This column originally ran in the Jan. 12 edition of The Mercury.

There was a time not so awfully long ago when 100 wins were unthinkable, perhaps because such a number was unreachable. Schedules, which featured upwards of a handful or two of league matches, a few non-league challenges, maybe some sort of holiday tournament, and a single-elimination postseason, often limited wrestlers to just 20 bouts the entire winter.

The evolution of wrestling changed all that, of course.

At first, quantity – expanding the schedules and piling up all those wins – was all that mattered (pardon the pun). Forget quality. By the mid-1980s, a lot of individuals from schools of all sizes throughout Pennsylvania were arriving at states with gaudy 50-win records.

The PIAA stepped in soon after with a rule or two limiting the maximum number of matches. Those figures have since been amended once or twice, too.

Nonetheless, as the list of tournaments, invitationals and classic this and classic that got longer and longer – obviously to maximize the PIAA’s guideline of team competitions – the list of wrestlers with 100 career wins got longer and longer, too.

This season alone, the area’s 13 schools with wrestling programs have already participated in a combined 18 individual and 16 team-duals tournaments. Four others — all team duals — were snowed out. The bustling schedules don’t make getting 100 career wins any easier, mind you, but they sure do provide the opportunity to reach the coveted mark that so many before them never had.

Take a trip around the state, or peruse whatever web site available, and you’ll find the list of wrestlers with 100 or more career wins is bursting at the seams. You’d need a calculator to add up the total in Pennsylvania.

There are 82 in this area alone – from Pottstown graduate Brian Campbell’s 100, which he pinned down in the 1989 state semifinals, all the way up to Upper Perkiomen graduate Zack Kemmerer’s state-record 199, which he put in the books by winning his second state title three years ago.

Winning 100 matches is the goal of most if not all high school wrestlers, and is unquestionably a mark of achievement. But all those wins don’t necessarily epitomize success, or even serve as a measure for the real who’s who of high school wrestling.

In other words, congratulations are in order for anyone who reaches the milestone. A spot in the record book, or history book, is in order for anyone who reaches the milestone.

But a declaration, or distinction, of being hyped as among the best there was, is, or ever will be?

No … absolutely not.

Kemmerer amassed 199 wins against some of the best competition in the entire nation, wrestling in the best or highest-rated scholastic tournaments like the Beast of the East, Ironman, Konkrete Duals, and Reno Tournament of Champions. And he not only had two state titles, but four state medals. The Hill School’s David Hoffman finished with 195, which included five state prep titles and one national prep title. Upper Perkiomen’s Chris Sheetz had 189 with a state title and three other state medals, and Derek Zinck had 159 with three state medals. Former teammate Mark Smith, unfairly tagged the “one-move wonder“ with his headlock, had 161 wins that included a state record for career pins and three state medals. Move further down the local list to Pottstown’s Joey Allen and Seth Ecker, both with 130-plus wins and both with three state medals, to Spring-Ford’s Matt Moley and his 131 wins and three state medals.

That’s only eight of the many who were great wrestlers … great not only for their 100-plus wins, but for what they won

And before all is said and done this season, barring injury or any other unforeseen misfortune, Alex Pellicciotti should be added to the list. The Boyertown senior has been on the 100-win chart since last year, and Saturday afternoon he became the Bears’ all-time leader when he pinned Josh Hengen of McDonough (Md.) during the Cumberland Valley Duals for No. 144, passing former teammate Jesse DeWan. He added two more, moving ahead of Methacton graduate Dan Covatta – a state champion and three-time state medalist – into the ninth spot on The Mercury’s all-time list. The 135-pound Pellicciotti, an exceptional talent who has finished off exactly half of his career wins with pins (73) and amassed both against some heady competition from around Pennsylvania, already has two state medals and will likely add a third to his collection in March.

It’s those smaller numbers – the pins and the state medals – that will help Pellicciotti, like so many others, be looked at, respected and remembered as more than just a 100 career wins wrestler.

MOVING UP

Boyertown teammate Matt Malfaro is now up to 126 wins and is likely to pass DeWan and finish his career second behind Pellicciotti on the Bears’ chart. Malfaro and older brother Tony Malfaro (114 wins) are one of eight sets of brothers on The Mercury’s all-time win list. The others are Zack (199) and Ryan (152) Kemmerer; Hill School’s Zach (142) and Orion (130) Doll and Ty (142) and Dave (102) Willman; Spring-Ford’s Matt (131) and Mike (123) Moley; Upper Perkiomen’s Jared (121) and Derek (111) Bennett; and Pottstown’s Jared and Jordon Haring (103 apiece).

Closing in on 100 wins is Daniel Boone senior Eddie Lockowitz (90), Boyertown junior Jeremy Minich (87), and Owen J. Roberts junior Scott Syrek (82).

MOST IMPROVED

A short list of the area’s most improved wrestlers from a year ago: Daniel Boone’s Nate Solo and Sam Batchelor; Hill School’s Byron Muhlenberg; Methacton’s Pat Carr and Dan Cox; Owen J. Roberts’ Michael Lenge; Perkiomen Valley’s Blair Heaps and Lou Fioravanti; Phoenixville’s Sam LaPorte; Pottstown’s Ricardo Gonzalez and Dan Yauger; Spring-Ford’s Chase Brown, Matt Stipa and Aaron Cummins; St. Pius’ Anthony Yerger, John Anuszewski, Conor Myers, A.J. Ebersole and Patrick Stone; and Upper Perkiomen’s Cody Ambrose, Nick Hale and Dan Wolfram.

TEAMING UP

Spring-Ford’s third-place finish at last weekend’s Biglerville Duals enabled the school to edge past Methacton as the area’s winningest public school program. Spring-Ford now has 510 all-time wins, one more than Methacton. Pottstown is third with 490.

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Owen J. Roberts have two matches this week – at St. Pius X on Wednesday and Pottsgrove at home on Thursday – needing two victories to become the fifth school in the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s 24-year history to reach 100 league wins.

OFF THE MAT

When Spring-Ford hosts Methacton on Wednesday, it will be Rams head coach Tim Seislove’s 200th career match. … Pottsgrove’s Jeff Madden (420) and Upper Perkiomen’s Tom Hontz (415) are the area’s active leaders in that department.

Down in Chester County, Oxford veteran Scott Gold has 396 career wins and will become the 16th coach in Pennsylvania history to hit 400 in the next week or two. Gold has sat in on 674 matches with his Red Devils … which, if you think about it, translates into a little over 8,800 individual bouts (and that doesn’t even include all those postseason thrillers).

OUCH

Think Brock Hallman enjoyed the Cumberland Valley Duals on Saturday?

The Boyertown senior began the day getting pinned by the host’s Tristan Warner – ranked No. 2 in the state. After decking his rival from Shikellamy, he lost by technical fall to McDonough’s Scott Patrick – ranked No. 3 in Maryland. Then came a 19-7 loss to Plymouth-Whitemarsh’s John Staudenmayer – ranked No. 3 in the state (right behind Warner). And the finish? Hallman got pinned by Central Dauphin’s Marshall Peppelman – a two-time state champion (and a runner-up in between) who is ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 1 in the nation.

It would’ve been easy to write the top local sports stories of 2009 were basically a replay of 2008, or any previous year, for that matter. Yes, big plays were made, championships were won, and so on and so on.

Not necessarily.

So, if you wouldn’t mind, stop the clock.

Hopefully, before you turned on the television to see all those oblivious-to-winter-weather whacks cuddle up in Times Square just so they could watch that oversized, million-dollar light bulb trickle down the pole and sing Auld Lang Syne; before you hoisted that Diet Coke on the rocks to toast the end of a very, very gloomy year (thanks to the implosion of our economy, all those White House bailouts and the media catching one particular Tiger by the tail); and before you began banging those pots and pans out on the lawn or set off some firecrackers in the backyard to celebrate the arrival of the new year (and refresh our annual financial fantasies of lower taxes, higher salaries and better health care)…

Before all that, we hope you took a moment to reflect on a year of local sports that provided us more than our share of athletes who had everyone sitting on the edge of their collective seats one moment and up hooting and hollering the next with their game-winning shots, their golden splashes in the pool, their sprints to the finish lines, their clutch basehits and game-ending strikeouts, their long runs and perfect spirals into the end zones. And hopefully you took a moment to remember – and thank – those individuals who devoted most if not their entire adult lives enriching our sports community and its history before leaving us in 2009.

Remember last winter … when the Owen J. Roberts boys basketball team defeated Methacton in the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s Final Four championship – the program’s first title since they put that building up in Bucktown way back in the 50s; when the St. Pius X girls basketball team shot its way to the school’s seventh straight district title; when St. Pius’ John Hauser swam his way to a gold medal at the PIAA Championships; when Owen J. Roberts’ wrestling team defeated Spring-Ford for the first time in 10 years.

Remember last spring … when Spring-Ford’s softball team regrouped after the regular season and swung past everyone en route to the district title; when Owen J. Roberts’ baseball team knocked Boyertown off its perch for the PAC-10 championship; when Methacton’s Wesley Lavong, Perkiomen Valley’s Jimmy Tarsnane and Phoenixville’s Courtney Kedra strolled into the state’s track and field spotlight with golden performances at the PIAA Championships; when it became official the new Pope John Paul II High School – which will bring together students and athletes alike from Pius and Kennedy-Kenrick in 2010 – was approved as a new member of the Pioneer Athletic Conference.

Remember last summer … when Pottstown graduate Regina Oliver helped the U.S. Women’s Lacrosse Team win the World Cup; when Boyertown American Legion manager Rick Moatz passed the 1,000-win career mark and his Bears did what no one thought was possible by winning the organization’s record 22nd Pennsylvania state title.

Remember this past fall … when Owen J. Roberts’ field hockey team held off its Pioneer Athletic Conference rivals for its first title in 14 years; when The Hill School became just the second area football program to reach the 500-win mark, which helped spark the Rams to their very first Mid-Atlantic Prep League championship; when Daniel Boone’s football team, finally, after 19 years, beat Muhlenberg; when the St. Pius X football team turned its final season into a most memorable one by winning the District 1/12-Class A sub-regional title and closing with eight wins overall; when Owen J. Roberts’ Ryan Brumfield nearly rewrote the area’s entire single-season rushing and scoring record books; when Pottsgrove put together a second straight unbeaten season in the PAC-10, beat as well as humbled a rival no one in their right football mind thought they could, and used big play after big play after big play to outlast another in overtime for the program’s first District 1-AAA championship.

And remember – among the many who passed away this past year – Ron Nettles, Nick Pergine, Ray Kodish and Bob Eppehimer, four very special souls whose love of sports and devotion to the little fellas and student-athletes who played them (and even to the coaches who guided them) was unwavering.

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The Mercury sports department’s Top 10 Stories of the Year:

1. Pottsgrove football: The Falcons won their second straight Pioneer Athletic Conference championship, then went on a dramatic postseason run few will soon forget. They defeated Upper Moreland, 21-14; humbled unbeaten defending district champion Bayard Rustin by the same score; then outlasted Interboro in a 28-21 overtime thriller for the program’s first District 1-Class AAA title. Their season ended the following week with a last-minute 30-28 setback to Archbishop Wood in the PIAA Eastern semifinals. Head coach Rick Pennypacker and the Falcons finished with an all-time area record 14 wins.

2. Pope John Paul II High School: They haven’t opened the doors yet. That won’t happen until next September. But when the official application to join the Pioneer Athletic Conference was accepted, it ended all speculation that the new school – which will combine the current St. Pius X and Kennedy-Kenrick schools – would join the Philadelphia Catholic League.

3. St. Pius X football: Head coach George Parkinson and the Lions made the final football season at Pius a memorable one. The Lions matched their win total of the previous five seasons – six – to get into the postseason. They then proceeded to thump both Del Val Charter (26-14) and Calvary Christian (34-0) for the District 1/12-Class A sub-regional title before coming up short against Tri-Valley in the opening round of the state playoffs.

4. Oliver helps USA to World Cup title: Pottstown graduate Regina Oliver helped the U.S. Women’s Lacrosse Team to the World Cup title in Prague, Czech Republic. Oliver, a defender, was named the Player of the Game in a second round rout of Canada, and contributed in the U.S. team’s 8-7 thriller over Australia in the championship.

5. OJR boys basketball: Seth McNaughton tossed in 23 points and David Vining added 20 as Owen J. Roberts defeated Methacton, 61-50, in the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s Final Four championship – the first boys basketball title in the school’s history.

6. Hill School football: The Hill kicked off the season by defeating Germantown Academy for the 500th win in the long and storied history of the school’s football program. Head coach Marty Vollmuth’s team later swept all five of its Mid-Atlantic Prep League opponents for its first league championship and finish 8-1 overall – the best record in 22 years.

7. State champions: St. Pius’ John Hauser is golden in the 500-yard freestyle during the PIAA Swimming Championships at Penn State. A few months later, during the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University, Phoenixville’s Courtney Kedra captures the gold in the long jump; Perkiomen Valley’s Jimmy Tarsnane sets the pace in winning the 3,200 meters; and Methacton’s Wesley Lavong takes the gold in the shot put with a throw of 64 1-1/2 inches, shattering The Mecury area’s all-time record.

8. Boyertown Legion baseball: Boyertown may have won the previous three Pennsylvania American Legion state titles, but no one thought a fourth straight championship was possible – not even Rick Moatz, who earlier in the summer won his 1,000th game as the Bears’ manager. But Boyertown fans became believers when the Bears bounced favorite Nor-Gwyn, 2-0, behind the combined shutout pitching of state tournament MVP Ethan Moser, Taras Letnaunchyn and Bryer Eshbach. It was the organization’s 22nd state title overall.

9. Spring-Ford softball: The Rams did what no team before them did by winning the District 1-Class AAAA title with a 4-2 win over Central Bucks South. Head coach Tim Hughes’ team advanced to the state quarterfinals before a narrow loss to Parkland ended their record 22-3 season.

10. Phoenixville boys basketball: The Phantoms were able to keep their District 1-Class AAA championship, but later lost their entire coaching staff. Nearly seven months after their title run, school officials released the head coach and two assistants for recruiting violations. The PIAA suspended all three from coaching anywhere for one year and placed Phoenixville on probation.

There wasn’t a whole heck of a lot to talk about when wrestling – area wrestling, that is – entered the new millennium.

Spring-Ford had won or shared eight of the previous 10 Pioneer Athletic Conference titles; Methacton had won six of the previous 10 Suburban One Freedom Division titles and was right near the top in the other four; and The Hill School was beating up nearly everyone except for Blair. And just three lightweights – Hill’s David Hoffman, Upper Perkiomen’s Brad Rozanski and Methacton’s Dan Covatta – managed to pin down a gold medal in March.

In other words, there wasn’t all that much drama or that many notable individual achievements in and around the area’s wrestling neighborhoods … just not a lot to hoot and holler about.

But that all changed, and changed in a hurry, too.

So much so that today – or three days before the clock runs out on the first decade of the new century – is as good a time as any to look back at some of the most memorable moments, or the big stories, of the past 10 years.

No program was as successful – or jeered – as Upper Perkiomen’s, of course. The Indians, except for their annual scraps with Spring-Ford and the more recent brawls with Boyertown, were rarely ever challenged. They swept their first 60 league matches and the first seven PAC-10 championships of the decade. It would’ve been 68 in a row and an eighth straight league title, but months after the 2007 season had been completed Upper Perkiomen officials revealed a wrestler had resided illegally in the school district. The Indians forfeited all but two of their PAC-10 wins, and relinquished what would have been a record fourth straight (and sixth overall) District 1-AAA Team Duals title.

Despite the controversy, there was no overlooking Upper Perkiomen’s run. Head coach Tom Hontz produced 16 Southeast Regional champions – which we prefer to call genuine District 1 champions (not those North, Central or South champions) – four state champions, and 19 state medalists overall during the decade. The 16 regional champions are more than twice the total of their nearest rival (Boyertown); only one other team – (Boyertown) had a state champion; and the 19 state medalists are just one shy of doubling the total of, you guessed it, Boyertown.

But the Bears have had the upper hand the past three years. And, if not for coming up short against Spring-Ford – who they shared the 2008 title with – the Bears would have owned a spotless league mark the last three seasons.

Upper Perkiomen’s and Boyertown’s respective runs aside, here’s just one opinion of the decade’s Top 10 area wrestling stories:

1. Upper Perkiomen wins duals title: Upper Perkiomen won the 2006 PIAA-Class AAA Team Duals title by defeating Easton, 46-19, at the Giant Center in Hershey. Despite splitting the first 10 individual bouts, the Indians owned a 27-19 lead on the strength of four pins. They put the match out of reach when Shane Smith and Chris Sheetz recorded back-to-back pins at 112 and 119 pounds, respectively. The Indians also set a district record for total wins in a season after finishing 29-1 overall.

2. Spaid pins way to state title: Mike Spaid became Boyertown’s first state champion and the first District 1 wrestler to record a pin in every one of his postseason bouts en route to the PIAA-Class AAA gold medal in 2004. The 285-pound Spaid had two falls and a medical forfeit at the Section Four Tournament; three each at the District 1-South and Southeast Regional tournaments, and four more at the PIAA championships.

3. Kemmerer’s perfect season: Upper Perkiomen junior Zack Kemmerer set the standard for excellence in 2005-06. He won gold medals at both the nationally recognized Ironman and Beast of the East tournaments, the first District 1 wrestler to achieve the double; won the first of his two PIAA-Class AAA state titles; and set both Mercury area and district records for the most wins without a loss in a season (54). Kemmerer added his second state title the following year and graduated with the area, district and state records for career wins (199).

4. Jeff Green dies: Pottstown graduate Jeff Green, an outstanding wrestler at Pottstown and Morgan State University – and hailed as a “real American hero” during the 2003 Summit Awards – died three months after receiving his Career Achievement Award at the age of 41. Green was a two-time state runner-up at heavyweight for the Trojans; a two-time NCAA qualifier for Morgan State University; and a member of the U.S. World and Olympic teams, earning a berth on the U.S. Greco-Roman squad as an alternate for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Green was a captain in the Army and fought on the front lines in Kuwait and Iraq during the Gulf War in 1991. John Armato, his former coach at Pottstown: “Jeff Green was an excellent example of what you hope your son grows up to be. He was a good student, a good athlete, a true gentleman and a good citizen. If Pottstown is ever looking for someone from the community to be proud of, then Jeff Green will be the one we should always hold up to our young people as an example of what you can become and what you can do in your life.”

5. Smith sets pin record: Upper Perkiomen senior and three-time state medalist Mark Smith closes out the 2002 season with a District 1 and Pennsylvania career record 124 pins. Smith, one of the state’s most popular wrestlers for his endless energy on the mats, also broke former teammate Derek Zinck’s district record for career wins (161).

6. Hoffman wins national prep title: The Hill School’s David Hoffman decisioned Blair Academy’s Mark Perry, 10-5, in the 130-pound final of the 2001 National Prep Championships at Lehigh University. It was Hoffman’s second national title and the fifth time he finished among the top eight for All-American prep honors. Hoffman also set school and Mercury-area records for career wins (195), the latter of which would be broken six years later by Zack Kemmerer.

7. Upper Perkiomen stripped of titles: In 2006-07, Upper Perkiomen ran the table in the PAC-10 and in the District 1-Class AAA Team Duals. However, soon after the conclusion of the season, school officials revealed a wrestler had resided illegally in the district. The Indians were forced to forfeit all matches he had participated in and surrendered all team championships.

8. Meister a four-time All-American: Baptist Bible College senior Jason Meister, a two-time state medalist before graduating from Phoenixville, became The Mercury area’s first four-time college All-American after capturing the 133-pound title during the 2003 National Collegiate Wrestling Association Championships at Lafayette College. Meister, who won his first national title as a freshman and was third as both a sophomore and junior, rolled up a 17-7 major decision over defending national champion Camilo Gonzales of Nevada-Reno to close out his senior year at 32-0.

9. Perkiomen Valley stuns Spring-Ford: In 2008, a win by injury default helped Perkiomen Valley defeat Spring-Ford, 30-26 – the first time the Vikings had ever defeated their neighboring rivals. The Rams later made up for the loss with a narrow decision of Boyertown, which left both teams tied for the PAC-10 title.

10. Racich reaches milestone: Ursinus head coach Bill Racich, a graduate of Plymouth-Whitemarsh and longtime teacher in the Spring-Ford School District, went over the 400 career win mark a couple of years ago and ranks among the Top 10 of winningest coaches in all of college wrestling. Racich guided the Bears to a record four straight Centennial Conference championships from 2003 through 2006.

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Falling into the honorable mention category would be Upper Perkiomen’s Derek Zinck, the area’s first four-time sectional champion who would finish second in the state and own a District 1-record 158 career wins before graduating in 2001; the addition of a 14th weight class (215 pounds) in 2003; Zack Kemmerer and Brent Fiorito becoming the first teammates from an area team to win state titles in the same year when both were golden in 2006; Hontz being named the Pennsylvania Class AAA Coach of the Year in 2006; and Racich and Pottstown’s Jim Tsakonas (2003), Phoenixville’s Lonny Moore (2005) and Boyertown’s Bruce Hallman (2006) being inducted.into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame.

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Did someone mention an All-Decade Team? Despite the recent holiday frenzy and not a whole lot of time to research the who’s who of the soon-to-be past decade, I’ll take these 14 fellas (and will gladly accept any constructive criticism, too):

103: Seth Ecker (Pottstown) – three-time state medalist and 1321 career wins; 112: Aaron Brown (Owen J. Roberts) – state medalist and 134 career wins; 119: Chris Sheetz (Upper Perkiomen) – state champion, four-time state medalist and 189 career wins; 125: Matt Moley (Spring-Ford) – two-time state runner-up, three-time state medalist and 131 career wins; 130: David Hoffman (Hill School) – two-time national prep champion, five-time national prep medalist and 195 career wins; 135: Mark Smith (Upper Perkiomen) – three-time state medalist, 124 career pins and 161 career wins; 140: Zack Kemmerer (Upper Perkiomen) – two-time state champion, four-time state medalist and 199 career wins; 145: Derek Zinck (Upper Perkiomen) – three-time state medalist and 159 career wins; 152: Brent Fiorito (Upper Perkiomen) – state champion, two-time state medalist and 176 career wins; 160: Zach Doll (Hill School) – three-time national prep medalist and 142 career wins; 171: Jason Shivak (Spring-Ford) – state runner-up and 134 career wins; 189: Orion Doll (Hill School) – two-time national prep medalist and 130 career wins; 215: Josh White (Boyertown) – state runner-up and 112 career wins; 285: Mike Spaid (Boyertown) – state champion, two-time state medalist and 116 career wins.

Backups? The welcome mat is out for Boyertown’s Fred Rodgers, Jesse DeWan, Alex Pellicciotti (who is still on the mats for the Bears) and 2009 graduate Ryan Kemmerer; Methacton’s Brad Clark; Owen J. Roberts’ Nick Fuschino and Scott Syrek (just a junior this year); Spring-Ford’s Mike Moley; and Upper Perkiomen’s Darren Kern and Derek Bennett.

Two full weeks into another wrestling season and, well, it doesn’t appear as though much may change locally – in the Pioneer Athletic Conference, that is – or throughout District 1 this winter.

Hopefully it will, because no one would enjoy being wrong more than you know who.

But for now, after a slew of individual and team tournaments, even a handful of dual meets here and there, the cast of contenders seems to be the same ol’ gang.

In the PAC-10, there’s no doubt Boyertown, Spring-Ford and Upper Perkiomen – three teams that have won or shared the last 15 titles, and 19 of the league’s 23 championships overall – are the frontrunners once again. If Methacton and Owen J. Roberts can fill some holes in their respective lineups before the ball drops in Times Square, they could create some congestion among the contenders when they all start wrestling for real, or against one another, in January.

And in District 1, despite the noticeable rise (or actual resurrection) of a few programs in the early going, there doesn’t seem to be anyone other than Boyertown or

Council Rock North ready to present a legitimate challenge to Council Rock South or Quakertown – who have accounted for the last three AAA team duals titles. Council Rock South, without Josh Dziewa on the mat, performed rather admirably at the Ironman and King of the Mountain tournaments, unquestionably two of the top high school features in the entire country, and beat Council Rock North in last week’s Suburban One National showdown. A move here or a move there was all that separated Boyertown and Council Rock North during the season-opening Brian Bealer Memorial Bear Duals two weeks ago, and there was little that separated those two and Quakertown during this past weekend’s Beast of the East. It’s hard to imagine anyone in the district faring any better at the Ironman, King of the Mountain, or Beast of the East.

That’s for now.

Things can change, and change in a hurry … and, if only for the sake of firing up the competitive juices and creating a bit more drama, here’s hoping they do.

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Individual match-ups, which don’t really carry any substantial weight until the postseason, nonetheless could be quite entertaining over the next month and a half.

For starters, there isn’t a weight class anywhere – perhaps in any district in Pennsylvania – near as loaded as the 189 bracket. Go pound-for-pound, up and down the docket, and none packs a punch like Council Rock North’s Jamie Callender, Springfield-Delco’s Andre Petroski, Oxford’s Nick Ruggear and Council Rock South’s Bobby Lavelle. Callender, Petroski and Ruggear were second, third and fifth, respectively, at the Beast, and Lavelle collected two medals at the Ironman and King of the Mountain.

The district should also get a boost from a solid group of freshmen. Plymouth-Whitemarsh may have the best in Justin Staudenmayer. Among the many others to keep an eye on throughout the regular season are Norristown’s Brett Harner, Downingtown East’s Alex Wait, Quakertown’s Tyler Seislove, and Upper Perkiomen’s Wolfgang McStravick.

BEAST NOTES

Boyertown had just one medalist – 135-pound senior Alex Pellicciotti (fourth) – at the Beast. Both of Pellicciotti’s setbacks – 5-3 in the quarterfinals and 11-2 in the third-place final – were to No. 5 seed Scott Festejo of Long Branch (N.J.). Matt Malfaro (119) and Zach Heffner (189) both came within a win of the medal rounds for the Bears, who were 30-26 overall in individual bouts. If it’s any consolation to head coach Pete Ventresca, 18 of those 26 losses were to seeded opponents. … The Hill School had three entries – Colin Saunders (2-2 at 135), Karl Wiszumerski (1-2 at 140) and Jay Knighton (3-2 at 285) – who combined for a 6-6 mark.

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District 1 had nine medalists overall at the Beast, led by the aforementioned threesome at 189. District rivals went up against each other in the seventh-place final at both 125 and 145.

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Blair Academy won its 11th straight Beast of the East team title on Sunday. The Bucs had five individual champions. Blair’s Chris Villalonga (140) and Central Dauphin’s Marshall Peppelman (160), both of whom have already committed to Cornell, won their third straight gold medals at the Beast. … Wyoming Seminary heavyweight Mike McMullan was named the Outstanding Wrestler, an honor that could’ve (if not should’ve) easily gone to Garnet Valley’s 215-pound Matt Idelson. McMullan was seeded second, so his effort wasn’t all that surprising. Idelson, on the other hand, wasn’t seeded. But the junior put up three pins and a pair of shutout decisions to get to his final, where he knocked off No. 1 seed and nationally ranked Nate Gaffney of Connellsville, 6-4.

BERKS BATTLE

The Daniel Boone-Conrad Weiser match has decided the Berks Conference Section Two title the last two years. Their match on Jan. 23 is expected to decide this year’s championship, even though the Blazers may have the upper-hand for now considering they crushed the Scouts, 69-9, at the Ephrata Duals two weeks ago.

This past weekend, Daniel Boone was sixth among 17 teams at the Thundering Herd Tournament in Carlisle. Colin Martucci (145), son of former St. Pius X head coach John Martucci, was second, while Sam Batchelor (215) was third. Eddie Lockowitz (103), Liam Gibbons (119) and Nick McGlauflin (171) were all fifth, and Zach Mitchell (125) contributed a sixth for rookie head coach Matt Shutt.

SPECIAL GUEST

Andy Kaul, a 1951 graduate of The Hill School and one of its most successful wrestlers, watched the Blues during the Mercersburg Duals two weeks ago. A three-time national prep champion while at the Hill, Kaul went on to Michigan and led the Wolverines to two Big 10 Conference championships and a 29-6-1 overall record in his four seasons in the program. He was a two-time NCAA All-American, placing four at 137 pounds in 1954 and second at the same weight in 1955.

Forty-eight hours after it was all over, head coach Rick Pennypacker was still having a difficult time digesting the end of Pottsgrove’s football season.

He didn’t feel any better Sunday night than he did Friday night, when the Falcons failed to come up with another one of their customary stops on defense or breathtaking big plays on offense in the waning moments of their PIAA-Class AAA showdown with Archbishop Wood and lost, 30-28.

“It’s going to take a while to get over it,” Pennypacker admitted. “I know there are people out there saying we had a great season, and it was. But it’s going to take a little time for me to get past this (loss) and look at (the season) like everyone else is right now.”

Time will eventually ease the pain.

Time will, as they say, heal all wounds.

What time will never erase, though, is the way the Falcons responded to all those late-summer expectations by staying focused from week to week, by executing on both sides of the ball. And despite giving up a few inches and a lot of pounds nearly every Friday night or Saturday afternoon, they exploited opponents with their quickness, their speed, and their knack of always seeming to be at the right place at the right time.

They had that resourcefulness on defense and that flair on offense. It was an unbeatable combination for 14 straight games – including three straight, come-from-behind postseason victories that led to the program’s first District 1 championship and first appearance in the state playoffs.

Everyone, including their throng of fans – which may have reached 2,000-plus last Friday night – sure wouldn’t have minded more than the cameo appearance, sure wouldn’t have minded another trek to who-knows-where this Friday or, for that matter, a trek out to Hershey for the state final in two weeks.

But getting as far as they did, winning 14 games, wasn’t too bad at all.

“Did I expect us to get this far … I don’t know,” Pennypacker said. “I know the biggest thing in the beginning of the year was hoping to play Rustin again. All we heard was how (Rustin) had everyone back from the team that beat us last year, from the team that won districts.

“So it’s a credit to the kids how they played this season. When they got the opportunity they seized it.”

The Falcons withstood challenges from their Pioneer Athletic Conference rivals – and won their second straight outright league championship – to finish first in the postseason points standings. They came from behind to beat Upper Moreland; regrouped and came from behind again to beat Rustin – which few in their right football mind thought they could do; then came from behind yet again to outlast Interboro in an overtime thriller for the district title.

That resiliency, that confidence, is what brought them back to even terms with Archbishop Wood last Friday night, and not just once but twice. It’s what brought them back a third time, which gave them a 28-24 lead with just over three minutes remaining, too.

But this time, the Falcons couldn’t hold the lead.

“These kids worked hard, they wanted to get to states,” Pennypacker said. “They wanted to win districts and get to states. When we beat Upper Moreland I was afraid of a letdown, but it didn’t happen. When we beat Rustin I was afraid of a letdown, but it didn’t happen. When we beat Interboro I was afraid of a letdown, but it didn’t happen.

“Each one of those games were big wins for us, and I was worried the kids would come out flat the next week. But that never happened. They came from behind in every playoff game except (Friday night’s) game. We just couldn’t seal the deal.”

And it wasn’t until Pennypacker was finished his postgame chat with the Falcons that he realized just how exhausted everyone was.

Adrenaline carries coaches and players alike through practices, through the routine of dressing up and firing up for Friday nights. But a loss, especially one that ends a very successful 15-week season, depletes entirely that energy.

“We were at it since August,” Pennypacker explained. “It really takes a toll on you and your coaches, so imagine how the kids feel.”

Pennypacker got a firsthand look at how the Falcons felt when the final seconds ticked off the clock last Friday night.

“I really felt bad for our seniors,” he said. “One of my coaches told me that we were 36-6 in the three years those (seniors) were with us. They just weren’t used to losing. And it was kind of strange after the game Friday night because (losing) isn’t something you prepare for. Most years you know your last game is on Thanksgiving morning, you know it’s over after that game. But this time … it was just a weird atmosphere.

“But I can’t say enough about our kids, every one of them. I can’t say enough about what they accomplished this year. Right now, like me, they’re hurting. But if you don’t hurt when you lose you’ll never win, and we’ve told them that.”

The Falcons were hurting late Friday night, throughout the weekend, too.

They’ll remember the pain for some time, especially when it comes time to gear up again next summer with most of this season’s cast intact for another PAC-10 and postseason show.

“Oh, this is going to motivate them for next season,” Pennypacker said. “They got a taste of what it’s like now. They saw how the school and the community supported them. They’re going to want to do this again next year. I can tell you now they can’t wait to get back out there next year.

“Every year is different, and we’re going to have to replace some very good football players. But as soon as their bodies heal up a little bit, they’re going to be back in the weight room and ready to get after it. They’re an incredible group of kids.”

*

Pennypacker didn’t want to talk about the issue of Archbishop Wood having a full week off prior to Friday night’s opening round of the state tournament. A number of other coaches haven’t been tight-lipped about it, though.

“Whoever heard of a bye week in the middle of the playoffs?” one coach asked. “That’s ridiculous. It’s something the PIAA should address, too.”

*

There has been a big difference in the playoffs since Philadelphia Catholic League schools joined the PIAA last year, teaming up with Philadelphia Public League rivals (members since 2004) in District 12.

Going into this weekend – with LaSalle (Class AAAA), Archbishop Wood (AAA) and West Catholic (AA) in their respective bracket’s state semifinals – the Catholic league is 8-3 overall against teams from opposing districts. Both Archbishop Wood and West Catholic were state runners-up a year ago.

The city’s public league schools, meanwhile, haven’t fared anywhere near as well against opponents from other districts. The PCL is 0-5 in AAAA; 0-4 in AAA; 1-0 in AA (lone win against Lower Moreland); and 2-1 in A (wins over Bristol and Jenkintown).

None of the aforementioned records include results of games between Philadelphia’s Catholic League and Public League schools because they’re all part of District 12.

*

Pottsgrove not only set an area record for wins in a season, but also for points scored in a season. The Falcons put up 497 points to erase the mark of 446 set eight years earlier by Pottsgrove. … Perkiomen Valley still owns the single-season record for average points per game (38.7), set two years ago. … Only 11 area teams have scored 400 or more points in a season.

This column originally ran in the Dec. 4, 2009 edition of The Mercury.

PHILADELPHIA — There was little if any excitement in the first 10 weeks of Pottsgrove’s football season. Shutting out three opponents and limiting five others to just one touchdown, not to mention never trailing once at the halfway mark of any of those games, doesn’t exactly coerce coaches to pace crazily up and down the sidelines or force the fans behind them to fidget in their seats.

The last three weeks…

Well, neither head coach Rick Pennypacker nor any of his assistants have stood still for long (if at all), and their fans have been kind of sitting on pins and needles.

Talk about making up for lost time.

The Falcons have had to come from behind in all three of their playoff games – first against Upper Moreland and then against unbeaten Bayard Rustin for a pair of 21-14 thrillers, and again last week against unbeaten Interboro in a 28-21 overtime gripper.

“That was tense, and I mean tense,” Pennypacker said last Saturday night, moments after the Falcons whipped up some momentum late in the third quarter, held it through the fourth quarter, then carried it into overtime to outlast Interboro for the program’s first District 1-AAA title.

Pennypacker and his entire staff have indeed had a bit of an anxious look and an uneasy bounce in their collective step since the postseason kicked off back on the second weekend of last month.

Don’t expect it to be any different tonight, either, when they make their debut in the PIAA playoffs against Archbishop Wood in a Class AAA quarterfinal showdown here at Northeast High School’s Charles Martin Memorial Stadium.

“It has gotten tougher and tougher each week, and we know it’s going to be even tougher (tonight),” Pennypacker said. “You may be able to make a mistake here and there (during the regular season) and have it not hurt you. But once you get into the playoffs, one mistake can cost you … cost you the game, end your season.”

During the regular season, the Falcons more than made up for any occasional blunder. They opened with two very convincing non-league wins over Pennridge and Wissahickon, then ran the table on their Pioneer Athletic Conference rivals. The spotless 10-0 record earned them a second straight PAC-10 championship and the top-billing for the District 1-AAA playoffs.

But that’s all their impressive play earned them.

Upper Moreland put them in a 14-7 hole at the break, but the Falcons took advantage of some of the Golden Bears’ mistakes to pull out the win. Rustin – the defending district champions who dizzied every one of their opponents before visiting Pottsgrove – had them trailing 14-13 at the break, but the Falcons stepped up when the Knights lost a fumble and then their poise to pull out the win.

Last week, Interboro capitalized on a couple of breakdowns, mistakes if you will, to take a 21-14 lead at the break. But if there was ever a defining defensive play and defining drive to characterize the Falcons’ fight this postseason, it came by way of linebacker Preston Hamlette and their persistent offense. Hamlette sacked Interboro’s quarterback on fourth down to end the Bucs’ one last attempt to regain the lead. The Falcons took possession with 10:31 left and, despite not finding their way into the end zone, they ate up all but the final three seconds of regulation.

Into overtime they went … with momentum, and a whole heck of a lot of confidence.

It took just two snaps for Maika Polamalu to skirt the right side for the go-ahead touchdown, and four stops on defense – the last being Angelo Berry’s knockdown of a pass just inside the end zone – to finally end it.

Ironically, tonight’s scrap with Archbishop Wood could likely unfold like the previous three games, even end in similar fashion.

“It should be a pretty exciting game,” Pennypacker said.

Yep … the postseason may get a little repetitive in December, but never boring.

* * *

If the Falcons are looking for any additional motivation – or bulletin board material, as they call it – all they have to do is read a couple of the comments about their win over Interboro on easternpafootball.com... which, forgive us, we’ve cleaned up a bit (spelling and punctuation).

Bob said: “(Archbishop) Wood is going to destroy this Pottsgrove team. Pottsgrove is not good at all, they got lucky. And Terrell Chestnut is overrated.”

And FootballFan responded: “It should be Rustin vs. (Archbishop) Wood. That would have been a great game Bob.”

Let’s see now – Pottsgrove isn’t “good at all” and Chestnut is “overrated.” Hmmm… Pottsgrove beats Rustin, then beats Interboro. Two straight wins over undefeated teams is lucky? Maybe, then again how often have you heard coaches – in all sports – say they’d rather be lucky than good? And, for the record, Chestnut is either being recruited or looked at by 30-40 Division I-A schools. Could JoePa and some of the best minds in college football all be wrong?

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.