This column first appeared in the Sept. 26 edition of The Mercury.

Mark Scisly sure has enjoyed the last two weekends. First, he helped end Boyertown’s football woes, namely an eight-game losing streak that stretched all the way back to last season, and got his first win along with it. Then he started another streak, going the other way that is, by winning again.

All of a sudden, Scisly — Boyertown’s rookie head coach — finds himself in a very big game that, unlike the previous two, may reveal just how good the Bears are as well as dictate their stance for the remainder of the Pioneer Athletic Conference season.

Pottsgrove sure has a history of bringing that out in a team … especially now that the Falcons have played up to all the preseason hype and postured themselves as a legitimate frontrunner (or, if you prefer, contender).

The Falcons are 2-0 in the PAC-10, so that isn’t any surprise. But the Bears have matched that start, too, and because of the more than handful of new names situated in front of and around veteran quarterback David Crognale and a new coach coming in to sort out as well as coordinate the personnel, well, that is a bit of a surprise. And Owen J. Roberts, sitting alongside Pottsgrove and Boyertown with a 2-0 record despite reconstructed offensive and defensive lines, has opened more than a few fans’ eyes, too.

So, yes, tonight’s game in Boyertown is indeed a biggie.

“It’s just a great opportunity for us,” Scisly said. “I don’t know if everyone knows it, but there are only three undefeated teams (in the PAC-10), and we’re one of them. We’d like to take advantage of the opportunity.”

Mind you, it won’t be easy, though.

“You usually run into one good back, a quarterback or a running back, every week,” Scisly explained. “But Pottsgrove has three — a quarterback, a fullback, and a tailback. They don’t just give you one guy to worry about, they give you three.”

The Falcons’ quarterback is Terrell Chestnut, the fullback is Preston Hamlette, and the tailback is Maika Polamalu. And yes, all three are, for the lack of a better word, dangerous with a football in their hands.

They’re quick. They’re fast. They’re fancy free when given a little room to run. Together, the threesome have combined for all but one of the Falcons’ 13 touchdowns and for all but 12 of the Falcons’ 96 points thus far. They can, as they’ve already proven, turn any dilemma into a score, and from anywhere on the field.

But defense, which the Bears have played quite well the past two weeks, may not be as much a key as offense — Boyertown offense, that is. There’s nothing like a ball-control, clock-eating drive here and there to keep Chestnut, Hamlette, and Polamalu off the field.

“Our defense has been playing well,” Scisly said. “We got the shutout two weeks ago, then up until their final drive last week, kept Spring-Ford under control.

“But I think we have to come out and control the football. We have to do that, and we have to play defense.”

A lot of those responsibilities will fall heavily on Boyertown’s fast-improving front alignment of Wilmer Barndt, Ian Repko, Brandon Weller, Doug Muller, Ian Beidler, and tight end Ty Showers. Behind them is running back Logan Herb and quarterback David Crognale, who knows a little about big plays and big wins in his four years taking the snaps and practically rewriting the Bears’ passing record book.

“This is a huge game for us,” Scisly said. “We’re looking forward to the opportunity.”

Boyertown will induct four men into its Football Hall of Fame during halftime tonight. They are Randy Boyer (1957 graduate); David “Daisy” Erb (1954), Don Grim (assistant and head coach from 1959-1987); and Bob Reinhart (1962).

THEY MEET AGAIN

Phoenixville visits Pottstown tonight, and it’ll be the 97th time the two schools have played one another. The two teams first met in 1905, although it was Phoenixville’s “second team” — known as the Colonials — that battled the Trojans to a 0-0 tie (one of eight in the series). Phoenixville’s varsity was 8-0 and unscored upon that year.

Pottstown picked up its first win, 9-5, the following year, and won 4-0 on Thankgiving Day in 1907. Phoenixville’s first official varsity victory over the Trojans occurred in 1908’s season finale, 11-0.

MAKING A POINT

Unofficially, Owen J. Roberts — which hosts Spring-Ford tonight — and Pottsgrove are tied for third and seventh place, respectively in the District 1-Class AAA playoff points standings. The top eight qualify for the playoffs, which kick off the weekend of Nov. 7-8. Both teams can pick up big points this evening with wins over their Class AAAA opponents. … Boyertown, in a tie for 24th spot in AAAA, will need a solid run from here on out if it hopes to get into the Top 16.

DISTRICT BIGGIES

In a AAAA showdown, Ridley (4-0) visits Upper Darby (4-0) in a game that is likely to go a long way in determining the Central League championship. Ridley has won the last two titles with spotless 9-0 runs. … Cheltenham (3-1) travels to AAA Upper Merion (3-1) in a big game; Garnet Valley (4-0) renews its long rivalry at Conestoga (2-2); Souderton (2-2) looks to halt its two-game slide against visiting Pennridge (3-1); and Springfield-Montco (3-1), coming off a stunning setback, looks to right the ship when it hosts unbeaten Class A entry Jenkintown (4-0).

Around the state, District 4’s big game is the AA showdown with six-time state champion Mount Carmel (4-0) visiting Central Columbia (3-1). … District 7 has a pair of unbeaten features with Fort Cherry (4-0) traveling to Clairton (4-0) in Class A and Seton LaSalle (4-0) entertaining Sto Rox (4-0) in Class AA. … Out in District 10, high-scoring Saegertown (4-0) — coming off a 78-6 romp — will finally be playing someone, namely host Iroquois (3-1). … Up in District 11, all eyes will be on Emmaus (4-0), which has given up just six points thus far, when the Hornets head up to take on the Konkrete Kids of Northampton (4-0). But the feature game in District 11 may be Class AA Panther Valley (4-0) and its defense, with two shutouts this season, trying to slow down record-breaking Zach Barket and Schuylkill Haven (4-0).

STATELY NOTES

Gary Campbell, who followed the legendary George Curry up at Berwick, picked up his 100th career win last week when the Dawgs thumped none other than Curry and Wyoming Valley West, 34-7. … Jeannette has yet to be scored on. The Jayhawks have blanked East Allegheny (43-0), Brownsville (41-0), South Allegheny (45-0), and Waynesboro (49-0). The defending PIAA-Class AA state champions will look to keep the zeroes flowing tonight when they visit WPIAL Interstate Conference rival Charleroi (1-3). … William Penn out in York scored a season-low 48 points in last week’s rout of Red Lion, but is still averaging 53.8 points a game. That figure could go up even more this week when the Bearcats visit winless Dover, which is allowing 39-plus points a game. … Towanda’s Travis Chesla was credited with 38 tackles in the Knights’ 33-28 setback to unbeaten Canton up in District 4, and Waynesboro’s Dylan Spangler was credited with 25 tackles in the Indians’ 30-6 loss to unbeaten Middletown out in District 3. No one likes to question a devoted statistician’s work, but was anyone else playing defense for Towanda and Waynesboro last week?

One week, or one game, a season does not make. But after Mother Nature stretched the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s opening night into an opening weekend, there was a wee bit of separation.

In other words, and beyond the obvious deduction that there were five winners and five losers, a few teams stepped to the forefront, earned some respect and established themselves as contenders for a PAC-10 title … while others, though in no way out of anything after just one week, slipped significantly.

Yes, Perkiomen Valley and Pottsgrove – two of the teams a lot of fans early on felt were heads (or helmets) above everyone else – rebounded from their own puzzling preseasons with big wins.

The Vikings put together another one of those offensive surges that helped them to a share of the title a year ago. This time, their 27-point burst not only ended a 14-14 struggle but burst Spring-Ford’s bubble. And Pottsgrove, like it has so often in the past, showcased a stingy defense that has kept the Falcons in game after game after game, or just long enough until a big play or two provides the differential.

And a couple of very long, second half runs into the end zone – and 77 and 63 yards certainly qualify as long – were about the only disparities between them and Phoenixville.

Two other teams, two who weren’t popping up on the championship run radar screens that is, produced a few blips last weekend, though.

Boyertown, which had lost eight straight games dating back to last season – including a pair of easily forgotten meetings with longtime Berks County rivals Muhlenberg and Governor Mifflin to kick off this season – used a turnover happy defense to set up short field after short field opportunities for the offense. The Bears converted, and turned their 31-0 blitz wasn’t exactly what Methacton had in mind, let alone expected, for its long-awaited PAC-10 debut. And Owen J. Roberts showed, to many of their own fans’ surprise, a productive defense, too. The Wildcats came up with five turnovers, one of which returned a dividend of six points by itself, to disarm what is expected to be a destructive Upper Perkiomen offense and underline a 28-14 victory.

And while a few fanatics would prefer to call Pottstown’s blowout of St. Pius X a mismatch to begin with, well, not necessarily. The Trojans were ailing in the preseason, but few realized just how well they did play against an Upper Dublin team (33-12 loss) that has humbled everyone thus far. But they were healthy for the first time last weekend, especially up front, and that may have had as much if not more to do with what they did than what Pius didn’t do.

But Week One’s five winners and five losers, as good, bad or indifferent as they may have been in victory and defeat, are back at it again this weekend … and all have the opportunity to reassure – or restore – their championship hopes.

It only gets more and more interesting.

HONORABLE

Player of the Week honors go to Perkiomen Valley quarterback Zach Zulli, who hit on 17 of 19 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 92 yards and two more scores in the Vikings’ 47-21 victory over Spring-Ford.

Coach of the Week honors go to Boyertown’s Mark Scisly, who came up with a daily double – his first Pioneer Athletic Conference win and his first win as the Bears’ head coach – in the 31-0 shutout of Methacton.

MIXED RESULTS

If there was a Hero of the Week honor it would surely go to Kevin Manferdini and his entire Perkiomen School football team. Manferdini had just 15 players on the field for last Friday night’s season opener at Tower Hill School in Wilmington, Del. Despite the limited personnel, the Indians were within a touchdown of their hosts going into the fourth quarter before falling, 28-14.

The Hill School had to wait until Sunday to open its 122th season, and did impressively with a 32-8 romp over Germantown Academy. The Rams could very well contend for a Mid-Atlantic Prep League title and, with eight games still remaining on their card, have a legitimate shot at the five more wins they need to reach the program’s milestone 500th win.

FIZZLED

To say Daniel Boone head coach Dave Bodolus was one unhappy camper after Saturday night’s overtime loss to Columbia would be, well, leave it at that.

The Blazers were averaging close to 450 yards and 40 points and allowing only 160 yards and seven points after two season-opening blowouts. So when winless Columbia, which had little if anything to shout about – especially after surrendering nearly 600 yards and 61 points the previous week – appeared on the schedule, Bodolus and his Blazers had to be drooling.

Well, as Bodolus pointed out after the shocking setback, the Blazers forgot to tackle. Even though quarterback Jon Monteiro sat on the sidelines with an injury, the Blazers produced 440 yards of offense. Zach Keeley and Nate Greene both ran over the 100-yard mark. Bodolus’ own son stepped in and was quite commendable in completing 10 of 18 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown.

They scored 47 points for goodness sakes.

“(But) we tackled like a bunch of little leaguers,” Bodolus said.

Which may explain why Columbia’s Dakota Lightfoot needed just 23 carries to pile up 330 yards and five touchdowns. The first four scores covered 95, 67, 21 and 72 yards. The last one was a simple 10-yarder right smack up the middle, but it came on the first snap of overtime and, with the extra-point, was enough to stun Bodolus, the Blazers and their faithful following.

PASSING IT ALONG

Boyertown quarterback David Crognale is now within 309 yards of hitting the 5,000-yard mark in career total offense. Crognale has run for 1,631 yards and passed for 3,060, giving him 4,691 overall. … PV’s Zach Zulli is closing in on the 4,000-yard mark in career passing. Zulli has 3,974 – and 45 touchdown passes – going into this Friday’s game at Pottsgrove.

PACing THE NUMBERS

Owen J. Roberts visits Methacton on Saturday looking for its 100th Pioneer Athletic Conference win since joining the league in 1988. … Phoenixville’s loss to Pottsgrove last week evened the Phantoms’ overall PAC-10 record at 97-97-1. … Boyertown’s shutout of Methacton last Saturday night was the 200th shutout in the PAC-10. … Pottsgrove has now gone 50 straight league games without being shut out, matching the league’s third-longest streak. The Falcons are getting closer to its own PAC-10 record of 57 in a row (1988-1994). … Some PAC-10 win milestones from last week – Pottsgrove’s Rick Pennypacker got his 110th, Owen J. Roberts’ Tom Barr got his 55th, and Perkiomen Valley’s Scott Reed got his 20th. … Like last week’s tie-breaker between Spring-Ford and Perkiomen Valley, Pottstown and Upper Perkiomen are 11-11 in their PAC-10 series going into Friday night’s meeting in Red Hill. The game will also be the 600th in the history of Upper Perkiomen’s football program, which began in 1952.

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.