All eyes, or at least most area football fans’ eyes, will be on two games this evening — Pottsville at Daniel Boone in an Inter-County League Division One feature and, of course, Methacton’s first meeting with Pottsgrove in a Pioneer Athletic Conference showdown.

Not to get the lids blinking, but tonight’s Owen J. Roberts and Phoenixville affair at Washington Field may be the game to keep one eye (or both) on.

There’s no title on the line, mind you. However, both the Wildcats and Phantoms are 4-1 (as well as 5-2 overall) and, realistically, the only two teams capable of catching or catching up to Pottsgrove in the event the Falcons stumble down the stretch.

What is on the line this evening, at least for the Wildcats and Phantoms, is the opportunity to keep those District 1-Class AAA playoff hopes alive.

Owen J. Roberts is currently eighth in the district’s points standings (610 points and power rating of 87.143), while Phoenixville is ninth (530, 75.714).

Tonight’s winner will pick up 150 points — 100 for the win, 10 points each for their opponent’s five previous wins — the loser gets zero.

Remember now, only eight teams qualify for the postseason.

The three teams ahead of them — No. 7 Strath Haven, No. 6 Upper Merion, and No. 5 Rustin — are all heavily favored to win this weekend, so there won’t be much (if any) room to move up. Of more concern, though, is that the three teams below them — No. 10 Interboro, No. 11 Academy Park, and No. 12 Bishop Shanahan — are also heavily favored to win this weekend, and with two of them going against AAAA rivals, the bonus points could conceivably push both past OJR and Phoenixville, regardless of who wins, out of the Top Eight.

Pottsgrove and Upper Moreland (6-1) lead the District 1-AAA points standings. But the Falcons, with a win over AAAA Methacton tonight, will break that tie with the idle Golden Bears. … Former PAC-10 member Great Valley and Henderson are tied for the third spot. … Out in District 3-AAA, Daniel Boone is eighth.

HITTING 50

Phoenixville’s Bill Furlong, Spring-Ford’s Gary Rhodenbaugh, and Upper Perkiomen’s Keith Leamer all coached their 50th Pioneer Athletic Conference games last week.

Lansdale Catholic’s Jim Algeo holds the PAC-10 record (129). Pottsgrove’s Rick Pennypacker, who is second, lines up for his 115th league game tonight.

MILESTONE DAY

Pottstown and St. Pius X will both play their 200th Pioneer Athletic Conference games on Saturday. The Trojans and Lions are the only teams that avoided the two teachers’ strikes at Spring-Ford (1988) and Phoenixville (1989) and have played all their scheduled league games.

Perkiomen Valley, Pottsgrove, and Upper Perkiomen will hit the 200-game mark next weekend.

DISTRICT BIGGIES

There shouldn’t be any big surprises, although the Ches-Mont League has a pair of headliners. One is in Downingtown, where East (4-3) meets West (6-1), while the other features Coatesville (5-2) at Henderson (5-2). … Unbeaten North Penn (7-0), No. 1 in the district and No. 2 in the state, visits Souderton (4-3) on Saturday. … Chester, which is still in the AAAA playoff hunt, last week blanked Penn Wood, 44-0, for the 500th win in the history of its program.

STATE…MENTS

At least four teams in Pennsylvania will be losing their first game this weekend … and likely leaving the Top 10 rankings in their respective brackets. In Class AA, No. 6 Mount Carmel (7-0) hosts Lewisburg (7-0) in a District 4 feature, and No. 7 Karns City (7-0) hosts Moniteau (7-0) in a District 9 showdown. In a cross-bracket and cross-district brawl, District 6-A Portage (7-0), ranked No. 9 in the state, travels to District 5-AA defending champion North Star (7-0), which is unranked. … Out in District 7, unranked Keystone Oaks (7-0) visits unranked Sto-Rox (7-0) in a WPIAL feature between Class AA rivals. … Beaver Falls (7-0), on top in Class AA, has a test at Center (6-1), while Steelton-Highspire (7-0), on top in Class A, should get a test as well at Trinity (6-1).

MAKING THEIR POINT

York’s William Penn (56.6) and Portage (51.0) are the only two teams in the state averaging more than 50 points a game. … Perkiomen Valley is No. 1 in District 1 and No. 47 in the state (35.4). The Vikings (3-4) are the only team with a losing record among the state’s 113 schools averaging more than 30 points.

Ten teams, led by Rochester (2.4) and Clairton (2.9), are allowing less than a touchdown a game. Neshaminy is ninth in defense, permitting just 5.9 points a game.

PASSING THROUGH

While Perkiomen Valley senior Zach Zulli and Daniel Boone junior Jon Monteiro are threatening to erase most of the area’s passing records before they’re through their careers, Brockway’s Derek Buganza is doing the same out in District 9. Just a sophomore, Buganza unofficially leads the state with 1,999 yards going into this weekend. The next closest passer happens to be another District 9 quarterback, Richland Township junior Giovanni Ramires, who has thrown for 1,917 yards.

NATIONAL NOTEBOOK

Defending Maryland 2A champ River Hill, led by Wake Forest-bound running back Mike Campanaro, has defeated opponents by a combined 319-22 this fall and an amazing 870-43 combined margin during its 20-game winning streak the last two seasons. … Down in Kentucky, two state records fell last Friday night. Manchester senior quarterback Zach Lewis broke the state’s career passing yardage record previously held by former NFL No. 1 draft pick Tim Couch. Lewis threw for 391 yards to push his career total to 12,490 yards. Russell senior placekicker Jason Dolly booted his state-record 75th consecutive extra point in a blowout of Vanceburg. … Further south in Florida, Sheridan Hills’ Frainy Alfrena took 15 handoffs for 405 yards (27 yards per carry) and five touchdowns in last week’s 41-13 win over Highlands Christian. … In Minnesota, Elliott Mathieu hit on 26 of 41 passes for 452 yards and eight touchdowns, breaking the state record that was shared by six others, among them Minnesota Twins all-star catcher Joe Mauer. … And out in Wyoming, a major snowstorm couldn’t slow down Natrona County’s Tom Early, who ran for 327 yards and four first-half touchdowns — all 30 or more yards — in a rout of Riverton.

ANSWERING THE MAIL

Two readers’ emails asked if last weekend’s high-scoring fiascos across the nation set any records. Well, not really. The National High School Sports Record Book lists scoring records as follows: Most points in a quarter — 66, by Prescott (Ariz.) against Kingman in 1925; Most points in a half — 86, by Lincoln Prep (Mo.) against Northeast in 1985; Most points in a game — 256, by Haven (Kans.) against Sylvia in 1927; and Most points in a season — 903, by Albermarle (N.C.) over 16 games in 2001.

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

Daniel Boone, along with Owen J. Roberts and Pottsgrove, are in first place in their respective leagues. Daniel Boone currently shares the top spot in Section One of the Inter-County League with Conrad Weiser and Muhlenberg, while Owen J. Roberts and Pottsgrove are situated next to each other as the lone unbeatens in the Pioneer Athletic Conference.

But no one best be pointing that index finger skyward.

No, no, no…

Not yet.

You see, neither Daniel Boone, Owen J. Roberts nor Pottsgrove have reached the halfway mark of their respective league schedules. In other words, there is a lot of football to be played. Make that a whole heck of a lot of football to be played.

And even though there isn’t that strength-of-schedule argument in high school like there is in college, Daniel Boone and Owen J. Roberts have a considerably more challenging month ahead of them than Pottsgrove (and, no, we’re not overlooking the fact three other PAC-10 teams have just one loss right now, either).

First, Daniel Boone. The Blazers (2-0, 4-1) host Conrad Weiser (2-0, 4-1) this Saturday, travel to Governor Mifflin (1-1, 3-2) next week, then come back home to entertain Pottsville (2-1, 2-3), go off to visit Muhlenberg (2-0, 5-0), and close at home against Exeter (0-2, 0-5).

For head coach Dave Bodolus and the Blazers, that’s a grind … a big-time grind.

Weiser, in case you didn’t know, has won four in a row. Mifflin has done quite well with Vince Garipoli calling the signals since the highly touted Casey Hughes broke his arm in the preseason. Hughes, who had three interceptions on defense last week, may be ready to step back in under center at any time for the defending section champions. A very young Pottsville ran off back-to-back wins before last weekend’s narrow 25-20 setback to Weiser. Muhlenberg, thanks in part to quarterback Nate Daniels — whose numbers (61 percent completion rate, 999 yards, just one interception and 12 touchdowns) are almost as ridiculous as Jon Monteiro’s of the Blazers — hasn’t lost to anyone yet. And Exeter, on a 16-game losing streak, nevertheless is still the pesky rival who was winless a year ago when they came up one point shy of the heavily favored Blazers.

There’s just as much drama building in the PAC-10, too.

Owen J. Roberts travels to Pottsgrove on Friday night. It will be the first “big test” for the Wildcats, and the third straight “big game” for the Falcons. After next week’s game at home with St. Pius X, the Wildcats have a grind themselves — at Phoenixville, at home against Perkiomen Valley, and at Boyertown. Even though the Wildcats have dominated Pius (winning 17 of their last 20 meetings), they won’t overlook the Lions. Phoenixville has another quality team that gets better each week and slips under everyone’s radar while doing it. Perkiomen Valley has an offense capable of piling up big yards and putting up big points. And Boyertown, remember, came within six inches of putting Pottsgrove in a hole with less than two minutes left last weekend.

Wildcats head coach Tom Barr may want to give Bodolus a call to find out what prescription he gets to settle the stomach.

Pottsgrove, which also outlasted Perkiomen Valley two weeks ago, has a bit more of a football-friendly schedule (just don’t let head coach Rick Pennypacker hear that). The Falcons visit Upper Perkiomen, which has split its last six meetings with Pottsgrove; host Methacton, which found its offense last week to get into the win column and pick up some much-needed confidence; travel to Spring-Ford, which is going to break out, offensively and defensively, one of these weeks; and entertain Pottstown, which has the speed to go step-for-step with the Falcons.

And if the battle for an I-C League or PAC-10 title isn’t enough to motivate the troops, Daniel Boone, Owen J. Roberts, and Pottsgrove are all trying to keep pace in the playoff chase, too.

Though official standings aren’t expected to be released until later this week, Daniel Boone is among the leaders in the District 3-AAA bracket. But another 3-2 run down the stretch like last year’s finish against the same five opponents could conceivably keep the Blazers out of the postseason. OJR and Pottsgrove are among the leaders in the District 1-AAA bracket, but a loss here and there could sack their playoff hopes as well.

HONORABLE

Player of the Week honors … more on that in a moment.

Coach of the Week honors go to Methacton’s Bob McNally, who guided the Warriors to their first Pioneer Athletic Conference win, 36-13, at Upper Perkiomen last Friday night.

Now, Player of the Week? Forget it. Time to pluralize.

In other words, take your pick from the following fellas who just went bonkers in the mud and rain last Friday night:

Boyertown quarterback David Crognale, who ran for 249 yards — a PAC-10 record for yards rushing in a game by a quarterback — and two touchdowns; Daniel Boone quarterback Jon Monteiro, who threw for 475 yards — which shattered the Mercury area’s all-time record — and four touchdowns; Daniel Boone receiver Zach Keeley, who had 13 receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns; Methacton quarterback Jim McHugh, who threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns; Owen J. Roberts’ Ryan Brumfield, who ran for 250 yards, had 317 yards of total offense, and scored three times; Perkiomen School quarterback Abdul Smith, who ran and threw for a combined 275 yards and four touchdowns; Perkiomen Valley quarterback Zach Zulli, who threw for a school-record 307 yards and two scores; Perkiomen Valley running back Lynwood Snowden, who scored four times himself; Perkiomen Valley receiver Sean Conners, who caught eight passes for 150 yards and a touchdown; and Pottsgrove quarterback Terrell Chesnut, who carried just 13 times for 245 yards (a PAC-10 record until Crognale passed him on the Bears’ final drive) and three touchdowns.

PRIVATE MATTERS

The Hill School opens its Mid-Atlantic Prep League schedule this Friday (3:30 p.m.) at the Peddie School. The Rams, 1-2 after three non-league games, and host Falcons will be meeting for the 69th time.

In three games, Perkiomen School’s Abdul Smith has had his hand in 99 offensive plays (51 carries, 48 passes), which have led to 842 yards and nine touchdowns. In other words, Smith is averaging 8.5 yards every time he touches the ball, and one out of every 11 touches results in a touchdown. He’s also returned a kickoff for a touchdown, too.

MILESTONES AND MORE

Keeley became the third Daniel Boone receiver to go over the 1,000-yard career mark two weeks ago and is now second (1,239 yards) on the short list. He passed Dexter Russell (1,197) last Friday night and could pass Mark Justice (1,578) by season’s end. St. Pius X graduate Mike Todd is the Mercury area’s all-time leading receiver with 1,919 career yards.

Zulli’s two touchdown passes against St. Pius X were the 49th and 50th of his career. The Viking senior lifted his career passing yardage to 4,505 and needs 792 more yards to equal the Mercury area record held by Daniel Boone graduate Chris Bokosky. … Crognale’s 277 yards (rushing and passing) last Friday night pushed his career total offense to 5,083. He is just the fifth area player to go over the 5,000-yard mark. Next up on the list are Pottsgrove’s Brent Steinmetz (5,277) and Bokosky (5,297). Zulli (4,853) could join the select list this weekend. … Monteiro’s effort against Blue Mountain — which, incidentally, had been allowing opponents just 43 yards passing a game — broke the area record of 394 yards set by Phoenixville’s Steve Rife in 1984. The PAC-10 record is also held by a former Phoenixville quarterback, Steve Ferko, who threw for 387 yards as a freshman against Great Valley in 1996.

REMEMBER WHEN

Thirty years ago, or 1978 to be exact, the area scoring leader at the end of the season was Owen J. Roberts tailback Tom Barr — yep, the same Tom Barr who is now the Wildcats’ head coach.

Twenty years ago, or 1988 to be exact, Phoenixville and Upper Perkiomen put on quite an offensive show with the Phantoms winning, 63-35. The game set an area record for the most points scored in a game, breaking the mark of 96 set way back in 1914 when Reading ripped Pottstown, 96-0. The Reading-Pottstown mismatch dropped to the No. 3 spot on the list two years ago after Upper Perkiomen and Lansdale Catholic combined for 97 points (the Indians won, 55-42).

This weekend is the second round of the annual Pioneer Athletic Conference football fight … just the second round. Perkiomen Valley’s Scott Reed is well aware of that, so is Pottsgrove’s Rick Pennypacker.

So forgive the ol’ fellas if they don’t think their teams can deliver a knockout blow tonight.

Yes, both Perkiomen Valley and Pottsgrove have been mentioned over and over as the PAC-10 heavyweights this season. Yes, both punched their way to wins over credible challengers a week ago. And, yes, as long as they stay healthy, both have the ability to poke, prod and punch their way through the next – or final – seven rounds of the regular season.

So, yes, the Vikings and Falcons absolutely want to knock each other off their collective feet tonight.

But they’re also well aware that the bell rings again next week, the week after that, the week after that… all the way through the first weekend in November, then one final time Thanksgiving morning.

“Our team, and that includes every one of the players as well as all the coaches, know that whoever we play each week is the biggest game of the season,” Reed said. “That never changes. We prepare for the team we’re playing that week, and we prepare for it as the biggest game of the season.”

“This is like any other game for us,” Pennypacker added. “Yes, Perkiomen Valley is very good and, yes, this is a very big game. But all it means right now is that one of us gets a leg up on the other by being 2-0. Don’t forget, there are still a lot of games left to play.”

Though neither would admit it, Reed and Pennypacker probably spent a few extra hours with their defensive coordinators.

Understandably so.

The Vikings, who have been quite generous defensively – allowing 120 points in their first three games – will have to deal with Pottsgrove’s much-improved heavyweights up front and quick-as-lightning lightweights behind them. Quarterback Terrell Chestnut, as well as fullback Preston Hamlette and tailback Maika Polamalu, can flat out fly. Chestnut has gone 76, 61 and 77 yards for three of his five touchdowns; Hamlette went 94 yards for one score; and Polamalu, in addition to a 37-yard reception that ended in the end zone, shuffled through the defense for 63 yards and a touchdown that put last week’s bout with Phoenixville out of reach.

“(Pottsgrove) has a lot of marquee football players,” Reed said. “They have talent. They can move the ball, and they can score.”

Don’t think it’ll be any easier for Pottsgrove’s defense, either, because Perkiomen Valley lines up with one of the area’s most balanced – or most dangerous, if you prefer – offenses.

Lynwood Snowden, who showcased his speed in both the 100 and 200 meters during last spring’s PAC-10 Track and Field Championships, brought a kickoff back 90 yards in the season-opener, has run for four touchdowns and caught a pass for another. In other words, he’s a concern every time he touches the football. So is quarterback Zach Zulli – The Mercury’s Player of the Year last season – who has peppered opposing secondaries by completing 64 percent of this attempts for 671 yards and seven touchdowns – four going to Paul Thomas.

“They can score, and they can score in bunches,” Pennypacker said of the Vikings. “Zulli is one of the best high school quarterbacks I’ve seen in a long time, and with all the formations and all the motion they show you, you can’t afford any mental mistakes. Seriously, we could get blown out if we’re not careful in this one.”

Even though Pennypacker will go with an incredible number of underclassmen tonight – eight sophomores and nine juniors among the 22 lining up on both sides of the ball – Reed still sees the overall makeup of the Falcons’ youth movement.

“People have a tendency to think about running backs and receivers when you talk about speed, but Pottsgrove’s defense is very fast,” Reed said. “They get to the football very quickly, and that’s from all positions.

“They’ll be a big challenge for us. They’re very aggressive, and they fly to the football.”

* * *

Zulli needs just 26 yards passing tonight to become the area’s third quarterback to reach the 4,000-yard career mark. The others were Upper Perkiomen’s Jeff Moyer (4,161) and Daniel Boone’s Chris Bokosky (5,297). … The Falcons had beaten Perkiomen Valley seven straight times before falling 35-7 last year in Graterford.

BUSTIN’ IN BERKS

Daniel Boone, coming off what was unquestionably one of head coach Dave Bodolus’ most disturbing defeats – 48-47 in overtime to winless Columbia – opens its Inter-County League Section One card tonight against visiting Twin Valley.

The Blazers put up 440 yards and those 47 points against Columbia, so it wasn’t like they really missed quarterback Jon Monteiro, who was sidelined with a thigh bruise. Monteiro is expected to be back tonight, and Bodolus hopes the defense comes back, too. And not the defense that surrendered 451 yards and 48 points last Saturday night.

Twin Valley moved up from Section Two to Section One this season, the program’s 13th since opening up back in 1996 under former Owen J. Roberts standout Tim Kier.

PROFILE OF COURAGE

Perkiomen School’s visit to George School on Saturday will feature two outstanding quarterbacks – the Indians’ Abdul Smith and the hosts’ Justin Cancelliere.

Cancelliere, who like Smith also lines up in the secondary and returns kicks, has shown remarkable courage since losing almost his entire family in a plane crash midway through his freshman year. His mother, stepfather, three sisters and the family babysitter were killed when their plane crashed while attempting to land in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Cancelliere was actually supposed to accompany them on the flight, which originated out of Trenton, N.J., but he instead decided to stay at his father’s home to enjoy Super Bowl weekend.

“You’ve just got to keep your head up,” Cancelliere told the Bucks County Courier Times last month. “A lot of times it’s, “Ah, I feel like quitting. Why am I here?’ You ask why, but you need to look past that and think, ‘You’re still alive. You need to make your family proud. You’re living their legacy.’

“You’re the only left to represent your family, so you’ve got to represent them well and stay positive.”

Cancelliere plays three sports and is an excellent baseball player.

MILESTONES AND MORE

Pottstown was 48-48-1 at home in PAC-10 games before winning last week’s outing with visiting St. Pius X. Upper Perkiomen is 48-48-1 at home in PAC-10 games going into tonight’s game with the Trojans. Both teams will be looking to take the lead in their PAC-10 series, which is currently deadlocked at 11-11. The Indians will also be playing the 600th game in the history of their program, which kicked off in 1952 following the jointure of neighboring East Greenville and Pennsburg high schools. … Owen J. Roberts, which picked up some well-earned respect with last week’s decision over Upper Perkiomen, goes for its 100th Pioneer Athletic Conference win Saturday afternoon against Methacton, which is looking for its first.

DISTRICT BIGGIES

North Penn, No. 2 in the state and 3-0, hosts Central Bucks South (2-1), while No. 9 Neshaminy (2-1) entertains unbeaten Abington (3-0) in a pair of quality AAAA matchups. … An undefeated pairing has AAAA Upper Dublin (3-0) at AAA Upper Moreland (3-0). …Two other games – Garnet Valley (3-0) at Strath Haven (2-1) and Conestoga (2-1) at Ridley (3-0) – will also go a long way in setting up the early playoff points standings.

STATELY NOTES

Beaver Falls, Dunmore and Jeannette occupy the top three spots, respectively, in the state’s Class AA rankings. Former No. 1 West Catholic dropped to No. 4 after being upset 27-26 by La Salle College High School. Jeannette is the only team in the state that has yet to be scored on. The Jayhawks have blanked East Allegheny (43-0), Brownsville (41-0) and South Allegheny (45-0), and could make it four in a row at Waynesburg (1-2) tonight. … In Class AAA, No. 2 Erie Strong Vincent (3-0) travels across town tonight to take on No. 5 Erie Cathedral Prep (2-1). … McKeesport, which dropped a narrow 14-7 outing to powerful Colerain, Ohio, in its opener, jumped five spots to No. 3 in the AAAA state rankings behind No. 2 North Penn and No. 1 Gateway. The Tigers picked Plum apart 55-0 two weeks ago. Last Friday night, they took a 48-0 lead after one quarter and scored on eight of their first 14 plays from scrimmage en route to a 67-7 laugher over Connellsville. McKeesport and Gateway, by the way, meet in their WPIAL Foothills Conference final on Oct. 24. … If defense isn’t your thing, how about unranked William Penn High out in York? The Bearcats lead the state in scoring (167 points) after three romps over Reading (49-13), Lancaster McCaskey (57-20) and Susquehannock (61-10).

It’s never been too awfully difficult to figure out who’s who in Pioneer Athletic Conference football. Old fashion research – like checking team rosters from the previous year to see who’s coming back and who isn’t, a few off-the-record (of course) chats with coaches and players, and peeking in on summer practices as well as a scrimmage here and there – more often than not separates the good from the, dare we say it, not so good.

This season?

Let’s see, put ’em all in alphabetical order – Boyertown, Methacton, Owen J. Roberts, Perkiomen Valley, Phoenixville, Pottsgrove, Pottstown, St. Pius X, Spring-Ford and Upper Perkiomen. Reverse the order if you’d like. Scribble the names of all those teams on a slip of paper, them into a hat, give it a flip-flop, and empty ’em on the kitchen table.

Go ahead.

Just don’t dare claim to have an answer as to who is going to be on top of the standings when the show ends around noon Thanksgiving Day.

Quite simply, the 23rd season of PAC-10 football kicks off this evening with more uncertainty than any before it.

All that research, at least a few months of it, hasn’t revealed any clues. And as ridiculous as it may sound, coaches – a good number of them at least – have mentioned upwards of seven teams they personally feel are capable of winning the title. Most admitted their respective scrimmages were up-and-down (inconsistent, or good and bad, as some mumbled). And after two weeks of non-league tests, no one is exactly gushing over their preseason report cards.

A few fanatics from around the football neighborhood have already put their collective feet over the chin strap, under the facemask and squarely into their mouths by claiming this could be a bad season for the PAC-10.

But, in all likelihood, because of the uncertainty – or dare we say parity – it may very well unfold as one of the best.

The opening-night card isn’t going to tilt this season’s seemingly level playing field, mind you. Not yet, at least. And it isn’t going to reveal any unconquerable, goliath-like lineup(s), either. One week, or one game, a season doesn’t make.

But it sure is a good one. Five games, five legitimate toss-ups … and most of them have their own interesting storylines.

The headliner, if there is indeed one, is Methacton’s visit to Boyertown. The Warriors are making their Pioneer Athletic Conference football debut and, naturally, would like to make a good first impression. The Bears are thinking otherwise, of course. They’d like nothing more than to end an eight-game losing streak that dates back to last season, give new head coach Mark Scisly his first win, and give the Warriors a loss to dwell on during the long bus ride back to Fairview Village.

Phoenixville and Pottsgrove will both attempt to right their respective ships after splitting their two non-league games. Each team has a potential Player of the Year, the Phantoms with Anthony Nattle and the Falcons with Terrell Chestnut, both of whom strut their stuff on both sides of the ball. And even though it doesn’t play into anything, keep the number 550 in mind – this is the 550th game in the history of Pottsgrove’s program, and Phoenixville is looking for the 550th win in the history of its storied program.

St. Pius X will take a short hike over to Pottstown and, for the first time in five years, look for a win in its PAC-10 opener. George Parkinson, the first head coach with three consecutive seasons on the Lions’ sidelines since Dave Bodolus (1995-2001), and the Lions had last week off. But don’t think they lost any of the enthusiasm or confidence from their impressive opening-night shutout of Simon Gratz down in Philadelphia. The Trojans, meanwhile, are expected to be a little healthier than they were against both Blue Mountain and Upper Dublin. And they also have Kenny Baker, another genuine Player of the Year candidate, who can break a game wide open all by himself with his quickness and speed.

Spring-Ford and Perkiomen Valley meet in Graterford to celebrate the 25th anniversary of a series that has become as good a rivalry as there is locally. It’s also a series that has gone in reverse since Spring-Ford dominated the early meetings (by taking seven of its first eight PAC-10 wins by shutouts and four more in consecutive seasons – 1990-93). Perkiomen Valley has won eight of the last nine meetings, though. Both struggled the past two weeks, but both have two of the area’s top quarterbacks. The Rams have Trevor Sasek, who is threatening to rewrite the school’s record book, and the Vikings have Zach Zulli, who is threatening to rewrite the school’s and area’s record books.

And the final entry on the PAC-10 card has Upper Perkiomen at Owen J. Roberts, perhaps the two teams with as much to prove as anyone tonight. The Indians were nearly flawless in a rout of Allentown Allen and totally outplayed at Downingtown West. OJR got burnt by big plays against Downingtown West, then came up with their own to singe West Chester East. Indians head coach Keith Leamer hasn’t lost any of his five games against OJR, but will have to deal with two of the league’s best linemen in the Wildcats’ Sam Morgan and Nelson Munoz and two of the league’s most promising underclassmen in Ryan Brumfield and Scott Syrek.

MORE, MORE, MORE

Daniel Boone, the area’s only 2-0 team, is at home tonight for the first time this season and entertains Columbia – a team that gave up 576 yards and 61 points in a loss to York Suburban last weekend. If that trend continues, the stat-fanats may need a calculator to add up Nate Greene’s yardage on the ground and quarterback Jon Monteiro’s yardage through the air.

Perkiomen School finally kicks off its season tonight at Tower Hill down in Wilmington, Del. Head coach Kevin Manferdini can ill afford any injuries this season because of lower numbers in camp. He has two promising senior guards in Eric Pfeiffer and Robert Faraco, who’ll lead a charge up front for Abdul Smith, who has already committed to Rutgers University and is, without doubt, as good a candidate for Player of the Year honors as anyone.

SUNDAY SPECIAL

The Hill School will be the area’s last team to step onto the field this season. The Blues’ scheduled matinee for today against visiting Germantown Academy was pushed back to noon Sunday. The change was agreed upon by both schools after GA’s opener with Cardinal Dougherty got washed out Saturday night and, because of scheduling conflicts, was pushed back to Monday afternoon.

See Sunday’s edition of The Mercury for a preview of the Blues’ opener.

DISTRICT FEATURES

Three big games on the District 1 docket tonight feature Pennsbury (2-0) at Glen Mills (2-0) and Strath Haven (1-1) at Conestoga (2-0), while the showcase event is St. Joseph’s Prep (2-0) visiting North Penn (2-0). The teams are ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the state’s AAAA division. There are a couple more interesting matchups on Saturday, too, with Quakertown (2-0) visiting Cheltenham (2-0) and Henderson (2-0) traveling to Malvern Prep (1-0).

AROUND THE STATE

West Wayne ended the state’s longest active losing streak at 41 games last weekend with a 21-6 win over Susquehanna Community. The Wildcats, who compete in the District 2-Class AAA bracket, hadn’t won a game since Nov. 7, 2003. Going into tonight’s games, Montgomery (District 4-A) and Allegheny-Clarion Valley (District 9-AA) own the state’s longest active losing streak at 24. … On the flip side, defending Class AA state champion Jeannette (District 7), which has swept 18 straight games, boasts the longest active winning streak in Pennsylvania. District 6-AA power Tyrone has won 34 consecutive regular-season games since a narrow 7-6 setback to Phillipsburg-Osceola four years ago.

CELEBRITY GAME

There were a few famous faces in the stands last week when Oaks Christian put a 35-7 thumping on Bakersfield Christian out in California. Former San Francisco 49er quarterback and Hall of Famer Joe Montana was there to watch his son, Oaks Christian quarterback Nick Montana. Seated nearby was NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Getzky and Hollywood star Will Smith, both keeping an eye on their sons who play for OC as well. On the other side of the field, former No. 1 NFL draft pick and journeyman quarterback David Carr was watching his son, Derek Carr, who was calling the signals for Bakersfield Christian.