It’s official – Perkiomen Valley will visit Pope John Paul next Friday, October 25 for the PAC championship game.
But that’s about the only thing that’s been determined in the conference race or for next week’s slate of crossover games. This weekend’s results will determine spots 2-6 in both divisions – starting with a pair of showdowns for second place.
All times 7 p.m. Friday unless listed.
Pottsgrove (6-2, 3-1 PAC Frontier) at Phoenixville (6-1, 3-1)
To a man, the Falcons were disappointed in their performance in a one-sided loss to Pope John Paul II two weeks ago, but in a game with stakes just as high, head coach Bill Hawthorne believes the team’s execution and discipline will improve.
“We must play our best game yet, and to do that, we must minimize penalties, turnovers, and any other form of negative play in all three phases of the game,” said Hawthorne.
Offensively, the Falcons boast prolific Mikhi Dargan (964 yards, 15 TDs, 8.7 yards per carry) to shoulder much of the load, but QB Chase Hawthorne enjoys throwing to seniors Deymein Doctor and Cam Waller to mix things up. “On offense, we must be efficient and move the chains as much as possible,” said Bill Hawthorne.
It’s a familiar story for the hosts, with PAC-leading rusher Deacon Williams the bell cow for a Phoenixville unit that submitted its fourth 40-plus point outing of the season last week. Quarterback Talon Romance’s most productive connection is with senior Kevin Kingsbury, with over 23 yards per reception and a half-dozen scores on his 15 catches. “We must also do our best to stop Phoenixville’s punishing run game on the defensive side of the ball,” added Hawthorne.
So with such a similar story, it makes sense that special teams might decide the outcome. Hawthorne acknowledged the excellence of Phoenixville kicker Ryan Jacobson, but boasts an explosive return unit of his own with Tommy Sambrick, Dargan and others available as return men.
The winner claims second place in the Frontier and has the inside track for at least one home game in the District 1-5A playoffs. The loser will fall to third place and while still safe for the postseason, see their chances of hosting a game suffer.
Owen J. Roberts (7-1, 3-1 PAC Liberty) at Spring-Ford (4-4, 3-1); 2 p.m. Saturday
Right now, Spring-Ford is the last team into the District 1-6A field, but the Rams can improve that standing considerably if they can solve the Wildcats’ explosive offense.
OJR is No. 7 in the same field, their only defeat coming in Week 4 against Perk Valley. Head coach Rich Kolka doesn’t shy away from the fact that the Wildcats’ program has yet to host – or win – a district playoff game, and he’d like to see both those streaks come to an end this year.
The Wildcats can take a huge step towards hosting with their first win against SF since 2017, a goal that will require linebackers Lorenzo Satiro and Brody Mazzerle to continue spearheading a stifling defense. While OJR has had excellent defenses the past few years, they’ve also allowed 37 points to Spring-Ford in each of the past two contests.
On the other side, Spring-Ford head coach Chad Brubaker lauded what he called the most consistent effort of the season in last week’s 31-6 win over Boyertown. Brubaker added that he’s wary of OJR’s big-play potential with QB Corey Schock leading a unit with weapons including RB Mekhi Graham and WRs Matt Gregory, Justin Daubert and Dylan Drumheller.
Spring-Ford hopes that leading tacklers Nick Garzarella and Brady Welsh can offer support against the run, while Blake Turner leads an improving secondary tasked with limiting the OJR passing attack.
Offensively, Trent Yoder continues to grow within the passing game while leaning on senior running back Jamal Lewis (814 yards, 12 TDs).
Upper Merion (1-7, 1-3 PAC Frontier) at Pope John Paul II (7-1, 4-0)
No letdown is expected from a Golden Panthers squad that clinched the Frontier Division last week, not with playoff positioning and momentum still in the balance.
The first-ever night game at PJP will feature the Golden Panthers’ outstanding linebacking corps of Ryan Lamson, Sean McNally, Kernan Myers and Denny Owens doing battle with Jackson Solley and the Upper Merion passing game.
Their playoff hopes dashed, the Vikings would take quite a bit of momentum into their final game by upsetting or even challenging the defending PAC champions.
“(Upper Merion) has a very good QB and receivers,” said PJP head coach Scott Reed. “They seem to have a great timing in their passing game. Our DBs will need to win some dogfights in space and our front seven will need to find ways to push their QB off his mark in the pocket and on the perimeter.”
Perkiomen Valley (6-2, 4-0 PAC Liberty) at Methacton (3-5, 2-2)
Perkiomen Valley’s division-clinching win over Norristown came at the price of a season-ending injury for breakout ball carrier Carter McCabe. Head coach Rob Heist says the challenge in a rivalry game will be sustaining consistency despite losing such a key piece.
“Carter had been playing incredible football before his injury,” said Heist.
“This is an age-old rivalry game,” he continued. “We’re fighting to retain the coveted Battle Axe Trophy, and both teams will be fired up to play.”
Andrew Keenan and Gavin Fisher’s play up front will be keys to PV’s continued success in the running game. Dimitri Toman, who set a new school record for pass breakups in last week’s win, leads the PV secondary.
Methacton’s playoff hopes may very well hinge on pulling an upset in this game, but head coach Eric Ranieri says that starts with the Warriors’ own preparation.
“One of our main goals this season was to work on ourselves,” he said, “and this means that we need to make sure that we handle things on our end first before we shift our focus onto the opponent. This week is a great example – we know exactly who we are playing since they are a good football team. We need to make sure that we are completing our assignments consistently.”
Pottstown (1-7, 0-4 PAC Frontier) at Upper Perkiomen (4-4, 1-3)
For the Trojans, it’s a chance to continue working towards their first conference victory in a rebuilding season. Pottstown continues to find contributors for the present and future on both lines while looking to the big-play ability of Tyson Robbins on offense.
Upper Perkiomen’s chances for a district playoff berth in their first season in Class 5A hinge on a victory this week, which will enable the Tribe to play for a winning record in next week’s crossover. The return of Ethan Scharneck to the Indians’ defense is a big step towards the complete 48-minute effort head coach Dan Heinrichs seeks.
“We are a good football team for certain quarters on Friday nights,” said Heinrichs. “But we have yet to put a consistent, full game together as a football team. Some of this is old mindsets, and the other part is us needing to believe that we can be more as a program.”
Norristown (3-5, 0-4 PAC Liberty) at Boyertown (0-8, 0-4)
The Liberty Division’s battle for fifth place features two teams at different junctures – Norristown, reeling after a 3-0 start yielded five consecutive losses, and Boyertown, who continues to search for its first win in 2024.
As trying as the conference schedule has been for the Eagles, a win at Boyertown will send them into a likely rematch next week with Upper Merion with a chance for a postseason berth still a possibility. For the Bears, it’s all about growth and maturing for next season, and a win in their home finale avoids a sixth-place finish and gives a young program a strong building block going into the crossover game.
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