can only wonder if Dave Bodolus, or any of his Daniel Boone players for that matter, may have circled Week Eight on this season’s football calendar.

Maybe just as a reminder of last year’s carnage – or harrowing 42-0 setback to Governor Mifflin – the Blazers’ lone setback of the regular season and one that led to an eventual three-way tie for the Berks Football League Section One title.

Or maybe just to motivate the gang a bit…

“Not really,” Bodolus said earlier this week. “There’s no need to beat a dead horse.”
In other words, the unbeaten Blazers (4-0, 7-0 overall) aren’t looking back, only ahead to tonight’s section showdown with the visiting Mustangs (4-0, 6-1 overall) in a game that – before it kicks off, at least – is so eerily similar to last year’s affair.

“I think some of the kids remember last year a little bit,” Bodolus said. “But I think they learned from it, too. Things just kind of snowballed on us. It got ugly. But that happens every now and then.”
Neither Bodolus nor the Blazers intend on it happening again. Not tonight.

Except for Week Two’s non-league overtime win down at Spring-Ford, Daniel Boone hasn’t really been challenged this season, averaging over 400 yards a game while permitting just over 160 and outscoring its seven opponents by an average spread of 30 points. They have offensive weapons throughout its lineup, all centered around quarterback Tom Bodolus – who leads the area in scoring (17 touchdowns) and rushing (991 yards) while throwing for another 988 yards and 13 touchdowns. Darrell Scott – who ran for 1,517 yards a year ago – has added 607 thus far, but has become equally as productive as a receiver with area-highs of 36 catches for 570 yards and seven touchdowns.

There are other contributors, of course, all of whom are guided by a workhorse offensive line.
The unsung front men are center Rhett Glazer, guards Sean Covatta and Dom Erjavec, tackles Jesse Jones and Zach Robinson, and rotating tight ends Rich Kelemen and Pat Stone.

That group will need to take a stand, or make a statement, because Governor Mifflin’s defense isn’t exactly all that generous. The Mustangs allow just under 217 yards and 14 points a game.
“To be a good football team you have to have a good defense,” Bodolus said. “And I think that’s a reflection of both these teams. Both of us have done well so far this season.”

The Blazers sure have that good defense. They’re situated among the area leaders and are near the top or on top in the BFL against both the run (89 yards) and pass (77), and in scoring defense (10.9 points). No one is playing better on that side of the line than nose guard Zach Robinson, who has already bettered last year’s sack total of seven with an area-high eight to go along with his 45 tackles.
Robinson has gotten a lot of help from those around and behind him, too. The rotating threesome at end features Covatta, Kelemen and Covatta, with Ryan Bologa (39 tackles) and Jesse Orr (35 tackles) the inside linebackers and Ky Gauger and Jesse Kline are the outside linebackers. The outstanding secondary includes Tracey Wright and Scott (three interceptions, two sacks) at the corners, and Bodolus (team-high 47 tackles) and J.D. Okuniewski (two picks) as the safeties.
That defense has yet to surrender a single point in the first quarter, and no more than a touchdown in the second quarter of a game this season.

The Blazers have taken care of the ball, too. Offensively, Bodolus has thrown just one interception, and there have only been five fumbles lost. The defense, meanwhile, has come up with 17 turnovers, leaving the Blazers a very impressive plus-11 in takeaways.

Defense will be needed to slow the Mustangs. Quarterback David Clemens is quite proficient at running (528 yards) and throwing (573) the football. Feature running back Jake Snyder is just one yard ahead of him carrying the ball.

“They’re definitely a run-oriented team,” coach Bodolus said. “They don’t do anything different than we’ve already seen. (Clemens) can throw, too, if he has to.”

The Mustangs are coming off a strange 42-14 rout of winless Twin Valley. Strange in the sense they fumbled the ball six times (losing two) and got hit with 90 yards of penalties. But another strong defensive showing, anchored by Christian Jeznach and Dan Schlegel, was more than enough to offset those shortcomings.

Tonight, though, there’s little margin for error.

“No question this is our toughest game yet,” Bodolus said. “(Governor Mifflin) is the best team we’ll have faced yet this season.”

And it won’t get any easier over the next two weeks either, with trips to contenders Conrad Weiser (4-0, 7-0) and Exeter (3-1, 6-1).

“Our last three games are going to have that playoff atmosphere,” Bodolus said. “Every week from here on in is going to be very tough.”

* * *

Tonight’s game will have a bearing on the District 3-AAAA power ratings as well. Daniel Boone is No. 1 in that category, just ahead of Cumberland Valley (6-1) and No. 3 Governor Mifflin. Bodolus: “Everyone enjoys (the playoffs), but we can’t think about that yet. We’re just concerned with one game at a time.” … Among common opponents this season, Governor Mifflin has rolled up a 173-41 advantage, slightly better than Daniel Boone’s 159-49 advantage. … Conrad Weiser is at Exeter in tonight’s other big BFL game.

* * *

Upper Perkiomen wideout Ron Gillespie and Pope John Paul’s Jacob Gribb are only the sixth and seventh Mercury area players to go over the 1,000-yard receiving mark. With a minimum of three games remaining, PJP teammate Jared Siejk (713) could become the eighth. … Gillespie (1,357 yards) is now fifth all-time, while Gribb (1,063) is seventh. Both, as well as Siejk, would need strong finishes to join a short list of Mercury area receivers with 100 or more career catches. … Daniel Boone’s Tom Bodolus is currently eighth on The Mercury’s all-time total offense (rushing-passing-receiving) chart with 5,288 yards. The next three ahead of him are all Daniel Boone graduates – Chris Bokosky (5,297), Nate Romig (5,534) and former teammate Jon Monteiro (5,443).

PJPII learning how to win

2011-10-18T18:01:00.002-04:00

There has been a lot of talk, perhaps too much, of what team (or teams) would eventually step up and separate itself (or themselves) from everyone else in the Pioneer Athletic Conference this season. It may have taken five absolutely bizarre weeks – or, depending on what side of the football field you sit on, five weird and wonderful weekends – but it appears as though Spring-Ford and Pottsgrove have done just that.

Call the Rams and Falcons top-shelf for now. Both Perkiomen Valley and Phoenixville are right behind the two, but there still is very little that separates the remaining five … a handful of rivals topped off by Pope John Paul II.

That’s right, Pope John Paul II.

That’s not a misprint, typo, error or whatever you choose to call it, either.

A year removed from its very first season – a rather undistinguished one considering PJP finished at the bottom or close to the bottom in all but one category on the team leader boards, allowed a very generous 40 points per game, and won just once – the Golden Panthers are on a three-game winning streak.

It may have begun against a rebuilding and injury-riddled Owen J. Roberts. But the following week they surprised Pottstown. Then last Friday night, they surprised Perkiomen Valley. And surprise is rather appropriate in each of those latter instances, too, because the Golden Panthers were the team a lot of people were checking off as an automatic (as in win) when the season kicked off last month. But they sure slowed if not stalled altogether the championship chase both Pottstown and Perkiomen Valley had revved up before they met.

And in case you haven’t noticed, the Golden Panthers are all even in the Pioneer Athletic Conference (3-3), 4-3 overall and, get this, No. 7 in the District 1-AAA playoff points standings.

“I don’t know if we’re as surprised as much as we’re happy,” said PJP head coach Mike Santillo. “We’re happy with the way the team is fighting each week.

“We’re not content, though. To be .500 at this point (in the league) is OK, but we’re not satisfied. I’m not satisfied, and I know the kids aren’t satisfied. We still have some games left to play.”

Phoenixville, Boyertown and Upper Perkiomen are the remaining challenges. The Golden Panthers won’t be favored in any of them. Then again, they weren’t favored in the previous three, or likely in any game they suited up for the past year and a half. But being the underdog, as they say, is a role they’re accustomed to. Now they seem to welcome it.

And welcome it despite a slew of injuries to their already short list of players. Two-way starters Kyle Early (broken arm) and Martin McCluskey (broken ankle) may not return this season. Kirk Cherneskie (broken collarbone) is questionable the rest of the way. Chris Veisbergs is week to week with a nagging injury.

“I’d say we’re banged up,” Santillo said.

Quarterback David Cotellese, who didn’t play football as a sophomore but in just over a year and a half has developed into one of the most accomplished passers in the league, has provided some healing, though. The southpaw has distributed his area-high 101 completions to nine different receivers, with more than two-thirds of that number to Jacob Gribb, Jared Siejk and Jamel Stinson. Though playing half of one game with a banged-up elbow and getting sidelined for nearly a half of another after getting his bell rung, Cotellese has thrown for 1,412 yards and 19 touchdowns – both area-highs as well. He’s spinning his passing magic in the absence of a run game. He escapes blitz after blitz, sometimes throws on his way down, and often finds a way to get the ball downfield and into the hands of someone other than the No. 1 receiver.

“David didn’t play as a sophomore (at St. Pius X), and we had to talk him into playing last year,” Santillo said. “He went into last season not knowing our offense and threw for 1,700-some yards. He worked his tail off in the off-season, though, and knows (the offense) well now.

“And with no run game most of the season, and playing on wet fields and in wet conditions, nothing seems to phase David. That’s why we have the confidence to throw the ball. He knows where to look, and somehow always finds someone to throw to.”

Like last Friday night, when he caught Matt Bildstein – “our fifth receiver on that play,” Santilllo said – all alone in the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown at Perkiomen Valley.

But Cotellese isn’t the entire show.

The Golden Panthers have been getting big stops – very timely stops – from a defense that features ends Chris DiLeva, Gribb and Tim Tadros; tackles Ryan Ignatovig and John Bildstein; linebackers John Cherneskie, Nico Peloro and Justice Smith; and Matt Bildstein, Siejk and Tyler Weiss in the secondary.

“The big thing for us has been learning how to win,” Santillo said. “Some do, like over at Pottsgrove, where it seems they just keep winning year after year. You have to develop that mentality. Some kids never know what it’s like to win, never are able to develop that mentality, until they (win) consistently. That’s what we’d like to do here.”

A few milestones reached last weekend…

• Boyertown couldn’t have picked a better time (or worse time for Phoenixville) to post the 350th win in its history than last Saturday. Not only did the 33-17 victory end the Bears’ four-game slide, but dropped the Phantoms two full games back of Spring-Ford in the PAC-10 standings and kind of spoiled their Homecoming festivities.

• Daniel Boone’s Tom Bodolus became just the third quarterback in his school’s history to reach 3,000 career passing yards. Bodolus – the area’s leading scorer (17 TDs, 102 points) and rusher (991 yards) – has passed for 998 yards and 13 touchdowns (with just one interception) this season. He has thrown for 3,096 yards – needing 404 more to become only the 10th area quarterback to reach the 3,500-mark – and accounted for 5,288 yards of total offense in his outstanding career. The only Blazers to reach the 3,000-yard mark before Bodolus were former teammate Jon Monteiro and Chris Bokosky. … Current teammate Darrell Scott needs 681 yards to become his school’s third back to run for more than 3,000 career yards.

• Gribb, in only his second season of football, became Pope John Paul II’s first 1,000-yard receiver, going over that career mark last Friday night. Gribb has caught at least one pass in just 15 games – 62 receptions overall – to reach the coveted milestone. Siejk, with 36 career catches for 713 yards, could join Gribb with a strong finish. … Upper Perkiomen’s Ronnie Gillespie is now within seven catches of becoming just the sixth area player with 100 or more career receptions. Gillespie is third in career yardage, needing 128 more yards to break the area record held by Daniel Boone’s Zack Keeley. … Spring-Ford’s Andrew Scanlan is currently sixth in the area in career receiving yardage.

• Pottstown’s Malik Brinkley went over the 2,000-yard career rushing mark during last week’s game against Upper Perkiomen.

Hill School football squad was optimistic heading into Peddie game

2011-10-18T18:00:00.000-04:00

Frank deLaurentis and his Peddie School football team have done an about-face this season. After a woeful oh-fer, or injury riddled 0-8 season a year ago, the Falcons have come back to win two of three games this season.

Grey Simpson and his Hill School football team are hoping to do a similar about-face … starting today.

The rookie head coach and his Rams have dropped their first three games this season, but remain an optimistic bunch heading into this afternoon’s (3:30) Mid-Atlantic Prep League opener with visiting Peddie.

“We certainly did not plan to be 0-3 heading into our first league game, but I still believe we have a group who can compete for the MAPL title,” Simpson said earlier this week. “We have to take what we have learned over the first three weeks and put it all together against Peddie.

“(At the Hill) you only play for one thing, and that is a MAPL title. We’re currently 0-0 in the MAPL, so our major goal heading into the season is still within reach. In the grand scheme of things, I would much prefer playing good competition before our league schedule starts, so we can get better and ready for the league games. We have certainly done that this year.”

The Rams lost a pair of three-point encounters with Germantown Academy and Episcopal Academy, then got overrun by Chestnut Hill Academy last Saturday night at Pottstown High School. There have been breakdowns and disappointments in the early going for sure, but some bright spots as well.

And Simpson hasn’t lost sight of just who his team lined up against.

“We may be 0-3, but I think we have gotten better,” he explained. “We have certainly been tested in the early weeks. I would be less confident if we played three pushovers and didn’t really know what we had or what we were capable of as a team. I think we know these things.”

Sophomore quarterback Grant Smith has run for two touchdowns and, in a limited passing game, thrown for 234 yards and two scores. Adam Regensburg has accounted for 14 of Smith’s 21 completions. Kwame Larbi has run up 375 yards.

But Simpson certainly has to be concerned about an offense that produced 391 yards in the opener against Germantown Academy, but just 390 in the last two games combined. And with Larbi nursing an injury…

“We are banged up,” Simpson said. “Larbi has been the key to any offensive success we have enjoyed so far this season, so it will be a big blow if he cannot go or is ineffective (today).

“Gregor Davidheiser came back ahead of schedule from an injury last week in a limited role. Hopefully we can expand on what he can do for us going into our first league game. But the short week will limit us on how much we can teach him or how many reps he can get.”

Davidheiser is a two-way end and, along with Fred Santarelli (6-6, 298) and Seth Reinhart (6-1, 252) up front, will be among those needed to step up against Peddie.

The visiting Falcons haven’t exactly put up big offensive numbers. But their special teams – especially the kick return twosome of Gilberto Mendoza and Preston DeLaurentis and punter Chris Carney – have been phenomenal, long returns enabling the Falcons to work with a short field and Carney’s kicks forcing opponents to drive the length of the field.

Mendoza, who shares the ballcarrying duties with Jude Lindberg, ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns in the 28-27 thriller over Brooklyn Poly Prep – the first time Peddie had ever defeated their guests from N.Y.

“I think we’ll be ready to have a great day against Peddie,” Simpson said.

The nightcap of today’s scholastic doubleheader features Perkiomen Valley (3-0, 4-1) at Phoenixville (2-1, 4-1) in yet another game that could go a long way in determining how both teams will fare in the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship chase.

The Vikings, who share the league lead with Spring-Ford, have come from behind to win their last three games. They are 3-0 at home on natural grass and have split their two away games – both played on turf. The Phantoms, one of four teams with just one loss in the PAC-10, have yet to be beaten in two games on the turf at Washington Field.

Upset, or upsets, don’t really apply to the Pioneer Athletic Conference this season. Not yet at least.

So imagine, if you will, this possible scenario: If Phoenixville beats Perkiomen Valley tonight, Boyertown beats Spring-Ford on Friday night, and Pottstown beats Pope John Paul II on Saturday afternoon – there will either be a new leader in the PAC-10 or five-way tie for first place. If those games end as mentioned and Pottsgrove defeats Methacton on Friday night, the Falcons (4-1) would be all alone at the top with a half-game lead on Perkiomen Valley, Phoenixville, Pottstown and Spring-Ford. If Methacton wins, though, the Warriors would join that foursome in first place, all at 3-1.

Rams out to avoid weekly wildness

2011-10-07T15:06:00.000-04:00

In just three weeks, Pioneer Athletic Conference football has been called just about everything imaginable – competitive, entertaining, unpredictable, even downright crazy. That would kind of cover it. It sure could kind of cover what appears to be another puzzling, if not wacky, weekend in the PAC-10.

And no one may have as difficult a time safely escaping the ongoing PAC10 mystery this weekend than SpringFord. The Rams (3-0, 4-1 overall) are coming off arguably their biggest win in 13 years, or since a 35-7 blowout of Lansdale Catholic on the next-to-last weekend of the 1998 season – the last time they won (or shared) a PAC10 championship. Tonight they visit Boyertown, where they’ll line up against a team with a considerable advantage in size and experience, where they’ll go up against a team that just a month ago – or before all the madness kicked off – was the consensus favorite to win a second straight title.

However, in their three league games thus far, the Bears (0-3, 2-3) have squandered fourth-quarter leads in all of them and, of course, lost all three.
“But they’re still a very dangerous team,” Spring-Ford head coach Chad Brubaker said. “They’ve lost three (straight) games by a total of 14 points, and lost them in some peculiar ways.”

For the record, Boyertown has never opened a PAC-10 season with four straight losses. As a matter of fact, Boyertown has lost four straight league games just once (dropping the final four games of that disappointing 2007 season) since joining the league nine years ago. And for what it’s worth, Boyertown owns one of the area’s best wonloss marks when playing at home.

“We’re sure not overlooking them because we know (head) coach (Mark) Scisly will have them ready to play.”

The Rams, of course, should be ready as well.

They’re averaging just under 375 yards a game, thanks in part to as balanced an offense as any in the PAC-10. Sophomore Jarred Jones has emerged as one of the area’s more explosive running backs, which he put an exclamation mark on last week with 207 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Pottsgrove. That makes it considerably easier for quarterback Hank Coyne, who owns the area’s highest passing rating thanks to an eye-opening 61 percent completion percentage, 927 yards and 10 touchdowns. It also helps that Coyne has six very good receivers, with Andrew Scanlan, Darryl Branch, Ryan Conway and Tyler Yazujian the most active among the group.

Overlooked in the Rams’ offense is their front line, anchored by center Brian Czop, guards Paul Castro and Justin Meals, tackles Brian Tatum and Mike Gilmore, and tight end R.J. Sheldon.

“Our offensive line had a solid game adjusting to different fronts and communicated well last week,” Brubaker said. “But (Boyertown) is much bigger than us up front, so we’ll have to make good offensive decisions and take what (Boyertown) is giving up.”

Now there’s a kicker. The Bears are allowing just over 200 yards a game and, in case you didn’t know, have permitted seven less points than the Rams have in five games overall. They’re a very active and aggressive gang on defense, with Rutgers-bound Chris Muller (6-6, 305) plugging the middle at nose guard. And Jon Neiman (team-high 31 tackles), along with Troy Heuer (29) and Gray Garber (28), all have a nose for finding the ball.

If there is a neutralizer tonight it may be Spring-Ford’s defense and special teams. The Rams have kept opponents from throwing up big numbers behind sack-happy Kevin Nyce, Mason Romano and Travis Daywalt, and kept opponents in step behind Zameer McDowell, Ian Hare, Andy Lovre-Smith and others. Their special teams have gotten huge returns from Xavier Ingram, and an area-high 37 points from kicker Ryan O’Hara (28 point-afters, three field goals).

“But we must do a great job of interpreting the wing-t looks we’re going to see,” said Brubaker, well aware of the Bears’ capabilities up front and the one-two punch behind the line that comes from Neiman (508 yards) and fullback Max Marcus (491) – who have found the end zone seven times each.

*
New quarterback Chase Garber (117 yards rushing) gave the Bears an offensive lift last week. But in the last three weeks the Bears are averaging 150 less yards and 27 less points than what they averaged the first two weeks. … Branch is questionable, which would mean switching Scanlan to safety and bringing in Rocco Iannetta at a corner in Spring-Ford’s defensive alignment. Boyertown, still slowed a bit by a less than 100percent Jared Von Dohren (injured three weeks ago), may be forced to go tonight without corner Ronnie Mauger (injury).

Also tonight, Methacton (2-1, 3-2) is at Pottsgrove (3-1, 3-2), with both teams looking to remain in the PAC-10 race. The Warriors are going for their third straight league win, which they’ve done just once – during their inaugural season in the PAC-10 three years by defeating Upper Perkiomen, Pottstown and Spring-Ford in Weeks Three through Five, respectively. … Rounding out tonight’s card is Owen J. Roberts (0-3, 14) at Upper Perkiomen (0-3, 14), with both teams looking for that elusive first league win. Saturday afternoon, Pottstown (2-1, 3-2) heads down to Pope John Paul II (1-2, 2-3). The Golden Panthers are coming off a big win last week, but no one needs to remind the Trojans who PJP beat a year ago for the program’s very first win.

***
Daniel Boone, which needs two more wins to clinch its school-record ninth straight winning season – all under head coach Dave Bodolus – should get within one tonight against visiting Reading (1-4). Next week the Blazers are at Muhlenberg (1-4). Nothing comes easy against the Muhls, who despite being 1-5 a year ago took the then unbeaten Blazers down to the wire before falling, 28-21. Overall, Muhlenberg owns a 349-3 record against Daniel Boone. … After next week, the Blazers close with Governor Mifflin (4-1) at home and both Conrad Weiser (5-0) and Exeter (5-0) on the road.

The Sideline, Week 6

2011-10-07T14:56:00.001-04:00

Perk Valley no longer flying under the radar

2011-10-07T14:52:00.003-04:00

This column was originally published in the Oct. 4 edition of The Mercury.

Scott Reed likes being under the radar, actually enjoys not getting any attention. Getting overlooked, not getting detected as any sort of a real threat, is just fine.

But after five weeks of football, Reed and his young Perkiomen Valley troops are popping up as more than just a blip on the Pioneer Athletic Conference screen.

Three straight come-from-behind wins – including two over opponents very few outside the Graterford compound thought they could overrun – has ended the obscurity … has exposed the team’s might.

So much so, that neither Reed nor his staff can camouflage the Vikings any longer.

And no one is aware of that more than Reed.

After surviving a season-opening, triple-overtime brawl against Lansdale Catholic (a team that is still winless), and coming up with just a brief battle cry in a loss to Souderton, the Vikings have – in a word – rallied.

Despite running into one enemy with considerably more size and another with more considerably more speed, they have survived. They trailed Owen J. Roberts by six early and won, 31-12. They trailed Pottstown by 21 early and won, 2521. They trailed Boyertown by 14 in the second quarter and won, 22-21.

Now they’re 3-0 in the Pioneer Athletic Conference, sitting atop the standings alongside Spring-Ford going into Thursday night’s game at Phoenixville.

“In all my years of coaching football I’ve never seen a team more resilient than this one,” Reed said. “We’ve been down the last three weeks and have come back (to win). That’s a testament to the kids. They just don’t quit.”

And to think just a month and a half ago, Reed welcomed a group of relative strangers. Their ability, or capability, was unknown … a work in process from Day One. “I really didn’t know anything about most of them when we opened camp,” Reed explained. “I didn’t know what I had. I honestly didn’t know what I had and knew I wouldn’t know until we got these kids to play a varsity game.”

Reed got a little insight into what he had and where he was going following scrimmages against Daniel Boone and Exeter – two teams that happen to have spotless 5-0 records right now – and the non-league confrontations with Lansdale Catholic and Souderton. But he went into the PAC-10 portion of the schedule with an offense that featured just four seniors, and only one (center Sean Leary) started every game a year ago. His defense had eight seniors, but only two lettermen among that group.

“We certainly had a bunch of fresh faces at camp,” Reed said. “But we looked at it as a fresh start, as a renewal of faith in our program. The kids had it tough early. We tested them early. Still, we didn’t have a lot of good answers at first.

“We’ve just made a lot of personnel changes on the fly. We’ve done a lot of shuffling, mixing and matching to get the right combinations. Right now we feel we have people in the right positions, our best 11 on the field to play offense, defense and special teams.”

As Reed pointed out, all the numbers – those often fortune-telling statistics – don’t necessarily add up for the Vikings. They’ve actually given up 201 yards more than they’ve generated, and because of the two one-point wins have outscored their opponents by a mere eight points overall.

But they’ve played opportunistic football. They haven’t hurt themselves with penalties (just 19 in five games). They’ve come up with 11 turnovers (plusthree in takeaways).

The special teams have been nothing shy of superb. Two blocked punts were pivotal in the wins over Owen J. Roberts and Boyertown. In between, Kyle Chudoba hit three field goals in the slop against Pottstown, not to mention boomed a 60-yard punt to pin the Trojans inside their own 10-yard line in the waning moments of the game. The return teams have excelled as well, with Ryan Boyd’s return of a kickoff for a touchdown igniting the comeback against Pottstown.

“I can’t say enough about our special teams, and our defense has come up with some key stops, too,” Reed said.

Perkiomen Valley has had its share of headliners. Sophomore quarterback Rasaan “Rock” Stewart has been a big difference on offense, “maturing faster than expected” as Reed put it. Dante Golson-Goodman is among the area’s leading ballcarriers, and Boyd is among the area’s leading receivers. Both Goodman and Boyd are excellent corners, too, getting a lot of help up front from the likes of Nick Delaney, Dave Forrest and Ezra Ranco, to name a few.

“We just wish we could get off to a good start once,” said Reed, who’s obviously had enough of the comeback route. “You don’t want to count on coming back like we have every week. Maybe we’re just a bunch of rodents … put our backs up against the wall so we’ll scratch and fight. I don’t have all the answers.

“But I do know our league is so crazy this year. It’s a mystery. It seems each week is a puzzle to solve. We keep telling our kids, like we have all season, to keep that intensity. We tell them to be intense, be competitive.”

Spring-Ford’s 49 points last Friday night were good enough to end an 11-game losing streak to Pottsgrove. They were also the most points any Spring-Ford team has put up against Pottsgrove in league play (and the most since a 42-0 shutout in 1987). … The 49 also tied the mark for the most ever allowed by a Pottsgrove team in league play, equaling the total in last year’s loss to Owen J. Roberts and a 2007 setback to Lansdale Catholic. … Going into the game, the Falcons had allowed just six first-quarter points the entire season, but surrendered 14 to the Rams. They hadn’t allowed a single second-half point the previous two weeks, but the Rams rung up 21 overall in the third and fourth quarters. … Last Friday night at Owen J. Roberts, Pope John Paul II went into the locker room at halftime with a lead for the first time this season. The Golden Panthers held onto it, too, and picked up their second PAC-10 win since arriving in the league a year ago.

For the first time this season, Daniel Boone didn’t put any points up on the scoreboard in the first quarter and had a seasonlow seven at the halfway mark of Friday’s game up at Pottsville. The Blazers, whose defense has yet to allow a first-quarter point, loosened up in the second half and won rather easily, 28-12, to improve to 5-0.

Perkiomen School, which is off this week, is 3-1 thus far and, with four games remaining, has a chance to match the 7-1 mark of two years ago. That’s a big deal considering Perkiomen hasn’t had an eight-win season in 33 years – or back in 1978 when the then Indians went 8-1. The only season that ended better than that was 65 years ago – or when the then Indians went 7-0-1 in 1946. … The Hill School dropped its third straight game Saturday night, but was back on the practice field Monday in preparation for its Mid-Atlantic Prep League opener against visiting Peddie School on Thursday afternoon. Peddie is led by former Hill head coach Frank deLaurentis.

When September ends

2011-10-07T14:46:00.004-04:00

This column was originally published in the Sept. 30 edition of The Mercury.

In five of its seven Pioneer Athletic Conference championship seasons, Pottsgrove shot through September safe and sound — or unbeaten, to be more specific — against its league rivals. Getting out of the football gate in a hurry, or successfully, is nothing new for head coach Rick Pennypacker and the Falcons.
Pottsgrove has yet another opportunity to run its mark to 4-0 (4-1 overall) before flipping the calendar when it visits SpringFord tonight.

With new headliners like quarterback Tory Hudgins and running backs Robbie Curtin and Mark Dukes and a cast of unsung goliaths up front, the Falcons have provided many, many answers in arguably the most puzzling start of any Pioneer Athletic Conference season. And back-to-back wins over two of the teams expected to contend for this year’s title – Upper Perkiomen two weeks ago and Boyertown last week – have been their latest statements.

But, as Pennypacker preached more than once this week, getting to 3-0 wasn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination. And getting to 4-0, against SpringFord, well… “We may be playing the best team in the league,” Pennypacker said. “Everyone thought Spring-Ford would be good, and we think they’re as good as advertised. We know they’ll be highly motivated, too.”

The Rams, spotless in two PAC-10 games with an overall record identical to the Falcons, will indeed have – or should have at least – some added incentives scribbled in their playbook. They haven’t opened league play with three straight wins in 11 years; haven’t beaten a Pottsgrove team in 12 years; haven’t won a PAC-10 title in 16 years; and haven’t yet appeared in the postseason since playoffs began 19 years ago.

“Our kids are aware we haven’t beaten Pottsgrove in a long time,” said secondyear Spring-Ford head coach Chad Brubaker, whose first attempt to end the skid against Pottsgrove a year ago ended in a 20-14 setback. “It is imperative we don’t look ahead right now because, like we tell the kids every week, none of the other games matter as much if we don’t win this week.”

Pottsgrove has a notable advantage up front in size, a slight advantage behind those lines in speed, and the obvious advantage in big-game experience. But as Pennypacker said, Spring-Ford’s versatility – or balance – can neutralize any if not all advantages.

The Rams’ rise began a year ago with the throwing arm of quarterback Hank Coyne. The junior is still throwing, completing 42 of 69 attempts for 624 yards and seven touchdowns (with just one interception), and still has reliable receivers to throw to with Andrew Scanlan, Darryl Branch, Tyler Yazujian and Ryan Conway. But in recent weeks the run game, with sophomore Jarred Jones stepping into the spotlight, has made significant strides to keep opposing defenses in an honest stance.

And despite graduating 10 of 11 starters on the other side of the ball, throw in a very good no-name defense – led by Travis Daywalt, Ian Hare, Kevin Nyce and Mason Romano – a productive kicking game and solid special teams play and, well, you get an idea why Pennypacker has reason to fret.

“They have a great running game, a great passing game, and their defense is unreal,” Pennypacker said. “They are that good.”

So are the Falcons, who regrouped after a listless first half with a near-flawless second half to erase a 12-0 halftime deficit and defeat Boyertown a week ago. The execution up front enabled Hudgins to throw for a pair of touchdowns and run for one himself. And that execution on defense, from the front line, linebackers and everyone in the secondary – from Steve Ambs, Dan Michaels, Curtin, Johnny Fowler and D.J. Ludy, to name a handful – led to an impressive shutdown over the final 24 minutes of play.

It was the kind of defense Brubaker got a glimpse of in that 20-14 loss last season.

“Last year we struggled with (Pottsgrove’s) pressure in the red zone,” Brubaker explained. “We were inside the red zone two more times in the first half and came away with nothing due to a hurry, a sack and lack of execution. It’s nice to have a good kicker (Ryan O’Hara) this year, but we need to score touchdowns.

“Our other big concern will be our defensive assignments. Our young kids are learning, getting better on the fly. But we need to play focused, assignment-oriented defense, with each player doing his job first. Any loss of focus could result in a big play.”

The Falcons have made big plays on offense and defense kind of the norm for a long time. This year isn’t any different, either, as both Upper Perkiomen and Boyertown will attest.

“If anyone thinks we’ve played the best teams in the league already then that’s an insult to all the other teams,” Pennypacker said. “We have played three good teams already, but we feel every team, including Spring-Ford, has a chance to beat us. Heck, we very easily could end up 3-6 by the time this (league) season is over.

“This is a big game, but we take every game as our most important game of the year. We just try to make sure we never allow ourselves to get too high or too low. We’re expecting a battle.”

FAST STARTS
Pottsgrove hasn’t been shut out in a Pioneer Athletic Conference game since a 37-0 loss to Phoenixville on Week Six back in 2002 – a span of 79 consecutive games. The second-longest such streak belongs to Spring-Ford, which went 59 straight games without being blanked between 2002 and 2009. … Pottsgrove has also gotten out of the gates quickly this season, at least in the first quarter that is, outscoring its four opponents 38-6 in the initial 12 minutes of play. Spring-Ford has outscored its four opponents by a 55-7 spread in the second quarter thus far.

Pottsgrove is 3-0 in the league, a game up on Perkiomen Valley, Phoenixville and Spring-Ford – all with 2-0 records thus far. Perkiomen Valley, which entertains Boyertown tonight, hasn’t opened 3-0 since 1999 when they finished second behind champion St. Pius X. Phoenixville, which travels to Pottstown tonight, last started 3-0 in 2005, when head coach Bill Furlong directed the Phantoms to a 9-0 run and the PAC-10 title.

STILL BLAZING
Unbeaten Daniel Boone (1-0, 4-0) gets its first real test of the young Berks Football League Section One season tonight up in Pottsville. The Blazers, with three legitimate Player of the Year candidates in Tom Bodolus, Zach Robinson and Darrell Scott, have outscored their opposition 97-19 in the first half.

NOTEWORTHY
Pope John Paul’s Jacob Gribb had 11 receptions last week, which tied the third-best mark in PAC-10 history and was three shy of the league record of 14. … The late Carl Schrump and Bill Hart were inducted into Boyertown’s Football Hall of Fame following last Friday night’s game. Schrump (1965 graduate) and Hart (1969) were both key contributors in the Bears’ 1963 and 1968 ChesMont League championship seasons. … The Patriotic Order of Sons of America will donate two flags in a brief ceremony prior to the Boyertown-Perkiomen Valley game tonight. … Three area teams face short weeks after this weekend’s games. The Hill School hosts Peddie School next Thursday afternoon (3:30), while Perkiomen Valley visits Phoenixville next Thursday night (7 p.m.).

The Sideline, Week 5

2011-10-07T14:38:00.001-04:00

At the one-third mark

2011-10-07T14:35:00.003-04:00

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.

Tossing and turning

2011-10-07T14:27:00.002-04:00

This column was originally published in the Sept. 23 edition of The Mercury

The last thing Rick Pennypacker wanted to hear before he plopped into bed and hit the pillow last Friday night was that Boyertown had lost. Don’t get the veteran Pottsgrove coach wrong, he isn’t exactly a Bears fan.
Mercury File Photo Head coach Rick Pennypacker, right, and Pottsgrove, which is 2-0 in the PAC-10, visit Boyertown tonight. The Bears are coming off a 34-27 loss to Pottstown last Friday.

But going to sleep knowing those Bears were next up on his team’s schedule… Nightmares? “I just know that (Boyertown) is mad, and now we have to be the one who plays them next,” said Pennypacker, very much aware of how preseason Pioneer Athletic Conference favorite Boyertown got bumped off last week at Pottstown, 34-27.

“That team is going to be fired up now, and I know (head coach) Mark (Scisly) will have them sky-high to play us. They are hard to beat over there to begin with, and I know his teams don’t play like that two weeks in a row.”

For the record, Boyertown has lost back-to-back games just twice under Scisly’s watch. A few coaches around the league, as well as the majority of Boyertown’s faithful following, didn’t think the Bears would lose one PAC-10 game this season.

But Pottstown went toe-to-toe with the Bears up front, used a couple of big plays on offense to take an early lead and, with the help of an even bigger defensive stop late in the fourth quarter, pulled off the first of what could be many surprises this fall.

The ironic part of last week’s game is that it seemed as though the football cleats were on the other foot. The Bears, remember, opened their league schedule a year ago with a surprising 34-28 upset of the Falcons, ending the two-time defending champions’ 26-game PAC-10 winning streak and igniting the Bears own co-championship season. But that was last year. Now, the Bears have to turn it around. And turn it around in a hurry.

“There were some things (against Pottstown) that really disappointed me,” Scisly said earlier this week. “I’m hoping that was a wakeup call for us. I’m hoping the guys put the effort forward to fix what went wrong.”

Not everything went wrong, of course. Nick McMenamin had yet another solid game at center, helping pave the way for Jon Neiman and Max Marcus to run for 254 yards and three touchdowns. However, the passing game produced just 28 yards. And the defense surrendered a generous 289 yards on the ground and another 162 passing, overshadowing the continued aggressive play of Gray Garber and Troy Heuer. No matter how you add that up, though, 451 yards is way, way too much – and just one yard shy of doubling the number (226) the Bears gave up in their first two games combined.

But while the Bears were stumbling, the Falcons were running, running and running some more, turning what most anticipated as an early season showdown into a Pottsgrove hoedown.

Not much of anything went wrong for the Falcons in their 67-7 rout of Upper Perkiomen. The 67 points and 522 yards rushing were both the second-best marks in PAC-10 history. Mark Dukes ran for a career-high 242 yards and four scores and Robbie Curtin contributed 113 yards and two more scores. Even quarterback Tory Hudgins used his legs to get into the end zone twice, too.

“First of all, nothing went right for (Upper Perkiomen),” Pennypacker said. “They had a bad night. They were put in an early hole and couldn’t get out of it.

“We are not as good as that score indicates, and that’s why I feel we’re still not playing at the level we have to play at in order to compete with Boyertown, Pottstown and Spring-Ford. Yes, our offensive line did a good job last week, but the kids have to play better in order for us to have a chance. We have to step it up this week. We can’t afford any letdowns.”

There sure isn’t any time to relax. Next week, Pottsgrove is back on the road at SpringFord. The week after that, the Rams get on the bus and head up to Boyertown.

Don’t dare think it’s a threeteam chase now, either.

Pottstown – which beat Boyertown and gave a lot of other teams a dose of confidence in doing so – visits Perkiomen Valley; Spring-Ford has to deal with a very angry Upper Perkiomen in Red Hill; and Phoenixville, still playing under most people’s radar despite three straight wins, has to entertain Owen J. Roberts, which has dealt the Phantoms more than their share of disappointments in 52 previous meetings.

“Coming off a big win is no different than coming off a loss for us,” said Pottstown head coach Brett Myers, denying the Trojans had any hangover from the Boyertown win during this week’s preparations. “We put (wins and losses) behind us and focus on improving as a football team. That is something we’ve always taken pride in because over the course of my time at Pottstown, at the end of the year, we are a better team – no matter how many injuries we’ve had or games we’ve lost. Our kids keep improving.”

Myers hopes the improvement continues tonight against the Vikings, who have outlasted Lansdale Catholic in triple-overtime; showed a bit of grit in a loss against District 1-AAAA playoff contender Souderton; and came back to sack Owen J. Roberts last week.

“We have to improve on sustaining our blocks and finishing plays because we’re again going to be the smaller team on the field,” Myers said. “We have to hustle to the ball (on defense), too, because PV has some playmakers who can both run and throw. They’re very difficult to defend.”

Upper Perkiomen had to forget about the second-worst loss in its program’s history in a hurry, too. The Indians have one of the league’s best running backs in John Olson and a potentially dangerous passing game with quarterback Dylan Wesley. But they’ll have to deal with a SpringFord defense that, behind senior Kevin Nyce – not even a projected starter when camp opened this summer but the team leader with 5.5 sacks – gets into opposing backfields with regularity. The Indians will also have to regroup defensively, because SpringFord may be as balanced with the run-and-pass as anyone in the league.

Still-underrated Phoenixville must also keep the momentum it generated a week ago down at Methacton. The Phantoms took their final possession downfield for the go-ahead score, then held off the host Warriors’ last-minute attempt to pull out the win.

Saturday’s lone PAC-10 game has Methacton visiting Pope John Paul II. The Warriors, if overlooked in the least could surprise any of the aforementioned contenders, feature one of the best individual defensive talents in David Low. The senior standout and his teammates must deal with the area’s leading passer – PJP’s David Cotellese (781 yards, 7 TDs), who has two excellent receivers in Jared Siejk and Jacob Gribb and as many as three other reliable targets to throw to.

The Sideline, Week 4

2011-10-07T14:17:00.001-04:00

No time to dwell on successes, failures in the PAC-10

2011-10-07T14:11:00.001-04:00

No matter how well-executed the play or how good the game, or even how great the overall effort in the end, there is always that next snap, that next game. Football coaches, like every coach in every sport, preach that until they’re croaky … and a little cranky, too.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise if a few of the boys around the Pioneer Athletic Conference are a bit hoarse today.

The league’s first full round of games last weekend sure didn’t play out as a lot of the coaches expected. They sure didn’t play out the way most of their players and fans had scripted, either.

Boyertown, the team so many felt could run the table this season and the team that left few thinking otherwise after overwhelming its two preseason opponents, lost. It lost to Pottstown, which has definitely given the Bears more than their share of challenges through the years, but to a team that has had opportunities to win in the past before a critical mistake led to the surrender of a late lead and, of course, a loss. This time, though, Pottstown forced the critical mistake, capitalized on the opportunity to take a late lead and, of course, won.

It may have been just one game, but it may — the emphasis is on may — go a long way in determining what direction both Boyertown and Pottstown are headed. And there’s no time, absolutely none, to dwell on what developed last Friday night.

No time, because this week Boyertown has to entertain Pottsgrove – a team that has either won or contended for a PAC-10 title for more years than most of the anti-Falcon fan following cares to remember, and a team that seemed to have fixed whatever offensive or defensive predicaments they may have had in a 67-7 rout of Upper Perkiomen. No time, because this week Pottstown has to travel to Perkiomen Valley – a team that gained a little identity and a whole lot of confidence with last week’s win over Owen J. Roberts, and a team Pottstown hasn’t beaten the last eight times they’ve met, or since the Trojans’ last championship season back in 2002.
John Strickler/the Mercury Pottsgrove’s Mark Dukes (6), who leads the area in rushing, had four touchdowns in the Falcons’ thrashing of Upper Perkiomen on Friday.

As if that isn’t enough for one Friday night, there’s also Spring-Ford visiting Upper Perkiomen and Owen J. Roberts heading down to Phoenixville – a pair of matchups oh so similar in importance to the two already mentioned.

The Rams, by their own admission, looked good for a half and not-so-good for the other half against Pope John Paul II. One half won’t get it done against Upper Perkiomen, which has had its own share of playing “partials” before the collapse against Pottsgrove. A Spring-Ford win this week only sets up yet another key showdown next week with Pottsgrove. Upper Perkiomen, felt by many in the preseason to be a PAC-10 contender as well but slowed considerably of late by a few injuries, obviously cannot afford another early loss if it hopes to stay in the chase. So that, along with last week’s embarrassing loss, sure has fueled the competitive fires.

Owen J. Roberts, meanwhile, needs to find the game it unveiled in a win up in Reading two weeks ago. Phoenixville, 3-0 for the first time in six years, is no longer under the radar. The Phantoms showed their resiliency last Saturday at Methacton by coming back time and time again. They were at their best on their final possession, which covered 71 yards and ate up all but 20 seconds of the game’s last 3:06, and then on their final defensive stance by holding the Warriors out of the end zone on the game’s last play.

Oh, don’t forget Saturday’s matinee, either. Methacton is back at Pope John Paul. The Warriors could and likely will create a lot of trouble in the league, and they’re playing a PJP team that one coach has already admitted, “scares the living you-know-what out of you every time they snap the football.”

And to think all of this ahead is just Week Two of the PAC-10 season...

Officials’ whistles are being heard and heard often. Penalties are up, way up from previous seasons. Ironically, the teams getting the most flags thrown at them are among the area’s best – Upper Perkiomen (25 penalties), Spring-Ford (23), Boyertown (22), Daniel Boone (21) and Pottstown (20). … OJR may want to throw a curse on No. 396. That’s exactly how many yards the Wildcats gave up to both Conestoga and Perkiomen Valley – both losses. … The Pottsgrove-Upper Perkiomen annual affair is the PAC-10’s highest-scoring series with 1,271 points put up on the board between the two rivals – an average of 49 a game. … Pottstown’s 35 points last week was the most a Trojans team has scored in a league game since a 53-7 romp over St. Pius X during Week One of the 2008 season. … Pottsgrove’s 522 yards rushing tied the league’s second-best mark, while PJP’s 306 yards passing is the league eighth-best mark.

Three St. Pius X graduates are coaching in the Berks Football League and enter their respective conference schedules this week with a combined 63 preseason mark. Daniel Boone’s Dave Bodolus leads the threesome at 3-0, while Schuylkill Valley’s Jeff Chillot is 2-1, and Berks Catholic’s Rick Keeley is 1-2. … Yet another Pius grad, Perkiomen School head coach Tom Clavario, is 1-1 so far. … Four other former PAC-10 coaches are a combined 5-7. They are Marple-Newtown’s Ray Gionta (Boyertown and St. Pius X) at 3-0; Cardinal O’Hara’s Dan Algeo (Phoenixville) at 2-1; Hempfield’s Ron Zieber (Boyertown) at 0-3; and Lansdale Catholic’s tireless Jim Algeo at 0-3.

Daniel Boone is one of three BFL Section One teams that finished the non-league portion of their seasons at 3-0. Conrad Weiser and Exeter are the others, while Pottsville and Governor Mifflin are currently 2-1. Muhlenberg and Reading are both 1-2, and Twin Valley – which travels to Daniel Boone

this Friday evening – went 0-for-3.

Hill School came up short against Germantown Academy in last week’s opener that kicked off the program’s 125t season of football. New head coach Grey Simpson wasn’t completely disappointed in the effort.

“Although the first game did not end on the scoreboard as we all would have liked, I think we came away with some positive things we can build on for Week Two,” Simpson said. “Most important, for the coaching staff and the players, we have some film to look at this week to help in the teaching of what we are trying to accomplish on offense, defense and special teams. From (the coaching staff) standpoint, that has been the biggest issue in not playing a scrimmage and having very little quality live action.”

The Rams lost eight days of practices and a scrimmage due to students being sent home prior to Hurricane Irene’s arrival in the Pottstown area. They return to the field this week at Episcopal Academy, which is 1-2 – each loss by seven points.

Boyertown knows PAC-10 opener at Pottstown won’t be easy

2011-10-07T13:35:00.003-04:00

This column was originally published in the Sept. 16 edition of The Mercury.

POTTSTOWN – No question Boyertown is nearly everyone’s favorite to win the Pioneer Athletic Conference title this season. That’s all most of the league’s coaches, players and fans have been talking about (or reading about) since practice began back in mid-August.

Now it’s time for Boyertown to prove it’s worthy of all the honorable chat (or ink).

The Bears, coming off a pair of comedies up at Allen and over at Twin Valley, kick off their PAC-10 season this evening at Pottstown — a team that has dealt Boyertown its share of upset losses through the years, and a team that is much better than the two Boyertown beat up on by a combined score of 94-14.

“This is no easy game,” head coach Mark Scisly said. “Pottstown is one of the better teams in our league. I really believe that.”

Not surprising, what concerns Scisly the most about tonight’s affair is speed.

It’s a legitimate concern, too, because the Trojans have plenty of it with Corey Baker, who in two weeks has looked like a Player of the Year candidate; Malik Brinkley, an allleague selection a season ago; and Misohn Coppock, who can run right alongside his two better-known teammates. There are others, too, like Cory Hueber and Rashaad Brinkley, key contributors on both sides of the ball.

“It’s like they have three track stars out there,” Scisly said of Baker, Brinkley and Coppock.

But don’t think the Bears will be reduced to playing catch-up, either.

For starters, they’re more experienced up and down the lineup – with a lot of the manpower back from last year’s co-championship season run – and own a noticeable size advantage. And they also happen to have some speed of their own on offense as well as on defense.

Behind the sizable Nick McMenamin at center, Chris Muller at guard, and Tyler Boggs at tackle, the Bears have run and run well. Overall, they piled up a school-record 500plus yards in Week One, another 253 in Week Two. Jared Von Dohren, who will be a “game-time decision” because of an injury according to Scisly, along with Max Marcus and Jon Neiman, have pretty much run where they’ve wanted to. And sophomore quarterback Griffin Pasik made one giant leap from the first to second week in directing the offense and throwing the football.

All that has failed to overshadow a defense that limited Allen to minus28 yards rushing, shut out Twin Valley’s passing game, and has come up with a combined seven sacks and five turnovers. Troy Heuer and Gray Garber (two sacks) have been the most active with 15 and 14 tackles, respectively. But they’re getting a lot of help from the likes of D.J. Stemple, Peter Slabonik, Ronnie Mauger and Travis Mitchell.

“But we’re still going to have to tackle well, wrap up and not let (Baker, Brinkley and Coppock) get out in the open field,” Scisly said. “I just know we have to play better this week. We have to raise our level of play, and raise our level of play a couple of notches.”

They need to raise it all right … and not look ahead to next week’s showdown with Pottsgrove.

Baker has scored seven times already, and can get to the end zone on any given play – offensively or defensively. Brinkley averages eight yards a carry. And quarterback Sage Reinhart, who has impressed Scisly, doesn’t throw much but certainly makes the most of it (13 of 20, three touchdowns and no interceptions) when he does.

Where the Trojans’ big challenge may be is up front – where linemen Andrew Gazzilo, Jalonie Hutchinson, Dante Auman and Huber will have to deal with the Bears’ talented bulk.

“All I know is that this is by far the best Pottstown team I have seen in the four years I’ve been at Boyertown,” Scisly remarked. “Like I said, we’re going to have to play at higher level this week than we did the past two weeks.”

If you don’t think Hill School football has been around for a while, think again.

The then “Hillers” kicked off their first season in 1887. That year, Grover Cleveland was president; the U.S. signed a document to lease a naval base (Pearl Harbor) on a littleknown, faraway island called Hawaii; the very first Groundhog Day was celebrated in Punxsutawney; and the largest snowflakes every recorded – 15 inches wide by 8 inches thick – were reported during a storm in Ft. Keogh, Mont. And putting food on the table was a bit cheaper, too, considering a pound of cheese would set you back less than a dime; a pound of butter was about 20 cents; and a gallon – that’s right, a gallon – of molasses was just over a quarter.

And football? Well, the playing field was 110 yards long with no end zones; offenses – which didn’t include the forward pass yet – had three attempts to advance the ball five yards for first downs; and touchdowns were worth four points. Things sure have changed. Change continued at Hill this year, too, with a new head coach who had to endure a preseason unlike many (if any) over the past few weeks in gearing up for the school’s milestone season that begins Saturday afternoon at Germantown Academy.

The new fella, Grey Simpson, was just getting to know who was who when Hurricane Irene blew threw and forced school officials to send all students home for eight days. Simpson not only lost six days of practice, but a scrimmage as well.

“You want those scrimmage reps so you can see, as a coaching staff, what works and what doesn’t, and to evaluate personnel,” Simpson said earlier this week. “We’re going to have to evaluate things on the fly in our first game and make the proper adjustments in the game plan and with our personnel. We want to give our guys the best opportunity to be successful.”

According to Mercury records, Hill opens on Saturday with an overall record of 514-338-51.

Speaking of going back, back, back…

Running back John Garrett is the eighth member of his family to play football at Perkiomen School. His great-grandfather played back in the 1920s; his grandfather played in the 1950s; and his father lined up for the then Indians under former head coach and current athletic director Ken Baker in the early 1980s. Four of his uncles also played at Perkiomen. If that isn’t enough, his aunt – Mary (Garrett) Giovino – also graduated from Perkiomen School.

The Sideline, Week 3

2011-09-15T19:11:00.001-04:00

PAC-10 football opens in earnest

2011-09-13T17:24:00.004-04:00

Pottsgrove is right smack where it’s been for the last umpteen years – in first place after the first week of a Pioneer Athletic Conference football season.

That’s one week, one win … but that’s it.

And no one needs to remind the Falcons or head coach Rick Pennypacker.

No one, because they’re all aware the rest of the PAC-10 brethren get into it this weekend with the first of eight full rounds. Then, when the temperatures have dropped to half of what they are right now and most people are thinking turkey, stuffing and gravy, the league will wrap up its 26th season on Thanksgiving morning – in all likelihood for the last time, too, ending a tradition that in some neighborhoods dates way, way back into the early 1900s.

What happens between this weekend and Thanksgiving is anyone’s guess, too.

Because so many of the league’s standouts of the last three or four seasons graduated, there were absolutely no gimmes nor guarantees as had been the norm in those previous seasons. There were plenty of questions being asked long before summer camps opened back in mid-August. Today, with two scrimmages and two non-league rounds (as well as Pottsgrove’s league win over Pope John Paul II) in the books, there are still a lot of questions being asked.

So, yes, there is a bit more drama than usual. Actually, the PAC-10 actually hasn’t had this much drama, or such a great full opening-week card to tease the inquiring minds, than it has this time around.

Boyertown is at Pottstown; Perkiomen Valley visits Owen J. Roberts; Pope John Paul II heads down Township Line Road to Spring-Ford; and, to cap Friday night’s card, Upper Perkiomen is at Pottsgrove. On Saturday afternoon, Methacton entertains Phoenixville.

There’s no doubt everyone has a favorite in each of those games, just don’t be too quick to pick.

For starters, Boyertown – the favorite to win the PAC-10 title this season, at least among the coaches – have beaten up on a pair of teams (Allentown Allen and Twin Valley) that have won very, very few football games the past five years. They also have some injuries that need mending. Also, in case anyone has forgotten, the Bears were picked by nearly everyone to beat Pottstown in all but one of their nine meetings since joining the Pioneer Athletic Conference, but managed to survive in just four of them.

On top of all that, the Trojans have to be (or should be) a confident group after nearly upsetting Pius X – a District 11 playoff qualifier a year ago with one of the state’s most highly touted quarterbacks calling the plays again – and pummeling Del Val League defending champion Penn Wood. And, as if Boyertown head coach Mark Scisly needs a reminder, the Trojans can counter the Bears’ quickness and speed with some quickness and speed of their own.

“We’re not overlooking anyone,” Scisly said last week. “I think our first two games really helped our confidence, especially with so many sophomores and first-year starters getting playing time for us.

“We scrimmaged LaSalle and Daniel Boone, two of the top Class AAAA teams in the state. So (regardless of the easy wins over Allen and Twin Valley), our guys know what the PAC-10 season will be like because they can compare it to those two (scrimmages).”

Perkiomen Valley showed it can win (as it did in an overtime thriller against Lansdale Catholic) and go toe-to-toe with a biggie (as it did against Suburban One contender Souderton). The Vikings have also won two of their last five meetings with OJR, and two of the three they lost were by a combined three points. But Owen J. Roberts made as big a statement as anyone last week, bouncing back from a loss to Conestoga with a convincing win up in Reading.

Pope John Paul II owns what many admit is the league’s best passing game. David Cotellese has an area-high 559 yards and six touchdowns throwing the ball and, with a group of reliable receivers, he’ll test anyone’s secondary – including Spring-Ford’s. The Rams, among those right behind Boyertown in the favorite-to-win-it-all poll – especially after the admirable but still disheartening overtime setback to powerful Daniel Boone last Saturday – have their own potent passing phenom in Hank Coyne and 10 new personnel playing defense well above early expectations.

Upper Perkiomen – another team right behind Boyertown in the favorite-to-win-it-all poll – has a little added motivation knowing it has lost to Pottsgrove the last four years. The Indians also know they can move the ball and play good defense. If they cut down on the momentum-killing turnovers and play defense for four quarters – not just in the second half as they’ve done the first two times out – it could get interesting at Pottsgrove. Pennypacker thought that the moment he saw the schedule, but had to be feeling much better after seeing his offense get untracked with 419 yards and just one turnover last week.

Methacton will find out real quick what direction it’s heading after Saturday’s visit from Phoenixville. The Warriors did an about-face last week, showing they have a legitimate running threat (Davonte Fung) to take some of the heat off veteran quarterback Brandon Bossard as well as a defense that can create turnovers and short-field opportunities for its offense. They’ll need that consistent effort to quiet Phoenixville, yet another team right behind Boyertown in the favorite-to-win-it-all poll. The Phantoms, as healthy as they’ve been in three years, have experience and talent in virtually every spot of the lineup – a slew of individuals who will distinguish themselves even more as the season progresses.

Should be a great weekend … and an even greater season.

Daniel Boone quarterback Tom Bodolus, who ran 32 times last Saturday at Spring-Ford, upped his career passing yardage to 2,219 yards to lead all active quarterbacks. Coyne, a junior, is at 2,113 and Cotellese is at 2,074 … Upper Perkiomen’s Dylan Wesley could also end up with big numbers. The junior southpaw is very accurate on short tosses as well as going long, most of the time to Temple-bound speedster Ron Gillespie, who himself is closing in on The Mercury’s Top Five for career receptions and yards. … Pottstown’s Sage Reinhart, completing 65 percent of his attempts with three touchdowns and no interceptions through two games, could be a big factor in Friday’s game with Boyertown.

Perkiomen School opened its 108th season of football last Saturday with a shutout of Emily Fisher Charter. … The Hill School, the area’s very first football team, kicks off its 125th season of football this Saturday at Germantown Academy. The Rams will be under the direction of Grey Simpson, the area’s only new head coach this season.

The Sideline, Week 2

2011-09-13T17:22:00.000-04:00

The Sideline, Week 1

2011-09-13T17:20:00.001-04:00

Thriving, surviving and arriving in opening week of scholastic football

2011-09-13T17:18:00.001-04:00

Some thrived, some survived, and some arrived. Some broke a record or two. Of course there were some surprises, even some disappointments.

No reason to expect anything different during the opening week of the high school football season.

Three out of the five teams likely to decide exactly who wins the Pioneer Athletic Conference title this year – Boyertown, Phoenixville and Spring-Ford – all won. They actually won too easily. Those other two teams – Pottsgrove and Upper Perkiomen – if you haven’t guessed by now, lost. Daniel Boone, the consensus favorite to run the table up in the Berks Football League’s Division One bracket, also won. Won quite easily, too.

Perkiomen Valley showed a bit of mettle by coming back time after time to outlast former PAC-10 rival Lansdale Catholic in triple overtime. Pope John Paul II also showed a little fortitude, coming from behind on a couple of occasions to defeat Berks Catholic.

Pottstown actually played comeback football, too, only to see a late turnover flick off its momentum switch and turn on Pius X’s in a disheartening loss.

And Methacton and Owen J. Roberts … not exactly the start either had hoped for, but exactly the start they experienced a year ago before reversing the ways in Week Two.

It all added up to six wins and five losses for the 11 area teams that kicked off their respective schedules last weekend.

And for the thrived, survived and arrived?

Obviously, the three contenders thrived.

Boyertown put up a school-record 509 yards running the football, and Jared Von Dohren’s 32.6 yards per carry (seven overall for 228 yards) is another single-game school record for backs with a minimum of five carries. And those 52 points – 44 of which were unanswered after Allen tied it at 8-8 in the first quarter – were the fourth highest single-game mark in the history of the Bears’ program. … Phoenixville ran for over 400 yards in a game for the first time since Week Eight of the 1999 season – that’s right, 12 years ago – with Vince Nattle accounting for 237 of them himself. Teammate Travis Andrews went over the 1,000-yard mark carrying the football, too. And linebacker Dennis Kelly is off to a big start with a pair of sacks. … Spring-Ford set a single-game school record for points scored with its 63 against West Chester East – the first time a Rams’ team had gone over the 60-point mark. Overlooked in the romp was first-year kicker Ryan O’Hara, who set a school record and all-time Mercury area record with his 9-for-9 effort on extra points (five shared the previous mark of eight in a game). … Daniel Boone also set a single-game school record for points scored with its 61 against Donegal – the first time a Blazers’ team had gone over the 60-point mark. The Blazers scored nearly every way possible, too, finding the end zone by running and throwing it, and by returning a kickoff and a fumble.

The survivors?

Perkiomen Valley opened with a lineup full of no-names, or a long, long list of new players. The Vikings also lost the turnover and total offense statistical battle with Lansdale Catholic. But they showed a bit more resolve – especially on the final play, a blitz that pressured LC quarterback Pat Schoenberger into an incompletion on the attempted two-point conversion – to endure the three-overtime marathon and earn some recognition (not to mention respect) in a hurry. … Pope John Paul II opened with a roster half the size of Berks Catholic, using most of its players on both sides of the football while the Saints platooned at nearly every position on both sides of the football. But the Golden Panthers didn’t wear down or out, which the defense sure proved by pitching a second-half shutout (until a late BC score against the reserves). Quarterback David Cotellese found a couple of reliable receivers (Jared Siejk and Tim Tadros) who will make opposing secondaries keep an eye on someone other than Jacob Gribb, especially the way they caught the ball under pressure to erase that halftime deficit.

If Pottstown builds on last Friday night’s debut, it’ll help erase the memories of the disheartening setback and put the team on the right track heading into the league portion of its schedule. The Trojans played well defensively, holding Pius X under 100 yards on the ground and limiting standout quarterback A.J. Long to 214 yards and one touchdown – significantly lower than his 250-plus yards and two-plus touchdowns a game averages of a year ago.

And for the disappointed?

For the first time in a long, long time, Pottsgrove lost its season-opener. But don’t think being 0-1 is the start of something new – like losing consistently – for the Falcons … not with the line they have, not with the smattering of skill people behind them, either. However, they’ll have to get it in gear in a hurry, opening this week with Pope John Paul II and then running smack into Upper Perkiomen, Boyertown and Spring-Ford. By October, the Falcons will either be in the running again or an also-ran for the first time in seven years. … It’s the same for Upper Perkiomen, which took a half to get its offense and defense unwound. Surrendering 27 unanswered first-half points after taking a 6-0 lead was the difference, especially when the Indians defense pitched a shutout in the second half and gave up a total of just 228 yards overall. Upper Perkiomen, like Pottsgrove, will be in it or possibly out of it – the PAC-10 race, that is – when it’s time to flip the calendar over to October.

The remaining two?

Methacton got beat by a very good Plymouth-Whitemarsh, possibly as good a team the Warriors will see for at least a month. Trying to win against a good team after falling behind 14-0 in the first four minutes of a game and 21-0 after one quarter – when you’re attempting to reverse a troubling 10-year trend of losing – is like scaling Mt. Everest with sneakers and a windbreaker. If there’s such a thing as a “must game” for the Warriors it’s this Saturday against Upper Merion, a longtime rival that has lost 11 in a row and 15 of its last 16 dating back to 2009. … And for Owen J. Roberts, that delayed Saturday night setback may not have been as bad as it looked at first glance. Quarterback Blake Bradshaw threw the ball well, someone other than Brumfield and Funk finally ran the ball and ran well at times, and the defense came up with three picks. The big challenge ahead for the Wildcats, who lost nearly every starter from a year ago, is not only filling in the holes but cementing them with consistency.

Just think, all that and we still have nine full weeks and a couple of other abbreviated weekends to go…

Perkiomen Valley scored more points in its opener (27) than it did in any game a year ago. The win was also the 150th in the history of the Vikings’ program. … Spring-Ford junior quarterback Hank Coyne went over the career 2,000-yard passing mark last Friday night. … Coyne and three others put together some absolutely ridiculous passing ratings in their openers. Coyne (14 of 19 for 269 yards, 3 TDs) topped the group at 244.7. Cotellese (12-22-260, 3 TDs) was at 189.7; Daniel Boone’s Tom Bodolus (14-23-184, 3 TDs) was at 169.6; and Pottstown’s Sage Reinhart (9-15-135, 1 TD) was at 157.6. … Bodolus’ passing rating doesn’t reflect what else he did, like run 16 times for another 194 yards and three additional touchdowns. That gets a overall rating of “WOW.”

According to two publications, a new state record was set Friday when Dobbins Tech’s Sishon Solomon returned an interception 109 yards in a 12-0 win over Lincoln. One wonders if the old record happened to be the 107-yard return Royersford High School’s Ralph Eagle brought back in a 12-0 win over Marple-Newtown back in 1931.

Goodhart hits home run with Baseball for Life

2011-09-13T17:16:00.001-04:00

Bonnie Goodhart delivered her first pitch just over four years ago, a few hours after what seemed like her umpteenth round of chemotherapy.

She wanted to help others … others, like her and so many of her friends, who were fighting cancer.

No one ever said it with such passion, or with such conviction.

Lymphoma leukemia may have robbed her of the happy and healthy life she had been so blessed with, the happy and healthy life she had cherished and shared with her husband, Jim, two daughters and three sons. But four long years, four exhaustive years of going here and there for treatments and medical advice – from the Pottstown Memorial Medical Center’s Cancer Unit, to the Fox Chase Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania Hospital and Temple University Hospital down in Philadelphia, and all the way out to the Hershey Cancer Center up to the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York – didn’t rob Bonnie Goodhart’s zest for life.

Or her desire to help so many others who’ve been tortured by cancer, both mentally and physically.

And financially.

“I had the opportunity through the years to be in various cancer centers and see the other needs people have,” Goodhart said recently. “Those other needs are help with their bills.”

Goodhart, along with some hints and guidance from her husband, came up with Baseball For Life – a one-pitch, slow-pitch softball tournament. To say it was a hit from the inaugural event back in 2008 would be an understatement. Its popularity has grown, evidenced by the number of teams participating each year since.

The bulk of the revenue from the tournament comes from registration – $25 per player or $250 per team. Not bad for what has always proven to be a fun-filled day of softball at Ringing Rocks Park. There are also 50-50 raffles to generate a few more dollars. And there’s plenty of food for everyone under the pavilion, just up the path from the playing field.

But the bottom line, and one that brings a big genuine smile to Goodhart’s face, is the amount of money raised … and where it’s gone.

“We’ve always given a portion of the money we’ve raised to Relay for Life,” Goodhart said. “We’ve given about $3,000 to Relay, and we’ve spent (from Baseball For Life) somewhere around $7,000 helping others.”

Goodhart gets very emotional when talking about the number of cancer patients who are unable to pay certain bills because of limited insurance coverage. There are also those cancer patients, or their spouses, who are out of work, which more often than not translates into no insurance coverage whatsoever.

Baseball For Life, she explained, simply cannot hit that grand slam for everyone. In other words, there obviously aren’t enough funds to make mortgage and car payments.

“We all get the big, big bills from the hospitals, cancer centers and doctors,” Goodhart said. “There are some associations out there that can help people with those type of bills. We’re not here to pay the big, big bills.

“But we are here to help people who, because of a number of reasons, are struggling to pay their electric or oil bills, their rent. We’re also here to help those people who can’t afford to go out and buy the medications they need to fight cancer.”

Goodhart has been able to get the names of those in need from representatives of neighboring hospitals, specifically Pottstown Memorial Medical Center. She would also like to hear from someone from Phoenixville Hospital’s Cancer Center, if indeed anyone there needs help.

“There are people who go in for treatments every day who can’t afford to pay certain bills,” Goodhart said. “We’ve even seen people panicking because they don’t even have the money to pay for their medicine.

“There are people out there who don’t ask for a thing, who don’t ask for anything, but they need help. That’s why we’re here. And what makes us a little different is that we will try to do everything we can to get those people the help they need right away.”

Baseball For Life isn’t an open-checkbook, mind you. Goodhart will write a check directly to the electric company or to the pharmacy, for example. No cash is exchanged, and no checks are written out to individuals.

“Again, we want to hear from the nurses and doctors, or even from the relatives of people who need the help,” Goodhart added. “No one should be embarrassed to ask us for help. No one should ever be pushed aside, and we certainly will not push anyone aside.”

The one thing Bonnie Goodhart will push, though, is her tournament.

And for one very inspiring young lady, this one will be the most fun. After nearly eight full years of fighting lymphoma leukemia – and beating what seemed to unbeatable odds – she is in total remission … cancer-free.

“We would love to have more teams sign up, and we’d love to see more people come out to watch the games and support Baseball For Life,” she said.

This year’s tournament gets under way 8 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 28 at the Ringing Rocks Park facility. Individuals as well as teams, which are guaranteed a minimum of three games, can still register to participate in the event by calling Jim Goodhart at 610-327-4844. The deadline to register is Monday, Aug. 22. … Pottsgrove High School graduate and longtime Pottstown-area resident Lew Hoffman’s ballclub, The Spikes, has committed once again and will be looking to defend their title. … Anyone wishing to make donations may do so writing Baseball For Life, 1407 Glasgow St., Pottstown, Pa. 19464.

Bears find solace off season-ending loss

2011-08-09T14:53:00.007-04:00

There was no joy in Boyertown on Monday.

Even an exhilarating, ninth-inning rally – a six-run rush that revived both the Bears and their usually voluble hometown crowd after nearly two hours of absolute gloom and doom – couldn’t mask the frustration or conceal the agony of a season-ending loss.

Digging out of a 9-3 hole is one thing, doing it all in one inning – the ninth and last inning, no less – is an excavation miracle.

Very few teams over the last thirty-some years have pulled off anywhere near as many of them as Boyertown has. And no Boyertown team ever came from so far back so late like the Bears did in Monday afternoon’s Mid-Atlantic Regional game against Brooklawn N.J.

Unfortunately, the game – and the season – would cave in on the Bears in the bottom of the ninth.

And even though this was a team that didn’t win a state title a week ago, or a team that didn’t win a national regional tournament and advance to the World Series, it may well be remembered as a team that, against all odds, played with as much energy, resolve and grit as any of the more-celebrated Boyertown teams before it.

“We didn’t roll over and we didn’t quit … we were like that all year,” said Boyertown left fielder Cameron Ferreri.

The Bears sure could have surrendered after Brooklawn scored five times in the fourth inning to create the 9-3 deficit. And considering there was little if any life in their bats – only five baserunners and 10 strikeouts from the fifth through the eighth – few would’ve blamed them if they opted not to even step to the plate in the ninth inning.

But they did, and after RBI singles by Josh Schnell and Cameron Ferreri bookended around two-run basehits by Chris Werner and Andrew Gehringer, they were back to even.

At least until the bottom of that ninth, when a one-out walk, stolen base, infield grounder and wild pitch ended it.

And when the postgame ceremony that was awfully difficult for the Bears to sit through finally ended, no one found any consolation in the comeback that came oh so to forcing a Game 15 … and, who knows, a possible trip south to the World Series in North Carolina.

“Losing 9-3 or 10-9, either way hurts,” Ferreri said. “But I prefer the 10-9 because if shows how hard we fought. No one gave up.”

Boyertown manager Rick Moatz, who in his 24 seasons with the Bears has seen his share of comebacks among those 1,101 career wins, seemed to digest the loss considerably better than most of the Bears.

“(The comeback) epitomizes what this team is all about,” he explained. “Win or lose, they never quit, and they never quit the entire season. I certainly didn’t expect them to go down easy in the ninth inning. But, honestly, I didn’t expect them to score six runs, either.

“These guys had every reason to roll over and quit. (Brooklawn) hit a lot of chinkers, a lot of ground balls just through the holes. Things just weren’t going our way. But they just never quit.”

Not quitting was indeed the Bears’ modus operandi all summer. They could have given up against West Lawn during the Berks County League playoffs; could have given up against Pennridge in the Pennsylvania Region Two Tournament; could have given up after their first loss to Bristol in the state tournament knowing a spot was already reserved for them as hosts of the Mid-Atlantic Regional; and, of course, they could have given up after the first loss to Brooklawn last Friday night.

Instead, they played through …earned their way to the national regionals, finished with 45 wins, and was just one of 16 teams in the country still playing American Legion baseball on Monday.

Not bad at all.

“We’re definitely proud of them for what they accomplished,” Moatz said. “There were times this season they could have given up, but they didn’t. Their goal was to get to the World Series.”

They came so close, too.

“What makes this (loss) a little easier to accept is that this team played better and better every week,” Moatz said. “I thought they played as well this week as they had all season, and played as well as they could’ve played.”

Boyertown, with nine regional championships, has now finished second in the Mid-Atlantic Regional six times. … The last meeting between the Bears and Brooklawn in a regional final at Bear Stadium was 11 years ago, and the New Jersey rivals put that one out of reach early on in a 14-0 romp. … Brooklawn, which won its 12th Mid-Atlantic title and 13th national regional overall for ageless manager Joe Barth – in his 60th season guiding the program – opens World Series play Friday afternoon against Northwest Regional champion Waipahu, Hawaii.

A rare fish story

2011-08-09T14:52:00.002-04:00

Josh Carmean will tell you he's caught just about everything imaginable from the area's lakes, ponds and rivers.

But when the avid 22-year-old angler had no idea what he reeled in from the Schuylkill River late Monday night, well, it wasn't as fishy a story as most would think.

Soon after dropping his line in behind the Quoit Club just over Hanover Street in North Coventry Township, Carmean got a noticeable hit. And with chicken liver on the hook, he had every reason to think he caught what he normally does — a catfish.

And in this case, he thought he had a sizable catfish on the other end of the line.

What he had instead, though, was a pacu — one of several species of omnivorous South American freshwater fish that are related to the piranha.

"I'm always catching catfish," Carmean explained. "And the way this one was pulling (on the line) I thought I had at least a two-pound catfish.

"But when I got it in and first looked at it, all I could say was, 'What the heck is it? What did I just catch?' I've caught walleye and pike before, but at first glance I didn't know what I had. I never saw anything that had teeth like this thing had."

Forgive Carmean if he didn't have a library of Fish Illustrated.

"I kept looking at it, saw the bottom fin, those teeth and that mouth," Carmean said. "It sure looked like a piranha."

Although he once had a small piranha in the family fish tank as a youngster, Carmean still wasn't 100 percent sure. So Tuesday morning he called the Pennsylvania Game Commission. An officer came out to his Pottstown residence later in the day.

"He told me it was a pacu," Carmean said.

Pacu and piranha have similar teeth, but their jaw alignments are different. The piranha also have pointed, razor-sharp teeth with a pronounced underbite, while pacu have squarer and more straighter teeth with a less severe underbite.

Also, sources reveal, the pacu are much larger than piranha, some reaching up to 60 pounds or more in the wild.

Pacus are also known to "eat anything," according to Deep Sea World zoological manager Matthew Kane. Though not the aggressive carnivores like piranha, the pacu's crushing jaw system can be hazardous. They are often sold to home aquarium owners as "vegetarian piranhas."

The pacu may have gotten a bad name as a result of owners illegally releasing them into wild waterways. Once in those waterways, like the Schuylkill River, they can dominate other species vying for available food and other resources, even displace some by introducing exotic parasites or diseases.

Not all's bad with the pacu, though. Former President Theodore Roosevelt wrote of catching and eating pacu in his book, "Through the Brazilian Wilderness." "…delicious eating," Roosevelt wrote.

"I was told (pacu) go for vegetation," Carmean said. "I was surprised to hear that after knowing it went for (the chicken liver bait).

"But the game commission people told me someone must have had it and released it in the water. They told me it must have been in the water for a while, too. It had features that kind of showed it had been in the water for some time."

Not anymore.

"I love going fishing, and I fish all over the place," Carmean said. "I don't think I'll forget the other night, though."

Follow Don Seeley on Twitter @DonSeeley1

Highlights and lowlights from national regional play

2011-08-09T14:51:00.001-04:00

Either the pitching and defense is that good or the offense isn’t all that good.

Take your pick, but up at the Northeast Regional at Old Orchard Beach in Maine, no team has yet managed to put double figures in the scoring column. Only 86 runs had been put up on the board through 10 games, or going into Game 11 on Saturday night. With a little elementary math, like addition and division, that equals a total of just 8.6 runs a game.

It’s no surprise Bedford is the lone unbeaten now, too. Bedford’s Lucas Olen allowed four hits and one run in the first round; Joe Maher threw a one-hit shutout in the second round; and Tom Hudon and Spencer Damon combined on a six-hitter in a 4-2 winners’ bracket fional win over Norwalk on Saturday night.

It’s a completely different story down at the Mid-South Regional in Minden, La., where one has wonder if the pitching and defense is that awful or the offense is way, way beyond the norm.

Take your pick, because in Thursday’s opening round, the four games produced a total of 94 runs (an average of 23.5 runs a game), all that despite a 7-5 thriller that saw Gonzales (La.) edge Emporia (Kans.). And in Friday’s second round, the four games produced a total of 89 runs (a paltry, just kidding, 22.3 runs a game). Things calmed down a bit Saturday, with just 28 runs in the two games prior to the winners’ bracket final featuring Columbia (Tenn.) and Tupelo (Miss.).

The Mid-South Regional’s eight teams – in the first round alone now – combined for 107 basehits (including 15 doubles and 15 home runs), 54 walks and 19 errors. The overall earned run average that first day? An embarrassing 10.88.

The game a lot of those Louisana fans were talking about was Thursday’s nightcap, when host Minden held off the Ada Braves (Okla.), 26-16. Minden drew 12 walks, had 22 hits and scored at least two runs in every inning before it ended after seven due to the 10-run rule.

Minden’s leadoff batter, Kirby Moore, was 3-for-3 with four walks, four stolen bases and seven runs scored. Teammates Bob Parker, Reco Mitchell and Preston Gray, the third through fourth hitters in the lineup, were a combined 10-for-14 with 16 RBI.

Ever hear how good pitching beats good hitting? Those same Minden folk have now. In the second round, Tupelo put a 20-5 pounding on their hometown team.

The boys are swinging the bats out at the Western Regional in Fairfield, Calif., too.

At least League City (Tex.) and Las Vegas (Nev.) are, that is.

Thursday, League City ran all over Taylorsville (Utah), 22-2, then on Friday put up 20 more runs against Las Vegas, but – you guessed it – lost 23-20 to the Nevada state champions. The Texas state champions came back Saturday to stay alive, though, putting up a dozen runs to double up Chico (Calif.).

But back to that 22-20 affair…

League City led 4-3 after an inning of play, but fell way behind when Las Vegas put up 10 in the second and five more in the sixth. Hold on, because League City came back with an eight-spot in the seventh and three more in the eight to close within 21-19 before Las Vegas spoiled the comeback with two runs in the top of the ninth. T.J. White was 6-for-7 – three singles, two doubles and a home run – with six runs scored and five RBI for Las Vegas, which won despite seven errors.

MAKING A PITCH

If there was a pitchers’ dual – or combined gem – it came in the opening round of the Western Regional that saw Fort Collins (Colo.) edge Chico (Calif.), 1-0, in 10 innings. Fort Collins’ Jess Amedee threw all 10 innings, allowing just two hits while walking six and fanning 14. Chico’s hard-luck loser Luke Barker went 9-1/3, scattering six hits while walking just one, striking out 10 and allowing that unearned run. … The 10-inning affair took just two hours and 10 minutes to play.

Eden Prairie (Minn.), a two-time American Legion World Series runner-up (2004 and again last year), apparently has some pitching back, too. Adam Brey threw a two-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts in round one’s 6-0 win over Grand Island (Neb.), and teammate Tyler Ruemmele allowed just six hits and a walk while fanning seven in round two’s 12-2 rout of Mandan (N.D.). … Eden Prairie played Carroll (Iowa) in the winners’ bracket final Saturday night. Carroll surprised Omaha (Neb.) on Friday, scoring twice in the ninth to tie it at 4-4 and adding a run in the 10th to win it.

TOP BILLING

At the Northwest Regional in Billings, Mont., the host Billings Royals were playing their crosstown rival Billings Scarlets in Game 9 late Saturday – a meeting pushed back because of heavy rains Friday night. The two teams finished one-two in the Montana state tournament last week. … The Royals bounced back from a 10-inning, 8-3 opening-round loss to Salem (Ore.) by outlasting Cheyenne (Wyo.), 19-13, in the second round. The Scarlets won their opener over Boise (Idaho), 3-1, on Max Tolstedt’s three-run homer in the sixth inning, but fell to Waipahu (Hawaii) in the second round.

HOSTS RECAP

The regionals’ eight hosts went 4-4 the first day and 4-4 the second day, but only those from the Great Lakes (Midland, Mich.) and Western (Fairfield, Calif.) regionals went 2-0 to get into their respective winners’ bracket finals Saturday night.

Mid-Atlantic tourney a bright spot in stormy Legion summer

2011-08-04T13:51:00.002-04:00

American Legion baseball, at least in the Berks, Chester and Montgomery county areas, will get a much-needed dose of drama – or excitement, if you prefer – when the Mid-Atlantic Region Tournament gets under way this morning at Bear Stadium.

Yes, as the game’s envious whiners always remind anyone willing to listen, Boyertown is hosting yet another postseason extravaganza. Funny, no one’s filling up the state or national headquarters’ mailboxes with bids to host any tournaments themselves (other than Boyertown and West Lawn, according to a few sources). Other than NorChester and Spring City, which have held and successfully run their share of tournaments, there really aren’t any other American Legion organizations with the manpower that gears up summer after summer with the energy and commitment like Boyertown and West Lawn does. And other than NorChester and Spring City, there really aren’t any other facilities like Bear Stadium and Owls Field, either.

Then again, all that’s a moot point when remembering Boyertown – like it has so often in the past – earned its way into today’s opening round by finishing second in last week’s state tournament (hold off that runner-up finish argument, too, because Pennsylvania happens to be among the Top Five nationwide in total number of American Legion teams and has been sending its runner-up into national regional play for 30 some years or more.

But bringing Bristol over from Bucks County and Blackhawk in from the western side of the state to fill out the regional lineup card with the Bears, New Jersey’s top two teams – including longtime rival Brooklawn – and state champions from Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia, well, what a great way to end the summer baseball season that has otherwise been one of disenchantment and disappointment.

And there has been enough of both, too, locally as well as throughout the state.

More than enough.

Like PIAA-Class AAAA state champion Conestoga as well as Pottsgrove not fielding teams in the Chester County League; like Gregg Post – once one of the most successful teams in the entire state with a storied history that dates back nearly 80 years – dropping out of the Berks County League, itself as respected an alignment as any in the state (or country, perhaps) before all those teams’ mass exodus north to the former Schuylkill County League; and like Silver Creek dropping out of the Bux-Mont League. And State College, which had made a name for itself on the national level, not having a team this season was absolutely disheartening. Plus, hearing how a couple of very proficient managers, and a few of their very capable assistants, have already stepped down (or plan to soon officially call it quits) has been rather upsetting as well.

So, yes, it’ll be quite refreshing to sit in on one, two or more of this week’s Mid-Atlantic Regional games.

Fans will likely see good pitching, good defense and, yes, good hitting.

What a great way to end a summer of baseball (except for those fortunate to get yet another five days of it all next week at the American Legion World Series down in Shelby, N.C.).

Twenty-nine years ago, when Bear Stadium’s gates were opened for the first time for the 1982 World Series (which the Bears happened to qualify for and, believe it or not, won), a lot of folks said it would soon be nothing more than a white elephant – as in a very expensive facility with no one to play in it and no one to care for it.

Hmmm … guess Bud Garber and Don Specht, before their passings, and still energized brothers Ken and Bob Ellis (along with an endless line of tireless volunteers) proved those folks wrong. After a while, or a handful or so visits, Bear Stadium – and what it offers for the ballplayers as well as the fans – is often taken for granted. But it still remains one of the country’s most stately amateur baseball facilities.

The proof is in the 11 state tournaments, 10 Mid-Atlantic Regionals and three World Series held there – and nary a complaint in any one of them.

So, hats off to those who turned the rolling farmland into their Field of Dreams … and to those who have maintained as well as enhanced it since.

The last time Bear Stadium played host to the Mid-Atlantic Regional was seven years ago, and what a memorable finish it was for the host Bears – beating Chester (Md.) twice on the last day to advance to the World Series out in Corvallis, Oregon. … Rockland County (N.Y.) won the previous regional at Bear Stadium in 2002, while Brooklawn (N.J.) swept the previous two in Boyertown back in 2000 and 1998. … Other Mid-Atlantic Regional champions to come out of Bear Stadium and advance to the World Series were Rockland County (1993); Glen Allen, Va. (1989); Boyertown (1986); eventual national champion Midlothian, Va. (1985); and Boyertown (1983).

Bristol enjoys a memorable month

2011-08-04T13:50:00.000-04:00

Forgive Matt Petrizzi for not quite grasping what he and his Bristol teammates achieved in the month of July.

Perhaps he will, or they all will sometime today, the last day of the month and, quite possibly, the only day of the month they’ve been off and nowhere near a baseball field.

They certainly earned the break, as brief as it will be, after bouncing back from their first loss in nearly three weeks – a 5-1 setback to Boyertown in Game 14 of the Pennsylvania American Legion State Tournament – with a no-doubt-about-it, 11-3 bombing of the very same Boyertown ballclub in Game 15, or Saturday’s final.

“I don’t know if this is the biggest shock for us,” Petrizzi said as his teammates and fans celebrated along the third-base line of Owls Field. “But there are a lot of good teams in Pennsylvania, and to be the best in Pennsylvania … I guess that’s not bad.”

Not bad?

First of all, the state title is the first in the history of Bristol’s program, which began long, long before Petrizzi or even his parents were born. How it was won, well, let’s just say the new kids on American Legion’s baseball block obviously weren’t intimidated by anyone along the way.

And there sure were some imposing opponents to deal with.

What would become a now memorable postseason began just over two weeks ago, when Bristol swept Yardley Western, 15-7 and 6-1, for the Lower Bucks League title. Yardley Western, for those who have forgotten (or didn’t know), has won three state titles and finished second in three others, and even won the World Series back in 1996.

Last week, Bristol scored 81 runs in five straight wins, the last a 10-inning, 16-15 marathon over Spring City for the Region Three Tournament title. The sweep ended a run of five straight championships by Chester County League teams. Oh yeah, Spring City, for those who have forgotten (or didn’t know), was both the defending regional and state champion.

This week, Bristol used a little bit of pitching, defense and hitting – in other words, not just the bats – to beat West Hempfield (12-1), West Lawn (8-1), Boyertown (5-2) and Blackhawk (10-5) to get to the final day. And after Boyertown ace Steve Price did what few if any pitchers did in the first game Saturday (limiting Bristol to just one run that, incidentally, snapped a 12-game winning streak), the Region Three champions came back with a near-flawless finale to bump the Bears for that still coveted state title. Boyertown, for those few who have forgotten (or haven’t followed American Legion baseball for the last fortysome years), was hoping to catch the organization’s record 23rd state title his weekend.

Neither Petrizzi nor anyone else on the Bristol roster, which consisted mostly of Conwell Egan High School players, could have possibly envisioned such a run. This past spring, they were ousted in the second round of the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs. Less than a week later, their season ended in the first round of districts.

Bristol owned a good but not necessarily watch-out, here-they-come, 16-5 record going into the Lower Bucks League playoffs.

“All we heard during the state regional was people saying Spring City and (NorChester) were supposed to win,” Petrizzi said. “But we played well, and we came in here (to states) in a positive frame of mind. We didn’t relax, though. We played hard.”

Bristol didn’t exactly blow away the opposition, at least not as it did the week before over at Owen J. Roberts. And after losing to the Bears in Game 14… considering Boyertown was 22-3 overall in state-final games since winning the first of those 22 titles back in 1969, the odds weren’t exactly favoring a Bristol comeback in Saturday’s nightcap.

But talk about making all the right moves.

Manager Tim Monaghan sent Steve Arthur to the mound. The right-hander, who received the Outstanding Pitcher Award, gave up 13 hits, but no more than two in any inning and never wavered despite throwing 153 pitches over nine innings. The defense behind him was anything but generous, turning three double plays. The first was certainly a momentum-changer, ending a potentially big second-inning Boyertown burst. Petrizzi, the shortstop, and third baseman Zach Philippi took care of everything hit to the left side of the infield. Even catcher Brian Beyer, who received the MVP Award, contributed by throwing out a Bear runner on an attempted steal of third.

And those bats?

Back to the Bristol Stomp – as in 18 against three Boyertown pitchers. Sprinkle all them in between four errors and, well, that was way too much for the Bears to overcome.

“The bats… it was weird,” Petrizzi said. “We put up a lot of runs last week, but when we came in here (the bats) weren’t as hot. But our defense was on. Defense has been our strength all year.

“We had been winning a lot, so that first game (Saturday) was a wake-up call for us. We had no doubts we could come back. And when we got our bats going again…”

Enough said.

Boyertown manager Rick Moatz, who like Dave Specht and Dick Ludy did before him, had to be thinking Saturday Sweep after Price’s eight-hit, six-strikeout effort in Game 14.

“We felt very good,” said Moatz, whose team will join Bristol – and third-place Blackhawk – in this week’s Mid-Atlantic Regional at Bear Stadium. “We hit the ball, played excellent defense, and with Price shutting (Bristol) down like he did.

“But (Bristol) is a very aggressive team. They hit the ball well. They don’t let up. They’re a very good team.”

Moatz admitted it was a bit of an up-hill climb after falling behind 2-1 in the third, then 6-1 in the sixth.

“It isn’t easy playing come-from-behind when you’re going up against a pitcher who wins the pitching award and a catcher who wins the MVP award,” Moatz said. “They definitely put us behind the eight-ball. (Arthur) threw strikes and worked ahead in the count for the most part. (Bristol) just did a good job.”

The Bears, who fell to 42-11, will close out Thursday’s opening round of the Mid-Atlantic Regional against the West Virginia state champion.

“We’ll be confident going into the regional,” Moatz said. “We actually played really well all this week. I thought we played better this week than we did last week (at the Region Two Tournament). The kids picked it up.”

NOTES

Boyertown catcher Josh Schnell was presented the Batting Award after hitting .476 (10-for-21) with 10 runs scored in the tournament. … The state title has been won by a Region Two or Three champion eight straight years now – or since Region Six power Blackhawk defeated Paoli (5-2) in the 2003 final. The two regions have also swept 27 state titles since 1981.

Pitching took a big hit in American Legion state regionals

2011-08-04T13:49:00.000-04:00

WEST LAWN – There was no shortage of offense in last week’s Pennsylvania American Legion Region Two and Region Three tournaments. Actually, there was no shortage of offense in the state’s other five regionals, either.

Forget about what’s usually a quick postgame add-them-up, even with a little help from the fingers (and toes). If you didn’t have a calculator, or a doctorate degree in statistics and an air-conditioned room to do the math, odds are the numbers weren’t going to be anywhere near accurate.

Don’t assume the metal bats, the dreaded nine-inning games, or the hard-pan (if not concrete-like) fields most of the tournaments were played on – or even the oppressive heat – as the reason or reasons for the exorbitant numbers, either.

The bottom line – and not to hit (pardon the pun) on any individual nor any team’s staff – was pitching, or the lack of it.

First, the area’s very few exceptions:

In Region Two, Boyertown’s pen of pitchers held four opponents to a combined 13 runs. That’s an average of just over three runs a game, and when the Bears are able to do that, as the history of their programs reveals, they win. They sure did last week – despite a Game 14 shootout with Pennridge – running the table for a record 22nd title. In Region Three, NorChester’s two top arms allowed a measly two runs in first- and second-round romps, but the staff surrendered 28 in the next two and, that quickly, the Bulldogs’ season was over. And it was pretty much the same scenario for Spring City. There were a couple of very respectable showings in the first and fourth rounds, but surrendering 47 runs in the other three – including 31 in a pair of matchups with eventual champion Bristol – was too much for even the reliable Red Sox bats to overcome.

Statewide, there was one exception – Region Eight, where only 180 runs were scored in 15 games.

Mind you, even 180 runs may sound a bit high. Well, hold on to your baseball hat.

In three of the state regionals – Regions Three (22.3), Five (20.3) and Seven (20.1) – teams combined to average more than 20 runs a game. Three other regionals – Region Four (17.2), Two (17.0) and Six (16.7) – weren’t far back. They all made Region Eight (with an average of just 12 combined runs a game) seem like a pitcher’s paradise.

And for the baseball purists who don’t particularly care for the 10-run rule? Nearly one-quarter of all the games played last week, 24 of 103 to be specific, ended – mercifully – early.

So if you’re still not convinced pitching and defense wins baseball games, you’ll likely find 48 coaches – the fellas who last week packed up the gear for the summer – who will be happy to discuss that issue.

The big question today is if the pitching – or lack of it – will continue when the state tournament begins in West Lawn.

Red Land and Blackhawk open the affair, followed by Bristol and West Hempfield. The second doubleheader features Boyertown against Plains, while Millcreek takes on host Owls in the nightcap.

If there is an interesting opening-day matchup, it would be Bristol against West Hempfield. Though getting some help from eight Spring City errors in Game 14 last Wednesday, Bristol still produced an incredible 81 runs in its five-game sweep. West Hempfield’s pitching staff, on the other hand, permitted fewer runs than anyone who survived last week to get into the state tournament.

LEGION LINES

Boyertown, Blackhawk, Plains and West Lawn are the only teams in today’s opening round that have won state titles. Boyertown tops the list of course with its record 22, while Blackhawk won it all eight years ago. Plains’ lone championship was 76 years ago, or way, way back in 1935. West Lawn made its run in 1962.

Boyertown and Bristol, just on history alone, would have to be considered among the favorites this week. Region Two or Region Three champions have won the state title the last seven years and all but three times in the last 30 years, or since 1981. Other than Blackhawk, the others breaking that otherwise impressive streak were State College (2001) and Hanover (1999).

Shaler, the only team other than Boyertown to win back-to-back state titles in the last 51 years, saw its season end last Wednesday following an 11-9 setback to Blackhawk in the Region Six final.

Boyertown headlines the list of repeaters, capturing four in a row on three occasions and three in a row twice. The only other back-to-back champions were Shaler (1979-80), Coplay (1959-60 and 1945-46), Loudenslager (1957-58), Gregg Post (1932-33), Unionville (1929-30), and York (the very first two titles in 1926-27).

State College, one of Pennsylvania’s best American Legion programs, did not – repeat – did not have a team this summer.

According to a story by the very reputable and always accurate Guy Cipriano of the Centre Daily Times, longtime State College manager Terry Godwin said his staff had trouble filling out a roster because of a lot of players opting to commit to travel teams in the Altoona and Johnstown areas.

Sad? That’s an understatement considering since 1985 the State College program had won 951 games, appeared in 15 state tournaments – winning the one title – and advancing all the way to the 1998 American Legion World Series.

Even sadder is the fact Conestoga didn’t field a team this summer, either.

Last month, Conestoga High School won the PIAA-Class AAAA state title, defeating Spring-Ford in the final.

Too many games condensed into the spring and summer? Kind of makes you appreciate – and truly respect – the commitment Boyertown, NorChester and Spring City programs get summer after summer after summer.

Don’t forget, three teams will advance out of this week’s state tournament to next week’s Mid-Atlantic Regional at Bear Stadium. Because of changes, or realignment nationwide by the American Legion Baseball Committee, the state champion as well as the runner-up will continue playing in Pennsylvania this time.

Boyertown is in as the host, which means if the Bears finish among the top three, the remaining top two also move on. If the Bears don’t get to the final, then both the state champion and runner-up advance.

Three teams from the Commonwealth advancing to national regional play isn’t unprecedented. Seven years ago out in Fredericksburg, Boyertown defeated State College for the state title. Boyertown was automatically in the national regional as the host. So the following day, Baldwin defeated French Creek Valley, 10-1, in a special playoff game for third place. State officials sent State College to Bear Stadium – joining Boyertown in Mid-Atlantic Regional, while Hanover headed west to the Great Lakes Regional.

The reason all three Pennsylvania teams will be in the Mid-Atlantic Regional this time around is because of the aforementioned realignment. State champions from New York and Virginia will be competing in the Northeast and Southeast regionals, respectively, next week.

The Mid-Atlantic Regional field, in addition to the three Pennsylvania teams, will include both the New Jersey champion and runner-up as well as the champions from Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia.

Minich, Clark will realize how great they are .. in time

2011-08-04T13:45:00.002-04:00

This column was originally published in the March 15, 2011, edition of The Mercury.

There are times when the frenzied media needs to step back, provide a little space for a minute or two before bringing out all the pad and pencils, microphones, flip-cams and cameras, before starting their seemingly endless stream of questions.

One of those times was last Saturday night, during the final hours of the PIAA-Class AAA Championships in the Giant Center out in Hershey, when Boyertown’s Jeremy Minich and Methacton’s Brandan Clark needed an inch or two away from everyone, a moment or two alone, to collect themselves.

Anyone who has ever been blessed to get within six minutes of living their dream — to get oh so close to what they worked so hard for and given up so much for — only to have it end so quickly…

The visuals — bowed heads, slumped shoulders and tears they desperately seek to hide — are, for the most part, beyond words. And inside, there simply are no practice room drills or warm-up routines — all geared toward winning and winning only — that prepare them for the agony that digs deep, deep into the gut.

Minich and Clark, absolute class acts in victory and defeat, on and off the mat, were hurting Saturday night after coming up short of winning a gold medal. Few can honestly describe the pain, the emptiness, of getting so, so close – and not winning – the most treasured prize a kid could ever want, or any kid who’s grown up wrestling in this state.

Few expected Minich and Clark to be under the Saturday spotlight.

Yes, Minich did make two previous trips to Hershey, but going 1-for-3 both times didn’t lend much to any argument he would be in the final this time around. Yes, Minich did run the table at sections, districts and regions, but so did a lot of others around the state. And yes, Clark was in Hershey a year ago, too, even won a seventh-place medal.

Past weeks and past seasons, however, mean nothing when the final three days of the wrestling season unfold in Hershey … absolutely nothing.

So Minich and Clark didn’t just beat the odds, they beat whoever and whatever was thrown up and at them for two straight days. District and regional champions, some without a loss and others with just a loss or two, couldn’t beat them, couldn’t stop them from rightfully earning their spots in the Parade of Champions and spots in two of the 14 finals on Saturday night.

And even though all that began well didn’t end well, neither Minich nor Clark found any comfort finishing second.

Minich didn’t want to hear about losing to a three-time state champion and four-time state medalist – who also happened to be ranked No. 1 in his weight class in the entire nation. Clark didn’t want to hear about recovering from a third-place finish at his own regional, about beating three other regional champions who had over a 100 wins and just one loss between them to get to the final, or about losing to the first freshman state champion over 152 pounds in the history of the PIAA Championships.

Winners never accept losing, even on one of high school sports’ biggest stages – as wrestling in the Giant Center (and the Hersheypark Arena before it) – is.

Neither Minich nor Clark were about to accept it Saturday night.

But in time, hopefully sooner rather than later, both will realize how good they really were for four years at Boyertown and Methacton … and both will realize just how good they were for the biggest three days – and final three days – of their high school careers.

Minich’s second gave Boyertown a state medalist for the 11th straight year – an area record. The previous mark was nine, set by Upper Perkiomen (1999-2007). … Clark, along with teammate Rob D’Annunzio (fifth at 112), combined for seven wins last week in Hershey, the most any group of Methacton qualifiers mustered at states since the school-record 10 back in 1998. Clark, the Warrior program’s first state finalist since Dan Covatta in 1993, finished up with 146 career wins to break Covatta’s mark (145). … And last but not least, Pottsgrove’s always energized T.J. Demetrio became his school’s first Class AAA medalist (sixth last week) and only the second overall (Chris Beasley was third in AA back in 1991). Overachiever as some said? “I think that may have come up more because he’s from Pottsgrove, because you don’t think of state qualifiers or state medalists from Pottsgrove,” said Falcons head coach Jeff Madden. “T.J. worked extremely, extremely hard, and earned everything he won.”

DISTRICT NOTABLES

Wayne Armstrong was Interboro’s sixth state qualifier, but only the second to ever win a bout at states – and first since Adam Parcell did en route to finishing eighth in 2003. … Marple-Newtown had two state qualifiers for the first time since Kyle Rosenbloom and Bob Savino made the trip in 1994. … Souderton’s Joe Stolfi, who finished third at 215, had 10 career wins at states to break his school record of eight, set by Chad Clemens (1988 and 1990). … Unionville’s Mason Popham was third at 135, the best finish in the history of his school’s program. He is also Unionville’s only two-time state medalist. … Upper Moreland’s John Bolich, who was third at 189, will graduate as his school’s winningest wrestler at states and its only two-time state medalist.

FIRST FAMILY

During Saturday night’s award presentations, it was announced Council Rock South brothers Rick, Mike, Mark, Matt and Billy Rappo became the state’s First Family of Wrestling. The fivesome, thanks to junior 103-pound Billy’s title, have accounted for five state titles and 11 medals overall (as well as a 39-14 record) at the PIAA Championships. … Rick was first and second with an overall record of 7-1; Mike was a two-time champion with a spotless 8-0 mark; Mark was sixth, second and first and 10-4 overall; Matt, who improved from seventh last year to fourth this past weekend, was 8-6; and Billy, with a year to go, was eighth a year ago and, combined with his first on Saturday night, is now 6-3 going into what he hopes to be a similar 2012. One of head coach Mark Silemperi’s assistants, by the way, is Pottsgrove graduate Derick Lynch.

TEAM LEADERBOARD

Council Rock South had three medalists to push its overall total to an amazing 23 in its nine years of existence. The Hawks are now second only to Upper Perkiomen (25) in total state medals. … The former Council Rock and Norristown – which had three last weekend, too – are tied for third with 22 each, while the former Downingtown, Methacton – with its two last weekend – and North Penn share fifth place with 21 each.

NUMBERS TO DIGEST

In the PIAA-Class AAA Championships last weekend, Southeast Regional champions went a combined 40-22, while runners-up went a combined 31-27. After that, the numbers literally dropped off the chart, with the third-placers from regional going 15-26 and the fourth-place finishers going just 4-27 (Boyertown’s Jon Neiman owned one of those four wins). … District 1 wrestlers went a combined 78-92. Add in District 12’s efforts from LaSalle and Father Judge and the total individual bout won-loss mark was 95-106. … The 78 wins ranks as only the sixth-best in AAA Southeast Regional history, while the 95 overall wins are second only to the 104 back in 2005. … The 215-pound weight class produced the most wins (12), and along with 103 shared the region-high in medals (three each). … District 1 went 10-9 in Saturday’s finals – 2-2 in the championship finals; 3-4 in the third-place finals; 3-1 in the fifth-place finals; and 2-2 in the seventh-place finals.

BLANKED

District 1 had just one state qualifier – who went 0-2 – in last weekend’s Class AA bracket. It was only the fourth time since the two-classification format began in 1974 that the district didn’t win at least one bout in the small-school division. Eight years, there were no qualifiers, thus no wins. Back in 1985 (three qualifiers) and 1986 (two qualifiers), the district record was 0-3 and 0-2, respectively. … It was also the first time the district was denied an AA medal since 2003.

MATTERS OF FACT

Wrestler of the Year in District 1? Without question, Plymouth-Whitemarsh senior John Staudenmayer, who capped an unbeaten season (43-0) and outstanding career (168-12) with a no-doubt-about-it, 15-2 major in the 171-pound final Saturday night. … Apparently too many “fans” were content getting results from a computer instead of from a seat in the Giant Center this year. Attendance for Saturday was good (21,427) despite live cable coverage from PCN. But for the three days (49,643) not so good, not when considering the tournament year after year after year drew well over 60,000 fans.

Keys to beating cancer are in faith, family and friends

2011-08-04T13:40:00.002-04:00

From the Boyertown Relay for Life Survivors' Ceremony speech by Don Seeley. Don Seeley is The Mercury sports editor and a cancer survivor.

February 17th, 2005 … around 10:40 that morning, I received a telephone call that my sister — who had been battling cancer for four years — had died. Exactly four hours and five minutes later, I listened to a doctor tell me I had stage four cancer of the throat and neck … listened to him tell me "It doesn't look good."

That very moment — like every one of you here this evening who have or had cancer — my emotions ran the gamut. The next few hours are still a blur to me, but I do recall getting in my car and taking a ride just to think.

I have no idea why, but I remembered being so sick when I had the chicken pox, the measles and the mumps growing up, remembered the pain when I broke my arm in first grade, broke my collarbone in fourth grade, and then when I had blood clots removed from my leg in fifth grade.

I remembered being so worried about playing basketball my senior year in high school after I had a tumor removed from my neck, remembered being so worried about not being able to play baseball for a good part of my last year in college when I tore a tendon in my throwing arm.

I thought, "Isn't it funny how a short 'before-I-go-to-sleep' prayer, your mother's and father's care, and all those doctors and nurses get you through all the sickness, get you through all the injuries. I remembered smiling then, after admitting to myself that cancer — especially stage four cancer — was going to be a bit more than a high fever, aching muscle or broken bone.

I realized I was scared … scared as hell.

But over the next seven months, that fear — the fear of going through what I'd seen so many others go through, and that fear of

dying — vanished.

Vanished … thanks to my faith, my family, and my friends.

I found a lot of comfort in prayer when nurses were poking needles in me every Monday for eight weeks of chemotherapy. And when I sat there for hour after hour, at times feeling like I was frozen to the bone, I found a lot of comfort in my fiancée covering me with warm blankets, in holding my hand, in just talking to me.

I found a lot of comfort in prayer when the technicians strapped me on a table and lined up this and that machine for 40 minutes of radiation, Monday through Friday, for eight weeks.

I found comfort in prayer throughout all those treatments — which, like so many of you know, make us sicker than what most people can even begin to imagine.

The treatments did get the best of me physically. Thanks to the chemo, nearly everything I put through my feeding tube came back up; thanks to the radiation frying my throat and burning up my salivary glands, I couldn't even take a sip of water.

I lost 79 pounds.

Then, thanks to surgery, I lost a jugular vein and most of the muscle mass in the right side of my neck.

The chemo and radiation, all those pills, the surgery … all of it, sure did get the best of me physically. I was a mere shadow of myself.

But cancer did not get the best of me mentally. Cancer did not come close to touching my heart and my soul, thanks to my family and my friends.

Every day, from Day One, my fiancée — Kathy — was there for me, making sure I took my medications, making sure I had the right formula for my feeding tube, making sure I was hooked up for my overnight feedings, and she was up with me throughout many nights I became ill, and up first thing in the morning to clean up all the messes I made.

Every day, from Day One, my daughters Brenda and Alison either called me or stopped by to see me — their visits made my heart smile. And my grandson Dane, four years old and full of life, gave me a dose of medicine during our Fourth of July family picnic that energized me on a day I may have been at my worst and has inspired me, to this day, to continue fighting cancer.

I didn't feel well that Fourth of July, was down in the dumps because I couldn't eat any of the food, and then I got sick. While half-asleep on the sofa in the living room, I felt someone grab my hand — it was Dane, who looked at me and said, "Pops, I want you to see me graduate from high school."

Every day, from Day One, friends called on the phone asking me how I was doing, mailed me short notes or letters of encouragement, stopped by to see me and talk with me. Their calls, their letters and their visits strengthened my soul. I was overwhelmed by their kindness and their sincerity.

It's been six years, four months and 11 days since I was told I had stage four cancer and given little hope of beating it, and there isn't a day that goes by I don't think of all the caring doctors and nurses. It's been five years, nine months and 10 days since I underwent surgery and told I was cancer free, and there isn't a single day that goes by that I don't think of my faith, family and friends.

You see, the doctors and nurses, everyone in the medical field, can kill cancer. Our caregivers help us through all the pain, all the suffering. But it's your faith, your family, your friends that can cure you — yes, cure you — of cancer.

As the theme for this Relay states, MAKE A DREAM COME TRUE — ONE LAP AT A TIME. But you cannot make a dream come true with a lap around the track, with a financial donation, with a commitment to fight cancer one weekend a year.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Do what the true meaning of this event is … RELAY.

Relay prayer, relay the love and care of family … even if you're not relatedhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif — and relay friendship. Relay with a passion. That will make a lot of dreams come true; that will help cure us of cancer.

Thank you, and God bless you all.

Relay for Life of Boyertown
Relay for Life of Boyertown's Facebook page

Best from preps earned their own Top Ten list

2011-03-04T16:35:00.003-05:00

This column originally ran in the March 1, 2011 edition of The Mercury.

A lot was happening last week, actually just last weekend. And shortly after it was all over, there was way, way too much to talk about, or at least way, way too much to do a pick-this-one or pick-that-one as above all others.

Of course everyone has their favorite tale to tell (over and over again), and there were absolutely more than a handful or two of achievements worthy of highlighting. Take your pick from all of them that came out of national prep championships and four district tournaments, and good luck condensing them into a Top 10.

Come to think of it, we did that last week … so let’s do it again.

1. Hill School freshman Chad Saunders, a native of New Hope, finished second at the National Prep Championships up at Lehigh. It isn’t too often a freshman gets into a national final, unless you happen to be wearing a Blair Academy singlet, that is. The 103-pound Saunders did it with a 52-second pin, an 8-0 shutout of the No. 7 seed, and a pin of the No. 3 seed. His bid for the gold was denied by top-seeded Joseph McKenna

(from Blair, of course), who had five pins — four in 47 seconds or less — in his five matches. Saunders, the Hill program’s best finisher in 10 years, also matched his father Jay Saunders’ finish when he too was a runner-up for none other than Blair Academy.

2. Owen J. Roberts won its school’s first District 1-AAA South team title. That was something very few expected going in, and even fewer thought was possible at the halfway mark when all but Andrew Kinney (golden at 145) dropped into the consolations. But seven came all the way back to get a medal, including two – the under-appreciated John Bryant and the under-sized Mike Lenge – to join Kinney at this week’s Southeast Regional.

3. Pottstown rookie head coach Jamie Gill and Pope John Paul II rookie head coach Seldon Staples put a combined six wrestlers on the top step of the awards platform at the District 1-AA Tournament. Despite the experts’ annual analysis that AA titles carry little credibility, try selling that to Pottstown’s Zane Bechtel, Trent Clifford, Jasheel Brown, Darien Hain and Rashaad Lighty, or to Pope John Paul’s Conor Myers, or for that matter PJP’s other two medalists (Tyler Rogers and John Cherneskie). Anyone with any matter in their cerebellum realizes one’s dedication and work ethic doesn’t really vary from AA to AAA, nor does the gratification of winning a district title or medal.

4. Depending on what time your watch said, Boyertown’s Jeremy Minich became just the eighth four-time district champion in the documented 77-year history of District 1 wrestling. Minich, who pound-for-pound may be wrestling as well as anyone from the PAC-10 the past two weeks, was joined in that elite group later Saturday night by three others who competed in the District 1-AAA North Tournament. Minich is the first from the area to achieve the milestone in AAA and second overall (joining Pottstown’s Seth Ecker in AA). And when you throw out some of the Boyertown biggies who never did go four-for-four, well, it sure is quite an accomplishment.

5. The “I’ll Be Back” efforts of Spring-Ford’s Sean Hennessey, Upper Perkiomen’s Kyle Fellman, Owen J. Roberts’ Colby Frank, Spring-Ford’s Jesse Quave, Owen J. Roberts’ Gordon Bolig, and Boyertown’s Pardovani Dominque. All six dropped their first bouts at districts last week, but regrouped, medaled and earned a spot in the AAA Southeast Regional.

6. Fives are wild — or the number of regional qualifiers for coaches Pete Ventresca of Boyertown, Tim Seislove of Spring-Ford, and Tom Hontz of Upper Perkiomen. Ventresca had to battle through a crippling series of illnesses and injuries near the end of the regular season; Seislove had to deal with the unfortunate loss of two likely regional qualifiers because of a disciplinary issue and illness; and Hontz, well, the one fella who some continue to find it amusing to criticize him when he doesn’t win everything, still managed a Top Five finish in the brutal District 1-AAA North battle to get a handful of regional qualifiers. … And an honorable mention in this spot goes to Pottsgrove’s Jeff Madden, who has his own Tour of Four heading to Oxford.

7. Methacton’s Brandan Clark remains focused. The 215-pound Clark, 37-2 with 26 pins while locked in arguably one of the most talent-deep weight classes in the district (and the state), has 139 career wins going into this weekend’s regional. He needs six more to tie former state champion and three-time state medalist Dan Covatta’s school record (145) … and that six would mean another state medal for the relentless senior.

8. A big “Welcome Again” to the Top 10 for Mr. Dominque. The 215-pound senior, who never stepped foot on a wrestling mat until this season – or shortly after arriving here from his native Haiti – finished third at the District 1-AAA South Tournament. Sure doesn’t look as though the 17-year-old gem of a young man balked at learning the most basic fundamentals or gave anything less than 100 percent of himself to the sport. Hopefully, the politicians will put in half that effort and approve his application for a student visa extension so he fulfill his dream of attending college to become a doctor (and not order him back to his earthquake-ravaged home where illness and violence continue to shake the country more than the fatal tremors did a year ago).

9. The Pioneer Athletic Conference advancing 31 of its wrestlers to the AAA regional. It isn’t any record number, mind you, but it’s far and above the number most – including one particular member of the media – expected. And within those numbers are two sets of brothers – Owen J. Roberts’ Adam and Jordan Moser, and Upper Perkiomen’s Dante and Dylan Steffenino.

10. Former North Penn head coach and Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee Ed Klavon celebrated his 80th birthday Monday. For a man who did as much as anyone to earn District 1 some respect from the Pennsylvania wrestling hierarchy, that deserves a spot in any Top 10.

*

It’ll be a reunion of sorts Friday night for six area wrestlers, who’ll face off against one another in the first round of regionals. At 119, it’ll be Frank and Fellman; at 152, it’ll be Boyertown’s Jon Neiman and Pottsgrove’s T.J. Demetrio; and at 160, it’ll be Bolig and Pottsgrove’s Danny Michaels.

*

Spring-Ford’s Matt Krueger (99) and Owen J. Roberts’ Jonathan Dempsey (98) are within reach of the 100 career wins milestone this weekend. … Clark is now 16th on the Mercury Area’s all-time win chart, and Minich (132) is tied for 24th. … Pottsgrove’s Zach Robinson extended his school-record total to 126 last weekend. … Other area regional qualifiers already over the 100-win mark are Phoenixville’s Ken Cenci (104), Methacton’s Rob D’Annunzio (103) and Demetrio (103).

Sectionals deserve a Top Ten list

2011-03-04T16:32:00.001-05:00

This column originally ran in the Feb. 22, 2011, edition of The Mercury.

There’s absolutely no shortage of topics – actually highlights – to talk about. Not after so many area wrestlers stepped up, and stepped up in such a big way, throughout the opening weekend of the postseason.

The Pioneer Athletic Conference, subjected to considerable criticism for getting seven spots in the district duals earlier this month, closed some more, if not the remaining, experts’ traps. Those seven teams finished one-two-three in one section; first and third in another; and a strong second and fifth in the other. And, with a little help from Phoenixville, the teams combined for 19 individual gold medals – or just under 50 percent of the total up for grabs in those three sections – and advanced 58 to the District 1’s split scuffle this Friday and Saturday.

Up Route 724 (or just off Business 222) in Shillington, Daniel Boone had a pair of gold medalists and two runners-up in a very good District 3 section struggle. And down in Westtown at the state prep tournament, The Hill School had six medalists, and West-Mont Christian and Perkiomen School – two programs that get little if any recognition and even less respect – added four and one, respectively.

Yep, not a bad weekend at all.

So good, in fact, it warrants one of Dave’s Top Ten Lists (Dave would be Lettermen for those youngsters and older folks who hit the pillow before 11:30 at night):

No. 1: A no-brainer… Boyertown’s Pardovani Dominque’s gold medal at 215 pounds in the District 1-Section Four Tournament. Just over 13 months ago, Dominque was one of three million people affected by the earthquake that killed more than 316,000 people in his native Haiti. Three months later, because illnesses and violence that further ravaged his country, Dominque’s parents sent him and his two brothers to live with their aunt in the Boyertown area. He never stepped on a wrestling mat until this past November, but he sure completed the learning curve Saturday when he knocked off the No. 2 seed and, two bouts later, the No. 1 seed for the gold medal.

No. 2: Owen J. Roberts, Spring-Ford and Boyertown go one, two, three in the District 1-Section Four Tournament, win 10 of the 14 gold medals, and account for 26 of the 56 available district-qualifying berths … And, Upper Perkiomen, the program so many fans still (and so sadly) love to hate, runs off with yet another District 1-Section Two Tournament team championship (and extends its streak of having at least one section gold medalist to an area-high 13 straight years).

No. 3: Pottsgrove’s Zach Robinson and Methacton’s Brandan Clark both capture their fourth straight sectional titles. For Robinson, his school’s career-win leader, the achievement doubled that of any Falcons’ previous-best – two each by Mike Meko (1973-74) and Chris Beasley (1991-92). For Clark, who is zeroing in on the coveted career win-mark of three-time state medalist Dan Covatta, broke his school’s standard of three shared by a very select gang of Warriors that includes his older brother Brad.

No. 4: Owen J. Roberts freshman Colby Frank not only won the 119-pound gold medal, but OW honors in Section Four. Frank is good, and proved that quite often during the regular season. But opening with an 11-0 shutout, pinning the top seed who also happened to be a defending district champion, and then pinning the second seed in the final? One may say that kind of exceeded the expectations for Frank’s first postseason tournament.

No. 5: Owen J. Roberts sophomore Adam Moser opened at 130 with a technical fall, avenged a loss two weeks ago to Spring-Ford’s Jason Dombrosky with a 6-4 semifinal win over the No. 2 seed, then defeated No. 1 seed Brandon Arnsberger – a defending Class AA district champion and returning state medalist – in a thrilling final, 4-3 .

No. 6: Methacton’s Rob D’Annunzio, Pottsgrove’s T.J. Demetrio and Phoenixville’s Ken Cenci reached the 100-win career mark. While 100 wins in still an achievement worthy of recognition, it isn’t one worthy of “putting one up on the pedestal” as they say, not with the number of matches being wrestled these days. But D’Annunzio spent most of his freshman season on the junior varsity (the mighty mite was 80 pounds soaking wet); Demetrio wasn’t getting on the mats anywhere near 40 times in a season like most do nowadays; and Cenci had a losing record as a freshman, an injury or two after that, and a less-than-bustling schedule similar to Demetrio’s. He also became Phoenixville’s first sectional champion in nine long years.

No. 7: Pin, pin, pin… that’s what Upper Perkiomen’s Cody Ambrose (171 pounds) and Methacton’s Clark (215) did. The name of the game is pin, and you can bet the house that’s what Upper Perkiomen’s Tom Hontz and Methacton’s A.J. Maida teach and preach every day in their practice rooms. Hey, three of them in a postseason tournament is usually good as gold.

No. 8: Boyertown senior Jeremy Minich is back looking like a contender again and not the pretender he admittedly was at the outset of the season. Three days into the New Year, Minich – well past the 100-win mark as a junior – owned a ho-hum 5-4 record. Since then, he’s won 20 in a row, putting up bonus points in all but one of those bouts, too. Saturday at Section Four, he posted a 21-second pin, a second-period technical fall, and second-period default for the gold he won two years ago but had eluded him last year.

No. 9: West-Mont munchkins Austin Mortimer and Zach Coffey finished fifth and fourth, respectively, at 103 and 112 pounds during the state prep tournament. The pair came out of nowhere under head coach Jason Meister, who knows a little bit about the sport after winning more than 100 bouts and two state medals at Phoenixville and going on to become a four-time NCWA All-American.

No. 10: The Methacton Connection, courtesy of Maida, Pottsgrove head coach Jeff Madden and Perkiomen Valley head coach Tim Walsh – all of whom wrestled at Methacton, all under Dennis Kellon (now the chairman of the District 1 Wrestling Committee). Maida has his alma mater on the upswing again, and finishing second to Norristown in Section Three was admirable. Madden built Wissahickon into one of the district’s most respected programs, then came out of a brief retirement to take over the Pottsgrove program. In three short seasons, the Falcons have done an about-face – sending more wrestlers off to districts than any team before them had in 20 years (and that was when they were in the Class AA bracket) and finishing higher in Saturday’s sectional (third) than any team before them ever had. Walsh has been as devoted to the Vikings’ program as anyone anywhere. During the regular season, one individual win in three matches against Methacton, Upper Perkiomen and Boyertown would’ve make them 7-2 in the PAC-10, but his team showed its resiliency and energy over the weekend by advancing six to districts (and to think they’ve done all that without having the injured Lou Fioravanti the entire season).

ON THE MOVE

The future continues to look bright for PAC-10 schools in light of last weekend’s annual Southeastern Pennsylvania Junior High/Middle School Tournament at Quakertown.

Spring-Ford, which had two champions and medaled in 15 of the 18 weight classes, ran away with the team title (283.5). Boyertown East (195), Owen J. Roberts (187.5) and Upper Perkiomen (160.5) were second, third and fourth, respectively. Boyertown West was 11th, Pottstown was 12th, Phoenixville and Pottsgrove tied for 13th, and Perkiomen Valley was 19th in the 27-team field.

The Rams’ gold medalists were Matt Krieble (97 pounds) and Tate Carter (157), while teammates Hunter Mitch (82), Jon Cooper (140) and Danny Krieble (167) were all second. The Rams had three finish third, another fourth, four in fifth place, and two more in sixth.

Boyertown East’s individual champions were Lucas Miller (87) and Dante Colonna (132); OJR had a tournament-high three champions in Derrick Gulotta (112), Domenic Petrucelli (117), and Demetri D’Orsaneo (140); Upper Perkiomen had two in Dustin Steffenino (82) and Jake Keiper (107; Pottstown had two in Logan Pennypacker (77) and Bryant Wise (102); and Pottsgrove had one in Patrick Flynn (187).

Injury forces OJR’s Syrek to sit out final postseason run

2011-03-04T16:29:00.002-05:00

This article was originally published in the Feb. 15, 2011 edition of The Mercury.

Scott Syrek rarely ever failed to come up with the right move at the right time to win a wrestling match. Brute-like physical strength alone may have been good enough for him in a lot of instances, or so some had first thought. But extraordinary instincts — that sense of not only knowing what to do at any given moment but how to execute it – is what separated him from so many of the upperweights he confronted throughout his four seasons at Owen J. Roberts.

Unfortunately, the one thing the Syrek couldn’t quite ever escape from was the constant throbbing in his left shoulder.

So last week, not long after his 56-second fall helped the Wildcats pin down its first Pioneer Athletic Conference championship – the program’s first wrestling title of any kind in 36 long years – the soft-spoken Syrek called it quits. He had given as much as he could. He had gone as long as he possibly could.

And his emotions ran deep, stinging nearly as much as the pain in that left shoulder.

“Frustrated is probably the right word … I think that kind of hits the nail on the head,” Syrek said of his decision to sit out what would’ve been the fourth and final postseason of his outstanding career, a career that unfortunately will close prematurely with three appearances in the state tournament, one state medal, and 112 wins overall.

“It hurts knowing I put in all the hard work like everyone else did and won’t get a chance to finish it out. My goal was always to win a state title.”

Very few people outside the Syrek household were even aware of exactly when or how badly he injured his shoulder.

But most agree it happened during his very first match in the Owen J. Roberts gym –just over a week after the 189-pound freshman debuted with five impressive wins during the season-opening Bear Duals up in Boyertown.

“It was the sixth match of his freshman year,” OJR head coach Steve DeRafelo recalled. “Scott was wrestling (eventual state runner-up) Marc Petroski of Springfield-Delco, who ran a power-half and Scott wouldn’t go. I remember Scott coming off the mat and telling me, ‘I think I felt something tear.’

“We really didn’t know what happened for a long time. We knew he was hurt, but we didn’t know how bad.”

Syrek suffered a partial labral tear —actually tears to the front and back labrum tissue.

Despite the injury, Syrek wrestled his way to states and a 39-10 record that freshman year. He came back as a sophomore and, despite defaulting three postseason bouts, managed to return to states again, picked up a sixth-place medal and added 31 more wins to his ledger. Last year, however, the injury — and the pain — worsened. He was forced to default or forfeit three more postseason bouts and was nowhere near 100 percent on his third trip to states, an appearance that ended after three matches.

So last May, Syrek underwent surgery to “get things sewed up” as he explained. He spent five months in rehab before even stepping on a mat. He wasn’t in the lineup when OJR opened this season back in December, but was ready to return for the Beast of the East Classic right before Christmas … or ready until he re-injured the shoulder right before the trip down to Delaware.

No Beast … but he finally got on the mats Jan. 13, helping the Wildcats defeat PAC-10 rival Perkiomen Valley. The following night, he posted back-to-back wins in the rugged Escape The Rock Tournament over at Council Rock South … then injury defaulted to Solanco’s Thomas Haines and, unfortunately, was done for the weekend.

“I was concealing it because I thought it was just a strain,” Syrek explained. “But after the (Escape The Rock), I decided there wasn’t much I could do. I didn’t want to quit right there and then, but there was so much going on in my mind, and all of it was creating a lot of stress.”

Incredibly, Syrek didn’t walk away from his teammates.

Despite the pain, he went back out for six more bouts – and didn’t lose one – all of which helped OJR beat back challenges from four-time defending league champion Boyertown as well as from Spring-Ford, and earned the Wildcats a third-place finish in the District 1-AAA Team Duals and unprecedented berth in the state duals.

“It was really important to me that we win the PAC-10 title,” said Syrek, who never lost a PAC-10 match in his three-plus seasons. “I just wanted to help the team in any way I could. (After getting hurt at the Escape The Rock) I knew I couldn’t win a state title. That’s when my goals changed.”

“All Scott’s ever wanted to do was win a state title,” DeRafelo added. “But when he hurt that shoulder again he knew he couldn’t do it. I think everyone pretty much knew he wouldn’t be able to make a legitimate run at that.

“But he put that all aside and was back at it to help our team win. And he was absolutely a big part of us winning the title. It was hard for everyone else not to go out there and battle after watching what Scott was going through for them and our team.”

DeRafelo honestly believes Syrek was 100 percent for those first five bouts of his high school career, somewhere around 80 percent after the Petroski match and all the way up to last year’s postseason … but nowhere near that figure at states last March or at any point this year.

“Not too many people have ever been aware of how hurt Scott’s been,” DeRafelo said. “A lot of people had a lot of unrealistic expectations. He was never healthy, so it’s hard to imagine how he did what he did, how he managed to have one of the best careers of any upperweight we’ve ever had around here. He overcame a lot. Right now, we all feel bad for him.”

Eventually, the Penn State-bound Syrek admitted, he’ll feel a lot better.

“I’m having (shoulder) surgery shoulder March 2,” he said. “I’ll rehab it … then give it another go.”

*

BREAKTHROUGHS: Perkiomen Valley ended its 0-for-9 streak against Boyertown last week with a 40-30 decision of the ailing Bears. The Vikings, who had never beaten the four-time defending champion Bears, were outscored by an average 58-13 margin in those previous nine losses. … Pope John Paul II broke into the PAC-10 win column for the first time with its 45-36 victory over Phoenixville last week.

BREAKING THROUGH: Owen J. Roberts last week became the first team other than Boyertown, Spring-Ford or Upper Perkiomen to win or share a PAC-10 title since Great Valley and Spring-Ford finished atop the standings in 1997. And beyond than those four, Pottstown is the only other team to pin down a title (1987 and 1989).

FOR THE RECORD: Perkiomen Valley’s Gavin Milligan became his school’s winningest wrestler last week. The senior 145-pounder has 112 career wins, one more than the late Tim Smith. … Milligan is the second area wrestler to work his way to the top of his school’s career win chart. Earlier, Zach Robinson (now at 121) achieved the feat at Pottsgrove. … Daniel Boone’s Colin Martucci is within seven of the Blazers’ mark (116, held by Tyler Swartz).

MILESTONES AHEAD: Three more area wrestlers – Phoenixville’s Ken Cenci (99), Methacton’s Rob D’Annunzio (98), and Pottsgrove’s T.J. Demetrio (97) – should reach the 100-win mark during this weekend’s sectionals. … Spring-Ford’s Matt Krueger (94) and Owen J. Roberts’ Jonathan Dempsey (92) are also within reach heading into the postseason.

Wildcats past and present put on quite a show

2011-03-04T16:24:00.003-05:00

This column originally ran in the Feb. 2, 2011 edition of The Mercury.

After a week of reading or listening to the criticism of just about anyone who had anything to do with the District 1-AAA Team Duals Tournament (including some serious sobbing over the seedings and ridiculous ranting over rankings), and reading or listening to all the nameless whimps whining about anything else that came to mind, it was rather refreshing to be over in Bucktown last Saturday night.

Thanks to the Wildcat Wrestling Booster Club’s ingenuity and a couple of very good wrestling teams – namely Owen J. Roberts and Spring-Ford – it was as if someone scripted a wrestling sequel for Back to the Future … a standing-room-only audience, a lot of junior varsity bouts and, what most want but don’t necessarily get all that often, a very physical and very, very competitive varsity match.

And in between was a well-organized and well-deserved salute to Owen J. Roberts’ past.

First, wrestling fanatic and WWBC energizer Mark Petrocelli acknowledged 47 former Owen J. Roberts wrestlers – all a little older and most a wee bit heavier – as the featured guests of the first Alumni Night. And while most in attendance applauded their presence, you couldn’t help but notice how current head coach Steve DeRafelo, his staff and every one of his wrestlers turned around to face the alumni and added some noticeable volume to the resounding applause … a class gesture.

Then Petrocelli presented plaques to Fred Foller and Howie Sage, the first two inductees into the WWBC Hall of Fame. Foller may have been short in stature, but he was among Southeastern Pennsylvania’s coaching giants after starting up the OJR wrestling program in the early 60s and leading the Wildcats to five straight Ches-Mont League championships. Sage followed Foller, led the program for the next 35 years – guiding OJR’s only state champion (Don Kulp) and adding another Ches-Mont banner to the rafters – and never once let any sort of ego get in the way of helping DeRafelo for the past nine years. Again, one resounding applause was followed by another … a class gesture.

Then the Wildcats and Rams, the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s lone remaining unbeatens this winter, took center stage. And they didn’t disappoint a soul, with the possible exception of those who bleed Blue and Gold.

Fourteen bouts, most with a smack to the face here and a hard cross-face there, even an occasional elbow to the back of the neck or head, sure had a few fans tossing and turning in their seats (not to mention offering some

earsplitting opinions to the official). You bet it was physical, even more entertaining.

Of the 14 bouts, four ended in pins (two for each side, for the record), and another ended with a technical fall. Pins get everyone out of their seat, but it’s the close ones –where a simple move here and there can make the difference – like the nine others Saturday night, that keep everyone fidgeting in their seats.

Needless to say, there was a lot of restlessness until it all ended, nearly four hours after the entire affair began with the first of those nine junior varsity bouts.

There wasn’t a hint of disappointment, nor should there have been.

It isn’t often you get to see those who will be on the mats in the years to come; see so many who entertained us on those mats throughout years past; see two men who gave nearly 50 years to the sport; and see two teams go toe-to-toe with one another with a league championship on the line. It isn’t often you get all that in one night.

Petrocelli and his booster club did a great job promoting the event. DeRafelo and rival Tim Seislove did a great job coaching. And the Wildcats and Rams did a great job wrestling.

What a show.

So good it helped you forget all the bickering … at least for four hours or so.

* * *

Speaking of bickering…

Last week’s seedings for the District 1 duals drew considerable criticism, actually a lot of questions about the PAC-10 getting six entries in the 24-team field. Not including Monday night’s (snowstorm-delayed) segment over at Hatboro-Horsham, it seems the PAC-10 represented itself rather well with five teams going a combined 5-3 – and two of those losses were to PAC-10 rivals.

No. 24 Pottsgrove got bumped out right away by No. 9 Boyertown, which proceeded to eliminate No. 8 Council Rock North; No. 12 Methacton ended mighty Ridley’s hopes first before falling to No. 5 Rustin; No. 4 Owen J. Roberts pummeled Pennsbury; and No. 15 Perkiomen Valley humbled Central Bucks East before falling to No. 2 Spring-Ford … all of which means the PAC-10 will have three – and depending how No. 6 Upper Perkiomen fared Monday night, possibly four – of the eight quarterfinalists when the duals resume Friday night over at Council Rock South.

Not bad at all.

* * *

Up in the Berks Conference, Daniel Boone was eliminated in the first round of the BCIAA Team Duals by Governor Mifflin, 44-25. It was almost a carbon copy of the Blazers’ league-opening 45-31 setback to the Mustangs. … The Blazers also came up short in the power ratings for a spot in tonight’s opening round of the District 3-AAA Duals Tournament. Unbeaten Central Dauphin (16-0), Solanco (11-1), Spring Grove (18-1), and Garden Spot (16-1) drew the first through fourth seeds, respectively. Berks will be represented by No. 8 Mifflin (18-3) and No. 15 Wilson (14-4). … With just Twin Valley remaining on the regular-season schedule, the Blazers will have a number of contenders – namely Colin Martucci (25-6) at 152, Ken Bock (26-3) at 189 and Sam Batchelor (26-4) at 215 – when the postseason kicks off with sectionals. … The Hill School, which is quietly having a solid season, and Perkiomen School, which has been hurt by a lack of numbers but plugs along thanks to head coach Tim Klavon’s passion for the sport, are still nearly three weeks away from the state prep tournament, set for Feb. 18-19 at Westtown.

* * *

OJR’s Mike Lenge and Pope John Paul’s Conor Myers earned a moment under the spotlight last week. Lenge, the plugger-mugger who has filled in and filled in quite well at 152 and 160 for DeRafelo this winter, is likely to get squeezed out of the postseason. Lenge, 14-8 (with five of those losses by two points or less) can’t get to 145, and isn’t likely to overtake Jordan Moser at 152 or Gordon Bolig at 160. The junior’s response: “Whatever is best for the team. I’m concerned about the team, not me.” Myers surprised returning state qualifier T.J. Demetrio of Pottsgrove in overtime during their dual Saturday, or less than 24 hours after Demetrio got the best of Boyertown’s very good Jon Neiman in district duals. In other words, Myers sure put an interesting twist into today’s new area rankings at 152.

* * *

Perkiomen Valley’s Gavin Milligan can tie the school record for career wins on Wednesday when the Vikings host Boyertown. Milligan (110) is one away from the late Tim Smith’s mark. … Martucci is eight away from tying Daniel Boone’s mark of 116. … Three other wrestlers – Methacton’s Rob D’Annunzio (93), Pottsgrove’s Demetrio (92) and Phoenixville’s Ken Cenci (90) moved closer to the 100-win mark. Spring-Ford’s Matt Krueger (89) and OJR’s Jonathan Dempsey (86) could reach the milestone before season’s end, too. … Methacton’s Brandan Clark (130), Boyertown’s Jeremy Minich (121) and Pottsgrove’s Zach Robinson (117) are the area’s active leaders going into this week.

Let the show(s) begin

2011-01-26T16:04:00.002-05:00

This column originally ran in Jan. 25, 2011 edition of The Pottstown Mercury

There are nine weeks, plus a day or two, in high school wrestling’s regular season. That’s a lot of tournaments and invitationals – for individuals as well as teams – sandwiched in and around league matches. Entertaining? For sure. Challenging? You better believe it.

But for four area teams, namely Methacton, Owen J. Roberts, Spring-Ford and Upper Perkiomen, there may never have been a Week Like This on any of their schedules … or anything like a Week That Was when it’s all said and done with.

In case you haven’t noticed, Owen J. Roberts and Spring-Ford are both 5-0 and atop the Pioneer Athletic Conference standings. Considering OJR has never won a PAC-10 title and Spring-Ford has only shared two of them since its own four-year run ended way back in 1993 – and considering someone other than Boyertown and Upper Perkiomen is unbeaten and on the top rung of those standings for the first time since 1997 – well, that’s kind of different to say the very least. And considering both Methacton and Upper Perkiomen have just one loss apiece means the PAC-10 title race is still an interesting four-team chase.

That, of course, is exciting.

Quite entertaining, too. And the show, or shows, all gets under way Wednesday night.

Methacton, which has improved tenfold since its mid-December, 36-24 loss to Upper Perkiomen, hosts Owen J. Roberts, which must guard against a letdown

after Saturday afternoon’s emotional 29-28 win over Boyertown. Upper Perkiomen, which has had a week to regroup from its narrow setback to OJR and to soothe any aches and pains, is at Spring-Ford, which has drawn rants and raves from a lot of wrestling folk but has yet to wrestle anyone among the upper-half of the PAC-10’s rank and file.

If you don’t get a “wow” out of Wednesday’s card, then you may want to loosen the chin strap on that headgear.

The entertainment switches channels less than 24 hours later, though, with the first two rounds of the District 1-AAA Team Duals Tournament.

More entertainment. And, as they say, the plot thickens.

Spring-Ford (No. 2), Owen J. Roberts (No. 4) and Upper Perkiomen (No. 6) drew very respectable seeds for the duals, and first-round byes. Methacton (No. 12) drew a first-round, roll-around with Ridley — which ran off 21 straight wins to start the season only to lose to Downingtown West (and it’s 6-8 record going in) last Saturday.

The duals are a challenge, no kidding. The bigger challenge will be coming back and wrestling in the duals a day after the those two huge PAC-10 matches that, regardless of their outcomes, could very, very easily be a setup for a letdown – of physical or mental, (or both) nature.

And the results of those PAC-10 and duals matches, at least for Owen J. Roberts, Spring-Ford and Methacton, could even impact what’s going on Saturday. Yep, hold on, there’s more.

On Saturday, Methacton visits Boyertown (the four-time defending champion isn’t exactly out of any title chase, at least officially, with two losses). If Methacton pulls off the upset of OJR on Wednesday, which most diehards outside Fairview Village don’t think it can, the Warriors visit to Boyertown on Saturday moves to a much bigger stage. Either way, though, Saturday’s headliner is in Bucktown, where OJR will host Spring-Ford – the match most fans have desperately been waiting for, but an outcome that will only postpone any legitimate celebration until the grand finale (Spring-Ford at Boyertown on Wednesday, Feb. 9) is over and done with.

And to think this is only the seventh week of the nine-week regular season…

Boyertown (No. 9) and Pottsgrove (No. 24) also earned spots in the District 1-AAA Duals. The defending district champion Bears beat the Falcons last week, 46-22, and, ironically, face off against one another again Wednesday night in a first-round match at the Pottsgrove Middle School. … To answer a question received by email, every one of the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s 10 teams are AAA schools for this year and next.

Up in the Berks Conference, Daniel Boone (3-3, 9-6) can clinch no worse than a tie for another Section Two title with a win over visiting Twin Valley (0-6, 4-12) on Wednesday night. Co-leader Muhlenberg (3-3, 8-12) entertains Conrad Weiser (1-5, 6-16). Needless to say, both the Blazers and Muhls are the favorites. But Daniel Boone will have to bounce back without a couple of injured starters, and that humbling 77-0 loss to Biglerville last Saturday. … The Berks Conference Team Duals will be held this Saturday.

The big step in the Central League championship chase will be taken Wednesday night, too, when Garnet Valley (6-0) entertains Ridley (7-0). Co-leader Marple-Newtown (7-0, 11-0), which shocked a lot of fans by not applying for entry in the District 1 Duals, still has to host Garnet Valley (Feb. 2) and visit Ridley (Feb. 12). … Also on for Wednesday night is the Unity Cup – featuring the Council Rock brawl between South and North, the No. 1 and No. 8 seeds, respectively, in the district duals.

WEIGHING IN

The PIAA reportedly likes the National Federation of High School’s new wrestling weight classes proposal, which is on the table now for the second straight year. And, according to Rod Frisco – who I respect as much if not more than anyone in the media – the executive staff will recommend the PIAA Board of Directors approve the proposal when they meet Thursday in Mechanicsburg.

The new lineup would be 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195, 220 and 285. But even if the PIAA approves the proposal, nothing would be official, or adopted, until the first or second week of April at the earliest … or until the NFHS national rules committee vote, the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee review of the proposal, and the NFHS Board of Directors’ final stamp of approval.

BIG NUMBERS

Congratulations to Pottstown for becoming the fourth – not sixth as previously reported – area program 11th in District 1 to reach 500 wins. The Trojans reached the milestone with a 55-18 rout of Concord, Del., during the Kennett Duals on Saturday. … Pottstown trails only Boyertown (519), Methacton (527) and Spring-Ford (529) on the local overall wins chart.

Congratulations to Spring-Ford head coach Tim Seislove, who picked up his 150th career win last Wednesday when the Rams defeated Perkiomen Valley. Seislove is third among active coaches, trailing only Pottsgrove’s Jeff Madden (279) and Uppper Perkiomen’s Tom Hontz (293).

Pottsgrove’s Zach Robinson broke the Falcons’ school record for career wins last week, passing Chris Beasley (112) and pushing his total up to 115. The two, along with Ryan Michaels (103) – who two younger brothers (Dan and Riley) are members of this year’s team – are the only Falcons to over the 100-win mark. … Perkiomen Valley’s Gavin Milligan (105) is closing in on the Vikings’ all-time mark of 111, set by the late Tim Smith. And Daniel Boone’s Colin Martucci (107) is closing in on the Blazers’ all-time mark of 116, set by Tyler Schwartz. … Methacton’s returning state medalist Brandan Clark (127), with another deep run into the postseason, could break the Warriors’ all-time mark of 145 set by state champion and three-time state medalist Dan Covatta. … Boyertown’s Jeremy Minich (118) and OJR’s Scott Syrek (107) are the only other active wrestlers with 100 or more wins. … Plymouth-Whitemarsh’s top-ranked John Staudenmayer last week became the district’s 20th wrestler to reach 150 career wins.

Lighty gets the last laugh

2011-01-26T16:03:00.001-05:00

This column originally ran in the Jan. 18, 2011 edition of The Pottstown Mercury

Rashaad Lighty got more than his share of ribbing last week when a picture of him getting pinned appeared on the front page of our sports section. Some of the teasing was good-natured. Some, of course, wasn’t. According to a few sources, a lot of students — not student-athletes, that is — got a good laugh after seeing it.

Sure enough, two nameless emails made their way into my mailbox over the weekend, both demanding an explanation as to why we would so “carelessly” publish a photograph that can only “humiliate” a young man. I wasn’t laughing.

The funny thing is Rashaad Lighty — a junior at Pottstown — will (and should) get the last laugh.

Without question, wrestling lacks the fan base that supports the sport like the throng that hoots and hollers for football, basketball and baseball. But wrestling does have a loyal following. Actually, they should be acknowledged as an educated following, because anyone with the slightest understanding of wrestling would do anything but laugh at such a photograph.

Let’s try Wrestling 101 here…

There is no sport in high school or college like wrestling. There is no sport in high school or college that demands such physical and mental strength, such discipline, on a daily basis, as wrestling does.

It is individual sport at its best … two athletes going toe to toe, or head to head, in a circle in plain sight for everyone to see for upwards of six minutes. Ankles and knees get turned, elbow and shoulders get twisted, necks get tortured and faces get slapped and smacked. There

are also times, more than most care to admit, when one of those ankles, knees, elbows or shoulders snap — torn cartilage and ligaments, muscle tears, separations, broken bones. Ouch doesn’t quite cover it. And to think hardly a day goes by when they aren’t watching what they eat — or how much they can eat — just so they can make weight, just so they can put themselves in a position to get all twisted and turned (beat up kind of covers it), well, that takes a special athlete … a real athlete.

But they do it, day in and day out, week to week, for a little over three months.

They do it to get their arm raised … to win. When they don’t, they’re right back in the practice room the next day, and the grind begins again.

Rashaad Lighty did lose that match last Thursday night, even lost another Saturday morning. But in between, he was working to get better. And while others were sleeping in, sitting in front of a computer or fiddling with their iPad, iPod, Xbox or Kindle, enjoying a day off from school or work, Lighty was back on the mats Monday.

That’s more, considerably more, than any of those laughing at the photograph can say.

Yep, Rashaad Lighty gets the last laugh.

Methacton headed south to Maryland over the weekend, wrestled eight matches in two days, and gave head coach A.J. Maida something to smile about on the ride back.

The Warriors swept their pool and three crossover matches before a 45-22 loss to Spalding (Md.) in the final of the Cavalier Duals.

“The kids wrestled very well,” Maida said. “We had a few kids go undefeated, a couple of others went 7-1 … it just seemed like everyone challenged their opponents at one time or another. Everyone stepped up.”

Rob D’Annunzio (112), Pat Carr (145) and Brandan Clark (215) were all 8-0, while freshman Joe Staley (119) and Eliot Reisz (171-189) both went 7-1 for the Warriors, who limited the opposition to less than 20 points until their semifinal (44-28 over Decatur) and final matches.

D’Annunzio knocked off a national prep medalist, who is also nationally ranked this season; Staley, who was just 7-6 before the trip, dropped a close decision to a state-ranked rival from Spalding; Carr was, “just dominant the entire weekend,” according to Maida; and Clark underlined his spotless showing by winning a bout he trailed 8-3 in the second period.

Methacton actually led Spalding by an 19-6 spread early on, but came up short in eight of the last nine individual bouts.

“After the loss to Upper Perkiomen (on Dec. 18) the kids realized they had to change things,” Maida said. “I think what sparked us was the (come-from-behind) win against Perkiomen Valley, and then the big win over Downingtown East.

“I think that’s when the kids realized they could hang with some people. They realized they could be successful if they continued to do the little things. They’ve been working hard, and that was evident (at the Cavalier Duals).”

The first round of the Pioneer Athletic Conference Round-Robin Tournament — which some are calling this year’s championship chase — was held last weekend, with Upper Perkiomen taking down four-time defending champion Boyertown, 39-31. It was the Bears’ first league loss since falling 32-28 to Spring-Ford back on Jan. 23, 2008, ending a 22-match winning streak.

Tom Hontz, who guided Upper Perkiomen to nine straight titles from 1998 through 2006, is well aware Saturday’s win meant nothing more than the Indians are now 4-0.

“There is still a long way to go,” Hontz said after the come-from-behind win Saturday.

Hontz and the Indians have little time to celebrate because Wednesday it’s Round Two — Upper Perkiomen at Owen J. Roberts, where the Indians lost 39-25 a year ago.

And win, lose or draw, the Wildcats will have little time to dwell on whatever outcome awaits them because they’re traveling to Boyertown on Saturday for Round Three.

If anyone cares (or dares) to look ahead, Upper Perkiomen will be at Spring-Ford for Round Four on Wednesday, Jan. 26. Then, just two days after the opening rounds of the District 1-Class AAA Duals Tournament — which is likely to include a foursome or more from the PAC-10 — Spring-Ford gets right back into it for Round Five on Saturday, Jan. 29 at Owen J. Roberts.

Oh, there’s a Round Six, too … but more on that – maybe even on a Methacton, Perkiomen Valley or Pottsgrove upset in between – in a week or so.

Injuries to Boyertown’s Zach Heffner and Owen J. Roberts’ Scott Syrek — two of the state’s better upperweights — will take a wee bit of a bite out of what could’ve been some great individual matchups down the stretch — as well as in the postseason.

The 189-pound Heffner, a returning state qualifier, tore his ACL at last month’s Beast of the East Classic and hasn’t wrestled since. He is scheduled for surgery Thursday and will, in all likelihood, miss the rest of the season.

Syrek, a two-time state qualifier and medalist last year, has been slowed his entire career by shoulder and knee injuries. He had his shoulder operated on this past summer, and didn’t get onto the mats until last Wednesday’s dual against Perkiomen Valley. Then Saturday, after two more easy wins in the Escape The Rock at Council Rock South High School, he re-injured his shoulder during the semifinals and medically forfeited out of the tournament. Syrek may or may not return this season. If he does, though, few expect him to be anywhere close to 100 percent for the postseason grind.

PAC-10 race is filled with questions

2011-01-26T16:00:00.001-05:00

This column originally ran in the Jan. 11, 2011 edition of The Pottstown Mercury

The high school wrestling season passed the one-month mark last weekend. That’s four full weeks of invitationals this, classics that, duals marathons as well as the latest and greatest round-robin tournaments – even an occasional, old-fashioned dual meet.

Problem is, there seems to be as many unanswered questions now as there were on the so-called “official” opening day of practice back in November.

None seems to have been tossed around more than who (or whom) is (or are) going to win the Pioneer Athletic Conference. Please, watch your grammar answering that one. Watch it carefully, because even though Boyertown at first was far and away the favorite among the matheads to win a fifth straight title, there doesn’t seem to be a favorite any more … only favorites.

It’s gotten to the point now that it just may depend on where you live (you know, root-root-root for the home team).

In less time than it took Rulon Gardner to drop 32 pounds from his 474-pound frame on The Biggest Loser, Owen J. Roberts served notice it would

be one of the contenders by taking down Boyertown on opening day — in front of the hometown folks, no less — at the Bear Duals. Upper Perkiomen established itself as a legitimate contender with early decisions of Methacton and Perkiomen Valley (more on these two later). And now, Spring-Ford – the only team other than Boyertown or Upper Perkiomen to win a PAC-10 title since 1998 – has quietly made it a foursome.

So guess what?

There isn’t likely to be an answer, or champion (dare we say champions), until Spring-Ford visits Boyertown to settle their own issue on the final night of the PAC-10 season next month – Wednesday, Feb. 9, to be exact.

From now until then the four contenders not only must deal with one another, of course, but with a few others very, very capable of turning this championship chase into a round-robin ruckus. The few others? Methacton and Perkiomen Valley, as stated earlier, and Pottsgrove. If healthy, if determined to stay off their backs, if able to avoid surrendering bonus points – agreed, that’s a lot of “ifs” – all three could pull off a surprise or two. Coulda, shoulda… be careful.

Be careful time, or ready to go from the opening whistle, begins this Wednesday for Owen J. Roberts, which entertains Perkiomen Valley, and for Spring-Ford, which hosts Pottsgrove.

The Wildcats have two notable starters out of the lineup right now. Make no mistake about it, they’re good, but still not as good as they’d be with Jordan Moser and Scott Syrek in the lineup. Head coach Steve DeRafelo would like nothing more than to have them both weighing in next week when OJR has to go back-to-back with Upper Perkiomen (Wednesday) and Boyertown (Saturday). But first there’s PV, a team that had both Methacton and Upper Perkiomen beat until the final bout in each determined otherwise.

Spring-Ford may actually have the most balanced lineup of anyone right now, but needs that balance to offset Pottsgrove’s four (perhaps five) big guns. The Rams also need to remain focused – not to mention healthy – through the next week or so before finishing up with Upper Perkiomen, Owen J. Roberts and Boyertown.

Upper Perkiomen may be the unknown factor in the championship equation at this juncture because the Indians have done most of their wrestling in North Carolina and Virginia. They can wield a punch down low and in the upper portion of their lineup. They showed some spunk in the wins over Methacton and Perkiomen Valley. Whether they contend or pretend will be determined in the next week and a half, or following encounters with Boyertown (this Saturday) and Owen J. Roberts (next Wednesday).

Which brings us back to Boyertown, where this whole darn conversation – or argument – started.

Mark it down. Even though there is a noticeable hole or two in their lineup, magnified even more now that Zach Heffner is reportedly done for the season because of an injury, the Bears are still the team to beat.

Can they, or will they, get beat – is the big question.

But for now, no more questions … please.

MILESTONE WINS

Perkiomen Valley’s Gavin Milligan and Daniel Boone’s Colin Martucci last weekend became the second and third area wrestlers to reach the coveted 100 career wins mark this season, the 90th and 91st overall from The Mercury area.

Milligan joined the late Tim Smith (111) as the only Vikings to hit the mark, while Martucci joined Eddie Lockowitz (103) and Tyler Schwartz (116) as the only Blazers to achieve the feat.

With the milestone win out of the way, the 145-pound Milligan wouldn’t mind penciling his name into another column at Perkiomen Valley – which hasn’t had a postseason champion or a state qualifier since 2004.

The 152-pound Martucci, the son of former St. Pius X head coach John Martucci, is geared toward ending his own personal postseason frustration. The senior is a two-time section runner-up who came within one win of qualifying for states last year with a fourth at the AAA Southcentral Regional. Daniel Boone hasn’t had a state medalist 1999, either.

As many as five others – Phoenixville’s Ken Cenci, Pottsgrove’s T.J. Demetrio, Spring-Ford’s Matt Krueger, Owen J. Roberts’ Jonathan Dempsey and Methacton’s Rob D’Annunzio – are likely to reach the 100-win mark before season’s end, too.

Cenci would become Phoenixville’s fourth with 100 or more, while Demetrio would join Ryan Michaels (104), teammate Zach Robinson (107) and Chris Beasley (112) as the lone Falcons on the list.

The area’s active career win leaders are Boyertown’s Jeremy Minich (114), Methacton’s Brandan Clark (111), Robinson and Owen J. Roberts’ Scott Syrek (103), who has yet to wrestle this season due to an injury.

And speaking of wins, Spring-Ford is now the area’s leader with 526 victories in the history of its program. Methacton (518), with just two duals thus far this season, and Boyertown (517) are the only other area programs with 500-plus wins. Pottstown is just four shy of joining that select group.

District 7 power Canon-McMillan, which defeated Upper Perkiomen in the season-opening Quakertown Duals last month, is the runaway leader in all-time wins. The Macs opened the year with 954.

Versatile Mauger has been superb

2011-01-26T15:57:00.002-05:00

This column originally ran in the Jan. 4, 2011 edition of The Pottstown Mercury

Tyler Mauger has proven time and time again he can carry his own weight. He did it last year on the wrestling mat, this past fall on the football field, and through the first month of the current wrestling season.

And did it with the old-fashioned, blue-collar approach…

“I just go all out all the time,” Mauger explained.

Mauger was the jack-of-all-trades — or the pencil-me-in-wherever-needed upperweight – a year ago. He didn’t have to watch what he ate, and didn’t have to resort to any last-minute running in the gym to shed a pound or two, either. He was a legitimate 171-pounder. But because of the talent around him —namely Brock Hallman, Zach Heffner and Ryan Schwager — he competed in that weight class just eight times, and only once after Christmas.

If there was ever a key to Boyertown’s run to a fourth straight Pioneer Athletic Conference championship and the program’s first District 1-AAA Team Duals title, though, it was Mauger. He often got bumped up to 189. But when the postseason rolled around — a time when most wrestlers stay put or drop a weight class — he was right smack in the middle of a predicament when Hallman locked in at 171 and Heffner dropped and locked in at 189.

Mauger’s only option was to go all the way up to 215. And as unusual as the move may have been — and despite being considerably shorter and obviously lighter than anyone he wrestled — Mauger responded with a second at sectionals, fourth at districts, and an appearance at regionals — where he lost to eventual state medalist Brandan Clark of Methacton and eventual fifth-place finisher Marcus Collins of Bonner.

This past fall, Mauger wasn’t exactly the cut-out-of-stone strong safety, either. But he hit like a boulder and drew praise from virtually every opposing coach. After helping the Bears to a share of the PAC-10 title, he was

named a first-team defensive back on the league and Mercury All-Area teams.

The day after the football season ended, Mauger was one of the first in the wrestling room the following morning.

“I came off the football field and went right into wrestling,” he said. “I knew I had a lot of hard work ahead of me, a lot of hard work just to get in condition. I was running a lot when I wasn’t practicing, too.”

Mauger made up for lost time in a hurry, won four of his first five bouts in the season-opening Bear Duals, and put up a major in the PAC-10 opener against Pope John Paul II.

Up next was the Beast of the East – unquestionably one of the most challenging high school tournaments in the country. A year ago, Mauger lost a 14-0 major and was pinned in 30 seconds, both of which overshadowed his two wins.

No one had any reason to think he’d do much better this time around, either, especially when Heffner moved down to 189 and, once again, Mauger found himself bumped up to 215. But he won his first three bouts before falling to nationally-ranked Kyle Snyder in the semifinals and, eventually, had to settle for sixth place.

Last week, Mauger was back at 189 for the Bethlehem Holiday Classic … and was golden. He started with a first-period pin, then followed with three straight overtime decisions – one of which was a 5-4 semifinal thriller over Michael Mauk of St. Mark’s (Del.) to avenge his lone setback in the season-opening Bear Duals.

“Right now I feel I’m good enough to go out there with anyone,” Mauger explained. “I have that confidence.

“I feel I’ve gotten a lot better since last year. Last year my biggest problem was probably on my feet. But now I feel a lot smoother on my feet.”

Mauger spent a lot of time on the mats last summer, right up until the football season kicked off. The practices, camps, clinics and matches – followed by the turnaround football season that ended with the share of the PAC-10 title and 10-2 overall record – have all played a big part in Mauger’s eye-opening December run.

“I think there was a little carryover from football,” Mauger admitted. “I got used to winning in football, and that helped me going right into wrestling.”

There’s no question Mauger’s technique has improved. There’s no question he has a bit more of a confident strut these days.

But he still wrestles each and every match like he did from the beginning.

“I go hard all six minutes,” he said. “That’s what has won me a lot of matches, and it’s how I’m going to win now. I go hard all the time. I want to be in better shape than the other guy, and I want to be more aggressive and more physical than the other guy. Confidence does help, too.

“But I just go all out, just like I go all out playing football. That’s all I can do. I don’t want to regret that I didn’t give it my best. I don’t want to regret that I didn’t give it everything I have.”

* * *

There are only two PAC-10 matches Wednesday and another on Saturday as the tournament grind continues this weekend. … Up in the Berks Conference, though, defending Division Two champion Daniel Boone visited Exeter on Monday night and hosts defending Division One champion Wilson (3-0, 7-1 overall) on Wednesday night. … The Hill School, off since Dec. 19, returns to the mats Saturday as the host of the annual Mid-Atlantic Prep League and Inter-Ac Duals. … Perkiomen School, off since Dec. 14, is back wrestling on Saturday at the Church Farm School Tournament.

* * *

Methacton’s Brandan Clark is now The Mercury area’s active leader in career wins with 111. Boyertown’s Jeremy Minich, idle due to illness for over a week now, is next at 109. Owen J. Roberts’ Scott Syrek, who has yet to start his senior season due to an injury, has 103 career wins, and Pottsgrove’s Zach Robinson is at 102. … Perkiomen Valley’s Gavin Milligan (97) and Daniel Boone’s Colin Martucci (95) are both closing in on the coveted 100-win mark.

* * *

NATIONAL NOTE: Townsend (Mont.) senior Jade Rauser set a state record last week by winning his 145th straight bout and is now 147-0 in his high school career. The 125-pound Rauser will be looking for his fourth straight state title next month. His twin brother, 130-pound Val, owns two state titles and a 132-4 career record. Both have already committed to Division I Utah Valley.

Injury bug bites PAC-10’s best

2011-01-26T15:55:00.001-05:00

This column originally ran in the Dec. 28, 2010 edition of The Pottstown Mercury

If it seems as though something has been missing through the first two-plus weeks of the wrestling season, well, there is.

Pottsgrove’s T.J. Demetrio and Owen J. Roberts’ Scott Syrek, both state qualifiers last March, have yet to step onto the mat. Boyertown’s Zach Heffner, another returning state qualifier who was off to an 8-3 start, may not be stepping onto the mat for a while. And Perkiomen Valley’s Lou Fioravanti, unquestionably one of the area’s break-out talents who wrestled his way to regionals last season and was projected to be one of the better heavyweights this winter, has yet to step onto the mat.

Injuries, injuries, injuries, injuries … ailing elbows, knees. You name it and they, unfortunately, got them.

Demetrio suffered an elbow injury in Pottsgrove’s first scrimmage and had to settle for a seat in the bleachers when the Falcons opened just over a week ago at the West Chester East Tournament. Syrek reaggravated a knee injury during the Super 32 Challenge in Greensboro, N.C., back in October, and has sat matside through the Bear Duals and Beast of the East as well as the Pioneer Athletic Conference opener with Pottstown. Heffner was a real bear throughout Boyertown’s season-opening duals as well as a PAC-10 test with Pope John Paul II before hurting his knee at the Beast of the East. And Fioravanti was all set for the season-opening Southeast Classic until suffering an elbow injury during practice the day before.

Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch…

“T.J. is coming along,” head coach Jeff Madden said of Demetrio, who last year became just the second AAA Southeast Region champion at Pottsgrove. “I guess if you’re going to get hurt, (getting hurt in the preseason) is a good time of the year to do it.

“He’s been taking it slowly, though. He’s going to wrestle (today and Wednesday) at the Christmas City (tournament).”

Late starts aren’t new to Demetrio. He was late getting into the practice room last year after helping the Falcons’ football team win the District 1-AAA team and advance to the state playoffs. But he made up for lost time in a hurry, joining Chris Beasley as the school’s only regional champion and becoming the program’s first state qualifier since Beasley way back in 1992.

“I guess it is very similar to last year,” Madden said of his 152-pound senior. “He didn’t get started then until Christmas City. If this had happened to someone else you may be a little more concerned. But T.J. works hard. He works so hard in the summer. He’s as prepared as well as anyone can. Every injury can set you back, but he’ll overcome it.”

Syrek, a two-time state medalist who has been slowed by shoulder and knee injuries throughout his career – which includes 103 career wins – isn’t expected to compete in this week’s Buckskin Classic at Conestoga Valley High School.

According to OJR head coach Steve DeRafelo, the 215-pound Syrek tweaked his knee during the Super 32 Challenge, where he had decisioned returning Pennsylvania state runner-up and nationally ranked Zach Nye of Pennsboro only to fall in the final to Garnet Valley’s Matt Idelson, who is also nationally ranked.

“He just reaggravated (the knee injury),” DeRafelo said. “We’re hoping to have him back as soon as we can, but it’ll probably be another two or three weeks.”

The Wildcats could really use Syrek in the lineup when they get into their 10-day January grind. From the 19th through the 29th, OJR’s schedule features PAC-10 showdowns with Upper Perkiomen, defending champion Boyertown and Spring-Ford.

“We’ve been pretty lucky up to this point that we have two young kids (Brad Trego and Nick DeAngelo) wrestling well,” DeRafelo said. “Not many teams have much depth, or good backups at 189 and 215, but both Trego and DeAngelo have done a nice job for us with (Syrek) out of the lineup.”

Boyertown head coach Pete Ventresca, as well as everyone else in his practice room, are hoping Heffner can make it back quickly … if at all.

A two-time Section Four champion who looked like a lock to return to states this season, the 215-pound Heffner was 3-1 and in line for a medal at the torturous Beast of the East. However, a knee injury forced him to medically forfeit to St. Mark’s Michael Mauk.

“Zach hurt his knee, but we don’t know to what extent,” Ventresca said. “It’s just one of those things that happen in this sport. Right now we just can’t jump to any conclusions. I know we don’t want to think the worst…

“But we’ll know soon. He’s waiting on the results of some tests, so no one knows for sure. It’s a wait-and-see situation. He may be good in a week or two, or he may be out for the rest of the season. All we can do at the moment is hope for the best.”

Fioravanti eluded injuries during football and throughout the two weeks of wrestling workouts. But the day before the Southeast Classic, the Viking heavyweight injured his elbow during practice.

“We were concerned at first because we thought (the injury) could be a fracture,” said Perkiomen Valley head coach Tim Walsh. “He hasn’t been able to wrestle since. He has been running, and he’s keeping his cardio up by riding the bike. But he really can’t do anything else.”

Without Fioravanti, the Vikings finished third at the Southeast Classic and had no trouble in a pair of duals against Unionville and Pottstown. But the veteran 285-pounder could have made a difference in last week’s 33-28 loss to neighboring Methacton.

“The kids are doing well, and everyone hopes to have Lou back as soon as possible,” Walsh said. “I know he had high hopes for himself after doing so well last year, so we hope to have him back before the postseason.”

* * *

Upper Perkiomen head coach Tom Hontz got a nice holiday present when his Indians finished third in last week’s King of the Mat at North Davidson High School in Lexington, N.C.

Dante and Dylan Steffenino both knocked off the top-seeds in their brackets en route to gold medals at 103 and 112 pounds, respectively. Teammates Wolfgang McStravick (125), Nate Pompei (160) and Dalton Fleming (189) added fourths as the Indians finished up with 167.5 points and behind only co-champions Parkland (N.C.) and Soddy Daisy (Tenn.) and their 224 points.

Parkland, which has won (or shared) the tournament title four straight years, had seven top-four finishes. Defending state champion Antwan Davis (136 career wins), who edged McStravick by a 12-9 count in the semifinals, took third. The Mustangs have won 193 consecutive duals since 2006-07 and are 253-11 in five seasons under head coach Maurice Atwood.

Soddy Daisy was ranked No. 2 in Tennessee before a 31-30 loss to Christian Brothers just over a week ago dropped the Trojans to No. 4.

The King of the Mat featured 45 teams – 36 from N.C., four from S.C., two from Virginia, and one each from Alabama, Tennessee and, of course, Pennsylvania.

* * *

The Christmas/New Year holiday break means wrestling … and plenty of it. Here’s this week’s menu:

Today and Wednesday: Boyertown in the Bethlehem Holiday Classic at Liberty High School; Pottsgrove in the Xmas City Classic at Bethlehem Catholic High School; and Daniel Boone and Pottstown in the Governor Mifflin Tournament.

Wednesday and Thursday: Methacton and Perkiomen Valley in the Wetzel Invitational at Hatboro-Horsham High School; Owen J. Roberts in the Buckskin Classic at Conestoga Valley High School; Phoenixville in the Tunkahannock Kiwanis Tournament; and Spring-Ford in the Manheim Holiday Tournament.

Pottsgrove’s Robinson now halfway to reaching goals

2011-01-26T15:52:00.001-05:00

This column originally ran in the Dec. 21, 2010 edition of The Pottstown Mercury

Zach Robinson had two specific goals when he strolled into Pottsgrove’s practice room as a highly touted freshman – 100 wins and a spot in the PIAA Championships out in Hershey.

One down … one to go.

The senior pinned down his 100th career win last Saturday when he decked Central Bucks South’s Eddie Keegan at the 1:24 mark in the second round of the West Chester East Tournament. Earlier, he opened his season by running up a technical fall and, following his milestone win, added two more pins and a major decision to capture the 145-pound gold medal.

“The 100 wins mean a lot to me,” Robinson said. “There aren’t many wrestlers from Pottsgrove who have done it. It’s

been an honor working for it, and I’m more than happy to finally get there.

“It’s something I’ve been shooting for since my freshman year, that and wanting to be in Hershey. I’m still working on the second part, but this will give me some confidence.”

Robinson admits he’s been a slow-starter. As a freshman, he opened 9-2 before winning 19 of his next 21. As a sophomore, he was just 6-4 before taking 22 of his next 23. Last season, he was 9-3 before stringing together 20 in a row.

Handling the punting and placekicking chores for Pottsgrove’s football team all three years may have had something to do with those slow starts, especially considering the Falcons went deep into the postseason all three years.

“I was a sophomore when Jordan Klinger was (the football team’s) kicker. But Jordan hurt his knee real bad in soccer and I just went out and said, ‘Let me try a couple.’ Lo and behold, coach (Rick) Pennypacker said OK and I was the kicker.”

Robinson, who punted very well, didn’t realize he booted his way over the 100-point career mark this season and finished with a school record 127 kick-scoring points.

Now, a 100-100 double…

Interesting, and obviously rare among high school athletes who kick the football as well as kick around on a wrestling mat. But there’s still that issue of getting to Hershey.

“I don’t have an answer if my slow starts are due to football,” Robinson said. “I do know I’m a little rusty in the beginning (of wrestling). I do some camps in summer, but I don’t get a lot of matches. So I guess it’s a little tricky for me to hit all my stuff early on. It’s made for some rocky starts.

“I know this year I felt it because the first week or week and a half in the room was really hard. I was always feeling out of breath. After that first week went by I felt OK, though. I feel I’m getting in shape now. I also realize now why we did all that running so much.”

Robinson hopes to get on another long run, on the mats.

And he hopes this last lap goes considerably further than in the past. He has two section titles, a pair of fourths at districts, and two forgettable regional appearances (2-4 overall). Passing the 100-win mark – which puts him well within reach of former Pottsgrove standout Chris Beasley (112) and tied with Ryan Michaels (103) on the school’s career win chart – is already in the book. He hopes to add considerably more to get on board for that coveted trip to Hershey in March.

“I established those two goals as a freshman,” Robinson recalled. “Looking back maybe I tried too hard. But not getting (to states) has been more than frustration. I’ve had some really tough moments after the last two years at regionals.

“But now I’m focused on one thing. I’ve gotten 100, so that’s over with now and I’m happy about that. So I’m really focused on that other goal … getting to states.”

Robinson was one of Pottsgrove’s three individual champions and nine medalists overall at the W.C. East Tournament. Also capturing gold were Danny Michaels (160) and Tyler Wysochanski (189) – two other starters on the Falcons’ football team. Michaels, a junior, and freshman brother Riley Michaels (third at 125), are both younger brothers of Ryan Michaels, who went on to become a three-time NCWA All-American at RPI.

PULLING RANK

The Mercury’s first team and individual rankings appear today. Spring-Ford and its very balanced as well as experienced lineup, which finished second at the Southeast Classic and dropped just one of five matches at the Wilson Brawl last weekend, debuts at No. 1. Owen J. Roberts and defending PAC-10 champion Boyertown follow in the second and third spots, respectively, followed by Upper Perkiomen and Perkiomen Valley to close out the Fab Five.

Individually, it’s pretty much a poke-and-hope putting everyone in the first through third slots at this early stage. But among the big surprises heading into the Christmas break – as short as it may be for wrestling – are Spring-Ford’s Sean Hennessey (11-0 at 119), and Daniel Boone teammates Liam Gibbons (10-1 at 130) and Ken Bock (10-0 at 189).

The area’s toughest brackets thus far appear to be 103 with Boyertown’s Ed Kriczky (10-3), Upper Perkiomen’s Dante Steffenino (7-1) and Hill School’s Chad Saunders (7-2); 145 with Robinson, Perkiomen Valley’s Gavin Milligan (8-0) and Methacton’s Pat Carr (5-0); and 189, with Bock, Boyertown’s Zach Heffner (8-3), Methacton’s Eliot Reisz (1-0) and three others.

REAL BEASTS

Boyertown’s Tyler Mauger, who has little if any problems making weight at 189, moved up to 215 when teammate Zach Heffner moved down for last weekend’s Beast of the East Classic. But the luxury of taking a few extra bites of food for a few days isn’t quite like the taste of a medal … any medal, that is, at the Beast.

Mauger, who this past fall played much bigger and considerably more physical than his listed height and weight in helping the Bears to a share of the PAC-10 football championship, won four straight bouts to get into Sunday’s semifinals. Surprise? Better believe it was considering he had about two weeks in the practice room to soothe the aches and pains, make the transition from tackles to takedowns, and to build up his endurance. And then moving up and giving up more than a handful or two of pounds in arguably the toughest high school tournament in the country?

As it turned out, he was denied a spot in the final by Kyle Snyder, who just may be the nation’s next upperweight phenom. The Good Counsel (Md.) freshman – that’s right, freshman – not only beat him 14-6, but went on to blank Garnet Valley’s defending champion and nationally ranked Matt Idelson, 3-0, in the final. Prior to last weekend, Snyder’s high school debut included two tournament wins at the Ray Oliver Invitational and the War at the Shore.

The three area teams at the Beast – Boyertown (28-25), The Hill School (8-14) and Owen J. Roberts (17-24) – went a combined 53-63 in individual bouts. Though nothing to really shout home about, the Bears got at least one win from all 12 of their wrestlers; OJR got wins from nine of its dozen entries; and Hill – which sent a portion of its lineup to the West Chester East Tournament – got at least one win from four of its seven wrestlers.

Boyertown – which was presented the Team Sportsmanship Award – has now had at least one medalist at the Beast of the East six straight years.

John Staudenmayer became Plymouth-Whitemarsh’s first Beast champion after taking the gold at 171. Staudenmayer capped the weekend with a second-period near fall and third-period reversal for a 4-2 decision in the final. Not only does he become Colonials’ first champion, but the program’s first medalist since Shane Vocht finished fourth at 125 back in 1999. Even two-time state champion Justin Giovinco was never able to close the deal, settling for a pair of runner-up finishes in 1997-98.

If there was a Beast OW it would have to go to 189-pound James Fox of St. Peter’s Prep (N.J.). Unseeded, Fox stunned two-time defending champion and Ohio State-bound Kenny Courts of Central Dauphin, 2-1 in overtime, during the semifinals. Fox added another win in Sunday afternoon’s final for the gold medal.

MATTERS OF FACT

Council Rock South got a first place from Danny Martoccio (103) and second from Trey Balasco (112) and had seven medalists overall to finish sixth among 41 teams at last weekend’s King of the Mountain brawl. The Golden Hawks were without returning state medalist Billy Rappo – out with an injured hand – who is District 1’s only nationally ranked wrestler (eighth at 103). … Easton appears back in its dominating stance after winning last weekend’s Reno Tournament of Champions out in Nevada. Mitch Minotti dominated at 145 (two pins, technical fall, two majors and 3-0 shutout in the final), and Jalal Paige bounced back from an opening-round loss with eight straight wins to take third at 285 to headline seven medalists. Easton put up 171 points to outdistance Tulsa Union (Tex.) and Roseburg (Ore.), which were second and third, respectively, with 151.5 and 143.5 points. … The nation’s No. 1 ranked team, Apply Valley (Minn.), won its fourth consecutive team title and 13 overall at last weekend’s Minnesota Christmas Tournament. The champions were led by seventh-grader Mark Hall, who won at 130, and Destin McCauley, who became the first four-time champion in the 24-year history of the event, at 152.

Major decision

2011-01-26T15:46:00.002-05:00

This column originally ran in the Dec. 14, 2010 edition of The Pottstown Mercury

Parvanti Dominque knew very, very little about wrestling, actually never even saw a wrestling match, growing up in Haiti. Like most of his friends, basketball and soccer were his games.

So when Dominque held off Upper Moreland’s Sebastian Medina, 3-2, in his varsity debut during the second round of the Brian Bealer Memorial Bear Duals last Saturday, it was impossible not to notice the smile, the joy that overwhelmed him – as well as all his Boyertown teammates – when the his arm was raised to acknowledge the victory.

“That was a great moment,” Boyertown assistant coach Tony Haley said.

It was indeed, and not because Dominque first stepped on a wrestling mat less than a month earlier.

But because of how far Dominque had come since sleeping on a makeshift bed every night for nearly two months outside his home in Port-au-Prince, approximately 16 miles east of the epicenter of last January’s earthquake … how far Dominque had come since surviving the catastrophe that affected three million people, injured close to a million, killed more than 230,000 – many of his friends – and left his country in near total ruin.

“I was in our house watching a movie when I felt a vibration,” Dominque said, recalling the late-afternoon quake of Jan. 12. “I thought it was the end of the world. I saw our house kind of tilt over.

“I think (the initial shock) lasted around seven seconds. I ran outside, but then (the shocks) started again and again. We had aftershocks all night. I was so scared.”

According to reports, more than 50 aftershocks were recorded in the 12 days following the quake. Over 250,000 homes had collapsed or were severely

damaged, including the Dominques.

That forced so many families – including Parvanti, his two brothers and their parents – into rather uncivilized accommodations.

“It was scary,” Dominque said. “We put up tents outside our house and slept in them, outside, for about two months. But what made it scary were people coming into your homes, stealing things. Some would even put a gun to your head.”

Dominque witnessed firsthand how his civil nation was turned upside down … total chaos with no running water or any electricity, gangs stealing food and looting whatever else they needed to survive.

“A few years earlier, when I was in seventh grade and on my way home one day, I saw people shooting guns,” Dominque recalled. “That’s when my mom wanted me to come to the U.S. My dad didn’t (favor that) move, though.”

But when the earthquake forced schools to close, and Dominque and his brothers had virtually nothing to do all day but play basketball and study in the midst of all the turmoil, his father saw what he felt was best for his sons.

“Soon after the earthquake, my dad wanted us to come here,” Dominque said. “Because of all the troubles, everything that was going on, he changed his mind.”

Port-au-Prince, the capital and largest city in Haiti, located in a bay on the country’s southwestern coast, is just 750 miles southeast of Florida.

It isn’t a world removed from America, which is one reason why Dominque had taken vacations to visit relatives in Florida, New Jersey and New York. This time, though, he wouldn’t be heading north for just a week or so of fun.

This time, he and his brothers would move in with an aunt in the Boyertown school district. They arrived April 27, and it hasn’t been any vacation for Dominque or his brothers – 18-year-old Marvy and 12-year-old Leonaldo.

Not like any of them needed a reminder, but their education – first in Haiti and now Boyertown – is very important, especially for Dominque.

“I want to be a doctor,” he said.

After coming to Boyertown, Dominque didn’t really expect to do much other than go to school and study, either. But by late-summer he was a member of the Bears’ football team, taking on the challenges of learning a new sport. He didn’t get to play much, of course, but certainly enjoyed being part of the team that shared the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship this past fall.

“Football was fun,” he said.

Then soon after Thanksgiving, he was in the wrestling room.

“Coach (Pete) Ventresca saw me in school one day and told me I could be a wrestler,” the soft-spoken Dominque explained. “So I decided to try it.

“I never saw a wrestling match before I came to here to the U.S. I did see some UFC on television once, but that’s not real wrestling. But I like contact, and in a way that’s why I quit basketball. I like to always work hard. I want to be good.”

At 5-foot-11 and just over 190 pounds, Dominque discovered very quickly it won’t be easy, by any stretch of the imagination, breaking into the Boyertown starting lineup. Not with veterans like Tyler Mauger at 189 and Zach Heffner at 215, and an experienced Josh Fiss at 285. But Ventresca managed to give him one junior varsity and two varsity matches last Saturday.

“I don’t find (wrestling) too difficult,” Dominque said. “If you’re strong and you know what you’re doing you can do OK. But I have learned you have to stay focused on what you’re doing. I really like it.”

Haley, like Ventresca and the rest of the Boyertown staff, is amazed by Dominque’s work ethic, by his entire approach to wrestling.

“First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever met a nicer kid,” Haley said. “He wants to learn, wants to do well. He works hard. He wants to succeed.”

A major part of that plan – to succeed – is finishing school, going to college and becoming a doctor.

Dominque, you see, hasn’t forgotten where he came from.

“I want to be successful in whatever I do,” he said. “In the U.S., and especially right here (in Boyertown), people help you, help you progress, help you in everything. I like America, and I really like Boyertown because it’s a nice school and everyone is so friendly.

“But I miss home. I miss my parents, my friends. I miss them a lot. And things are getting worse down there.”

Dominque is well aware of the cholera outbreak that has killed more than 2,000 people and sickened close to 100,000 others. He’s well aware of the protests that turned into riots recently after the preliminary results of the late-November elections were announced.

“There’s just no activity in Haiti right now,” he said. “It’s a bad situation there. That’s why I want to be successful, why I want to study and work hard in everything I do. I want to become a doctor so I can go back and help my country.”