KING OF PRUSSIA — Coming off their first loss of the season last week, Deacon Williams and the Phoenixville football team just had to get back to what they do best.
For Williams, that means running the ball with dominance and making a couple trips to the end zone, a location he had not visited since the first week of September. But that would not be the case on Friday night, as the Phantoms’ senior back rushed 29 times for a career-high 255 yards and three touchdowns in Phoenixville’s 37-21 victory at Upper Merion.
After being held to a season-low 73 yards on 14 carries and leaving with a fourth-quarter leg injury in last week’s loss to defending PAC champion Pope John Paul II, Williams looked like his old self again, scoring two clutch fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Vikings attempted to mount a comeback.
“I’m feeling great, man,” Williams said afterward. “I trust our offensive line. They did a great job and are coached very well. I trusted in the scheme and it popped. I wouldn’t say I was more determined in the fourth quarter, but it definitely meant more, and when it means more big-time players make big-time plays. When it matters most, I have to step up. It was refreshing to find the end zone again.”
All told, the Phantoms rushed 46 times for 341 yards, an average of 7.4 yards per carry. The offensive line was indeed masterful, led by two-way captain TJ Howard (with help from fellow OL Andrew Kirk and Cam English, among others) at right guard helping create lanes for Williams and company to barrel through.
According to Howard, the formula for success is simple.
“We know we’re a really good running team and have one of the best backs in the league, if not the best,” said Howard, who also had two sacks at defensive end. “We know we can run the ball. Our focus was using our advantages and trusting the personnel, and that’s what we did. Deacon had a nose for the end zone and we just had to block for him. That’s the job.”
Phoenixville’s first drive was stalled when Ryan Jacobson’s 28-yard field goal was blocked, but Williams scored on an 11-yard TD scamper on the next drive for a 7-0 lead with 36 seconds left in the opening quarter.
The Phoenixville defense allowed just 19 total yards of offense in the first half and forced the Vikings (1-5 overall, 1-1 PAC Frontier) to punt on all four of their possessions, allowing the Phantoms to take a 14-0 halftime lead after QB Talon Romance (8-for-11, 63 yards, TD, INT) found Kevin Kingsbury for a 9-yard passing score 36 seconds before halftime.
The second half, however, brought perhaps some unexpected challenges.
Upper Merion, which recorded just one first down in the first half, woke up thanks to an 81-yard touchdown pass on a broken play from QB Jackson Solley to wideout Kylee Hill (two catches, 89 yards, TD) with 6:16 to play in the third quarter.
Phoenixville (4-1, 1-1) scored the next nine points thanks to a safety when Solley was flagged for intentional grounding in his own end zone, followed by a 12-yard Williams run to open the fourth quarter for a 23-7 lead.
The Vikings crawled to within one score at 23-15 with a 15-yard TD pass from Solley to Erik Ramirez-Perez with 8:58 remaining that was set up by another big pass play of 38 yards from Solley to Zae Robinson (four catches, 100 yards). However, just when it looked like the Phantoms were about to break, senior Trey Lear took the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a score to put his team in front 30-15.
“I like how we stayed even-keeled,” Williams said. “There were some big plays (against us), but we rebounded. I love how we responded when Trey had that kick return. We didn’t get caught up in the moment. When big plays happened against us, we came up with some big plays of our own.”
Upper Merion would score again just over a minute later, with another huge play serving as catalyst when Ramirez-Perez (three catches, 91 yards, TD) gained 75 yards down to the Phoenixville 5 two plays after Lear’s TD. Hal Eaton hauled in a 5-yard score on the next play to bring the Vikings within 30-21 with 7:26 left.
By that point, Williams had seen enough and needed just two plays to find the end zone a third and final time — a 38-yard run on first down from his own 26 followed by a 36-yard score on the next play for a 37-21 advantage with 6:40 to play.
“Big plays are going to happen; it’s part of football,” said Williams, also a linebacker. “Credit to them, they have a lot of speed on the outside and they were able to hit some guys deep. I’m confident we can fix it. It’s how you respond, and we responded pretty well.”
“We just have to get better at preventing and minimizing them,” Howard added of the big plays. “It’s our job as a defense and that’s what we have to work on. We’re not perfect, but we’re going to try to fix it so we can try our best to be perfect.”
For Upper Merion and first-year head coach Marquis Weeks, the second half was a major turning point for a team that started 0-4 before breaking through with a win over Pottstown last week. The first half went about as poorly as it could offensively, but special teams blocked a field goal and Ramirez-Perez picked off Romance to keep things close.
Then, Solley and the offense woke up in a big way. The junior QB was just 2-for-9 for 32 yards in the first half but finished 11-for-28 with 292 yards passing and three second half scores. Yes, the Vikings lost for the fifth time in six games, but this felt like major progress for a team that was shut out two weeks in a row earlier this month.
“We built off what we did last week,” Weeks said. “We were in the game. We don’t believe in moral victories, but we can’t be upset with them when they give 100 percent effort. There’s things we can correct, but we’re proud of those guys. The growth of our quarterback the last three weeks has been tremendous, and it becomes contagious when that happens. He caught fire and they went right along with them. When we put it together, we’re dangerous.”
Upper Merion will host Upper Perkiomen next Friday, while Phoenixville travels to Pottstown.
Williams is clearly back in top form. It was his second 200-yard game of the season, and his cumulative stats on the ground through five games are 105 carries for 837 yards (nearly eight yards per rush) and eight touchdowns. With him running this inspired behind an experienced and confident offensive line, the Phantoms like their chances in District 1-5A, even if they fall short of a PAC title.
“Obviously the PJP loss was tough on us, but we have to put it behind us and move forward,” Williams said. “Our eyes are on the competition ahead and we’re also looking to win a district title. So, put that loss behind us and keep our eyes ahead. There’s plenty of football left.”
Phoenixville 37, Upper Merion 21
PHX 7 7 2 21 – 37
UM 0 0 7 14 – 21
Scoring Plays
PHX: Williams 11 run (Jacobson kick)
PHX: Kingsbury 9 pass from Romance (Jacobson kick)
UM: Hill 81 pass from Solley (O’Donnell kick)
PHX: Safety (intentional grounding in end zone)
PHX: Williams 12 run (Jacobson kick)
UM: Ramirez-Perez 14 pass from Solley (Wright pass from Solley)
PHX: Lear 88 kickoff return (Jacobson kick)
UM: Eaton 5 pass from Solley (pass failed)
PHX: Williams 36 run (Jacobson kick)
Team Stats
PHX UM
First Downs 21 9
Yards Rushing 341 13
Yards Passing 63 292
Total Yards 404 305
Passes C-A-I 8-11-1 11-28-0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 7-55 9-62
Punts-Avg. 3-30.7 6-31.0
Individual Stats
Rushing
Phoenixville: Williams 29-255, 3TD; Romance 5-35; Lear 2-18; Kingsbury 3-16; C. Howard 4-9; Mull 3-8
Upper Merion: Bailey 5-20; Robinson 8-11; Solley 4-(-18)
Passing
Phoenixville: Romance 8-11-63, TD/INT
Upper Merion: Solley 11-28-292, 3TD
Receiving
Phoenixville: Carey 2-33; Kingsbury 2-25, TD; Mull 1-4; Lear 2-2; Williams 1-(-1)
Upper Merion: Robinson 4-100; Ramirez-Perez 3-91, TD; Hill 2-89, TD; Simmons 1-7; Eaton 1-5, TD
Interceptions: UM- Ramirez-Perez
Sacks: PHX- TJ Howard 2, Mull
