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.

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.”

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.”

There isn’t a soul on the Pottsgrove football team who’ll likely forget last week for a long, long time.

No one.

It was emotional chaos … a convoluted mix of joy and sadness, linked by two heartwarming wins on the field and two heartbreaking losses off the field.

It was a week when football, the game the Falcons play with such conviction and with such passion, and life itself, which every teenager way too often takes for granted, were twisted so perversely by an automobile accident that claimed the lives of two Pottsgrove student-athletes.

Coming to school for practice on Monday, despite a few leftover aches and pains from that grueling game with Rustin less than 72 hours earlier, was easy.

Coming to school for practice on Tuesday wasn’t.

Instead of looking for all those X’s and O’s and the plan of attack for their next game just 48 hours ahead of them, the Falcons were looking for one another … for a shoulder to cry on, for a hug of assurance, for hope. Many hadn’t slept the previous night, not after hearing about the accident, especially after learning classmates Mike Cantamaglia and Andrew Case had died in the crash.

Cantamaglia and Case were 16 and 17 years old, respectively, like many of them. They were juniors, like many of them.

They played soccer and lacrosse … athletes, like them.

And above all, they were friends.

“(Tuesday) was a very, very difficult day,” Pottsgrove head coach Rick Pennypacker said. “We told all of our kids if they couldn’t come to practice we’d understand. I think they were all there to start, but it was hard.

“Some broke down during warm-ups, some started crying in the huddles. Some eventually asked to leave, and we had no problem with that. I’ve been in football most of my life, but I have never experienced anything like that.”

By Thursday, the Falcons regrouped.

Whether it was while suiting up in their locker room, on the brief ride to St. Pius X High School, or during the game itself no one knows, but they had developed an indissoluble bond. And it was reinforced the moment the Thanksgiving game kicked off with the stars of Pottsgrove’s unbeaten season on the sidelines (because of an agreement by both schools to play only non-varsity starters due to playoff games just two days later).

It was a role reversal of sorts. But the Falcons responded with a collective roar or two when their unsung teammates were on the field, and with words of encouragement when they came off of it.

Pennypacker called the 42-0 win – which gave Pottsgrove its second straight outright Pioneer Athletic Conference championship – “a real team effort.” Considering the strength it took for the Falcons to take the field let alone line up and play that morning, few could argue.

The following day, many of the Falcons attended funeral services for Case … regrouped emotionally, then practiced. Early Saturday, many of the Falcons attended funeral services for Cantamaglia … regrouped emotionally, then rode off to Coatesville for the District 1-Class AAA championship showdown with Interboro.

Maika Polamalu’s 62-yard run on the second play of the night and Kayvon Greene’s 95-yard dash later in the first quarter helped the Falcons focus on the task at hand – beating yet another very physical opponent and winning the district title for the very first time.

However, a wave of adversity – as if the swell that hit them earlier in the week wasn’t enough – struck again. First, it was a fumble. Then a few missed assignments, a couple of mental mistakes, a blocked punt… All of a sudden, the Falcons trailing 21-14 and had a listless look to them.

“We were still confident we could come back, though,” said senior linebacker Preston Hamlette, who knows a little more about comebacks than most 17-year-olds.

Hamlette suffered what appeared to be a season-ending ankle injury during the second game of the season. Coupled with the strain of helping his mother through her battle with cancer, few expected him back.

He returned just over a month ago, albeit just on defense.

And Saturday night, few had more oomph in that decisive second half – or more of an increasingly confident strut in their step – than Hamlette.

Moments after the Falcons evened it up at 21-21, Hamlette cut short Interboro’s attempt to go back in front when he sacked quarterback Brett Creighton for a six-yard loss on fourth down that ended a Bucs’ drive that reached Pottsgrove’s 20-yard line with 10:31 left. Exactly five minutes later, he strolled onto the field to take a handoff and convert a fourth-and-one. That helped the Falcons run out all but the final three seconds of regulation, force overtime, and survive yet another trying ordeal.

“This win was for (Cantamaglia and Case), this was a win in memory of them,” Hamlette said.

No one, perhaps, played with as much emotion – or with as heavy a heart – as Polamalu.

The junior running back went to school with Case at St. Aloysius. Later, they were teammates in the Pottstown PAL youth football program.

“(Case) was one of my best friends,” Polamalu said. “It was hard not thinking about him and (Cantamaglia), hard concentrating on football this week. But we dedicated tonight’s game to them, in their honor. I wanted to do everything I could for (Case), wanted to represent him as best I could.

“It’s been a tough week, a tough week for all of us. What has happened has made us all fight even harder, and I think it’s helped make us a better football team.”

“These kids are unbelievable, and what they did (last) week was unbelievable,” Pennypacker said. “We couldn’t be more proud of them.”

* * *

Pottsgrove advances into the first round of the PIAA-Class AAA playoffs, taking on Archbishop Wood this Friday (7 p.m.) at Northeast High School in Philadelphia.

OUT WITH A ROAR

It was also a week to remember for St. Pius X football, which hosted its final game at Mich Stadium on Thanksgiving, then played its final game up in Williamstown on Saturday night.

St. Pius will team up with Kennedy-Kenrick next year at the new Pope John Paul II High School in Upper Providence Township.

“It was difficult knowing (Thursday) was the last time we’ll be playing here,” former Lions head coach Jim Mich – who the field was named after back in 1976 – said late Thursday night.

They had one of the largest crowds ever at Pius last week, and many of those in attendance were there for one reason only.

“For many of us it was our way of saying ‘Thank you, coach Mich,’ “ said Tom Reed, who played for Mich in the early 70s. “Even though the school is closing, I think most of us, whenever we think of St. Pius, will always think of Jim Mich.”

Mich also made the long trek up to Williams Valley High School for Pius’ state playoff game against Tri-Valley on Saturday night. Despite having almost as many coaching changes as wins in the six years leading up to this season, Mich was one of the biggest supporters of current head coach George Parkinson and never wavered in his support of the kids who played for him.

“What has helped get some of us through (the closing of the school) is the great job coach Parkinson and his kids have done this year,” Mich said. “They won a district championship … they brought some pride back to the program.”

TALKING TURKEY

It’s a shame Thanksgiving Day football isn’t quite what is used to be … at least in this area.

Locally, the tradition began back in the 1920s, and even though the smaller schools’ rivalries disappeared by way of jointures, there were usually a handful of games to choose from before sitting down with the family to gobble up the turkey, take a short nap, then wake up to watch an NFL game or two on the tube.

It’s still easy to remember those 10,000-plus fans who sat in on the Phoenixville-Great Valley game back in 1966; the 10,000-plus who watched Pottstown and Owen J. Roberts epic in 1970; and the 12,000-plus who squeezed into Coach McNelly Stadium to watch the showdown between unbeatens Phoenixville and Spring-Ford back in 1994.

With Pius closing it doors at the end of the current school year, the current Thanksgiving Day card of four games will be reduced to three, and that’s only if the remaining three – Boyertown and Upper Perkiomen, Owen J. Roberts and Pottstown, and Phoenixville and Spring-Ford – continue the commitment to their respective holiday series.

Playoffs, of course, have led to the demise of Thanksgiving Day football. And even though statewide playoffs began back in 1988 (thanks to the constant whining of the WPIAL), it took a while – actually increased fields (that’s more postseason qualifiers) and additional revenue (that’s more money in the PIAA’s pockets), to impact Thanksgiving Day football.

For someone who has watched at least one Thanksgiving Day football game every year except for one since 1956, it’s still a very special treat, a day to look forward to every season. And the playoffs, well, when nearly everyone is on the edge of their seat for nearly every play, that’s a pretty special treat as well.

It’s a shame Pennsylvania can’t maintain – or protect – the tradition like New Jersey does. Believe it or not, 78 games are played on Thanksgiving Day in New Jersey, where no playoff games are scheduled the entire holiday week.

This column was originally published in the Nov. 24 edition of The Mercury.

This week has always been regarded as the final week of the high school football season. Except for a few teams and their seemingly endless schedules that ran into December back in the 1920s and 1930s; the St. Pius X and Pottsgrove playoff runs in 2001 and 2007, respectively; and a handful or so weather-related postponements, no area teams have played beyond Thanksgiving.

Well, this season sure is different.

Pottsgrove and St. Pius X made it a little different, or officially extended it beyond this Thursday’s holiday football feast, last weekend. Pottsgrove did it by beating the odds (and everyone’s predictions but their own) with a win over Bayard Rustin to move into Saturday night’s District 1-Class AAA championship down at Coatesville. St. Pius X did it by beating the odds (and all but erasing for good the horrors of its recent past) with a win over Calvary Christian to move into Saturday night’s opening round of the PIAA-Class A playoffs way up at Williams Valley.

Imagine that…

The program with the best won-loss record this decade (Pottsgrove) and the program with the worst win-loss record this decade (St. Pius X) both playing football three days before we flip the calendar over to the month that portly ol’ fella up at the North Pole thinks is all about him.

And if not for a mistake here and there – the mental and physical gaffes that may have been uncharacteristic of their play this season but are nonetheless part of every game played – Daniel Boone and Owen J. Roberts would have teamed up with Pottsgrove and St. Pius X to make it a foursome this weekend.

But not enough can be said for what the Falcons and Lions accomplished last Friday night.

Yes, Pottsgrove has frequented the postseason in recent years, six times now since 2000. But the Falcons’ first three treks were brief with hideous endings, or lopsided losses down at Strath Haven. Three years ago, they were on a two-game run before another setback to Garnet Valley. And last year, they came up short again to eventual district champion Rustin.

This season, when they opened practice back in August, the Falcons may have kept everything in focus, in perspective for three months … but they also dared to look ahead, to peek into a rematch, as they say, with Rustin. They got it, of course, and despite hearing and reading how there was simply no way they could get the best of a team that was virtually intact and a whole lot better than the team that beat them a year ago, the Falcons pounced on the pessimism, never once allowing it in their huddle.

Pottsgrove won a lot of big games under former head coach Ken Harclerode, and it’s won its share of big games the past 20 years under Rick Pennypacker. But it never played a bigger game than last Friday night, never played better on any previous Friday night or Saturday afternoon … never won a bigger game.

And while most may be tired of hearing how the heart and soul of a team can sometimes outweigh the mass and outperform the talent of another, or just refuse to believe it… Well, there was never a better see-it-to-believe-it than Pottsgrove’s 21-14 win. Rustin was much, much bigger than the Falcons, and had just as many if not more play-makers and game-breakers as the Falcons. But no yardstick or first-down chain can measure motivation, or the passion to rise up and overcome. Yes, the Falcons have Terrell Chestnut, Preston Hamlette, Maika Polamalu and Kayvon Greene, the play-makers and game-breakers. But they also have a lot of movers and shakers, an anonymous bunch – energized best perhaps by T.J. Demetrio, the munchkin in the middle of their defense – that has pushed them to step up and above everyone else thus far.

Believing, and not looking back, is what carried St. Pius X to the District 1/12-Class A title last Friday night and into the state playoffs this Saturday night.

It’s been a long, long seven seasons since the Lions won an actual handful of games between August and November let alone appeared in the postseason. Actually eight years if you go back to 2001, when they swept the Pioneer Athletic Conference title, the then mythical District 1-Class AA championship, and played all the way through to the PIAA Eastern Final.

But since that long postseason run, the program had gone through three coaches and a pair of interim coaches before George Parkinson anchored his football feet on the Pius sideline in 2006. Parkinson didn’t quit, didn’t run off, when the losses continued to mount. Neither did a small group of unknown and untested freshmen, still a small group but now skilled seniors who have carried Pius – one of the area’s most successful programs for more than 30 years – back to respectability.

Except for the players, Parkinson and their devout but depleted following, no one thought this season would be much different than the previous five or six. Few are likely to forget it, whenever it ends, even after they shut down Mich Stadium for good on Thursday, and close the doors to the school for good next spring.

TURKEY DAY

Pottsgrove will play at St. Pius X on Thursday morning as scheduled in their PAC-10 finale, completing the card that also features Owen J. Roberts at Pottstown, Spring-Ford at Phoenixville, and Upper Perkiomen at Boyertown. Pottsgrove, of course, needs a win for its second straight outright league championship.

Interboro, which will meet the Falcons in the District 1-Class AAA final, has cancelled its Thanksgiving game with Ridley, which is entertaining Downingtown East on Friday night in a District 1-Class AAAA semifinal.

FLAG TIME

When Pottsgrove answered Rustin’s long touchdown run with a well-executed touchdown drive of its own – and scoring the first points of the season against Rustin’s first-team defense – flags began flying … most in Rustin’s direction.

The undefeated, unchallenged and state-ranked Golden Knights were hit with three unsportsmanlike penalties in the first half and three more in the second half – including back-to-back 15-yarders (actually one was only eight yards because of being half the distance to the goal line) when the Falcons were taking a knee in the final minute of the game. The Falcons got caught up in it, too … just once. After their one unsportsmanlike and an illegal block before the break, though, they were hit with just one motion penalty the entire second half.

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There was a very controversial ending to Downingtown East’s 49-48 thriller over Penncrest in last weekend’s District 1-Class AAAA quarterfinal.

East, which fell behind 48-41 with just 37 seconds remaining, drove 56 yards for a touchdown and decisive two-point conversion with no time left. But what had a lot of fans fired up – Penncrest fans, that is – was East quarterback Trey Lauletta’s pass with nine seconds remaining. Facing a third-and-three on the 37-yard line, Lauletta appeared to have been sacked as he threw the ball away. Officials ruled it an incomplete pass, not a sack which would’ve allowed the clock to run out. So Lauletta responded with a short toss for a first down, then a 30-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Kroft as time ran out. Drew Harris then ran in the two-point conversion for the win.

Blown call or not, fans – or whoever the nameless critics are on the web – were absolutely pathetic … none worse than a woman who wrote she had been following her sons and grandsons through every level of football for 30 years. Her response? “Like I said to my grandson, ‘You can beat a team but you can’t beat the refs.’” Let’s hope her grandson didn’t take those words of idiocy to heart.

A man, who claimed to be a referee himself, said it was the “worst display of refereeing I (had) ever seen” and asked others to call the PIAA. A referee calling out other referees publicly? Doubt it, unless he’s one of those fellas who never dared to take the PIAA officials test (or did and failed it), and never blew his whistle in anything but a youth football game.

Shame we’re not all perfect, eh?

CALL IT A CAREER

Daniel Boone quarterback Jon Monteiro and wideout Kelly Saylor closed out their spectacular high school football careers last Friday night following their 24-20 loss to unbeaten and state-ranked Manheim Central in the District 3-Class AAA playoffs.

Monteiro, who was 20 of 43 for 194 yards and two touchdowns in the setback, didn’t even play two full seasons after missing his entire sophomore year due to an injury and a couple of games the last two years with injuries. But he still finished with a slew of records and among the Top Five in a number of area career passing categories.

He set area records for consecutive games of 100 or more yards passing (17) and consecutive games of at least one touchdown pass (19); most games with three or more touchdown passes (12); and most games with at least four touchdown passes (four). He owns the record for most yards passing in a game (475). On the area’s career passing charts, Monteiro finishes third in completions (345), fifth in attempts (597), third in yardage (5,098), and third in touchdowns (62).

Saylor, who didn’t catch a pass as a sophomore, closes third in career receptions (105) and fourth in career receiving yardage (1,441). Former St. Pius X standout LeRyan Dallas – who is now fourth in catches (102) and remains third in yardage (1,462) – was Saylor’s receivers coach the past two seasons at Daniel Boone.

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The Blazers made their fourth straight appearance in the District 3-AAA playoffs this year and finished 9-3, their sixth straight season of eight or more wins and seventh straight winning season – one shy of the school record set from 1964 through 1971. Head coach Dave Bodolus, who has orchestrated the turnaround, is now 58-24 guiding the Blazers’ program in 2003.

Bayard Rustin likes to run, run, and run some more behind its sizable and quick offensive line. Pottsgrove likes to run, run, and run some more behind its sizable and quick offensive line.

Don’t think the keyboard got stuck … or is stuttering.

It’s just that tonight’s District 1-Class AAA semifinal showdown could very well turn into a track meet of sorts with the fleet afoot finding lanes of their own and running for goal lines instead of finish lines.

Rustin, on a nine-game run and 10-1 overall, features brothers Rondell and Rameer White, who together average eight yards every time they take a handoff, and have taken a couple hundred of them for 1,928 yards this season. Pottsgrove, also on a nine-game run and 10-1 overall, features Terrell Chestnut and Maika Polamalu, who together average a half-step under eight yards every time they carry the football, and have taken a few hundred of them for 2,238 yards this season.

Think the films and scouting reports look the same?

“We’re definitely similar in what we do,” said Pottsgrove head coach Rick Pennypacker. “Rustin is a run-the-football team. They’ll throw at times, but most of the time, it’s only because they’re trying to score in a hurry-up offense.”

For the record, quarterback Nick Michaels has gone up top just 62 times and

completed 30 of them for 462 yards and four scores. Chestnut has gone up top just 61 times and completed 35 of them for 840 yards and eight scores.

“Rustin is easy to prepare for, just like a lot of people may say about us,” Pennypacker said. “But that doesn’t make it any easier to defend them.

“What (the Golden Knights) do, they do very, very well. They’re like a lot of those old Strath Haven teams … at times coming at you with two tight ends and other times coming at you in the Wing-T. They like to get the ball to the White brothers. They’ll go to their fullback, too. They just pound the football.”

The Falcons can pound as well. And can they ever scoot, as Chestnut and Polamalu — as well as fullback Preston Hamlette — have done so often this season.

But whether they’ve been short or long runs, or the occasional short toss or long bomb, Pottsgrove’s offensive production begins up front with center Dan Foust, guards Andrew Filopanti and Eric Moran, tackles Antonio Filopanti and Brandon Mason, and tight end Scott Madl. Their unsung work has helped the Falcons average 265 yards on the ground and 341 yards overall.

“They usually show a ‘50’ on defense,” Pennypacker said. “They have two very good linebackers, too. I just don’t know if they’ve seen the kind of speed they’re going to see (tonight). But they’re very good.“

The Falcons aren’t too bad on the defensive side of the ball, either. Take away what Pottstown did two weeks ago and the Falcons have allowed their other last four opponents an average of only 53 yards rushing. The front five — ends Justin Oliveri and Andrew Tremble, tackles Eric Figorski and Kayvon Greene, and nose guard T.J. Demetrio — have come up with big stop after big stop. They’re backed up by linebackers Paul Owens, Madl, and Hamlette and a very aggressive as well as efficient secondary featuring Isiah Quick and Sheppard on the corners and Chestnut at safety.

“Our defense has been playing well,” Pennypacker said. “The kids are always looking for a challenge, and they’re definitely looking forward to this challenge. They know they’re going up against a very good football team.”

Owen J. Roberts at Upper Moreland

Owen J. Roberts (9-2) travels to top-seeded Upper Moreland (9-1) tonight in the other District 1-Class AAA semifinal.

OJR head coach Tom Barr likely had a long chat with Phoenixville’s Bill Furlong, who saw a turnover with less than four minutes remaining lead to the winning score in last week’s opening-round setback at Upper Moreland.

The Golden Bears have a well-balanced offense with the swift Chris Smallwood and quarterback Mike Rosenbaum. Smallwood has run for over 1,543 yards and 22 touchdowns, while Rosenbaum is closing in on 1,000 yards passing with 10 touchdown tosses. Defense is anchored by linebacker Dmitri Miller and safety Ronye Dennis.

The Wildcats counter with Ryan Brumfield (2,003 yards, 19 TDs), Sam Funk, and Cory Bissland in a run game that averages just under 300 yards a game. Quarterback Dan Miller, who has an outstanding season on both sides of the ball, can throw and has three excellent receivers in Brumfield, tight end Brad Davis, and wideout Kohl Batdorf. Defense is led up front by Sam Morgan and Sean Moloney and by linebackers Rich Zazo and Scott Syrek.

Daniel Boone at Mechanicsburg

Daniel Boone (8-3) is off on yet another long bus ride to visit top-seeded Mechanicsburg (11-0) in the District 3-AAA quarterfinals … and hope to do what last year’s team did — take out an unbeaten top-seed in the second round (as the Blazers did to Northern York).

The host Wildcats are coming off back-to-back 3-7 seasons. Tarik Leftenant (1,100 yards), fullback Devon Hensel (372), and quarterback Jake Zeigler (408) are averaging a combined seven-plus yards per carry. Zeigler keeps defenses honest, too, hitting well over 50 percent of his passes for 1,050 yards and 14 touchdowns. Tyler Bullock (6-4, 265), who dominates at guard and at defensive tackle, has already committed to Connecticut.

Daniel Boone, meanwhile, shows Mechanicsburg a passing game it hasn’t seen the likes of all season. Thanks in part to an offensive line that has allowed him time to throw, quarterback Jon Monteiro has amassed 2,853 yards and 33 touchdowns through the air. He has two excellent receivers in Zach Keeley and Kelly Saylor, who have caught a combined 128 passes for 1,729 yards and 19 touchdowns. Nate Greene’s (880 yards) ability to break a long run keeps defenses honest. And speaking of defense, the Blazers’ feature returning all-state Keeley in the secondary, where he has picked off seven passes this season.

Playoff Notes

Mechanicsburg’s last undefeated regular season was 25 years ago. The program’s only unbeaten overall season was a 10-0-1 run in 1954. Veteran Wildcats’ head coach Rich Lichtel died just before last season kicked off after losing his battle with cancer. … Rustin is No. 2 on the District 1-Class AAA enrollment chart with 537 male students (9th through 12th grade). OJR (510) is at No. 5, Upper Moreland (450) is at No. 15, and Pottsgrove (410) is at No. 18 on the 22-school bracket. … Pottsgrove (6-4), Owen J. Roberts (1-0), and Methacton (1-0) — along with former member Lansdale Catholic — are the PAC-10’s only teams with winning records in the postseason. Daniel Boone is 4-3 in postseason play in District 3-AAA (4-5 overall including two Eastern Conference playoff appearances)