Talking Sports with Seeley

Challenging times ahead for contenders

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:06:00 +0000

This column originally ran in the Oct. 27 edition of The Mercury.

No one could ever guess the number of times they’ve heard “when the going gets tough, the tough get going” in their lifetime. It’s one of the oldest clichés, if not most unoriginal lines, endlessly quoted by everyone from motivational speakers to sales managers and, yes, even football coaches.

The late Joe Kennedy reportedly preached it to his sons long before they began their political careers; Billy Ocean wore it out the already worn-out phrase as the theme sound for The Jewel of the Nile in 1985; and the line appeared in the popular Hagar the Horrible comic strip a few years back. Heck, even millionaire Baron Marcel Bich gave us a French version of it (“Quand le chemin devient dur, les durs se cheminent”) one time.

No one knows for sure if Owen J. Roberts’ Tom Barr, Pottsgrove’s Rick Pennypacker or Upper Perkiomen’s Keith Leamer will be uttering it this week (or next) in their respective locker rooms or not … but they may.

All three of their teams are situated right smack in the middle of a tight Pioneer Athletic Conference championship race, not to mention right smack in the middle of an even tighter District 1-Class AAA playoff chase.

Depending on who does what, of course, the PAC-10 title may not be officially decided until Thanksgiving morning. But who gets into one of those eight

postseason spots will officially be decided this weekend, if not next weekend.

First things first … especially for Barr and his Wildcats.

Owen J. Roberts (5-1, 7-1) travels to Boyertown on Friday, then entertains Perkiomen Valley the following weekend. A win over the Bears would clinch a second straight playoff berth and, in all likelihood, a first-round game on the home turf. And if there are any questions that do remain after that, they’ll get answered with a win over the Vikings.

Hey, the Wildcats can tackle a lot of bonus points in these two games – both Boyertown and Perkiomen Valley are Class AAAA rivals with a combined nine wins on their cards. But don’t forget OJR has only won three of seven PAC-10 meetings with the Bears, who’ll likely be snarling a bit after the stunning setback to Spring-Ford last Saturday. And last season, remember, it wasn’t until the final seconds ticked off the clock with Perkiomen Valley inside OJR’s 10-yard line that the Wildcats were able to hang on for a 27-26 win and end a three-year skid against the Vikings.

It’s just as interesting – or dare we say tough – for both Upper Perkiomen and Pottsgrove.

Leamer and his Indians (4-2, 6-2) haven’t come close to beating Pottsgrove the last two times they’ve met, but they need a win this time around to mathematically remain in the PAC-10 race (and pick up a lot of new friends from OJR), and to hold onto or improve on its No. 6 spot in the district playoff points standings. And next week’s visit from St. Pius X won’t necessarily be a pleasant one considering the improved Lions have an issue with giving up an average of 42 points in their five straight losses to the Indians.

Pennypacker, of course, is aware that two wins – over Upper Perkiomen and then Phoenixville – will assure his unbeaten Falcons (6-0, 8-0) will clinch no worse than a share of a second straight PAC-10 title as well as the so-called home field advantage for the playoffs. He already knows enough about the Indians, and remembers how Phoenixville, currently as healthy as its been all season, gave up three big plays – and only three big plays – in last year’s 21-7 loss to the Falcons.

Neither Barr, Leamer nor Pennypacker ever struggle finding the right words to keep their respective teams on their toes. But they may slip in the old “when the going gets tough” approach sometime this week or next.

At least they’d be telling the truth.

HOME SWEET HOME

There was a time not so awfully long ago when Spring-Ford was hard to beat at home. Even though that has changed a bit over the years, one thing hasn’t – the Rams haven’t lost a Saturday afternoon Homecoming game (at least since 1990), and it hasn’t mattered if they were the top-dog or the underdog.

And have they ever entertained the alumni in the eight games. In 1990 (against Pottstown), 1991 (against Upper Perkiomen) and 2004 (against Boyertown), they came from behind in the fourth quarter of each of those games to pull out a win. Then in 2005, they pulled out an overtime win over Perkiomen Valley. The next three were a little easier to sit through, with winning spreads of three touchdowns or more. But the Rams made up for lost time last Saturday – and had their fans back on the edge of their seats again – by putting together another fourth-quarter comeback (not to mention last-minute defensive stand) to edge the Boyertown, 17-14.

GETTING A KICK

Bernie Roell may be more concerned about Daniel Boone’s postseason soccer fortunes right now, but for the first time since the second week of last season he isn’t The Mercury’s leading kick scorer in football. Don’t be too alarmed, he’s just a point behind Upper Perkiomen’s Matt Kirkpatrick.

It’s definitely one of the better seasons for area kickers, though.

Kirkpatrick, who earlier this month set PAC-10 records for the longest punt and best punting average in a game, has given the Indians a big boost on special teams. Roell is still one of the strongest and most accurate placekickers and could well end up on top the scoring board when all is said and done this season. And don’t overlook Boyertown junior Aaron Sassaman, who shares the area-high in field goals this fall with three.

But an injury or other setbacks have cost the area two valuable kickers – Methacton’s Nick LaPerche and Phoenixville’s John McInally. One of the area’s best kickers the past two seasons and only a junior, McInally tore his ACL during a soccer game four weeks ago, has been sidelined since, and is scheduled to undergo surgery.

And down at Perkiomen Valley, Justin Morgan continues to boot point after point ever so quietly and, by season’s end, may erase the PAC-10 record for career placements.

BIG PLAYS

Pottsgrove quarterback Terrell Chestnut and backs Maika Polamalu, Kayvon Greene and Preston Hamlette have lugged the football a combined 232 times for 2,119 yards and 34 touchdowns. Now that may not sound all that impressive, but it breaks down to this – 9.1 yards per running attempt, and a touchdown every seven carries. That is impressive.

*

Perkiomen School’s O.C. Hightower fits in with the big-play crew, too. His last seven carries have covered 218 yards and ended in six touchdowns, and his last eight receptions have covered 220 yards and ended in four touchdowns. In other words, in Hightower’s last 15 touches on offense alone, he’s generated 438 yards – or 29.2 yards per play – and 10 touchdowns. That certainly qualifies as a “Wow.”

Pius hoping to change its history

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:04:00 +0000

This column originally ran Oct. 23 in The Mercury.

BUCKTOWN -- Some teams have their way with others. It just doesn’t seem to matter who’s better, or who’s good and who’s not so good, and forget about the won-loss column.

Fortunately, time erases most trends. And, as new players come and go, so do the memories (the best as well as the worst of times, that is).

But there are a few fellas, coaches in this instance, who may want to weave a little bit of that history into the ol’ pre-game preachings tonight.

No one more, perhaps, than St. Pius X head coach George Parkinson.

Yes, the Lions are 3-2 in the Pioneer Athletic Conference and 5-2 overall. Yes, they’ve already won more league games than the five teams before them did. Yes, those five overall wins are the most by any Lions team in seven years. And, yes, they’re about a first down or two behind Calvary Christian – actually a mere 1.2 points behind – in the District 1/12-Class A playoff points standings.

But as good as it’s been for the Lions so far this season, they’re fully aware they can ill-afford another loss if they hope to retain a lane in both those PAC-10 and postseason races.

And there’s no bigger challenge, at least for now, than Owen J. Roberts … the same Owen J. Roberts that has more than once in the past defied the odds (and logic) in match-ups with Pius.

The Wildcats (4-1, 6-1 overall) are just a game behind unbeaten Pottsgrove in the PAC-10 and situated right smack in the middle of the District 1-Class AAA playoff points standings themselves. In other

words, they’re pretty darn good themselves. And their track record against the Lions is, well, rather impressive – or disheartening to the Pius faithful.

For one, the Wildcats have not lost to Pius since getting blanked 27-0 back in 1995. That’s 13 straight wins, if you’re counting. Moreover, they’ve won 18 of the last 21 meetings since joining the league back in 1988. And if you care to go back to when they started playing one another in the Ches-Mont League, OJR has had the upper-hand in 26 of the 32 games (with one ending in a tie).

Former St. Pius head coach Dave Bodolus was almost speechless after a couple of upset losses to OJR, as was Ray Gionta following his one and only game against OJR.

Bodolus had a difficult time explaining what happened in 1999 after his heavily favored Lions were thumped 38-14 by OJR, the lone blemish in their PAC-10 championship season. He had an equally difficult time explaining what happened two years later when the heavily favored Lions came up short in a 32-29 thriller with the Wildcats before regrouping and playing their way to the PIAA-Class AA state semifinals. And Gionta wasn’t exactly a chatty one in 2002 after a 19-14 setback to the Wildcats with a team that would make its way into the postseason as well.

Obviously, Parkinson and his Lions would like nothing more than a win tonight to end the mystique – or whatever they call it – and hit the breaks on their 13-game skid.

They’re all still working on the respect factor. Some critics are quick to point out their five wins have come against teams who are a combined 7-28, and the only two teams with winning records on their schedule thus far have beaten them.

That may be a bit unfair, especially if you chat with OJR head coach Tom Barr, who sat in on Pius’ win over Spring-Ford last Saturday and had nothing but very good things to say about the Lions.

And when made aware of OJR’s long rule over Pius … “I don’t want to hear about that,” Barr said.

Neither do the Lions, who’d like nothing more than to bring a little magic of their own to the field tonight.

ONE AT A TIME

Three other PAC-10 teams, as well as Daniel Boone up in the I-C League, cannot afford to look past this weekend’s games.

OJR cannot take Pius lightly, of course, not with what is on the line and not with longtime rival Boyertown up next. Depending on where your allegiance lies, the OJR-Boyertown series has been one of the best for more than 50 years, even back when it was North Coventry battlin’ the Bears.

Upper Perkiomen has to take Phoenixville very seriously and not look ahead to next Friday night’s visit to Pottsgrove. Yes, Phoenixville may have started 0-for-5, but both the training room and sick-bay are almost empty now and the Phantoms’ improved health has certainly showed the past two weeks with back-to-back shutouts.

Pottsgrove, like Upper Perkiomen, is at Methacton on Saturday. The Falcons stack up as the favorite in every imaginable category. But hunger, the hunger to end disappointment and reverse one’s woeful ways, is one incredible intangible that you can’t measure with those first-down chains. Plus this is Week Eight – and if you knew your PAC-10 history you’d know it’s the week that has produced more surprises and upsets than any other week of the league season.

Up in the I-C, Daniel Boone travels to Pottsville and hopes to make it four in a row over the Crimson Tide. The Blazers can then focus on Muhlenberg – who they have lost to 19 straight times – in a bid to tackle the Section One title.

*

The Hill School sure can’t look ahead to next week’s game with defending Mid-Atlantic Prep League champion Blair Academy. The Rams take a long bus ride to Wyoming Seminary on Saturday, and a win could put them in a very enviable spot to avenge last year’s lone MAPL setback (to Blair) and run off with a championship. And with quarterback Jack Detmar a “probable” return to the lineup, the Rams will have a considerably better passing threat to go with their productive run game.

OH O.C.

When Abdul Smith graduated a year ago and went off to Rutgers, a lot of people thought Perkiomen School’s program would switch off. Not so.

One big reason has been the play of O.C Hightower, who has run for three touchdowns, pulled in five touchdown passes, and scored five other times – an area-high – on kickoff or punt returns and off defensive turnovers.

The 5-foot-9, 165-pound Hightower, who along with teammate Bruce Brittingham give the Indians as good as one-two punch as any other in the Philadelphia region’s private school sector, have Perkiomen on pace for its winningest season in 31 years.

ONE MORE TIME

Tireless Jim Algeo and his Lansdale Catholic football teams pulled off a few big wins and big upsets during their 22 years in the Pioneer Athletic Conference. All of them may pale in comparison to last Monday afternoon’s 36-27 victory over Bishop McDevitt.

The Crusaders were winless in six games this season, thanks in part to a young and inexperienced lineup, and were ailing a bit with a few starters either less than a 100 percent or out of the lineup entirely. Bishop McDevitt, on the other hand, was undefeated.

Surprise, surprise … and what a great gift for Algeo, who celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary two days earlier.

*

Algeo’s son, Dan Algeo – the head coach at Cardinal O’Hara – may want to steal one of those upset formulas from dad. His Lions are 7-0, but will meet Philadelphia Catholic League Class AAAA power St. Joseph’s Prep (5-1) on Saturday night. The Hawks’ lone loss this season was to North Penn back on Sept. 19.

Think before sounding off

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:02:00 +0000

Enough is enough. Now it’s my turn to Sound Off.

As you can see, my name and photo (sorry) are below and to the left, attached to this column as it always has been for 29 years here at The Mercury. I am going to make a point or two, and I’m going to huff-and-puff a bit.

And whether my opinion is right, wrong or indifferent, right-on or off-the-mark, in-the-know or out-of-touch, realistic or naïve, remember one thing – it is my opinion.

Yes, like every one of you (the reader, or the one who doesn’t read but sure hears about anything and everything the least bit contentious), I have an opinion, too.

But unlike way, way too many people today – most of whom, surprisingly, are otherwise well-educated and well-spoken – I will not hide behind some mysterious moniker in a publication’s have-your-say column, nor hide behind some ingenious screen name on speak-out-dot-com-this or speak-out-dot-com-that web site. The anonymity, or the ambiguity, provides everyone the opportunity to convey facts, of course. But it also affords everyone a distorted freedom to put fiction and fantasy into words, or words that go well beyond insult and injury.

The difference here is that I’m held accountable for each and every opinion I make in print. The nameless aren’t.

So here goes…

* * *

It’s been nearly 20 years since Susan Powter, shaved head and all, sat on a chair in front of millions of television viewers and rose to fame with her catch phrase, “Stop the insanity.“ But her expression keeps coming to mind every time I read these anonymous messages about high school football coaches in newspapers – including our own here at The Mercury – and peruse the other unsigned letters and emails. What’s even more ironic is that most of them don’t even come close to the mean-spirited squeals coming out of the stands on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons, so easily heard by anyone traipsing the sidelines during games.

You used to wonder how everyone (almost everyone, that is) became such an overnight expert. To a certain degree, we can credit ESPN, the innumerable radio and television talk shows, and the endless stream of dot-com-this and dot-com-that web sites for such schooling. And don’t forget instant replay. Heck we even have entire replays (what we used to call reruns of games), sometimes for two or three days on our screen. Certain plays, often the whole ballgame, are analyzed and psychoanalyzed, studied and scrutinized. Maybe it’s overplay?

But sitting on a sofa or up in the stands watching doesn’t quite provide the insight to be a high school football coach, nor does it give anyone the right to mock a high school football coach.

There aren’t too many men (or some ladies who have proudly joined the pathetic parade of moaners and groaners) willing to commit to all the hours coaches invest in their programs. The football season, some still think, only runs Mondays through Fridays or Saturdays from mid-August into November. Don’t forget those off days or nights spent scouting a future opponent, watching film, and devising offensive and defensive schemes for the next week. And those other eight months – mistakenly called the off-season – is time for conditioning, weightlifting, informal (but legal) practices and seven-on-seven passing drills, most if not all of which are supervised by the coaches.

Now divide all those hours into their salaries… Excuse me, but hardly anyone would wash one window on his or her fancy car in the driveway or sweep the kitchen floor for that hourly rate.

Also, don’t forget the coaches manage to juggle all those hours in and around their real jobs during the day (most teach from early-morning to mid-afternoon) and their families at night.

If all those hours don’t burn you out, dealing with 30-80 different personalities – that’s 30-80 players who think they’re better than everyone else – just may run you out.

Life rewards those who are dedicated, who work hard, who bring a level of talent to their endeavors. It isn’t, nor should it be, any different in high school football, which rewards the dedicated, hard-working and talented student-athletes with time on the playing field on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons. But even that simple logic is unreasonable, or unacceptable to some athletes – maybe because mom, dad and everyone else told them how good they were from the moment they began talking and walking; applauded them for making every conceivable youth all-star team; showed off all their ribbons, medals and plaques; possibly even whispered in their ears that they’d someday be star professional athlete.

We should all have high expectations in life, for ourselves as well as for our children. But that’s expectations, not hallucinations.

Unfortunately, reality – who’s good and who’s not so good, or who is playing and who isn’t – can be awfully difficult to accept. And when there is interference, like the berating of a coach at the dinner table, on message boards and wherever else frustrations and anger can be aired or written, reality gets twisted and warped even more. And it takes little time to spread throughout a team and around a community, and eventually divides teammates, demoralizes their team, and deteriorates their program.

No coach, not even legends like Knute Rockne and Vince Lombardi, could fix that. Not overnight, not in a week, and not over the course of a season or two.

But some try.

Imagine how Owen J. Roberts head coach Tom Barr must feel knowing there is a school board member with an agenda the past year to get rid of a him (we won’t mention who because five members of that board have embarrassed their district enough already). Yep, bar Mr. Barr even though he took the Wildcats to the playoffs for the very first time last November and is headed in that direction again this fall.

Imagine how Spring-Ford head coach Gary Rhodenbaugh must feel when reading or hearing about the long list of anonymous scripts bashing him for not winning. Well, despite what one „so-called“ coach of 22 years wrote – „I’d love to go over there and coach. With the bevy of talent on that team in that district I guarantee we would compete for the PAC-10 title within two years“ – it isn’t going to happen that quickly. First of all, no coach calls out another coach publicly, no real coach that is. And with all due respect to each and every one of the Rams in uniform, there hasn’t been a whole heck of a lot of talent, or „bevy of talent,“ for some time at Spring-Ford. Had some of the better players remained, had they committed to help change the program’s woeful ways instead of bailing out, maybe Rhodenbaugh – like that „so-called“ coach of 22 years – could help the Rams compete for another PAC-10 championship.

Imagine how St. Pius X head coach George Parkinson must feel when he listens to all the absurdities. The Lions program lost as good a coach as there was in Dave Bodolus eight years ago because of the narrow mind and ineptitude of an administrator or two. Three head coaches and two interim coaches later, Parkinson inherited a program that lost the support of the majority of its alumni; saw numbers dwindle down the record levels; and dealt with a lot of talent running off to enroll in neighboring PAC-10 schools. But Parkinson didn’t run away, and despite the callous comments that continue to echo around Mich Stadium, he’s as committed to each of his players – and the program – as anyone before him.

Don’t think Barr, Rhodenbaugh and Parkinson are alone, either. Boyertown’s Mark Scisly, Bodolus (now up at Daniel Boone), Methacton’s Bob McNally, Perkiomen Valley’s Scott Reed, Phoenixville’s Bill Furlong, Pottsgrove’s Rick Pennypacker, Pottstown’s Brett Myers, and Upper Perkiomen’s Keith Leamer have all been verbally whacked from the stands, as many of us have heard over and over again. And they’ve all been bashed in print, as many of us have read time and time again.

Maybe, just maybe, if everyone would take a moment and imagine what it would be like to walk in their shoes for a day, week or even an entire season, they wouldn’t be so quick to criticize their every move.

If not, maybe they’ll be a day not too awfully far in the future when coaches – good coaches, that is – won’t be on the sidelines at all.

Then everyone loses, including the ones we never want to see lose – the student-athletes.

Leaders of the PAC

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:00:00 +0000

This column originally ran in the Oct. 16 edition of The Mercury.

LOWER POTTSGROVE — No one should be surprised Pottsgrove is situated on top of the Pioneer Athletic Conference standings and unbeaten through six games overall. And very few should be surprised Owen J. Roberts is right up there alongside Pottsgrove and unbeaten through six games as well.

The big question is if either the Falcons or the Wildcats have any surprises for one another when they meet tonight.

Don’t expect many.

Especially any of those scrupulous, out-of-the-blue, razzle-dazzle offensive schemes, or devious defensive designs, either.

“Every team has their gadgets, a trick play or two they go to once in a while,” said OJR head coach Tom Barr. “But in a game like this you go with what brought you here, what got you to 6-0 at this point.”

“You don’t win football games with (trick) plays,” added Pottsgrove head coach Rick Pennypacker. “It all comes down to fundamentals, who blocks and who tackles.”

Neither Barr nor Pennypacker have reached into the gadget bag this season to pull out a win. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact.

It’s all been rather plain and simple.

Owen J. Roberts runs the football, Pottsgrove runs the football. They’ve only gone up top a combined 50 times thus far, which reveals just how much both like to pound it, pound it, and pound it some more … inside or outside, wherever their very good offensive lines lead them – the Wildcats to the tune of 285 yards a game, the Falcons to the tune of 275 yards a game.

The Wildcats’ front of center Mike Nowak, guards Jesse Dugan and Sean Moloney, tackles Andrew Garson and Kyle Moore, and tight end Francis Polignano – along with fullback Rich Zazo – have executed rather well in opening lanes for Ryan Brumfield. Six games in and Brumfield already has 1,222 yards and 20 touchdowns – both area-highs and among the leaders in all of Pennsylvania.

“Ryan Brumfield is as good a running back as I have ever seen,” Pennypacker said. “He reminds me of some great backs we’ve all seen the way he sets up his blocks. He gets the ball out in space, looks and looks for that block and, boom, off he goes. He is so good.”

The Wildcats also proved last week – when quarterback Nate Walters flipped a pair of touchdown passes covering 60 and 40 yards to wing Sam Funk – that they can go up top if needed, if only to lessen the presence of too many Falcons in the box. And Funk is equally dangerous on the counters OJR has called on at opportune times for 25 or more seasons, too.

But for Brumfield and the rest of the Wildcats to get off the ball and run like they have this season, they’ll have to do it against a defense unlike any they’ve seen yet.

“They’re quick and they get to the ball,” Barr said of Pottsgrove’s 5-2 defense, which is permitting an average of just 107 yards on the ground and 192 overall. “We have Brumfield, but (Pottsgrove) makes it very difficult to get out on the perimeter. Their technique is so good. But their quickness off the ball and their quickness to the ball can scare you.”

The Falcons go with T.J. Demetrio on the nose, in between tackles Kayvon Greene and Tyler Wysochanski, while Justin Oliveri and Maika Polamalu are situated on the ends. Brad Thornton and Danny Michaels have been superb at linebacker, especially Michaels in filling in for injured returning all-state senior Preston Hamlette – whose is questionable for tonight’s affair. And behind all of that group is a secondary that usually features Angelo Berry, Terrell Chestnut and Scott Madl, with Fred Dukes and Isaiah Quick getting into the rotation.

Owen J. Roberts’ defense – a 4-3 set – has actually been even less generous than the Falcons. The Wildcats are surrendering an average of 111 yards on the ground and just 172 overall. Ends Steve Lawless and Kyle Moore and tackles Moloney and Nowak have been relentless up front and getting into opponents’ backfields. Zazo is the middle linebacker, situated in between Nate Blevins and Funk to give OJR “as solid a group of linebackers as there are,” according to Pennypacker. And the Wildcats’ secondary – Brendan Shoemaker and Sean Yeager on the corners and Polignano and Brumfield as the safeties – can match up with most any other.

Nonetheless, the Wildcats will have to deal with a Pottsgrove offense that has the ability to find the end zone at any time from anywhere on the field.

“Last year it seemed like all you had to deal with was Chestnut (at quarterback),” Barr said. “But now they have more than just Chestnut. They have Polamalu, who averages something like 10 yards a carry; Berry, who really runs hard; and Greene, who has been in the backfield of late and runs so well, too. All of those guys are fast. It’s their speed that concerns us.”

What concerns both Barr and Pennypacker are turnovers … or avoiding turnovers.

The Wildcats have had their share of problems holding onto the football this season. They have fumbled away 12 possessions – though just one the last two weeks. And that just happens to coincide with what the Falcons have done thus far – like recover a dozen of their opponents’ bobbles, which has helped define why they are at plus-12 in takeaways.

“Pottsgrove executes so well on offense,” Barr said. “But what makes them so good is that when they get a turnover they turn it into points. I don’t know how many times they’ve done that this year, but that’s what a good football team does.”

“Don’t try to kid anybody, though,” Pennypacker said. “Owen J. is a very good football team, a very sound football team … and probably the best football team we’ll see, at least until the playoffs.”

So it should be a good one.

“We just going to line up and go at one another,” Barr said. “We’ve been doing that for the last couple of years.”

“I think it’s going to be a battle,” Pennypacker said.

NOTES

Pottsgrove leads the PAC-10 series, 12-9, while Owen J. Roberts leads the overall series, 31-19-3. … Falcons dealt OJR its lone league loss last season, 41-14, which Pennypacker said should help fuel the Wildcats’ competitive fires. “I think you have to look at the revenge factor too,” Pennpacker said. “(OJR) has something to prove.” … Polamalu is third in the area in rushing (579 yards, 8.9 per carry average). … Walters is 12 of 21 for 333 yards and three touchdowns, while Chestnut is 17 of 29 for 234 yards and two touchdowns. Each of the quarterbacks have been intercepted once. … Both teams have reliable kickers in Zack Lepore (OJR) and Zach Robinson (Pottsgrove). … The teams have had just one common opponent thus far – Spring-Ford. OJR outlasted the Rams, 13-7, four weeks ago, while Pottsgrove got by the Rams, 20-6, last Friday night.

2nd half has plenty of promise

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:53:00 +0000

This column originally ran in the Oct. 13 edition of The Mercury.

It’s halftime for high school football. Or shall we say the season is at the halfway mark, at least for most of the area teams that are scheduled to play through Thanksgiving (with perhaps a playoff game, two or even more before and after the holiday).

And after last weekend, when it seemed as though everyone was dialing long distance to reach the end zone and calling in one record after another, it’s kind of hard to imagine what may be in store for the fanatics in the second half of the season.

But the first six weeks sure provided everyone a handful or so of surprises.

What doesn’t qualify as one is Pottsgrove’s unbeaten run through the preseason and four Pioneer Athletic Conference games. With a minimum of three legitimate Division I-A players in their lineup (and if you don’t know who they are by now you should turn off the televisions and computers and get out to a game), the Falcons’ defense has put up a pair of shutouts and limited three other opponents to just one score since the opening-night, 34-21 rout of Pennridge (which scored twice in the fourth quarter with the Pottsgrove starters resting on the bench).

What doesn’t qualify as one is Owen J. Roberts’ Ryan Brumfield running up big numbers. Just a junior, Brumfield has already gone over 200 yards in three games (and missed a fourth by two mere yards); has more than doubled the yardage of all but one other area running back; has

more than double the total points scored of all but one other area player; and has erased a slew of school records, including the career rushing yardage mark set 30 years ago by his head coach (Tom Barr).

What doesn’t qualify as one is Daniel Boone’s Jon Monteiro continuing to throw up big numbers. A senior who missed his entire sophomore season due to a knee injury, Monteiro is averaging 203 yards passing; tossed at least two touchdowns a game (four in one and five in another) and 17 overall, which keeps him on pace to match or break his own area record of 34 from a year ago; and continues to erase mark after mark after mark in the Blazers’ record book.

Now, what we didn’t expect through the first six weeks of the high school football season, or our Top Five Surprises of the first half…

Surprise No. 1: Perkiomen Valley being 3-1 in the PAC-10 and 4-2 overall. Head coach Scott Reed couldn’t believe his opening-day turnout of 82 players, and he could’ve used name tags for most of them considering graduation took almost his entire starting lineup from a year ago. But the Vikings, who turned it over nine times in a loss to Coatesville and gave Pottsgrove as much as it could handle before falling, are now in the District 1-AAAA playoff mix. If the season ended today, Reed would be The Mercury’s Coach of the Year.

Surprise No. 2: St. Pius X is 4-2 overall. Yes, those four wins are over opponents who currently own a combined 5-19 record. But rebuilding a program sacked by a since-departed administrator’s narrow mind and inability to communicate eight years ago and kept down by a seemingly endless stream of changes on the sidelines (four head coaches and two interim head coaches those eight years) is far more difficult than most can possibly imagine. The smallest step forward is a giant leap under such circumstances, and George Parkinson as well as the Lions have made their share thus far this season. They have ended a PAC-10 losing streak that dated back to 2006; won as many PAC-10 games this season as they owned in the previous five combined; and just last Friday night scored more points in a league game than they had in seven long years.

Surprise No. 3: Turnovers … way too many of them. Keeping Hill School and Perkiomen School out of the equation (they deserve to be omitted because they have only a combined four so far), the 10 Pioneer Athletic Conference teams and Daniel Boone have fumbled the ball over 200 times already and lost 88. Throw in (pardon the pun) another 48 interceptions and that adds up to 136 turnovers in 46 games. Week Two alone was a fumblathon – Owen J. Roberts set a school record with 12 fumbles (six lost) against W.C. East, and Perkiomen Valley set a school record with nine turnovers (six fumbles and three interceptions).

Surprise No. 4 and 4A: Perkiomen School’s Julian Gentile. The little fella – and the 5-foot-5, 140-pound listing in the program may be a stretch – moved into the quarterback slot for the first time this season. After three games, he owns an area-best 184.1 passing rating. He’s completed 54.5 percent of his attempts with eight touchdowns against just two picks. … Perkiomen Valley quarterback Pat Catagnus, another rookie who caught three times as many passes as he threw last year behind Zach Zulli, has bounced back from a shaky start (four of his six interceptions in the first two games) and has completed 56 percent of his attempts for 580 yards – a big part of the Vikings’ surge this fall.

Surprise No. 5: The number of good, make that very good, linebackers. Good luck to the PAC-10 coaches when they vote on their all-league teams. Let’s see, and this is an abbreviated list, too, there is Boyertown’s Kyle Fultz and Jared Giles; Methacton’s Michael He; Owen J. Roberts’ Rich Zazo; Perkiomen Valley’s Joe Scenna and Bob Strickland; Phoenixville’s Vince Ciaverelli (when healthy); Pottsgrove’s Preston Hamlette; Pottstown’s Tommy Santos; Spring-Ford’s James Hoff; St. Pius’ George Lockbaum; and Upper Perkiomen’s Cody Fleming. That isn’t everyone now (so no pouting), plus throw in Daniel Boone’s Dave Morta and Josh Ortiz, and Hill School’s Kyle Regensburg.

*

Honorable Mention Surprises: The number of quarterbacks sacked with injuries. Boyertown’s Dylan Pasik, Hill School’s Jack Detmer, Methacton’s James McHugh and Phoenixville’s Tom Romano have all been sidelined for at least one game thus far. As a matter of fact, when Pasik called the signals for the Bears last Friday night and both McHugh and Romano lined up against one another last Saturday afternoon, it was the first time this season the three had been behind center on the same weekend for their respective Pioneer Athletic Conference games. Detmer has been out since breaking two bones in his left wrist during the Rams’ second possession against Chestnut Hill Academy two weeks ago, and he could be lost for the season. … Pottstown is averaging 242 yards rushing and is one point out of fifth place in points scored per game. But 15 turnovers (minus-eight in takeaways) have hurt, as has a defense that is allowing 368 yards a game. … Attendances, for the most part, have been pathetic. Some don’t even seem to add up to the number least expected (multiply the total number of football players, cheerleaders and band members by two) – because everyone has to have that many family and/or friends interested in watching.

RECORD WEEKEND

Brumfield’s six touchdowns last Friday night tied the PAC-10 record originally set by Pottsgrove’s Tim O’Neil and later equaled by the Falcons’ Brent Steinmetz and Owen J. Roberts’ David Frame. Brumfield also went over the 200-yard mark for the seventh time in a PAC-10 game (not sixth as previously reported), which ties him with Steinmetz – just one back of the league mark of eight set by St. Pius X graduate Zack Pierce.

OJR and Upper Perkiomen also produced three other PAC-10 single-game records: most combined yards in a half (651); most combined points in a half (63); and most touchdowns of 50 or more yards in a game (7). Also, Upper Perkiomen punter Matt Kirkpatrick set two individual records – longest punt (67 yards) and highest average punting (minimum of five kicks) by finishing with a 44.6 average on seven boots.

St. Pius X got whistled for 15 penalties last Friday night, breaking the league mark of 14 set by Spring-Ford in its 2000 game with Upper Perkiomen.

SHOWDOWNS

No, we didn’t forget – Owen J. Roberts visits Pottsgrove this Friday night. Yes, both are 4-0 in the league, 6-0 overall. Yes, the survivor will sure be a step ahead of the rest in the championship chase. No, a win will not guarantee the Wildcats or the Falcons anything … not quite yet.

Daniel Boone returns home to entertain Governor Mifflin on Friday night in another pivotal Inter-County League Section One game. Head coach Dave Bodolus’ big challenge will be getting the Blazers to regroup mentally from last week’s humbling 47-26 loss to Conrad Weiser, and realigning a defense that yielded 507 yards to the Scouts – almost the total they surrendered in their first five games (593) combined.

The Hill School continues its Mid-Atlantic Prep League schedule and hopes to keep pace with defending champion Blair Academy with a long bus ride to Mercersburg Academy. The Blue Storm were bumped by Blair last week, 38-10. And Perkiomen School comes off its rout of non-sanctioned Oley Valley and a bye the week to entertain New Hope-Solebury, which may be 0-5 but has lost three of those five games by a combined eight points.

Weekend will decide contenders

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:50:00 +0000

This column originally ran in the Oct. 8 edition of The Mercury.

The second half of the high school football season kicks off tonight. That’s right, the second half, at least for those teams with one eye on those confounded playoff points standings. What happens over the next five weeks will determine who’s in, who’s out, who plays who where, and so on and so on.

But remember what Ol’ McDonald (or some other fowl egghead) said about what came first.

Keep that in mind, too, because this is the weekend when statements will be made, when teams will dictate — on the field, that is — who is still in the running for a league championship, who is running low on gridiron gas, and who may have tanked it entirely.

Oh, there are some biggies ahead, mind you, but looking ahead only plays into the psyche of those who put the gear on and their coaches, as well as their fans who do all the hooting and hollering.

But tonight, the outcome of three particular games — Upper Perkiomen at Owen J. Roberts, Boyertown at Perkiomen Valley, and Daniel Boone at Conrad Weiser — will, in all likelihood, go a long, long way in determining Pioneer Athletic Conference and Inter-County Section One titles.

Upper Perkiomen (2-1, 4-1 overall) can ill-afford another loss, and Owen J. Roberts (3-0, 5-0) can’t afford a loss of any kind – not with a trip to unbeaten Pottsgrove next Friday in a game that has had an asterisk behind it since practices began back in August. Boyertown and Perkiomen Valley are both 2-1, both have already (unsuccessfully) dealt with Pottsgrove, and both still have Upper Perkiomen and Owen J. Roberts, among others, on their respective cards.

Up in Berks County, Daniel Boone has the I-C’s most productive offense and least-generous defense. The Blazers have thumped and trumped everyone thus far. But Conrad Weiser (with apologies to Twin Valley) is the best team and biggest challenge Daniel Boone has tackled yet. And don’t forget it won’t get any easier the rest of the month with Governor Mifflin, Pottsville and absolute pain-in-the-pads Muhlenberg on the card.

“(Tonight’s) game is your biggest game,” Pottsgrove head coach Rick Pennypacker said earlier. “It’s that way every week. If you look ahead, if your kids look ahead, bad things happen. You don’t worry about next week until next week.”

That’s the approach Keith Leamer has adopted at Upper Perkiomen, where midseason setbacks and late-season lulls in the past have cost the Indians dearly in their runs for a PAC-10 championship.

“Our goal this season is to just get better every day,” Leamer said. “If we can do that this week we have a chance against Owen J. Roberts.”

Getting out of Bucktown with a win tonight may depend on just how well the Indians’ offense fares against OJR’s defense. Yes, the Wildcats have a running back named Ryan Brumfield and his area-leading 939 yards, 14 touchdowns and 86 points overall, and he could very well pad those numbers tonight. But overlooked in Brumfield’s rewriting of the record books is head coach Tom Barr’s OJR defense … a pretty darn good defense, that is.

Ends Steve Lawless and Kyle Moore, tackles Sean Moloney and Mike Nowak, and linebackers Sam Funk, Rich Zazo and Nate Blevins have limited opponents to less than 100 yards on the ground thus far. Those fellas, along with corners Brendan Shoemaker and Sean Yeager and safeties Francis Polignano and Brumfield, are surrendering an average of just 141 yards overall.

“(OJR) is playing at a very high level, so we have our work cut out for us,” Leamer said.

The workload will fall heavily on an improved Upper Perkiomen front line and a fast-maturing Casey Perlstein at quarterback. Center Jake Nyce, guards Steve Grover and Alex Zukowski, tackles Dwayne Gillespie and Mike Paul, and tight end Nick Hale, have worked together well since the disappointing loss to Perkiomen Valley three weeks ago, and that’s made it easier for fullback Chase Fleming – who may be as good as anyone on the other side of the ball at linebacker – and tailback Mark Cole. The line has also helped give Perlstein enough time to throw for 410 of his 490 yards the last three weeks, too.

“Both (teams), at some point this season, have been getting it done in all three phases of the game,” Leamer said.

That other phase – turnovers – has also hindered both teams. OJR overcame a school-record 12 fumbles (six of which were lost) in Week Two and is coming off its first turnover-free game of the season. Thanks to seven interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries, though, the Wildcats are plus-six in takeaways. Upper Perkiomen has had trouble holding onto the football as well, losing two fumbles in three of its games and throwing three interceptions in another. But, like the Wildcats, the Indians have come up with 15 turnovers of their own and are a plus-five in takeaways.

“This is a game that could very well come down to turnovers,” Leamer said.

Big games, more often than not, are decided by the bobbles and errant throws.

* * *

Speaking of turnovers, Boyertown hasn’t given the football away in its last two outings. Perkiomen Valley, on the other hand, has been very charitable – 13 fumbles and six interceptions for an area-high 19 overall.

“We had the one bad game (nine turnovers at Coatesville),” head coach Scott Reed said. “But there’s no question the turnovers have hurt us. We can’t afford to keep making those type of mistakes.”

Daniel Boone, of course, has made very few mistakes of any kind. When you have a quarterback like Jon Monteiro and a slew of gifted receivers who provide as balanced an offense as you could draw up (979 yards passing and 975 yards rushing), it certainly does leave opposing defenses a bit perplexed as to what’s coming next. But head coach Dave Bodolus and his defense will get its toughest test to date tonight going up against a similarly balanced offense that features Zach Guiles (678 yards passing) at quarterback and Codie Butler and D.J. Robinson (just under 900 combined yards rushing) behind him.

OPENING UP

The Hill School opens its Mid-Atlantic Prep League schedule this afternoon (3:30 p.m.) against visiting Peddie School. The Rams (2-1 overall), who hope to get back on the winning track after dropping last week’s home-opener with Chestnut Hill Academy, were the runners-up to unbeaten Blair a year ago.

Head coach Marty Vollmuth will see a familiar face on the opposing sidelines, too. Peddie, winless a year ago, is coached by former Hill head coach Frank deLaurentis, in his second term as the Falcons’ head coach. DeLaurentis previously guided the program from 1996 through 2005.

ACHES AND PAINS

Area quarterbacks have seen their share of trainers and doctors, even made enough visits to the hospitals, this season.

Boyertown’s Dylan Pasik is questionable tonight after going down with an injury last Friday night; Hill’s Jack Detmer, a post-grad, is out indefinitely after breaking two bones in his left wrist during the Blues’ second possession last Saturday; Methacton’s James McHugh is questionable after suffering a stinger last week; and Phoenixville’s Tom Romano is probable, or hoping to return to the lineup Saturday afternoon after injuring his arm during a practice prior to the Phantoms’ league-opener four weeks ago.

Detmer threw for more than a 1,000 yards last year at his high school in Scarsdale, N.Y., and both McHugh and Romano threw for well over a grand as starters last season.

* * *

No one has been as banged up as badly as Phoenixville this season. Head coach Bill Furlong – who refuses to use the injury tag as a reason behind the Phantoms’ 0-5 start – hasn’t lost just his quarterback in recent weeks.

Romano was joined on the sidelines early on by tight end-linebacker Vince Ciaverelli. Since then, John McInally, one of the league’s best kickers the past two seasons, has been out with a pulled hamstring. Last week, nose guard Dennis Kelly went down with an injury that has him questionable for Saturday, and defensive end Greg Porter – who also doubled at tight end with Ciaverelli out – suffered a concussion that will keep him out at least another week.

And if that isn’t enough, Furlong lost starting guard-linebacker Matt Viscuso for the season last week after he suffered a compound fracture that required surgery to place a steel rod in his leg.

BIG NUMBERS

Brumfield needs 61 yards tonight to reach 1,000 for the season, while Monteiro needs only 21 yards passing to hit 1,000. … Nine area backs are averaging over eight yards a carry thus far, topped off by Pottsgrove’s Maika Polamalu (9.9). Spring-Ford’s Chase Stewart, thanks in part to his school-record 94-yard dash last week, is next at 8.3.

* * *

Big numbers don’t always translate into wins… check these out:

Grace Brethren (Calif.) quarterback Max Leffler throws for 510 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-32 loss to Frazier Mountain; Boyd (Tex.) quarterback Jonovan Griffin throws for 480 yards in an 84-40 loss to Plano West; and Downey (Calif.) quarterback Jason Lee throws for 450 yards and six touchdowns in a 72-43 loss to Patterson.

NOTES

The big game in District 1 this week has the state’s No. 8 ranked Downingtown West at Henderson. Both teams are 5-0 and among the district’s playoff points leaders in the AAAA and AAA brackets, respectively. … Out in Oklahoma, officials at Jenks High School – which has won nine of the last 13 state titles in the big-school classification and is nationally ranked year after year – have suspended 14-year head coach Allan Trimble and one of his assistants indefinitely. A 44-page report revealed Trimble was responsible for questionable conduct with seven players, conduct that ranged from recruiting violations to monetary gifts.

Halfway point isn’t too early to think playoffs

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:58:00 +0000

The high school football season — with the exception of those contingency or non-league games (whatever you’d like to call them) the second weekend of November and the Thanksgiving Day games — has reached the halfway mark.

Five up, five down.

Dare we say it’s time to talk playoffs?

Actually it isn’t a bad time, considering four area teams, which would be Daniel Boone up in District 3 and Owen J. Roberts, Pottsgrove and Upper Perkiomen in District 1, are all in position to make a strong run for postseason berths.

But coaches talking about the playoffs at this juncture is a no-no, and players thinking about playoffs – with five more games to be added, subtracted and divided on those confusing points standings’ configuration cards – is almost considered blasphemy.

Remember when Colts coach Jim Mora was asked about the playoffs after a loss to the 49ers that left his team 4-6? Remember his high-pitched response: “What’s that? Ah .. playoffs? Don’t talk about … playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs? I just hope we can win a game … another game.”

Well, guess who sounded like Mora early Monday morning?

“Playoffs? All I’m concerned about right now is beating Spring-Ford,” Pottsgrove head coach Rick Pennypacker said of the unbeaten Falcons’ game this Friday. “My goodness, we have to get ready for our next game, and four more after that before we can even think about (playoffs).”

If asked about the playoffs, you can bet the house OJR’s Tom Barr and Upper Perkiomen’s Keith Leamer, as well as Daniel Boone’s Dave Bodolus, would have had pretty much uttered the same thing.

Nonetheless, Pottsgrove and Owen J. Roberts are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, and Upper Perkiomen is No. 7 in the District 1-AAA points standings going into Week Six. There aren’t a whole heck of a lot of points separating No. 1 and No. 10, either. So a loss of any kind over the next five weeks could not only drop someone down the list but out of the top eight – the number of teams that will line up for the first round of the postseason Nov. 13-14.

And don’t think Daniel Boone has any easier trek to get into the District 3-AAA playoffs, either. The Blazers may be unbeaten, but they’re currently eighth – or right smack in the middle of the 16-team race – with not only seven very, very good teams ahead of them, but a slew of quality teams behind them capable of moving up and up in the coming weeks.

“I think any coach will tell you that you have to worry about your next game and only your next game, and that will take care of everything else,” Pennypacker explained. “No one can afford to look ahead. When you do that, bad things happen.

“Like I said, we’re working hard to get ready for Spring-Ford right now. And I’m sure coach Barr, coach Leamer and everyone else in our league will tell you they’re doing the same … preparing for (this weekend). Our first goal is to win the PAC-10 championship, that’s why we’re focused on Spring-Ford.”

The unbeaten Falcons (5-0) and Wildcats (5-0) have 690 and 630 points, respectively, in the first points standings released Monday by District 1 officials. Unbeaten Interboro is third (620), with Henderson and defending district champion Bayard Rustin — both unbeaten — tied for fourth (600). Academy Park (5-0), arguably one of the big surprises through the first half of the season, is sixth (590), one spot in front of Upper Perkiomen (530). Marple-Newtown (4-1), under former Boyertown and St. Pius X head coach Ray Gionta, is eighth (520).

Former District 1 and state power Strath Haven (4-1), which has lost only to unbeaten AAAA power Ridley, is ninth. The Panthers visit Marple-Newtown on Friday night.

* * *

Another area team — St. Pius X — is still mathematically in the Class A sub-region postseason race. The Lions (3-2) are tied for fourth with Del Val Charter and School of the Future, behind Bristol, Morrisville and No. 1 Calvary Christian. The Lions can ill-afford another loss or two, though, because only the points leaders from District 1 and 12 are guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, with the remaining two spots going to those with the highest points average to complete the four-team bracket.

* * *

The district’s 16-team AAAA field is currently topped by Pennsbury, with Abington, Downingtown West, defending champion North Penn and Ridley rounding out the top five. Perkiomen Valley (3-2) is at No. 18.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

All four of the aforementioned playoff contenders definitely can’t look beyond this week. Pottsgrove and OJR are 3-0 in the PAC-10, and Boyertown, Perkiomen Valley and Upper Perkiomen are all just a game back.

It’s a tight race, but one that should open up considerably over the next two laps, or weekends.

This Friday, Boyertown visits Perkiomen Valley, and Upper Perkiomen is at Owen J. Roberts. If the Wildcats win, and the Falcons succeed down in Royersford, they’ll both be 4-0 (6-0 overall) when they line up opposite one another next week at Pottsgrove.

And up in the Inter-County League, the Section One race is a good one with Daniel Boone, Governor Mifflin and Muhlenberg all 2-0. The Blazers – the lone unbeaten among the group – travels to Conrad Weiser (1-1, 3-2), which just punched Pottsville out of first place. After Friday, the Blazers have Governor Mifflin, Pottsville and Muhlenberg, a three-week grind they remember quite well from a year ago after losing to two of the three rivals.

IN A RUSH

OJR junior Ryan Brumfield has moved past Boyertown graduate Brian Roth and into sixth place on The Mercury’s career rushing chart with 3,965 yards. He needs 35 yards to become just the fifth area back to reach 4,000, and 92 yards to move past Pottsgrove standout and current Penn State running back Brent Carter (4,056).

Brumfield last Saturday topped the 200-yard mark for the fifth time in a Pioneer Athletic Conference game. He tied David Frame’s team record and moved into a tie for fifth place on the PAC-10 list alongside Spring-Ford’s Mike Bach and Joe Haley, and Upper Perkiomen’s Craig Austin. Two players – Carter and Lansdale Catholic’s R.C. Lagomarsino – ran for 200 or more yards in a PAC-10 game six times, while Pottsgrove’s Brent Steinmetz achieved the feat seven times.

St. Pius X graduate Zack Pierce owns the league record of eight games with 200 or more yards rushing.

BERKS BOMBERS

Daniel Boone senior Jon Monteiro is now fifth on The Mercury’s career passing chart with 3,980 yards. Barring a Homeland Security ban on air space Friday night at Conrad Weiser, Monteiro will become just the fifth quarterback to pass for more than 4,000 yards. He needs 182 yards to move into fourth place ahead of Upper Perkiomen graduate Jeff Moyer (4,161). … Teammate Kelly Saylor needs 28 receptions and 18 yards to become just the fourth area receiver to own more than 100 career catches and 1,000 career yards.

GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY

Hundreds of high school football players, past and present, got their start in the game with the NorChester Red Knights youth program, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend at Connie Batdorf Park just below the intersection of Routes 100 and 23. A pep rally kicks off the festivities 6 p.m. Friday night, with games and homecoming festivities beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday.

The organization is also holding an anniversary banquet Saturday, Dec. 5 at Kimberton Fire Hall. Tickets can be purchased throughout the weekend, or by visiting the Red Knights at www.norchesterredknights.com.

Perk Valley finding its identity

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:05:00 +0000

Scott Reed may have been thinking about getting photo identification cards to pin on every one of his players’ jerseys when Perkiomen Valley’s camp opened four weeks ago.

Graduation took all but one of his starters on offense and seven of his starters on defense. There were twentysome seniors back, mind you, but most spent last season standing on the sidelines as backups and fulfilling their football needs in the junior varsity games. And adding to the who’s who dilemma even more were all the sophomores, enough of them to give Reed an unheard of – or school record – 82 aspiring players on the roster.

“We never ever had that many kids, so we were really surprised,” Reed said. “During our off-season workouts we had maybe 30-35 kids in the weight room, so when we saw how many came out (on the opening day of practice) it did surprise us. We just didn’t know most of them, and knew we had to try and figure out what they could do.”

Three weeks into the season, and coming off what many considered an upset of Upper Perkiomen last Friday night, it appears the Vikings have stepped forward to show their coach who they are … and the entire coaching staff is figuring it all out pretty well.

“We have a lot of seniors who never played before, like 20 or so who didn’t crack the lineup as underclassmen,” Reed explained. “They were undefeated on the freshmen and jayvee teams, but they hadn’t played much with us because we had those good junior and senior classes the last two years.

“I can’t say we were really young, but we certainly were very inexperienced. We had a lot of evaluating to do.”

A lot of evaluations and assessments, actually, because of replacing 17 starters and baptizing the entire gang in an entirely new 3-5-3 defense, which doesn’t even come close to resembling Perkiomen Valley’s traditional 5-2 alignment.

“It’s certainly been a challenge for the whole coaching staff,” Reed added. “We have dedicated kids who play to the system well. But we had to figure out where everyone was going. We have a lot of personnel, but finding out who would fit in where was a huge challenge for us. A lot of kids were challenging each other, and we had to find kids willing to step up.”

Reed is discovering a lot have, at least through three games – wins over Upper Dublin and Upper Perkiomen sandwiched around a turnover-filled setback to Coatesville.

The offense has been “learning under fire,” as Reed said last week. Wideout Ben Carbutt was the only Viking to get any quality time a year ago. But Pat Catagnus has held his own at quarterback, and Steve Murrow and John Schmidt have found room to run behind a fast-learning and fast-improving front line. And everyone could be doing a lot better without the 15 turnovers.

“We’re not where we need to be offensively,” Reed said. “We have to stop the turnovers. We have to learn how to close out games better. We’re making mistakes we have to clean up.”

If there’s been a surprise – beyond the record turnout, that is – it’s been the defense. Up in Red Hill last Friday night, the Vikings allowed only 14 yards rushing.

Ends Sean Conners – who recovered a fumble and picked off an Upper Perkiomen pass, both in the final quarter – and Matt Kline; tackle Chris Stewart; linebacker Brendan Murray; and safety Kyle Williams are back from last season. They, along with Kayo Bakere – who transferred back to Perkiomen Valley this year – have adjusted well to the new defense. The rotation of Matt Kline and Justin Morgan at the other outside linebacker spot has improved, and the inside-linebacker threesome of Murray, Joe Scenna and Bobby Strickland – who had three sacks last weekend – are playing extremely well. And the secondary, which features Carbutt, Gio and Joe Waters and Wayne Smith are holding their collective own, too.

“We wanted to be more of an attack-style defense this year,” Reed said. “After looking at all the kids we had, we felt instead of finding five linemen we could find more who would fit into those five (linebacker) positions. Plus, it’s good to try something new at times.

“We’re happy so far. We’re still giving up big plays, and everyone knows we can’t do that. We just have to play four quarters of solid defense.”

Especially this Friday, when unbeaten defending PAC-10 champion and state-ranked Pottsgrove visits.

SHORT LIST

The Hill School joined Phoenixville as the only area programs with 500 wins by opening its season with a 32-12 thumping at Germantown Academy last Friday afternoon … and everyone kept the milestone victory in perspective.

“It’s amazing … an incredible feeling,” said senior Andrew Donald, a resident of Kimberton who will certainly remember the game after catching six passes and picking off two on defense. “We’ll celebrate this tonight, then set our target on No. 501.”

“This was a good goal for today,” added head coach Marty Vollmuth, in his seventh year guiding the Rams. “We wanted to get off to a good start. (The win) makes me feel proud, having been here 24 years and to have two former players on the staff. It’s a real accomplishment.”

The Rams travel to Episcopal Academy this Saturday, then return home the following two weeks to first entertain Chestnut Hill and then open their Mid-Atlantic Prep League against Peddie.

MORE OPENING LINES

Daniel Boone opens its I-C League Division One season Friday at Twin Valley. Head coach Dave Bodolus expects a considerably tougher challenge this week than his Blazers got in the first three weeks – three wins in which they piled up a 1,243-225 yard advantage on offense and outscored their opponents 137-13. Twin Valley is also 3-0 for the first time in its 12-year football history.

Perkiomen School opened its Tri-State League season with a bang last Friday afternoon and ended a two-year skid to Tower Hill (Del.) with a 37-0 romp.

UNBEARABLE

Boyertown head coach Mark Scisly has to be scratching his head. The Bears threw up 41 points in their season-opener, scored once in the first quarter of Game Two with Governor Mifflin … and have since gone into hibernation (offensively, that is).

Turnovers and penalties have helped take the energy out of the offense. The Bears are minus-five in takeaways, and have been whistled nine times for 92 yards in penalties the last two games. All of that has overshadowed an otherwise strong defensive effort.

Up front, Scisly has gotten strong play from Wilmer Barndt, Chris Muller and Tyler Bogert, and more of the same behind those three from Kyle Fultz, Jared Giles, Zach Heffner, Tyler Mauger, Jon Neiman, Dalton Schaeffer and Tyler Shaw.

Scisly and the Bears hope to get the offense on the same page Friday night against visiting St. Pius X.

LION-HEARTED

Speaking of St. Pius X … in case you didn’t catch their streak-ending win last Saturday.

The Lions defeated Phoenixville for the first time a 28-0 shutout in 2002; won their first PAC-10 opener since a 25-12 decision of Spring-Ford in 2003; scored their most points in a PAC-10 since a 52-28 loss to Owen J. Roberts in 2005 – which was 32 games ago; and ended a 23-game PAC-10 losing streak that dates back to Week Four of the 2006 season.

Pius, which is 3-0 for the first time in eight years, needs one more win to match its combined win total of the last three years and three more wins to match the combined win total of the last five years.

INJURY WOES

The area’s injury list worsened last week, and before round three even kicked off.

Pottstown has reportedly lost running back David Tyler for the season with a leg injury. A senior, Tyler ran for just over 2,000 yards at Spring-Ford as a sophomore and junior before transferring to Pottstown this year. … Phoenixville quarterback Tom Romano suffered an arm injury during practice last week, which kept him out of the Phantoms’ game with Pius. He, as well as two-way starter Vince Ciaverelli, who also missed Saturday’s game, are both questionable this week. … Pottsgrove all-state linebacker Preston Hamlette, sidelined with an ankle injury, is still doubtful this week.

MOVING UP

OJR’s Ryan Brumfield last Friday night moved up to No. 10 on the area’s career rushing chart with 3,564 yards, scooting past Upper Perkiomen’s Luke Scherer and Methacton’s Jason Adamek. Up next? His own head coach, Tom Barr, who had 3,633 carrying the ball for the Wildcats. … Daniel Boone quarterback Jon Monteiro is within 72 yards of passing St. Pius X graduate Matt Troutman for the eighth spot in career passing yards.

WORTHY CAUSE

The NorChester Red Knights youth football and cheerleading organization will hold its second annual “Fill The Bus” food pantry donation day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Red Knights Field House, located just south of the intersection of Routes 100 and 23.

Donations needed all can goods and non-perishable items, such as personal care products, and paper goods like napkins, tissues, toilet paper and paper towels.

The event benefits the North Coventry Food Panty, which offers supplies and staples to needy members of the Northern Chester County community. More information is available www.norchesterredknights.com or by calling 610-469-1816.

After two weeks of waiting, this year’s battle

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:01:00 +0000

All summer long, a handful of teams – Boyertown, Owen J. Roberts, Phoenixville, Pottsgrove and Upper Perkiomen (listed alphabetically to hush all the nitpickers) – were mentioned over and over again as the favorites, frontrunners and forces-to-be-reckoned-with in the Pioneer Athletic Conference this season.

After the two-week preseason grind, which revealed a thriller here and there but mostly more mismatches than anything else, those five teams are still being mentioned over and over again as the favorites, etc., etc., etc.

Well, the PAC-10 kicks off its 24th season tonight, and there just so happens to be five other teams – Methacton, Perkiomen Valley, Pottstown, Spring-Ford and St. Pius X – that would like nothing more than to get a share of the early season spotlight.

Most will get that opportunity.

The big one, or the game that will attract a lot of fans tonight (and readers in Saturday’s newspapers and on their various websites) is Boyertown’s visit to Pottsgrove. Then there’s Owen J. Roberts entertaining Spring-Ford, and Perkiomen Valley visiting Upper Perkiomen. Finishing up Saturday is Pottstown’s game at Methacton, and Phoenixville’s visit to St. Pius X.

Mind you, it’s only Week One in the Pioneer Athletic Conference. Everyone has eight more games on their respective schedules. Statements can and will be made tonight and Saturday afternoon.

But don’t forget that no one has ever lost its first PAC-10 game and won an outright league championship, and only once has a team lost its PAC-10 opener and managed to finish with a share of the league championship.

“The first game of the season is always a big game,” said Pottsgrove head coach Rick Pennypacker. “But your first league game, your first PAC-10 game, is even bigger because your first goal is to win your league championship. You want to get off to a good start.”

No one has gotten off to a better start, perhaps, than the defending champion Falcons. They defeated Pennridge (34-21) and Wissahickon (45-0), but will open their first PAC-10 season in three years without all-state linebacker Preston Hamlette, who went down with an ankle injury on the sixth play of last Friday evening’s game and is unlikely to be uniform tonight.

“And on top of that Boyertown is a very good football team,” Pennypacker added.

The Bears are big up front. Make that very, very big up front. They also have a new quarterback in Dylan Pasik who, given time and space, can throw the ball, as well as a few fellas who can get to the end zone in a hurry, especially Ryan Schwager. But it’s an offense that, thanks in part to turnovers and penalties, left them stuttering and stumbling after Schwager’s 78-yard touchdown dash in the first quarter last week. Tonight, they’ll have to deal with a defense that may prove it gets to the football north and south as well as east and west better than any PAC-10 team – past or present.

Owen J. Roberts had an equally impressive preseason with wins over Conestoga (13-3) and West Chester East (31-6), and head coach Tom Barr’s defense may not be getting the attention – or props – it’s earned thus far. That’s not easy to get when you have Ryan Brumfield piling up the yardage and touchdowns on the other side of the ball. But Barr will be focused on shutting down Spring-Ford, which has helped make this one of the area’s most unpredictable series over the past two decades. The Rams have had to deal with way too many off-field distractions – from transfers and disgruntled fans who only build the dissention and tear down the rebuilding hopes.

Upper Perkiomen proved it earned a contender tag, too, with preseason wins over Muhlenberg (20-13) and Upper Dubin (34-0). The Indians have some size, a lot of aggressive individuals on both sides of the line, and a couple of motivating factors like ending back-to-back losing seasons in the PAC-10 (their first since 2000-01) and rebounding from their first losing season overall in nine years. And don’t think they’re not aware of how Perkiomen Valley opened with a win over that same Upper Dublin team and how it went toe-to-toe with heavily favored Coatesville before six turnovers tripped them up.

But if there is one of those preseason favorites (as well as a none-favorite) lining up on a mission, or looking to send a message, it’s Phoenixville and St. Pius X – and they’re getting together Saturday to kick off the final PAC-10 season at Mich Stadium. The Phantoms are 0-2 for the first time head coach Bill Furlong’s seven years guiding the program, and that has a lot of people – including Furlong himself – scratching his head. Meanwhile, the Lions are 2-0 for the first time in six years and rather determined to double, triple or more their total of league wins (two) over the past five seasons.

And don’t think anyone is overlooking Saturday’s other matinee – Pottstown and Methacton down in Fairview Village. Yes, both are 0-2. But, as more than a few coaches around the PAC-10 have said, both have the size and speed to get the best of anyone of any given weekend. No one, perhaps, has pulled off as many legitimate PAC-10 upsets through the years as Pottstown. Methacton, a bit more comfortable now in its new surroundings, would also like to avoid an 0-3 start and put together the program’s first winning season in nine years.

* * *

The only time a PAC-10 team lost its opener and won or shared the league championship was in 2007. Perkiomen Valley dropped its opener to Lansdale Catholic, 41-20, before running off eight straight wins. Lansdale Catholic was forced to share the title because in Week Five, with a then spotless 4-0 (5-0 overall) record, was stunned 28-27 in overtime at Pottstown. … The only time a team has had more than one loss and still won a PAC-10 championship was in 1991, when Owen J. Roberts and Pottsgrove finished alongside one another at 7-2.

MILESTONE TIME

The Hill School kicks off its 133rd season of football this afternoon at Germantown Academy … and kicks it off looking for the 500th win in the history of its storied program. Hill won the inaugural meeting between the two schools, 26-0 in 1945, but didn’t see Germantown Academy again until 1970, when the two schools became annual rivals through 1994. There was one more game – Germantown Academy’s 56-0 rout in 1999 – between the two before the series resumed last year (Hill’s 32-8 romp).

Hill School, which leads the overall series, 18-10, is attempting to join Phoenixville as the only area programs with 500 or more wins.

Head coach Marty Vollmuth and the Rams are on the road again next week (at Episcopal Academy) before their home-opener Saturday, Oct. 3 against Chestnut Hill Academy. They begin their Mid-Atlantic Prep League schedule the following Saturday against visiting Peddie School.

MOVING UP

Brumfield moved up to 12th place on The Mercury’s career rushing chart last week. The OJR junior has 3,366 yards, needing just 143 more yards to get into the Top 10 and 268 more yards to run by head coach Tom Barr, who had 3,633 yards carrying the football for Henry Bernat at Owen J. Roberts. … Daniel Boone’s Jon Monteiro, only the ninth area quarterback to throw for more than 3,000 career yards, needs 290 to move into eighth place. Teammate Kelly Saylor – like Monteiro with only one season behind him – needs 38 catches and 207 yards to become just the fifth area receiver with 100 receptions and 1,000 yards.

Rain, rain and a lot of fumbles

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:57:00 +0000

Mother Nature was whimpering a bit last weekend. Rain, rain, rain … along with an occasional puff of wind, a little mud, even a puddle here and there.

Five schools decided to play Friday night (hip-hip-hooray), another three opted to postpone until Saturday (boo-hiss), when the conditions (sadly, football has weather conditions now, too) weren’t all that much better.

Thank goodness there weren’t any coaches – of even players, for that matter – whimpering or whining about the wet fields, though.

They could have.

Really, they could have. In the area’s 12 games last weekend, the quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and kick-returners fumbled 51 times – and lost 27 – and who’s to say the writers and statisticians overlooked another one or two along the way on their scoring sheets.

“There’s no excuse, either,” said one area coach, who pleaded to remain anonymous for fear of being critical of other teams’ players. “Don’t blame the weather. It’s carelessness … not being focused.”

Whatever it was, you can bank on tucking in the ol’ ball will be part of this week’s practices and preparations for almost everyone. Especially for those fellas at Owen J. Roberts and Perkiomen Valley, not to mention Boyertown and Pottstown.

The Wildcats fumbled a school-record 12 times and lost half of them. Fortunately, the usually dependable Ryan Brumfield – who had four himself – more than made up for it with 259 yards and all four of his team’s touchdowns in the rout of West Chester East.

“It was a little frustrating,” Brumfield said. “But after fumbling, you have to have a quick memory – forget about it and go on to the next play.”

Fortunately, Brumfield and the Wildcats did.

Perkiomen Valley, Boyertown and Pottstown weren’t as fortunate. Turnovers either turned their respective games around or over – none in a favorable way, either. The Vikings bobbled the football six times and lost all six in an otherwise strong showing at Coatesville, which had head coach Scott Reed uttering what you may have heard or read from a few others – “No excuse for that.” Up in Boyertown, the Bears’ seven fumbles – four of which were lost – cost them excellent field position and continually sacked any continuity, let alone momentum, and overshadowed a very commendable defensive effort in a 9-7 setback to Governor Mifflin.

And say what you will, but Pottstown’s five fumbles – four of which were handed over to Upper Moreland – didn’t help head coach Brett Myers in his dogged drive to turn the Trojans’ fortunes around.

If you happened to be counting up those otherwise forgettable figures, you got four teams – Owen J. Roberts, Perkiomen Valley, Boyertown and Pottstown – fumbling 30 times and losing 20 of them. The other eight area teams combined only bobbled the ball 21 times and lost seven.

And, believe it or not, there were only three teams – Daniel Boone, Methacton and Upper Perkiomen – that didn’t fumble the ball over to the opposition at all. Maybe that’s one of the reasons Daniel Boone and Upper Perkiomen had no problems winning and remaining unbeaten (Methacton, on the other hand, is in an offensive funk without a touchdown in two games).

And don’t think everyone was beaming after weekend wins if their turnover column was on the light side, either.

“I was happy with the way we played,” said Pottsgrove head coach Rick Pennypacker, whose Falcons overcame a pair of fumbles of their own by getting six Wissahickon turnovers – five fumbles and an interception – in a 45-0 romp. “I can still find some things we did wrong … things we need to work on.”

Pennypacker won’t be alone on that work detail this week.

AIRING IT OUT

Area fans may have been spoiled the last three years by Boyertown’s David Crognale, Perkiomen Valley’s Zack Zulli and Spring-Ford’s Trevor Sasek. After all, the three did graduate last spring with over 10,000 combined passing yards.

But two weeks into this season, with the exception of Daniel Boone’s Jon Monteiro, passing the football is, well, almost being passed over for nearly everyone else.

Monteiro is 27 of 49 (55 percent) for 383 yards and four touchdowns. Other quarterbacks for the 11 area teams who have played at least once so far, are a combined 73 of 190 (38 percent) for 911 yards – with twice as many interceptions (16) as touchdowns (eight). Monteiro’s quarterback rating is 139.5. The rest of the gang is a combined 63.2.

WHAT A BOOT

One thing that isn’t being overlooked in the early going is the kicking game. Punting averages are up considerably, and Daniel Boone’s Bernie Roell, Phoenixville’s John McInally, Methacton’s Nick LaPerche and Owen J. Roberts’ Zach Lepore, to name a few,

Roell, the area’s leading kick scorer last year, is 11 of 13 on point-afters and has a field goal. McInally is 3-for-3 on point-afters with three field goals, and LePerche has boomed two field goals. McInally and LePerche accounted for their team’s only points last weekend. And Lepore is 4-for-6 on placements with one field goal.

Perkiomen Valley’s Justin Morgan, who could set PAC-10 career marks in kicking by season’s end, is 4-for-4 following Viking touchdowns.

Boyertown’s Aaron Sassaman (who missed last Saturday night’s game with a reported injury), Pottsgrove’s Zach Robinson, Pottstown’s Kyle Dentler, St. Pius’ John Cherneskie and Upper Perkiomen’s Matt Kirkpatrick are also off to good starts this season.

LEADING THE WAY

After just two weeks, Brumfield and Daniel Boone’s Brian Evans lead the area in scoring with six touchdowns and 36 points each. Upper Perkiomen’s Shawn Wenhold is next with four scores and 24 points. … Roell (14 points) and McInally (12) lead in kick scoring. … Brumfield (340), Pottsgrove quarterback Terrell Chestnut (229) and Pottstown’s David Tyler (208) are the only backs with over 200 yards. … Daniel Boone teammates Kelly Saylor (10 catches) and Tommy Bodolus (nine) top the receiving chart.

LONG TIME

St. Pius X is off to a 2-0 start for the first time in six years. The Lions, who have edged Simon Gratz and jolted Jenkintown so far, matched their program’s best start since 2003.

That’s when quarterback Chad DiFebbo, fullback Zach McCann and running back Josh Lauer helped the Lions hold off East Stroudsburg North in a 16-14 thriller and sack Spring-Ford by a 25-12 spread in head coach Ed McCann’s first season.

HISTORY TIME

The new Twin Borough Sports Heritage Association last Friday opened its exhibit in the Spring-Ford Historical Society building on Main Street in Royersford.

The exhibit features uniforms, trophies, photographs and other memorabilia dating back to the early 1900s of sports teams from the former Royersford and Spring City high schools as well as from Spring-Ford High School.

Claire Hunter, the mover and shaker behind the project, added the highlight of the exhibit is the Twin Borough Wall of Fame, which honors outstanding student-athletes who graduated from the three schools.

The TBSHA’s exhibit is open from11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and also at the same times on the first and third Sundays of each month.

Pottstown greats headline Tri-County class

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:56:00 +0000

Call it an even split.

That’s what the final ballot revealed for this year’s Tri-County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame, with three of Pottstown High School’s former standouts and three coaches (two of whom weren’t bad athletes in their day, either) picking up enough votes to make up the 32nd class of inductees.

Scott Glenn, Paul Green and Michael Perate, who excelled on Pottstown football, basketball, wrestling, track and field, and baseball teams during their careers, along with coaches James Goodhart, Bruce Hallman and Tom McGee, will be honored at the annual induction dinner Saturday, Oct. 17 at The Elks.

“We’re very proud of our newest class of inductees,” said Elmer “Chump” Pollock, president of the organization and chairman of the Hall of Fame program.

Glenn was a three-sport standout at Pottstown before graduating in 1984. He was the captain of the football team, earning All Ches-Mont League honors as a running back in his junior and senior seasons. He also served as the captain for the basketball and track teams. In track, he was a district and state qualifier in three events – the 100 and 200 meters as well as the long jump.

Glenn’s football career continued at West Virginia Tech, where he starred as a running back, setting the school’s career rushing mark – which still stands – and earning honorable mention All-American honors. Glenn has since coached football at Unionville High School and returned to his alma mater as an assistant for two seasons.

Green was a standout in football and wrestling at Pottstown before graduating in 1984. Coaches and fans first learned of Green when he posted an undefeated (93-0) record as a junior high school wrestler. After moving up to the high school team, he went on to win two section, three district and two regional championships, capping his career with the PIAA-Class AA state title and an 80-8 career record.

The younger brother of the late Jeff Green – who was previously inducted into the Tri-County Chapter’s Hall of Fame – Green’s wrestling career continued at Morgan State University. He was selected to the Freshman All-American team, won four Mid-Eastern Conference titles, and finished up with a 147-24-4 career mark. Green later served as an assistant wrestling coach at Morgan State and Coppin State University, and is currently the head coach at Falls Church High School in Va.

Perate had outstanding basketball and baseball careers at Pottstown before graduating in 1994. A three-year starter for the Trojans’ basketball team, he was a three-time All-Pioneer Athletic Conference and Mercury All-Area selection, and finished with 1,315 career points. He also earned All PAC-10 and Mercury All-Area honors in baseball for his efforts as a first baseman-pitcher – hitting over .400 and compiling a 5-1 mark on the mound as a senior.

Perate accepted a scholarship to play baseball at Villanova University. He played four seasons for the Wildcats, serving as the team captain his senior year.

Goodhart was an outstanding baseball player at Pottstown, where he had been a very successful manager for the Steelers’ American Legion team before expanding opportunities for Pottstown-area youngsters by starting up, supervising and coaching the Pottstown Police Athletic League program.

A 1968 graduate of Pottstown, Goodhart was an All Ches-Mont League selection and the Steelers’ team MVP in 1967 and again in 1969. He attended Moravian College, where he was a two-time All-Middle Atlantic Conference second baseman and later named Moravian’s Athlete of the Year in 1972. He served as the Steelers’ manager for four summers, then was instrumental in starting up the PAL Spartans’ ballclub. Goodhart’s success – more than 300 wins as a coach – and his dedication to baseball has enabled the PAL program to expand to three additional teams.

Hallman was a wrestler and member of the track and field team at Boyertown High School before graduating in 1971. He once owned both the school and league pole vault records, and excelled in the event at Shippensburg University.

After returning to his alma mater, Hallman served as an assistant wrestling coach for the Bears before taking over the program in 1981. Before he stepped down from the position after 24 years, his teams won section titles in the Berks Conference, Pioneer Athletic Conference championships as well as section and district titles in District 1. A recipient of a Summit Award three years ago, Hallman – who compiled a 303-140 career record at Boyertown – has been inducted into the District 1 Wrestling Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame.

McGee, a native of the Norristown area, graduated from Hofstra University in 1971. His basketball coaching career began at Norristown’s Rittenhouse and Eisenhower junior high schools, where he had a combined 94-12 career record.

After taking over the St. Pius X boys program in 1978, McGee led the Lions to a pair of District 1 titles, the PIAA-Class A state championship in 1979 and an overall mark of 187-143 in 13 seasons. He returned to coaching in 1993 at Norristown High School, and in seven seasons helped the Eagles to four Suburban One League titles and four appearances in the state playoffs before finishing with a 145-48 overall mark. McGee, who was recognized six seasons as the Coach of the Year by The Mercury and Times Herald during his career, was a Summit Award recipient two years ago.

Still a long way to go for most of the area’s teams

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:44:00 +0000

Don’t get the measuring sticks out yet … not after just one week of football, not after the one week that usually features more nerves, miscommunication and mental mistakes – not to mention more mismatches – than any others over the next three months.

There aren’t too many coaches who will put much if any emphasis on a season-opening win or loss (sorry, ties are a thing of the past). They’re very few who will put their feet up on the desk and sit back with a smile and that first victory already neatly tucked into their pocket (at least not for long). There are even fewer who will play hide and seek over the weekend and then whine for a couple more days after defeat.

Monday was indeed Labor Day, a holiday for most. But you can bet coaches here, there and everywhere else were hard at work – watching film, rearranging some X’s and O’s, and devising a game plan for Week Two.

Week One is only the starting point. Week Two often reveals exactly what direction a team is taking into the regular season, when every snap, every run, every pass and every tackle can and usually will dictate who continues to play every weekend for a league championship, and who just may be playing beyond the first weekend of November.

That’s why so many coaches and players – even their fans – were dealing out as many positives as negatives after kicking off their respective seasons last Friday and Saturday.

Boyertown is a team that some feel can compete for a Pioneer Athletic Conference title this season (and will get an opportunity to make as big a statement as you can when opening the league schedule at Pottsgrove on Sept. 18). The Bears debuted last Friday without David Crognale calling the signals for the first time in four years and a few question marks up front, and had little trouble with William Allen up in Allentown. It was the program’s first win over a non-league opponent in nearly five years, or since a 22-13 decision of Abington two weeks before Thanksgiving back in 2004. But it was also a win over a team that lost for the 21st consecutive time and is an awful 1-30 since its season-opener in 2006. This week, against visiting Governor Mifflin, which has bumped off Boyertown in 20 of 29 meetings (with two ties), will be a tougher test.

Daniel Boone dumped on Donegal for the fourth straight year, has outscored its rivals 82-6 the last two seasons and 115-27 in the four-game series. But those 433 yards and 42 points – with a lot of new contributors – are in line with last year’s Blazers team that led the area in total offense (420) and points per game (33). Those numbers could swell even more this week with Susquehannock, which lost 58-0 to Disrtict 3 power Manheim Central — coming to Birdsboro.

Owen J. Roberts, like Boyertown a legitimate threat in the PAC-10 again this year, ended a string of woeful season-openers with a 13-3 win over Conestoga, which is considered a Central League contender. The Pioneers were quick and aggressive, but head coach Tom Barr has to be concerned with the Wildcats’ inconsistency on offense, or the breakdowns and bottlenecks that limited Ryan Brumfield to just 81 yards (more than half of which came on five carries) and enabled quarterback Nate Walters to complete just 2 of 6 passes for 25 yards.

If anyone had the right to break into a smile and at least grin through the weekend, it was Perkiomen Valley. With less than a handful of starters back and an almost entirely new party of people in the skill positions, the Vikings got a big play from its defense to take the lead and a lot of hard running from unsung Steve Morrow to hold it in a win over Upper Dublin. But head coach Scott Reed and the crew entertain Ches-Mont League giant Coatesville next.

Pottsgrove, with all the preseason hype and hip-hip-hooray, didn’t have any problems with a good Pennridge team, and only a pair of late scores make the final score respectable. However, you can bet your cleats, shoulder pads and helmet that 10 penalties and the ballyhooed Falcons defense giving up 147 yards through the air had head coach Rick Pennypacker a bit, well, let’s just say upset. The Falcons will find out this week preapring for a very, very good Wissahickon (which topped Pottsgrove, 31-22, in Week Two a year ago).

St. Pius X couldn’t move the chains and failed to take advantage of a slew of opportunities in the first half against Simon Gratz on Saturday. But the Lions came alive on both sides of the ball in the second half, recovering from a 6-0 deficit with three unanswered scores and using a determined defense to stuff Gratz’s two-point conversion attempt at the win with 16 seconds remaining. No one in the area needed a win on opening day more than the Lions … and they got it.

Upper Perkiomen is yet another potential PAC-10 contender, and at times during last Friday night’s 20-13 win over Muhlenberg looked every bit of one. But the Indians needed a pair of second-half touchdowns to get by their hosts, who may be at best a middle-of-the-pack entry in the Inter-County League for the first time in recent memory. And head coach Keith Leamer is fully aware of the need for improvement this week against a team (Upper Dublin) that is noticeably weaker than Muhlenberg.

All was not lost in the four losses last weekend, either.

Methacton ran smack into one of the best in all of District 1. The Warriors fell into an immediate hole when Division I-A recruit Tony Latronica returned the opening kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown, and it only got worse after that against a team some feel could give almighty North Penn a run in the race for an AAAA district title. Head coach Bob McNally should get a better feel as to who’s who this week at Kennedy-Kenrick.

Phoenixville played like head coach Bill Furlong anticipated – or at least for a series or two into the second half at Great Valley. And despite coming up with six turnovers and helping to trigger their rivals to get hit with nine penalties on the night, it was a forgettable quarter and a half down the stretch that left them on the short side of a 27-21 loss. The Phantoms will focus on finishing this week and, perhaps, a little revenge considering they host Unionville, which got the best of them in the opening round of last year’s District 1-AAA playoffs.

Pottstown showed considerable poise and the ability to come back in a 34-22 loss to Blue Mountain, which is among the Inter-County League Division 1 favorites this season. The Trojans led 10-0, fell behind 14-10 only to take a 16-10 lead, then fell behind again 27-16 only to get within five, before the hosts put it away with a late score. Transfer David Tyler gives head coach Brett Myers a big-play threat, as he proved in returning a kickoff 85 yards for one touchdown and carrying 19 times for 178 yards and another score.

And Spring-Ford, which has had to endure more bail-outs (call them transfers if you like) than the generous administration down in Washington, D.C., happened to run into one of the best teams in District 1 (and possibly around the state in the AAA bracket) in Bayard Rustin. The Golden Knights have a good portion of its lineup back from a year ago, when they won the district title and lost in the eastern final to eventual state runner-up Archbishop Wood. The Rams will get a better feel as to where they are and where they’re headed this week when Sussex Tech (Del.) visits Coach McNelly Stadium.

Pottsgrove Payback

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:40:00 +0000

LOWER POTTSGROVE – Bus rides can be long and, well, rather boring.

After last year’s 31-22 loss at Wissahickon during Week Two of the football season, Pottsgrove realized just how long and absolutely how depressing those trips can be, too.

“It was one of the worst rides home I ever had … I’d rank it right up there among the top three,” head coach Rick Pennypacker recalled. “(The coaches) weren’t the only ones upset, either, because the kids were, too.

“We didn’t block, we didn’t tackle, and we gave up 17 points on special teams. It was one of the worst games for us that I can remember.”

The Falcons sure would like to give Wissahickon a ticket to ride – similar to their own a year ago – after the two get done tonight (7:00) in the rubber match of two very, very good teams who have split their first two meetings the last two seasons.

Pottsgrove opened last week with a 34-21 win at Pennridge, while Wissahickon debuted with a 35-14 rout of William Tennent. Both, of course, would like to close out the long summer grind and preseason at 2-0 before kicking off their respective league schedules next weekend.

But it won’t be easy, for either one of them.

Wissahickon has some size, a little bit of speed, a whole heck of a lot of talent back from last year’s up-and-down team that finished 5-5 overall. That was evident in the rout of Tennent, when quarterback Brandon Gunn ran for 180 yards and three touchdowns and was 3-for-4 throwing it for another 58 yards and an additional score. And all Vanderbilt-bound running back Myron Ross did was run up an additional 125 yards.

Pottsgrove has even more size, a lot of team speed and, yes, a roster full of talent, too.

There are some holes to fill up front, but the growing and grooming process still has the gifted Terrell Chestnut, Preston Hamlette and Maika Polamalu behind it. Chestnut and Polamalu are coming off 1,000-yard seasons, and Hamlette – an all-state linebacker a year ago – is just as valuable blocking or carrying the football out of the fullback spot.

“Wissahickon is big, physical and strong,” Pennypacker said. “They match up with us size-wise, and they have some very fast kids. They try to pound the ball on you. So it’s going to be a challenge.”

Especially so, Pennypacker added, in light of last Friday’s disappointing debut over at Pennridge.

“We didn’t play well,” he explained. “I mean we played all right, but our offensive line has to get better. We start two sophomores and a freshman up there, and I think they may have been a little overwhelmed. We feel they’ll pick it up, but fundamentally we need tremendous improvement on the line.”

The Falcons actually need that fundamental improvement across the board tonight. Last week, despite the win, they were hit with 10 penalties – about seven more than they’ve averaged in Pennypacker’s previous 21 seasons guiding the program.

Mistakes, which undermined the effort against the Trojans last year, are what Pennypacker and the Falcons could do without this evening.

“Wissahickon got after us last year, and our kids remember that,” he said. “It was definitely one of our worst games, and our kids don’t want that to happen again. This is a big game of us. The kids know it, and they’re excited about it. It’s going to be a challenge, but a challenge we hope our kids are up for.”

* * *

Pottsgrove’s win last Friday was its 81st this decade, far and above more than any other area team. The Falcons’ closest rivals on the win chart since 2000 are Owen J. Roberts (60), Upper Perkiomen (59), Boyertown (58) and Daniel Boone (57).

SPECIAL TRIBUTE

Today marks the eighth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and another plane that crashed in western Pennsylvania. Pottsgrove High School, in honor of the victims, will have Wissahickon track and field coach Don Betterly take part in the coin flip prior to the game. Betterly’s brother, Tim Betterly – the starting quarterback for Wissahickon before graduating in 1975 – was killed in the attacks.

OPENING UP

Perkiomen School opens its season Saturday afternoon at the Academy of the New Church over in Bryn Athyn. ... The Hill School, the area’s oldest program, kicks off its 123rd season of football next Friday afternoon (3 p.m.) at Germantown Academy. Head coach Marty Vollmuth and the Rams need one win to join Phoenixville as the only area program’s with 500 or more wins.

MOVING UP

Daniel Boone’s Jon Monteiro became the ninth area quarterback to go over the 3,000-yard career passing mark last week. Up next for Monteiro (3,227 yards) is former St. Pius X standout Matt Troutman (3,671). … Owen J. Roberts’ Ryan Brumfield moved up from No. 25 to No. 22 on The Mercury’s career rushing chart when he ran for 81 yards in the win over Conestoga. Brumfield now has 3,107 and needs 36 more yards to scoot into the Top 20.

The coaching carousel is closed

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:35:00 +0000

For the first time since 1996, the ol’ gang is all here … the Pioneer Athletic Conference football coaches, that is.

All 10 of the league’s head coaches from a year ago will be on the sidelines when the high school season officially kicks off tonight, and because of firings and hirings, resignations and reservations – whatever politically correct rationale one chooses – that hasn’t happened in 13 years.

So when Dave Albright, secretary of the PAC-10 Football Coaches Association, and the fellas sat down last month to make sure everything was in order for the league’s 24th season, no formal introductions were required.

The Pioneer Athletic Conference has had one new coach in each of the last three seasons – Mark Scisly at Boyertown a year ago; Brett Myers at Pottstown two years ago; and George Parkinson at St. Pius X three years ago. And few will forget the merry-go-round show at Pius in 2004 and 2005. That’s when Ed McCann, Madison Morton, Bob Wagner and Jim Mich took turns calling the signals as a result of, well … let’s just say the principal (correct spelling in this instance) reason is long gone.

Ironically, the year before all the chaos began to unfold at Pius, or 2004 to be exact, half of the PAC-10 coaching lineup changed. That was when Bill Furlong strolled into Phoenixville, Rick Daniels took over at Pottstown, Gary Rhodenbaugh stepped in at Spring-Ford, McCann started at St. Pius, and Keith Leamer became the new man at Upper Perkiomen.

* * *

One very familiar face on the sidelines this season will be Steve Moyer, the former head coach at Upper Perkiomen who has returned to serve as the offensive coordinator under Leamer. Moyer, a 1968 graduate of Upper Perkiomen, guided the program into the PAC-10 in 1986 and through 1997 – the year the Indians shared the league title with Lansdale Catholic – and compiled a 49-54-1 league record.

* * *

Unofficially, there have been just four reported coaching changes in District 1 this season. The newcomers are Brian Hensel at Central Bucks West; Matt Ortega at Coatesville – who brings his Red Raiders to Perkiomen Valley next Friday night; John Iannucci at Harry S Truman; and Dennis Decker at Ridley.

POWER PUNCH

Who has had the most success in the Pioneer Athletic Conference is an often asked question. Who has collected the most championships would be the easy answer, as would adding up the overall won-loss records in the first 23 seasons.

Well, Spring-Ford was the dominant program in the first two seasons; Owen J. Roberts and Pottsgrove took control for a few years after that; Spring-Ford was back on top throughout the early 90s; Lansdale Catholic got on a roll in the late 90s; and Pottsgrove has been pretty much setting the pace since 2000.

But Lansdale Catholic, which left the PAC-10 last year for the Philadelphia Catholic League, still owns the best winning percentage (.658), and it’s considerably higher than Boyertown (.619) and Pottsgrove (.614). The only other programs with better than .500 marks in league play are Owen J. Roberts (.561), Spring-Ford (.558), and Phoenixville (.517).

STREAKING

Pottsgrove will be shooting for its seventh straight winning season in the PAC-10. The record for consecutive winning seasons in league play is eight, held by Owen J. Roberts (1997-2004). Spring-Ford shares the second-longest mark of seven (1990-96) with Lansdale Catholic (2001-07). Boyertown, Phoenixville and Upper Perkiomen each have strung together five straight winning seasons.

*

Among PAC-10 teams, Owen J. Roberts

has finished with the most 10-win (overall) seasons. The Wildcats’ program has produced double-digit wins eight times, including back-to-back on two occasions (1983 and 1984 and again in 1986 and 1987).

Spring-Ford is next with seven seasons of 10 wins or more. The Rams, like OJR, have also done it twice (1986 and 1987 and again in 1994 and 1995). Pottsgrove is third on the chart with six seasons of double digits in the win column. The Falcons went back-to-back in 2000 and 2001, and have matched that the past two seasons. They could become the first area team to make it three in a row this year.

*

The record for the most overall wins in a season by a PAC-10 team is 12, a mark shared by OJR (1984 and 1986) and Phoenixville (1978).

*

Marty Moore, who was the head coach at Phoenixville while competing in the Ches-Mont League and later the head coach at Spring-Ford for 15 years (1988-2002), is still the only area coach to own unbeaten and untied seasons at two different schools. Moore guided the Phantoms to a 12-0 record in 1978, and then the Rams to 11-0 records in both 1992 and 1994 and a perfect 10-0 record in 1995.

SCOREBOOK

Seven of the league’s 12 past and current teams have scored more than 300 points in a season. Lansdale Catholic did it four times and set the league record (367) in its final run two years ago. Spring-Ford is next with three, while both Perkiomen Valley and Pottsgrove have reached the mark two times each. Phoenixville, Pottstown and Upper Perkiomen are the others to amass 300 or more points in a PAC-10 season.

And after 23 seasons of play, Lansdale Catholic still remains No. 1 in scoring differential. Head coach Jim Algeo’s teams outscored their opponents by an average of 9.1 points per game. Pottsgrove is second (8.0), followed by Boyertown (5.8), Spring-Ford (2.8), and Owen J. Roberts (1.8). The only other programs on the plus-side of that ledger are Phoenixville (1.0) and Methacton (0.9).

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

There are a number of milestone games on this season’s schedule, topped by the Thanksgiving Day feature between Pottsgrove and St. Pius X. It will mark the 50th time the neighboring rivals have met, and it will be the final game played at Mich Stadium.

Two series – Boyertown and Phoenixville, and Perkiomen Valley and Phoenixville – will each be meeting one another for the 25th time; Pottstown and St. Pius X meet for the 35th time; Phoenixville and Pottsgrove, as well as Spring-Ford and Pottsgrove, will be going up against one another for the 45th time; and the Thanksgiving renewal between Spring-Ford and Phoenixville will mark the 50th time the Rams and Phantoms have met.

The oldest active rivalry among area schools is between Phoenixville and Pottstown. The teams will line up against one another this season for the 97th time, with the Phantoms holding a 51-37-8 lead in the series.

FORE!

Actually it’s four, but don’t be surprised to hear a “Fore” or two to alert everyone that Owen J. Roberts’ Ryan Brumfield, Pottsgrove teammates Terrell Chestnut and Maika Polamalu, and Pottstown’s David Tyler are heading their way.

Brumfield and Chestnut shared the PAC-10 scoring title last season with 108 points apiece, Polamalu was third (96) and Tyler – who transferred from Spring-Ford earlier this year – was fourth (84). And if all that isn’t enough to keep an eye on these fellas, they occupied four of the top five spots in rushing last season. Brumfield (1,762 yards) literally ran away with the title, while Polamalu was second (1,240), Chestnut was fourth (897) and Tyler was fifth (861). The only separation there was Boyertown quarterback David Crognale (917), who graduated in June.

Ironically, the top four kick-scorers are back, too. Perkiomen Valley’s Justin Morgan (39 points) led the way a year ago, followed by Owen J. Roberts’ Zach Lepore (33) and Phoenixville’s John McInally (33). Boyertown’s Aaron Sassaman, who was fourth with 30 points, converted a league-high three field goals.

IN A RUSH

There have been 14 individuals who have run for more than 300 yards in a PAC-10 game, with only the late Kyheim Tripp of Upper Perkiomen and David Frame of Owen J. Roberts accomplishing the feat twice. Perkiomen Valley’s Grant Wiley holds the league’s single-game record (398 yards). … Running backs, and a few quarterbacks as well, have run for more than 200 yards in a PAC-10 game 151 times. St. Pius X graduate Zack Pierce has done it the most (eight games). Former Pottsgrove teammates Brent Carter and Brent Steinmetz, and Lansdale Catholic’s R.C. Lagomarsino all did it in six games each; with Frame, Spring-Ford’s Joe Haley and Mike Bach, and Upper Perkiomen’s Craig Austin hitting the mark five times apiece. … Pottsgrove has had the most players with 200-plus games with 27, followed by Spring-Ford and Upper Perkiomen with 21 each, and Owen J. Roberts with 20. ... The very first year of the Pioneer Athletic Conference – 1986 – is the only time no back ran for more than 1,000 yards in the regular season. The following year, the last before expansion pushed the league’s membership from eight to 10 teams and the schedule from seven to nine games, Spring-Ford’s Scott Davidheiser ran for 1,041 in the Rams’ seven outings. In the first year of expansion (1988), four backs went over 1,000 yards, which has only been matched in two seasons since – 1998 and 2000.

PASSING BY

The PAC-10 has had at least one quarterback throw for more than 1,000 yards seven straight seasons and 15 of the last 16 overall that dates back to 1993. The first two who threw for a grand or more in league games prior to 1993 were Pottstown’s Brent Voynar (1,051) and Phoenixville’s Dave Rocco (1,017), both in 1988. … The record for the most quarterbacks with 1,000 or more yards passing in a season is four, set in 1994 and matched two years later and again in 2007 by Perkiomen Valley’s Zach Zulli, Lansdale Catholic’s Shane Pinzka, Spring-Ford’s Trevor Sasek, and Boyertown’s David Crognale – all underclassmen that season with the exception of Pinzka.

Remembering solid gold Saturdays

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:31:00 +0000

Jim Mich had a lot to think about when he sat behind the wheel of the family car and took off from his parents’ home in Easton for the long drive to Pottstown, a town he had never been to before, and over to St. Pius X, a high school he had never heard of before.

It was a rollercoaster-like ride of emotions that morning back in June of 1959.

It wasn’t easy balancing the pain of his father’s recent death with the joy of graduating on time from then East Stroudsburg State Teachers College just a few weeks earlier. It wasn’t any easier suppressing the excitement and settling the nerves on the way to his first job interview, either.

So imagine, if at all possible, how Mich reacted when the priest told him he was Pius’ new football coach after he had thought he was only applying for a spot on the staff as an assistant. Or what may have been racing through the 21-year-old’s mind after strolling out of the principal’s office and seeing a group of men building a football stadium adjacent to the school – a particular project the Archdiocese of Philadelphia did not permit.

“What a day that was,” Mich recalled.

It was a day very few of the St. Pius X faithful are likely to forget.

The Lions kicked off their program a year earlier under Marion Zarenkiewicz, but most graduates – especially those who put on the pads and cleats – feel 1959, with Jim Mich and that brand new stadium, was the birth of Pius football.

Sadly, this season – which marks the 50th anniversary of Mich’s arrival and the Lions’ first roar in that new stadium – will be its last.

Next year, St. Pius will team up with Kennedy-Kenrick and move into the new Pope John Paul II High School in Upper Providence Township.

The Lions will play their final game on the field – fittingly known as Mich Stadium since being renamed in his honor in 1976 – on Thanksgiving morning against longtime rival Pottsgrove.

* * *

When summer practices began in 1959, it was a toss-up as to who was louder – the energized Mich hooting and hollering at his players during practices in the high school parking lot, or the men hammering away while putting the finishing touches on the nearby football stadium.

“I just remember feeling great that we were going to have our own place to play,” Mich said. “Having our own field meant something to us. We were going to have our own locker rooms, our own showers, our own coaches room.

“Back then the Archdiocese (of Philadelphia) didn’t allow stadiums to be built on school property. But our athletic association financed the whole thing, and they didn’t care what the archdiocese allowed or didn’t allow. They were amazing.”

The Pius A.A. didn’t just find the money, but the manpower, too. Some of the movers and shakers in the organization were Bob “Chuz” Calvario and Elmer “Chump” Pollock, and a handful of others – Des Coffey, Joe Psota, Harry Schaeffer, Jim Smale and Tony Veach – all of whom have since passed but have never been forgotten.

Calvario, a trainer for the Lions from the beginning and a local businessman, was very instrumental in fundraising for all of Pius’ athletic programs and arguably one of the school’s most vocal supporters before, during and after his sons were standout athletes. And much the same could be said for Pollock, who was the public address announcer for Pottstown High School football games for more than 50 years – and for Pius’ first season of home games when they were played on the Trojans’ field.

But the athletic association was quite proud of their new stadium, which sat up to 1,400 fans on the concrete and steel home-side stands built high enough at its lowest point to provide a clear view of the playing field.

“I think we were all proud of what we had there,” Mich said.

Especially after winning their home debut – 6-0 over the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf – on Saturday, Oct. 3, 1959.

Located in Germantown, PSD was the third oldest school in the U.S. and well known for its football program for more than three decades at the time.

After a scoreless first half, the Lions got excellent field position when co-captain Mickey Sombers returned a PSD punt 24 yards to PSD’s 32-yard line. Art Hatmaker ran for 10 yards on first down, Skip Peterman took another handoff for six yards and, following an incomplete pass, Hatmaker bolted around the left side to the five-yard line. Peterman sneaked to the one, and that’s when co-captain David “Horse” Lees took it into the end zone for the game’s lone score.

The Pius defense that blanked PSD that afternoon featured Paul Bobinsky, Ed Chieffo, Dennis Dzuryachko, Tom Lapinski, Lees, Phil Maddaliano, Joe Narieka, Ted Pawlowski, Tom Rapchinski, Sombers and Joe Wambach. Lapinski went on to become the captain at the University of Delaware and was the head coach at Swarthmore College; Maddaliano played at Temple; Pawlowski played at South Carolina; Rapchinski would captain his team at Millersville; and Wambach became a radio personality in Cincinnati.

The Lions would finish their first season under Mich and in their new stadium with a 5-4 record.

“We really liked having that new stadium,” Mich said. “As a coach, you always wanted your own field, but not everyone had that back then. That was the way football was in those days.”

Knowing exactly “where” to play on it was important, too, as Mich explained.

“You always wanted a good playing surface, but I don’t think we ever had that,” he said before adding a laugh. “There was a lot of shale in the ground on our field, but again that was football in the day. I can always remember never wanting to run to the left side, because that’s where the field was always wet. We always ran right because it was like a rock on that side with all the shale in it.

“Sure, we got some complaints once in a while because the field wasn’t necessarily in as good as shape as lot of the other public school fields. But that’s what we had … and we were proud of what we had.”

* * *

On April 24, 1976, Msgr. Joseph Murray – the principal at Pius – renamed the field Mich Stadium in honor of the young fella who was now 39 years old with a whole lot of wins under his belt … and an immeasurable amount of respect from Pius players and fans as well as coaches from around the Philadelphia Suburban Catholic and Ches-Mont leagues.

“I was embarrassed to some degree,” Mich admitted. “It was a nice honor, a wonderful honor, especially for someone my age. I had just hoped I was deserving of such an honor.”

Mich would continue plotting Pius’ game plans and strolling the sidelines through 1984. He won or shared three Philadelphia Suburban Catholic League championships; guided the Lions to a very impressive 72-32-1 record in 11 seasons as an independent; and was very instrumental in helping his school – despite two prior rejections – get into the Ches-Mont League in 1978. When he bid farewell to the program, and to Mich Stadium, he owned a 159-89-11 career mark.

Mich would later serve as an assistant coach for 10 years at Kutztown University.

But rarely – and usually when his schedule didn’t allow it – did he ever miss a St. Pius X football game on the home turf.

And there were plenty of memorable games, for Mich as well as for the coaches who have followed him – namely Bill Rogers, Dave Bodolus, Ray Gionta, Ed McCann, Madison Morton, Bob Wagner and, now going into his fourth and final season at Pius, George Parkinson.

“That was our field, and we took a lot of pride in playing and playing well on that field every time we went out there,” said Bodolus, a standout himself at Pius and now the head coach at Daniel Boone.

* * *

Mich Stadium underwent renovations in 2005, thanks in part to Johnny Jones, part of the football program in the early 1980s, and Dave Psota, a longtime assistant under Mich. Among the improvements were new fencing, new seating, a new press box and a total reseeding of the playing surface.

“I guess we really needed some of those things for a long time,” Mich said. “But it was a football stadium, our football stadium … and we proud of it from the very beginning. It’s kind of sad right now, knowing the field and the school won’t be there when we move (to Pope John Paul II).

“It’s going to be tough for me, too, because all three of my children went there, and my one granddaughter will be graduating with the last class next spring. Heck, my whole adult life has been spent at Pius, and around that football field. I don’t think we’re ever going to have the same feeling for that new school like we did for Pius.”

High hopes for the new football season

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:28:00 +0000

Published in the Sept. 3 edition of The Mercury.

Here we go again … another new high school football season, the area’s 123rd, believe it or not, when remembering The Hill School kicked it all off first in this area way, way back in 1887.

Things have certainly changed since then – like the actual size and look of the football (it’s no longer the bladder); the equipment (helmets have replaced the shaggy haircuts and cleats are certainly safer than nails nowadays); scoring (touchdowns have gone from four to six points); and umpteen rules (like no forearms to the face, thank you).

Yes, a new season.

Get ready for a whole bunch of new names, a handful or two of familiar stars to go along with a slew of new stars, all determined to produce some new records.

There’s energy.

“You go through two weeks of practices, most in all that heat and humidity, and two scrimmages,” said OJR head coach Tom Barr. “The kids want to get out there and play for real now.”

There’s excitement.

“This is our best opportunity to compete in the (Pioneer Athletic Conference) in some time,” said St. Pius X head coach George Parkinson.

And there are those high expectations.

“We’re aware that a lot of people think we’re going to be a very good football team this year,” said Pottsgrove head coach Rick Pennypacker. “But we’ve reminded our kids going into (tonight’s game) we haven’t won anything yet.”

After the opening-night jitters subside, the butterflies that flutter through the first couple of series are gone, and the

obvious miscommunications and misunderstandings are out of the way – and the adrenalin subsides just a wee bit – coaches will get a more realistic feel, or an up-close look at what needs to tweaked before Week Two, and what needs to be twisted or turned completely around before heading into the league portion of their regular-season schedules.

There will be no shortage of stars likely shining this weekend.

Daniel Boone quarterback Jon Monteiro, who kept a nagging leg injury all to himself last season and broke virtually every Berks County and Mercury-area passing record, is back. So are Methacton’s James McHugh and Phoenixville’s Tom Romano, both of whom debuted by throwing for over 1,000 yards a year ago. And some newcomers – like Boyertown’s Dylan Pasik, Owen J. Roberts’ Nate Walters and Upper Perkiomen’s Casey Perlstein, to name a few – could be throwing for a grand or more in their first full-season debuts this fall.

Then there’s Pottsgrove’s Terrell Chestnut – The Mercury’s Player of the Year and unquestionably one of the most talented two-way players in the entire state – who could go over that 1,000-yard mark throwing the football as well as carrying it. And who knows, St. Pius’ very athletic Cole Parkinson, given the time to throw and the room to run, could very well duplicate those rare numbers.

Don’t think there’s any shortage of good running backs returning for the show this season, either. Boyertown has Logan Herb and Ryan Schwager; Owen J. Roberts has junior Ryan Brumfield, who piled up over 2,000 yards last season and could very well scoot past every rushing and total offense record there is by the time he’s done; Pottsgrove has Maika Polamalu and his 1,000-yards back; and Pottstown has transfer David Tyler and his 2,000-plus yards in the backfield.

If you’re looking for those spectacular catches (or just the routine receptions on a consistent basis), keep an eye on, among others, Daniel Boone’s Kelly Saylor, Methacton’s Patrick McMichael, OJR’s Kohl Batdorf, Perkiomen Valley’s Ben Carbutt, Spring-Ford’s Andy Ellison, and Upper Perkiomen’s Ronnie Gillespie.

And if it’s the beef you like, there’s plenty of it. Boyertown, Daniel Boone, Owen J. Roberts, Phoenixville, Pottstown and Upper Perkiomen could easily break the offensive and defensive line scales … and there are some very big fellas on the other area teams.

For those who dare carry the football, the big guys can squash them, and those hard-hitting linebackers – lik

Boyertown’s Jared Giles, Methacton’s Michael He, Owen J. Roberts’ Sam Funk and Rich Zazo, Pottsgrove’s Preston Hamlette, Pottstown’s Tommy Santos, Spring-Ford’s James Hoff, and Upper Perkiomen’s Fleming – who can thump them. And don’t think those corners and safeties are any lightweights, either, at least not Daniel Boone’s Saylor, Perkiomen Valley’s Carbutt, Pottsgrove’s Chestnut, Pius’ Parkinson, or Upper Perkiomen’s Andrew Orlick and Shawn Wenhold.

Come to think of it, five of the area’s best kickers from a year ago – Daniel Boone’s Bernie Roell, Perkiomen Valley’s Justin Morgan, OJR’s Zach Lepore, Phoenixville’s John McInally and Boyertown’s Aaron Sassaman – are back to foot their share of the bill, too.

Not enough? Add in all those quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, linemen, linebackers, corners and safeties who most of us never heard of going into tonight’s openers, but who will be quite familiar to all of us in a week or two, and definitely by the end of the season.

Let the games begin.

BEARING DOWN

Boyertown travels to Allentown Allen tonight, and don’t think head coach Mark Scisley hasn’t reminded the Bears of one very strange (and perhaps embarrassing) statistic.

No Boyertown team has beaten a non-league opponent in five years, or since a 22-13 decision of Abington two weeks before Thanksgiving in 2004. Since then, the Bears have lost 11 straight – four games to Muhlenberg; two to Downingtown West; and one each to Abington, Governor Mifflin, Great Valley, Hatboro-Horsham, Middletown,

Needless to say, Scisly has a little motivational tool for tonight’s game against the Canaries – who, incidentally, haven’t won a game since their season finale in 2006 and were just 1-29 the last three years.

NO PUFF SCHEDULE

Of the area’s 11 schools kicking off the season this weekend, only Daniel Boone and St. Pius X will be facing non-league opponents who have a combined losing record from a year ago. The Blazers’ three opponents (Donegal, Susquehannock and Columbia) were a combined 7-24 last year, while the Lions’ three (Simon Gratz, Jenkintown and Kennedy-Kenrick) were 16-17.

Based on last year’s records, Upper Perkiomen has the most difficult schedule this time around facing opponents with a combined 25-9 mark. Others worth mentioning are Perkiomen Valley (15-5), Spring-Ford (16-8), and Phoenixville (14-8).

SELECT COMPANY

Pottsgrove has an opportunity to do something this year no area program has achieved before – post its third straight season of 10 or more wins. Four schools have won 10 or more in successive years a combined six times before, but never three years in a row.

Pottstown was the first to do it (1970-71), then Owen J. Roberts matched it (1983-84). Spring-Ford managed to string together back-to-back, 10-plus wins seasons twice

(1986-87 and 1994-95), as has Pottsgrove (2000-01 and 2007-08).

GOLDEN YEAR

St. Pius X, which is playing at Mich Stadium for the final time this season, will be wearing gold jerseys and blue pants for all varsity and junior varsity games this fall. And, as they have for more eight years now, the Lions will slip into their gold jerseys and gold pants one last time on Thanksgiving in honor of the late Ron Reed – a former standout at Pius, All-American at Kutztown, and assistant coach as well as supporter of all Pius activities before his death. His son, Scott Reed, is the head coach at Perkiomen Valley.

Don Seeley's high school football column appears Tuesdays and Fridays in the print edition of The Mercury throughout Thanksgiving.

Familiar teams lined up for regionals

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:43:00 +0000

This column originally ran in the Aug. 5, 2009 edition of The Mercury.

There is a handful or so of familiar teams lined up for Thursday’s opening rounds of American Legion baseball’s eight national regional tournaments. Among them are four that have won all but two of the last six World Series.

None is more recognizable, though – for Boyertown fans, that is – than South Richmond, Va.

A year ago, Post 174 (or the Blue Bombers for the color of their uniforms and what their bats did to the baseball) rallied twice to defeat the Bears, 8-4, in the Mid-Atlantic Regional winners’ bracket final. They went on to win the title, advance to the World Series in North Carolina, and finish third.

Boyertown led 2-0 after two innings and 3-2 after five. But South Richmond roughed up previously-unbeaten ace Shayne Houck and a couple of relievers for four go-ahead runs in the seventh and two additional runs in the eighth to put it away.

So guess who could possibly meet again this week, or Friday to be specific?

If the Bears (37-8) get by Mount Laurel, N.J. (33-4) in their opener, and

South Richmond (25-6) gets by host Morgantown, W.Va. (31-10) in its opener … yep, you got it, a rematch.

And considering there were a few choice words exchanged during as well as after last year’s meeting, there’s no doubt Friday’s second-round nightcap could add a little heat to the already blistering forecast.

Boyertown will have considerably fewer members from last year’s cast in the lineup. Brandon Sullivan, Ryan Zakszeski and Aaron Wilkins started in the game and are back, as are Ryan Schwager, who appeared as a pinch-runner; and Bryer Eshbach, who threw two-thirds of an inning of relief. South Richmond on the other hand, returns Bradley Shaban, Dustin Sollars, Chris Ayers and Joe Cujas – four of its top four hitters in national play last year.

Apparently that foursome hasn’t exactly cooled off, either. During last Friday’s 17-9 rout of Albemarle in the state final, Cujas – the tournament MVP – unloaded three home runs and knocked in five runs; Shaban had a home run and two other hits; Ayers belted a two-run homer; and Sollars contributed four RBI.

South Richmond invoked the 10-run rule in its first two wins, and put up 54 runs overall in its four-game sweep.

“These kids know how to play the game,” coach Byron Ballard told the Richmond Times-Dispatch following the championship.

“They come from quality [high school] programs. It’s great for them to come together, like each other and gel.”

*

The other Mid-Atlantic Regional openers feature Stahl Post, Del. against Rensselaer, N.Y. (32-5), and South Charleston, W.Va. (41-10) against Mount Airy, Md. (33-14).

Rensselaer – Melvin Roads Post 1231, that is – won its very first New York state title on a tiebreaker. Roads, as well as Smith Post and Jurek Post entered Sunday’s final day with identical 3-1 records before rained washed out play. State officials determined the champion by who owned the fewest runs allowed per inning average from the previous four games, and Melvin Roads (.400) edged Smith Post (.444).

Tony Abone Jr., the Smith Post manager, reportedly contacted an attorney to see if his team has any options in overturning the decision. He also contacted national American Legion officials to let them know he is considering legal action.

Stahl Post won its third state title in four years and 22nd overall; Mount Laurel was denied its first state title by Flemington and comes in as the Garden State runner-up; South Charleston won its third state title, with the previous two 34 years apart (1995 and 1961); Mount Airy won it second title to go with the first back in 1999; and host Morgantown, which was the two-time defending West Virginia state champion before South Charleston ended the run last week, has won 11 overall.

* * *

A glance at the other seven national regionals, which get under way Thursday morning:

NORTHEAST

At Manchester, N.H.: Portland, Me., which defeated Boyertown en route to the 2004 World Series title in Corvallis, Ore., won its second straight state title and sixth since 1996 to qualify. Portland (20-3) opens against Londonderry, N.H. (15-6), whose only previous state title was four years ago. … West Warwick, R.I. (26-13), with 10 state titles, opens against Colchester, Vt. (23-16), which just won its very first state title. … Flemington, N.J. (27-1), making its first regional appearance, takes on the only unbeaten team still playing this week – Newburyport, Mass. (29-0) – which is coming off its first state title. … Berlin, Ct. (29-5) won its second state title last week and debuts against host Manchester, which owns 27 state titles in its storied past.

SOUTHEAST

At Sumter, S.C.: Call it the host with the most. Sumter, which won three of the last five state titles – 11 overall – and is the defending regional champion, caps the first day of play against Salisbury, N.C. (32-7), which just won its fifth state title. … Shelbyville, Tenn. (19-14), which turned things around last month and won its second state title, opens against Bayamon, P.R. (34-4), no stranger to national play with 11 state titles. … Tuscaloosa, Ala. (47-6), which has won three straight state titles, six of the last seven and 19 overall, takes on Bradenton, Fla., coming off its third state-title performance. … And Irmo, S.C., with three state titles of its own, starts up against newcomer Conyers, Ga. (29-4), which won its first state title last week.

MID-SOUTH

At Enid, OK.: Like Sumter, Enid (40-13) has won 11 state titles, but it also swept the 2005 World Series championship. The Oklahoma power closes out the first day of play against Shelbyville, Ky., which last week won its second state title and first since 1983. … New Orleans Post 288, La. (25-7) won its first state title to earn a meeting with none other than Oklahoma runner-up Omaha Post 374, which was denied its 41st state title last week. … Hattiesburg, Miss. (19-10), which won its first three state titles in 1941, 1942 and 1953, added a fourth last week to qualify and meet up with two-time state champion and defending Mid-South Regional champion Jonesboro, Ark. (31-10). … And Midwest City, Okla. (68-9) – which split two games with Boyertown in the 1987 World Series in Stevens Point, Wisc. – opens against Texarkana, Tex. (24-3), which owns 10 state titles.

GREAT LAKES

At Appleton, WI: Pennsylvania state runner-up Nor-Gwyn (26-14) plays Game Two on Thursday against Rochester, Minn. (34-11), which last won a state title in 2003, or the year it rolled on to win the World Series in Bartlesville, Okla. … Midland, Mich. (44-7), which has won seven state titles since 2000 and 16 overall, is the defending regional champion and opens against Sandusky, Ohio (29-12), coming off its second state title. … Wassau, Wisc. (36-10) plays Hammond, Ind. (24-5), which won its second state title, and first since 1950. … The final game Thursday features Palatine, Ill., which won its second state title (and first in 20 years), taking on host Appleton, which swept its first state title in 1932 and added seven more since.

CENTRAL PLAINS

At Minnetonka, MN: Two of the most successful programs in American Legion baseball – Rapid City, S.D. and Omaha Post 1, Neb. – are featured in Thursday morning’s doubleheader. Rapid City (43-19), which won 18 straight state titles from 1970 through 1987, 25 of 29 through 1998 and 33 overall, captured the 1993 World Series championship, too. The South Dakota power opens against Festus, Mo. (34-3). … Up next will be Omaha, which won the very first state title in 1928 and 46 overall as well as the 1939 World Series. The Nebraskans take on Dubuque, Ia. (12-3), which won its third state title last week. … Dickinson, N.D. (38-9), which has won its first state title last year and its second last week, debuts against Minnesota runner-up Apple Valley (38-9). … Pittsburg, Ks. (28-3), like Dickinson in winning its first state last year and second last week, takes on host Excelsior in the nightcap.

NORTHWEST

At Medford, OR.: Corvallis, Or. (32-17), the host of the 2004 World Series, defeated Medford, 6-2, last week for its first state title since 2003 and sixth overall. The win earned Corvallis a tough opening-round draw with Billings, Mt. (45-14), which won 14 straight state titles from 1954 through 1967 and has won three of the last four to push its overall total to 35. … Cheyenne, Wy., which won seven in a row before coming up short last year, won its 15th overall last week and opens against Anchorage, Ak. (25-8), which warmed up its fans with its second state title in the last three years last week. … California runner-up Covina (25-4), making its national regional debut, opens against Bellevue, Wa. (33-12), which won its sixth state title last week. … Lewiston, Id. (35-18) plays host Medford (40-10), which owns 10 state titles overall.

WESTERN

At Fairfield, CA.: The one thing that hasn’t stayed in Vegas the past year is Las Vegas Post 76’s World Series championship and amazing 75-7 overall record. The defending national champions, coming off their fourth straight state title, open Thursday’s play against Albuquerque, N.M. (39-8), which has won three straight state titles of its own and 20 overall. … Greely, Co. (49-19) goes up against Kailua, Hi. (18-7), which won its first state title since 2001 and sixth overall. … Tucson Post 59, Az. makes its national regional debut against San Bernadino, Ca. (21-6). … The nightcap features Murray, Ut. (20-9), making its first appearance in national play, against host Fairfield (27-10), which has never won a state title.

* * *

All eight regionals are scheduled to be completed Monday, with the respective winners advancing to the 83rd World Series in Fargo, N.D.

Bearly Believable

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:26:00 +0000

Forty years ago, when Boyertown won its first Pennsylvania American Legion state title with a 3-0 shutout of Chambersburg out in York, an area sports writer called the Bears’ exploit “a fairy tale.”

But it was real, of course.

Fast forward to this past Saturday, when Boyertown won its record 22nd Pennsylvania American Legion state title with a 2-0 shutout of Nor-Gwyn at Bear Stadium. Close to a handful of sports writers called the Bears’ exploit just about everything, from unbelievable to unimaginable (perhaps a splicing of the greatest episodes from the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits).

But as unreal as it may have seemed, it was indeed real.

This one, unlike any of the previous 21, was special.

So extraordinary that someone should put an asterisk next to it in the annual Pennsylvania American Legion Baseball Guide.

You see, summers begin – for the Boyertown Bears at least – with high expectations. They don’t dream about winning Berks County League, Region Two and state titles, and they don’t come to the ballpark hoping they can win them.

They expect to win them … all of them.

But this past May, after tryouts ended and after manager Rick Moatz penciled in his roster, nearly everyone – the Bears themselves as well as their coaching staff and their loyal fans – took a different, if not bizarre, stance.

“I honestly don’t think anyone really thought we’d be where we (were Saturday),” Moatz explained.

Especially veterans like Brandon Sullivan and Ethan Moser, who were part of the Bears’ state championships the last two years.

“I didn’t think we could do this, not at all,” an ailing Sullivan said Saturday, recalling his preseason mindset. “I just didn’t think we had a chance to do this.”

“I didn’t know a lot of the guys, and didn’t know all the young pitchers we had when we started out,” added Moser.

There were, for the record, a handful of familiar returnees from last summer – Moser, Nate Schnell, Sullivan, Aaron Wilkins and Ryan Zakszeski. Others, like Bryer Eshbach, Dane Hiryak, Travis Kreitz, Ryan Schwager and Chris Werner, were pretty much limited to cameo roles in the 53-3 run of a year ago.

Moatz didn’t exactly add eight household names to the aforementioned crew back in May, either. Andrew Gehringer, Brock Hallman, John Mur

row, Josh Schnell didn’t really knock the leather off the ball or throw it past anyone during the high school season this past spring, and Taras Letnaunchyn, Paul Mills, Steve Price and Ben Skean don’t even begin their junior years in high school until next month.

“We knew from the beginning we would be playing in the state tournament (as the host),” Moatz said. “So the obvious thing for us was to get better, get competitive … so we could at least compete in the state tournament.

“But did I think we had the horses to do this? No … absolutely not.”

Anyone who did, especially during an unprecedented three-game Berks County League losing streak in the final week of June, must not have been wearing a helmet in their own playing days.

That skid denied the Bears their normal top-seed for the league playoffs. But somehow they managed to regroup and win their 30th league title and advance to the Region Two tournament instead of sitting around and practicing for a full week or so prior to the state showdown.

“We had some practices after the regular season ended and the (Berks) playoffs started,” Sullivan said. “We talked a lot about attitude, about being aggressive. And we worked hard. I think that’s what may have really turned it around for us.”

“When we started winning in the playoffs, I think most of us felt we had a good team, a good fundamental team,” Moser added. “We knew we had a good program, or system here. And even though some people didn’t think we had a chance to do much of anything, we may have started to think we’re better than we first thought. We started to surprise ourselves.”

Hatfield, with a lineup comprised of a lot of players from North Penn’s PIAA-Class AAAA state championship team in the spring, had a surprise of its own for the Bears. In the Region Two opener, Eric Ruth fanned 17 Boyertown batters and Hatfield humbled the Bears in an abbreviated 13-3 rout.

Facing yet another layoff until states, the Bears bounced back again. This time it was four straight wins, and then a rain-shortened 2-2 stalemate with none other than Nor-Gwyn.

Co-champions doesn’t exactly have that familiar Boyertown ring to it, but it was good enough considering.

“We saw, at the end of the Berks County playoffs, that these guys weren’t intimidated,” Moatz said. “And at the (state) regional, watching them come through the losers bracket… The guys just didn’t go away, didn’t give up, didn’t quit.”

That was evident early last week, with their four-game sweep through the first four days of the state tournament – a familiar ringa-dinga-ding in the Boyertown neighborhood.

And if there was a defining game in that stretch it was the three-hour, 11-inning victory over NorChester on Thursday night (or Friday morning). They erased a 2-0 deficit, went ahead 3-2, then endured a strikeout binge – 18 of them, to be exact, by the end of the affair – to pull out the win in the 11th.

The overlooked saviors in the upset? Murrow, who allowed just two runs in eight innings, and Hallman, who provided 2-2/3 innings of hitless relief.

The win set up yet another final-day showdown with Nor-Gwyn.

The Bears could’ve easily folded again after getting blanked 4-0 in Game 14 by the Hawks’ Michael Bradstreet. But there was a Game 15…

With his pitching staff all but out of innings and appearances – not to mention Nate Schnell still sidelined since last week and Price unable to go since Thursday morning’s game – Moatz and Bears pieced together a 2-0 gem. Moser worked the first six innings, Letnaunchyn the next two, and Eshbach closed it out with another spotless two for the save. Kreitz ended the string of zeroes on the scoreboard with a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and Wilkins doubled the count with an RBI double in the seventh.

For the week, the Bears hit a punchless .228 – about 200 or so points lower than their average in last year’s state tournament. Only two regulars – Moser and Josh Schnell – hit over .300.

But combine their 42 hits with the other 58 baserunners (walks, hit-batsmen and errors) and a pitching staff that owned a 1.67 earned run average, well, you get just a wee bit of an idea how they did what they did.

“We tell the guys it’s not always about talent,” Moatz said. “It’s about nine guys playing together, nine guys executing, or performing within the system we have.

“We have to go with what the kids are able to do. We have a system, but it’s a system that not everyone can conform to, or one that not everyone is suited to. Sometimes it’s a little give and take. But it sure worked this week.”

Forty years ago, when Boyertown won its first Pennsylvania American Legion state title, Ken Stimmel – who threw 10 scoreless innings of relief in the shocking run – said it was a “team effort.”

This past Saturday afternoon, when Boyertown won its record 22nd Pennsylvania American Legion state title, Moser – named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player – said it was a “team effort.”

A lot has happened in 40 years ago, and a lot of things have changed.

But in Boyertown, when it comes to baseball, a lot of things stay the same.

* * *

Saturday’s celebration was a all-in-the-family moment for Moser. His cousin, Corey Hannahoe, was part of the Bears’ state championship in 1989, and his uncle Todd Hannahoe – Corey’s father – was part of that first championship in 1969. … Boyertown (2004, 2006-09) and Nor-Gwyn (2005) have now accounted for the last six American Legion state titles. ... Boyertown, which has won 22 of the 24 state finals it has appeared in, advances to the Mid-Atlantic Regional in Morgantown, W.Va. The Bears (37-8) open at 1 p.m. Thursday against New Jersey state runner-up Mt. Laurel.

What it took to be Berks' best

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:36:00 +0000

A quick glance at Boyertown’s opening-day roster would’ve revealed some slim pickings.

The only everyday starters returning from a year ago — when the Bears won a record 21st state championship, finished third at the Mid-Atlantic Regional and 53-3 overall — were catcher Ryan Zakszeski and shortstop Brandon Sullivan. A couple of pitchers, Nate Schnell and Aaron Wilkins, who provided some valuable innings and more than a few wins, along with the versatile Ethan Moser, were also back.

That was pretty much it, too.

But the no-name lineup wasn’t exactly easy pickings, not at first, mind you.

The Bears won 21 of their first 22 games this summer, and sure looked like they were well on their way to another Berks County League title.

Then they hit the skids ... or slid into a very, very uncharacteristic slump — losing three straight league games for the first time in at least 40 years — and five of six heading into the playoffs. And there wasn’t any one particular aspect manager Rick Moatz could put his baseball finger on, either. The Bears simply weren’t getting the pitching they’re accustomed to, weren’t playing the kind of fundamental defense they’re accustomed to, and they sure weren’t putting the ball in play enough or producing the offense they’re accustomed to.

“That was surely one of the longest streaks we’ve ever gone through,” Moatz said Friday.

It didn’t last beyond the week most prefer to forget about, because the Bears snapped out of their funk and back to their customary ways by running the table in the Berks County League playoffs — five straight wins to earn a trip into this morning’s (9:30) opening round of the Pennsylvania Region Two Tournament at Hostelley Field in Upper Gwynedd Township.

“We just noticed the kids were not playing aggressively,” Moatz said of the woeful week. “Maybe they were thinking too much. But they weren’t laying it on the line.

“So we talked to them about their attitude, about knowing where they were from, about our expectations. We talked, because we wanted to ingrain that into their psyche. We had a few tough practices, too. I think they responded in a very positive manner, too.”

Moatz admitted their response wasn’t perfect, and recalling those six errors in a 6-5 win over Muhlenberg would attest to that.

“But they battled through it, played through it,” Moatz explained. “They really showed some mental toughness.”

And won a 30th league title in the process, something neither Moatz nor anyone else on his staff may have thought was possible when pulling the gear out of Bear Den 2 and swinging into the season less than eight weeks ago.

“I know we got out to 20-1 or 21-1,” Moatz said, who won his 1,000th career game during that early stretch. “But I don’t know if we were playing well or the other teams were getting off to a slow start. Because of the new (league format, or reduced schedule), we didn’t get a lot of non-league games in. And there were a lot of rainouts, too. It was tough finding out exactly where we were.”

One of the reasons was because of the lack of experience. The coaching staff knew Sullivan and Zakszeski, were well aware of what Schnell, Wilkins, and Moser could bring to their team.

“But there was that inexperience,” Moatz said. “Even for Moser, who came back from college this year after pitching and playing a little outfield and first base for us last year. He never really developed into what he is now. It was a maturing process for most of our kids. It took time for a lot of them to understand what they had to do, too.”

Whatever they may not have understood before the early July skid, they sure understood after.

“Our pitching up to that point was very inconsistent,” Moatz explained. “We get a good game or two, then we’d throw a klunker. We just couldn’t put together a lot of good games.”

Couldn’t because of a defense that self-destructed at times, and an offense that didn’t bunt the ball well and put up an unusual amount of strikeouts — many of which came with runners in scoring position.

“We just lacked that ability to execute Boyertown baseball,” Moatz said. “We had to adjust. We had to work harder to get where I wanted them to be.”

For the record, the Bears did adjust ... and now they’re not only where Moatz wanted them to be, but where most Boyertown teams are at this juncture of the season -- at the state regional.

“In the beginning of the season, I was hoping we’d be where we are right now,” Moatz said. “I just didn’t want to go two weeks or so of not playing (until the state tournament at Bear Stadium on July 28). But I feel they’re ready to go now. We’ve had some good practices, and they’re focused on going out there to win.”

Boyertown (28-6) will likely go with Schnell (5-1) in this morning’s opener against Hatfield (23-4), which is expected to throw Eric Ruth, who may only be 4-0 this summer but was 12-1 and the ace of the North Penn High School team that won the PIAA-Class AAAA state title last spring. ... The Bears have won three straight Region Two titles and five of the last six.

REGION THREE

NorChester is the Region Three Tournament’s three-time defending champion and will take a swing at four in a row when it debuts in today’s opening round against Narberth at Spring-Ford High School’s Ram Stadium.

The Bulldogs are unquestionably the area’s hottest team. They have won 23 games in a row — including fives straight en route to the Chester County League championship last week — and own an eye-opening 29-2 overall record.

“There was a time when NorChester would be happy just to make the playoffs,” said manager Corbin Stoltzfus. “But this is something we expect out of our kids now.

“We start every season with the intention of winning our league. We’ve won a few league titles, a few (Region Three) titles, so we certainly can’t hide from anyone anymore. The kids know that now.”

They’ve responded quite well, too.

Stoltzfus has a very good, and very deep, pitching staff with Jeff Kelly (8-0), David Vining (3-2), Tyler Setzler (5-0), Jeff Wiand (5-0) and unsung Tim Ponto. The Bulldogs can play defense behind every one of them. And they can hit ... boy, can they hit.

From one through nine, there just isn’t a weak spot. Brandon Engelhardt, who leads off and plays second base, may well be the MVP of this area’s summer baseball season. Catcher Ryan Chesler is an excellent leader behind the plate, and combined with designated-hitter Ryan Deitrich and Jeff Wiand, gives the Bulldogs quite an offensive punch from the third through fifth spots in the order.

“These guys have been through a lot with us, so they know what we expect from them and they never seem to be bothered by the pressure,” Stoltzfus said. “They’ve been through this, through the playoffs ... a lot of tough games. None of this is new to them.”

Spring City is serving as the Region Three host for the third time in 10 years. Manager Jamie Scheck’s ballclub is 27-7, well-rested and definitely a contender, too.

“You don’t want to look past that team,” Stoltzfus said last week. “I know we won’t.”

Scheck has a very respectable rotation that features Mike Haslam (8-1), Sean Larkin (7-0) and Matt Hamilton (4-0).

Also worth keeping an eye on is J.P. Mascaro, which features most of the players from the Methacton High School team that finished second to Owen J. Roberts -- or most of the NorChester players -- in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Final Four championship last May. The Haulers are coming off their seventh straight Greater Norristown League title run.

OJR board keeps all 7 coaches

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:40:00 +0000

This story originally ran in the June 30 edition of the Mercury.

BUCKTOWN —- The surprise play so many expected if not feared the Owen J. Roberts School Board would make never materialized.

At least not during Monday night’s special meeting of the board in the high school’s auditorium.

The board unanimously approved the seven fall sports head coaches as well as their assistants and entire middle school coaching staffs — 34 coaches overall.

The 9-0 vote drew a resounding applause from the crowd, which filled the 1,050-seat auditorium and included close to another 100 or so students and adults standing in the doorways and hallway.

Though most of the crowd was there to protest last week’s controversial firing of Superintendent Dr. Myra Forrest, there were a good number of supporters of the fall sports coaches — as well as a lot of the coaches themselves — in attendance.

Nearly two weeks ago, during a monthly work session, the school board approved the recommended list of fall sports coaches to be put on the agenda for the June 22 regular monthly meeting. The vote was 7-0. Edward Kerner and Debbie Bissland, the board’s president and vice president, respectively, were absent.

However, the list never made it on the agenda for the meeting.

According to two sources, the list was removed from the agenda a couple of days later by Bissland — chairperson of the Extracurricular and Interscholastic Activities Committee.

Bissland, who earlier in the evening during board committee reports said she “had nothing to report at this time,” didn’t explain why the list was pulled from the agenda despite questions and comments from fellow board members Barbara McMeekin, William LaCoff and Rosemary Bilinski, as well as a number of people attending the meeting.

McMeekin was very upset June 22 by the turn of events, asking how an issue could be approved to be added to the agenda by the majority of their board — or, in this instance, all seven of the board members present — and then removed from the agenda by “one or two” board members.

So it was no surprise that McMeekin was the first to speak Monday night after the motion to approve the list of fall sports coaches was made and seconded.

“I just hope this board is going to approve this (motion),” McMeekin said.

They did.

Quickly, too.

That means Owen J. Roberts High School will have its entire staff of head coaches back again in the fall. They are Tom Barr (football); Clarence Jannelle (field hockey); Joe Margusity (girls soccer); Dave Michael (cross country); Dave Rhen (boys soccer); Ted Snyder (golf); and Jerry Styer (girls tennis) — each of whom has lengthy terms of coaching service at OJR.

Barr, who guided the Wildcats to their first appearance in the District 1-Class AAA football playoffs and their first postseason win, returns for his 13th season. Jannelle, who has led the field hockey program to four straight District 1-AAAA playoff appearances, returns for his seventh season.

Margusity, unquestionably one of the most respected soccer coaches in Southeast Pennsylvania and throughout the state, and who owns more than 280 career wins -- including the school’s only state title (2005) -- returns for his 14th season.

Michael, a pillar in the cross country and track community and known as one of the district’s most devoted coaches, returns for his 32nd year. Rhen, who has guided the Wildcats to three straight Pioneer Athletic Conference boys soccer titles and six overall, returns for his 27th season.

Snyder, the only golf coach in the league to lead his team to four straight PAC-10 Final Four Tournaments, returns for his eighth season. And Styer, who has turned the girls tennis program around and led his last two teams to undefeated PAC-10 championship runs, returns for his 11th season.

“It would have been nice to have had all this done last week, but it’s over and done with now,” said a coach Monday night, asking to remain anonymous. “Some of us were worried because we just didn’t know what was going on. It’s time to move on ... time to focus our attention on our student-athletes and our teams.”

Even at OJR, board members must follow rules

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:34:00 +0000

The hiring, rehiring or even firing of high school coaches follows a rather standard procedure in most, if not all, area districts.

Well before each of the three scholastic sports seasons — fall, winter, and spring — athletic directors meet with their high school principals to review the list of coaches for each sport, then submit their recommendations to either the district superintendent or director of human resources. Barring any objections, which there rarely (if ever) are at that juncture, the list is forwarded to the school board’s extracurricular or athletic committee, or to the board in general, for final approval.

That final approval, for the most part, is more often than not just a formality.

But Monday night, during the regular monthly meeting of the Owen J. Roberts School Board, Edward Kerner and Debbie Bissland — the board’s president and vice president, respectively — turned the entire process into a farce. And if not for four other board members, or admirable voices of reason from Rosemary Bilinski, John Dutton, William LaCoff, and Barbara McMeekin, almost a dozen Owen J. Roberts coaches and close to 50 of their supporters would’ve thought they were sitting in on a Kerner-Bissland Two Ring Circus.

The fact Kerner and Bissland late last week decided to remove the list of recommended coaches for the 2009 fall season from Monday night’s agenda is a joke. And nearly everything they said in an attempt to defend their decision drew its share of laughter.

None more than one of Bissland’s responses, “I like all the coaches, and I want all the coaches back.”

Hip, hip, hooray … then why pull their recommendations from the agenda?

“This is a complete travesty,” a high school coach, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said moments after the board voted to meet prior to next Monday’s special meeting to discuss, and hopefully reinstate on the agenda for approval, the list of coaches for the fall sports season.

For now, though, Owen J. Roberts does not have a single coach for the fall sports season. That means not having one single coach to be part of or oversee the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) approved weight-lifting, conditioning and other related practices or drills that officially began this past Monday.

“Which means our kids, our teams, are already falling behind because every other school has started,” said another high school coach, who requested anonymity.

Owen J. Roberts’ head coaches for the fall sports — Dave Michael (boys and girls country), Clarence Jennelle (field hockey), Tom Barr (football), Ted Snyder (golf), Dave Rhen (boys soccer), Joe Margusity (girls soccer), and Jerry Styer (girls tennis) — were the respective teams’ head coaches last year. They have a combined 105 seasons of coaching those sports at Owen J. Roberts … and all own exemplary resumes.

That is why they were recommended to continue coaching this fall by Dave Strock, the athletic director, and Richard Marchini, the high school principal. And, as Strock noted Monday night, that is why Antonia Cramp, director of human resources, forwarded the recommendations to Bissland — chairperson of the school board’s Extracurricular and Interscholastic Activities Committee that also includes Dutton and Eric Scheib.

“All seven coaches are very good people, and all seven are very successful coaches,” Marchini said in a brief message to the school board Monday night.

Seven members of the school board recently voted unanimously (Kerner and Bissland were absent from the meeting) to put the fall coaches list on Monday night’s agenda for approval. But Kerner and Bissland last Thursday removed it from the agenda.

Sure enough, when it came time for Bissland’s committee report Monday night, she responded, “I have nothing to report at this time.”

Later, during the portion of the meeting reserved for individuals or delegates to address items or issues on the agenda, Steve Raught — president of the Roberts Education Association — spoke to the board.

“The administration provided the (school) board with their recommended list for all fall coaching positions,” Raught said. “At this past Monday’s (June 15) Personnel Committee meeting, the entire coaching list was moved by Mr. Dutton to the full board for approval. There were no objections.

“That meeting was attended by two of the three members of both the personnel and extracurricular committees. In fact, only Mr. Kerner and Mrs. Bissland were absent. Yet the fall coaches are not on tonight’s agenda.”

Raught, who drew resounding applauses from the crowd, wanted to know who made the decision to remove the coaches list from the agenda, when they did it, and why they did it. “Perhaps Mr. Kerner or Mrs. Bissland could provide us with a rational explanation,” he said.

Neither did.

McMeekin was displeased, to say the least, and very upset when neither Kerner nor Bissland were able to provide any “rational explanation.”

“Once again, the incompetence and ineptness of this board is now going to be a detriment to our children,” McMeekin said. “We’re a board of nine, yet two can decide what goes on the agenda?”

What really irked Dutton was the fact Kerner and Bissland removed the coaches lists from the agenda, but the Extracurricular and Interscholastic Athletic Activities Committee had a recommendation for the approval of a weight room supervisor on the agenda — a position that previously didn’t exist because coaches handled those responsibilities, and handled them without any additional salary.

“We’re being asked to hire someone so (the student-athletes) can utilize the weight room opportunities,” Dutton said. “The coaches did it before, so now there’s a need to hire someone?”

Marchini — the high school principal, remember — admitted he wasn’t even aware of the recommendation for a weight room supervisor being on the agenda.

“I just know that our coaches put in a lot of extra time, that they work for the benefit of our kids, and we haven’t even hired them yet,” Bilinski said. “It’s very important to get these coaches hired as soon as we can.”

Dutton made the motion to meet just before next Monday night’s board gathering to discuss putting the recommendations of all fall sports coaches back on the agenda — including the weight room supervisor position — so a vote can be taken during the regular meeting. Scheib seconded the motion, and it was approved.

“Let’s just hope that list (of coaches) gets back on the agenda next (Monday) and gets approved,” the mother of an Owen J. Roberts student-athlete said.

“We have a couple of board members, perhaps, with personal agendas,” added the father of two Owen J. Roberts student-athletes. “They’re worried about one, two, or three kids, maybe their own kids? They’re supposed to be concerned about all of the kids at Owen J. Roberts.”

They are indeed supposed to.

Strock, Marchini, and Cramp, as well as Superintendent Dr. Myra Forrest (fired very late Monday night) and seven members of the school board — Bilinski, Dutton, Eugene Endress, Karen Zelley, LaCoff, and McMeekin — showed that concern from the very beginning on this issue. Now it’s time for Kerner and Bissland to do the same.

District 1 tournaments reduced to 2

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:30:00 +0000

Sometimes – not all the time, mind you – reverting back to the old way of doing things is the good way, or right way, to go.

That may have been the District 1 Wrestling Committee’s collective mindset, especially when thinking of the Class AAA postseason lineup in recent years.

The committee recently voted to revert back to a two-district tournament format, which had been in place from 1974 through 2005 before expanding to what became a somewhat unpopular three-district format in 2006.

For the last three years, the district had hosted the North (Section Two and Three qualifiers), Central (Section Four and Six qualifiers), and South (Section One and Five qualifiers) tournaments. Last year, the top four finishers in each weight class in each of those three district tournaments then teamed up with the top four finishers in each weight class from District 12 – the Philadelphia Catholic and Public leagues – at the Southeast Regional, creating 16-man brackets in each of the 14 weight classes.

“The coaches felt the 16-man bracket days before the state tournament needed to change,” explained Dennis Kellon, chairman of the district’s Steering Committee.

“Returning to two districts also eliminates the coaches’ concern of so many repeat meetings (in sectionals and again in districts).”

Beginning next season, the top five finishers in each weight class from the District 1-North and District 1-South tournaments, as well as the top three finishers in each weight class from District 12, will advance to the Southeast Regional. The fifth-place finishers in each weight class from the two District 1 tournaments will meet in a pigtail – or qualifying bout – to move into the 12-man bracket. The district champions will be seeded, with the remaining qualifiers placed accordingly in the brackets.

District officials also agreed to continue moving the Southeast Regional site each year to accommodate travel concerns for both the wrestlers and spectators. Two years ago, the regional was held at Council Rock South, and this past March it was hosted by Oxford. Next year, the regional is set for Council Rock North.

Kellon pointed out the sectional alignments will remain the same for 2009-10. However, they’ll most likely change when the new PIAA enrollment classifications are released for 2010-2011.

The Steering Committee also announced its postseason sites for next season. The sectionals will be hosted by Abington (Section One), Upper Perkiomen (Two), Perkiomen Valley (Three), Boyertown (Four), Ridley (Five) and Garnet Valley (Six). The District 1-North Tournament, featuring qualifiers from Sections One, Two and Three, is set for Quakertown. The District 1-South Tournament, featuring qualifiers from Sections Four, Five and Six, will be at Oxford. The District 1-Class AA Tournament will be hosted by Harriton.

District 1 held its inaugural wrestling tournament in 1934. It remained an all-inclusive tournament through 1973 with no enrollment classifications. The following year, the North-South alignment, with an additional Class B (later changed to Class AA) tournament, began.

FREESTYLE

Matt Martoccio and Andre Petroski, along with Rob D’Annunzio, were the only District 1 wrestlers to advance to the Junior Division finals of last weekend’s Pennsylvania Freestyle Championships, held in Shippensburg University’s Heiges Fieldhouse.

Martoccio, who will be a junior at Council Rock South next season, was blanked 6-0, 6-0 in the 135-pound showdown with Josh Kindig, a recent Blue Mountain graduate and PIAA champion three months ago. Petroski, already a two-time state medalist heading into his senior year at Springfield-Delco, didn’t fare much better in a 6-0, 6-1 setback to Penn State-bound Ed Ruth, a former PIAA champion and a National Prep champion last season at Blair.

D’Annunzio, who will be a junior at Methacton, had a much easier time at 98 pounds … he was the only entry. The lightweight standout, who was a sectional champion, district runner-up and regional qualifier last winter, still advances to next month’s national championships in Fargo, N.D.

As expected, the Dylan brothers – Andrew and Dylan – won their finals at 140 and 145, respectively. The twins will be seniors at Central Mountain next season. A two-time state champion, Andrew has won his last 89 bouts and takes a 131-5 career mark into his final season. Dylan, who won his first PIAA title last March, is 133-8. Both are currently the nation’s No. 1 ranked scholastic wrestlers in their weight classes.

COACHING HONORS

Council Rock South’s Trap McCormack has been named Wrestling USA Magazine’s National Assistant Coach of the Year.

McCormack, who teaches health and physical education at CRS, has been a member of head coach Brad Silemperi’s staff for six years. A graduate of Bald Eagle Nittany High School, McCormack was a three-time PIAA state champion and graduated with a 138-4 career mark. At Lock Haven University, he was a two-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion, four-time NCAA qualifier, and an NCAA Academic All-American.

ALL-AMERICANS

Pennsylvania had four first-team selections and a national-high 19 overall wrestlers named to the 24th annual ASICS All-America wrestling team. The Commonwealth was represented on the first team by the Alton twins from Central Mountain and Central Dauphin’s Marshall Peppelman (152) – all juniors – and by Hempfield senior Jake Kemerer. Blair Academy’s Ed Ruth, a former PIAA champion and native of the Harrisburg area, was also named to the first team.

Headlining the selections was St. Paris (Ohio) Graham senior David Taylor. The 135-pound Taylor, a four-time state champion, was selected to the first team for the third consecutive year.

ACADEMIC HONORS

Two District 1 graduates – Norristown’s Tim Harner and Central Bucks West’s Pete Ferrara – were recently named to the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s annual Division I All-Academic Top 30 team for the 2008-09 season.

The 141-pound Harner, graduated from Liberty with a 3.3 average as a sports management major. The 149-pound Ferrara, graduated from Virginia with a 3.6 average as a kinesiology major.

For the second straight year, American University took home top team honors . Head coach Mark Cody’s team, which featured senior Anthony Fuschino – an Owen J. Roberts – led the Division I teams with GPA of 3.3 after tying with Duke University in 2008.

*

Delaware Valley College’s Brandon Clemmer, an Upper Perkiomen graduate, was named to the 2009 NCAA Division III Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-American team. Clemmer, who capped his career with a 33-8 record and seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships back in March, was a business major.

COLLEGE NOTES

Ursinus head coach Bill Racich’s new class of wrestlers will include three recent graduates – Perkiomen Valley’s Hassan Elghawy, Perkiomen School’s Eric Pfeiffer, and Great Valley’s Myles Tornetta. … Four other District 1 graduates have unofficially joined the Division III ranks for next season. Abington’s Max Barsky and Penncrest’s Andrew Mariani will wrestle for Elizabethtown, while Ridley’s Mark Burkhart and Downingtown East’s Amro Elansari will compete for York. … Muhlenberg has announced that Mike Kocsis will replace Tom Schleicher as its new wrestling coach next season. Schleicher, who guided the Mules for 13 years, was the head coach at Upper Perkiomen High School before Tom Hontz took over the program.

Brumbach, Johnson enter Hall of Fame

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:02:00 +0000

Local sports fanatics will admit it would be a quite a challenge to list all the great athletes and coaches, and all the resourceful athletic directors and supportive administrators, who have been part of the rich history of the Ches-Mont League.

Well, no one can accuse league officials of not stepping up to such a challenge.

Two years ago, three men — Bob Boyer, Jack Byrne, and Chuck Carroll, longtime coaches and athletic directors at Downingtown, West Chester East, and Coatesville, respectively — were the first inductees into the Ches-Mont Hall of Fame. The list grew to seven last year with the addition of three retired athletic directors and one retired principal.

Last week, during the Ches-Mont League’s annual Spring Banquet at Coatesville Country Club, the newest class of inductees pushed the prestigious membership to an even dozen.

And for the first time, two individuals who made an impact in the league first as athletes and then as coaches were honored.

It was indeed a special evening for Marcia Brumbach and Alray Johnson … and for the Ches-Mont League.

Brumbach, the first female to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, was an outstanding athlete at Boyertown High School in the late-60s who would return to her alma mater to coach the field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse teams to countless championships. Like Brumbach, Johnson was an outstanding athlete at Pottstown High School in the late-60s, then took over the wrestling program at the former Downingtown High School and became one of the most successful coaches in the Ches-Mont and throughout District 1.

Ever since the Ches-Mont’s inaugural season (1950-51), few have matched their excellence as athletes and expertise as coaches.

“Marcia and Alray absolutely belong in the hall,” said Boyer.

No one had a better view of what Brumbach and Johnson accomplished. Boyer’s late wife, Kay, coached against Brumbach. And Boyer himself was the athletic director at Downingtown when Johnson was coaching the Whippets.

Brumbach is still regarded as one of Boyertown’s best athletes. Her field hockey, basketball, and softball teams dominated their Ches-Mont rivals, though the league didn’t begin sanctioned play in those sports until 1969-70, or after she had graduated. She went on to Concord College in Athens, W.Va., where she lettered in not just one, two or three sports, but six — basketball, field hockey, softball, swimming, track and field, and volleyball.

After two years teaching and coaching at York Vo-Tech, Brumbach returned to Boyertown … and her 33 years in the classroom and on the sidelines are legendary.

In 11 years as the girls’ basketball coach, Boyertown went 124-79. Her best season was 1983-84, when the Bears won 28 straight games en route to the Ches-Mont championship and second place in the District 1 playoffs. The following year, she became the head basketball coach at West Chester University, where she remained for four seasons.

Brumbach also led Boyertown’s lacrosse program for 21 years, compiling an eye-popping 245-67-12 mark that included a Ches-Mont record 14 league championships and six District 1 titles. Her teams won 56 straight games at one point, which was a state record, and more than 20 of her players earned scholastic All-American honors. Brumbach herself was named the Pennsylvania Girls Lacrosse Coach of the Year on seven occasions.

Eight years ago, Brumbach was inducted into the Concord College Hall of Fame. She was also a recent inductee into the Tri-County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, and this past February was inducted into the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the U.S. Lacrosse Association Hall of Fame.

Johnson starred in both football and wrestling and was also a member of the track and field teams at Pottstown. He had an outstanding wrestling career at West Chester University, even earning a spot in the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Soon after arriving at Downingtown, Johnson energized the wrestling program. The Whippets were the dominant program in the Ches-Mont League, pinning down seven consecutive league championships from 1981 through 1987 and winning 77 straight league matches (while tying another) from the 1980-81 season up into the 1987-88 season.

In his 16 years at Downingtown, Johnson’s teams were 198-50-6 overall. That mark included the seven Ches-Mont championships as well as five Section Four, three District 1-AAA North and two Southeast Regional titles. He also had 11 state qualifiers and one state champion.

Johnson still serves as a clinician at camps for high school and college wrestlers, and is active with the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Joining Brumbach and Johnson in this year’s Hall of Fame class were former Coatesville athletic director and league officer Mac Stuber; former Henderson football coach Mike Hancock; and former Coatesville principal and longtime league president Paul Chenger. … Last year’s four inductees were former athletic directors Al Como of Great Valley, Walt Funk of Coatesville and Jim Reichert of Henderson, and former principal David Cox of W.C. East. … The Ches-Mont League was formed in 1950-51 and featured three sports – basketball, baseball, and track and field. The league’s schools now compete in 21 sports.

Amelia Corney is always pushing forward

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:52:00 +0000

For the more than 500 eager seniors at Spring-Ford High School, the remaining week and a half of classes and final exams leading up to commencement may seem like a lifetime.

Especially for Amelia Corney.

But she will treasure sitting next to her classmates and taking all those tests as the academic calendar winds down, and she will cherish the moment she is handed her diploma — as much, if not more, than anyone.

Not so awfully long ago, Corney wasn’t at all sure she would ever graduate.

Or even live.

Eighteen months ago, about three weeks into her junior year, Corney was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia — cancer of the white blood cells. It was a form of cancer, she quickly learned, that could be fatal in weeks to months if left untreated.

Amelia Corney was confused, shocked. She was playing golf for Spring-Ford’s girls team every afternoon, swimming for the USS Tiger Sharks club team at The Hill School every evening, and all of a sudden she was admitted to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

But Monday night, after three bone marrow transplants, five surgeries, more than 50 blood transfusions and well over 100 hours of physical therapy — and a seemingly endless treatment plan that still includes another year of chemotherapy, monthly spinal taps and an unknown number of surgeries — Amelia Corney was presented the Most Courageous (Female) Athlete Award during the Summit Awards’ 10th annual program at the Sunnybrook Ballroom.

Next week she will graduate.

In 14 days, she will celebrate her 18th birthday.

And in just over two months, she will be attending Rider University.

“Amelia never asked why this happened to her,” said her mother, Sharon Corney. “She never looked back at what was left behind. She just bravely pushed forward, and she continues to push forward.”

Amelia Corney’s biggest fear, her mother recently revealed, was bugs. And yet it was a bug bite that may have saved her life.

On Sept. 21, 2007, she had blood drawn before going to school to identify an insect bite on her back. There was an infection, but antibiotics didn’t seem to be helping at all.

By mid-afternoon, doctors called her father — John, who was on a business trip in Italy — and informed him his daughter’s hemoglobin count was at a meager four (the normal count is 12-16). After several more calls, Sharon Corney was finally reached. Doctors, who couldn’t believe Amelia was able to walk let alone play golf and swim, told the parents to get their daughter to CHOP immediately.

“She was at the driving range when I picked her up, and she struggled to keep her demeanor on the ride to the hospital and whole time she was in the emergency room,” Sharon Corney recalled. “At two o’clock (the next morning), the attending physician told her she had cancer, and that she would not be going home.”

Amelia Corney was moved to the oncology floor and underwent the first of many blood transfusions.

“She was exhausted and scared when she was told of the diagnosis,” Sharon Corney explained. “And it was almost like she cried silently when the nurses began the blood transfusion that morning. But she never complained, never asked ‘Why?’ Then she bravely said to me, ‘Everything will be okay.’”

Little did Amelia Corney realize that CHOP would be her home for the next 57 days.

In addition to the blood transfusions, she underwent chemotherapy treatments. Surprisingly, her leukemia went into remission and doctors identified her as an “early rapid responder.” Despite just three weeks of treatments, doctors felt she could be released from the hospital early.

“Amelia had her books and school work brought to the hospital so she could keep up with her classes,” Sharon Corney said. “When she got the good news she could be released early, possibly in the next few days, she was so anxious to get to school and her teams. She wasn’t going to be allowed to go back into the (swimming) pool, but she was hoping to return to the golf team.”

Good news turned to bad the next morning, though, after Amelia mentioned a sore spot on the back of her right leg. Within hours, that sore spot was diagnosed as a fusarium — a fungus that can spread by the hour and find its way into the blood system.

Leukemia rapidly produces cancer cells in the bone marrow and hinders the marrow’s ability to produce normal blood cells. Chemo, of course, cannot discern between healthy cells and cancer cells, and literally kills everything in bone marrow. While red blood cells and platelet cells are provided by transfusions, white blood cell transfusions are very rare. And with no white blood cells, Amelia became susceptible to infections from organisms that aren’t normally a problem for individuals with healthy immune systems.

“Several surgeons were brought in to assess the best way to save her and, if possible, her leg,” Sharon Corney explained. “I was advised to prepare my daughter for the possibility that she could wake up (from surgery) without her leg.

“Amelia wasn’t hysterical, and there was no self-pity. Again, she told me, ‘I will be okay.’ ”

An orthopedic surgeon removed infected tissue found around her Achilles tendon and sent samples to the lab, and tests revealed more infections. She immediately underwent another surgery, and by week’s end two more followed.

Doctors stopped the chemotherapy to help gain control of the infections. Continuous infusions of antifungal and antibiotic medications, given to her four hours a day for six weeks, proved to be so harsh her body would rigor and shake uncontrollably. Throughout the period, her leg was bandaged to cover an open wound the size of her hand.

More medications were needed, and provided to her, but she developed cognitive problems. And the combination of the medications caused a reaction that left her lying in her bed much like a brain-damaged patient.

“Amelia had no short-term memory, no control of her emotions,” her mother said. “Her speech was slow and slurred, and she couldn’t follow a conversation.

“She also had difficulty with everyday self-care activities. She couldn’t feed or dress herself. But she kept fighting to reverse her condition. I could see her fighting to come back even though the doctors weren’t sure how to do it.”

But Amelia Corney did it … by refusing any further sedation or pain medication, by squeezing her mother’s hand as her only means to offset the pain.

“It was about 10 days when we started to see improvement,” Sharon Corney remembered. “She eventually went back to her school work (in the hospital) as a way to exercise her mind. It was a slow and very agonizing process, but she never once complained, never once showed anger … only determination.”

After almost two months since arriving at CHOP, doctors scheduled another surgery to close the wound on her right leg. They removed a large piece of her left thigh because of the need for skin, fat and blood vessels, then removed a small section of her left leg to attach it to her deteriorating right leg.

The pain was excruciating and she was put on morphine, until she requested doctors to again stop the medication.

Finally, 57 days after being admitted to the hospital — almost three full months into her junior year at Spring-Ford — Amelia Corney was allowed to go home.

Saying good-bye to other children fighting their own frightening battles with cancer at the hospital wasn’t easy.

Nor was getting adjusted to living at home again.

Amelia Corney’s weight was down to just 85 pounds, and she wasn’t able to stand unassisted let alone walk. The antifungal infusions continued with the help of her parents, and she resumed chemotherapy treatments as an outpatient. So even though she was at home, she was still visiting the hospital for chemo and physical therapy three to five days a week for the rest of her junior year, for seven long, long months.

“Her desire was to return to school, to golf and swimming, and that motivated her to push through the incredible pain of physical therapy and intense chemotherapy treatments,” Sharon Corney said.

Amelia Corney never lost sight of her goal — to return to sports, to walk the hallways with her classmates, to graduate.

Almost a year to the day since being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Amelia Corney returned to Spring-Ford High School and rejoined the Rams’ golf team. She wasn’t able to attend every practice or play in anywhere near the number of matches as before, but she was there. And two months later, she bravely rejoined the Tiger Sharks swimming team.

“She was still in chemotherapy and quite self-conscious about her baldness and terribly scarred legs,” her mother said. “But she wasn’t going to let that stop her from getting back to swimming.”

She hasn’t allowed anything to stop her from remaining in school, either — not the infections that forced her to be admitted to the hospital on two occasions, not the reactions from medications that have left her with migraine headaches and temporary loss of her eyesight, not the nausea from continuing chemotherapy treatments, not even the painful back spasms that usually follow her monthly spinal taps.

“None of that has stopped her from returning to school and sports,” her mother said. “She has such a positive attitude and determination to keep up with her peers. And she never shows anyone the pain she is in.”

What Amelia Corney does continue to show, though, is an engaging smile — in and out of school, on the golf course, and in the swimming pool.

“She is, without a doubt, one of the most courageous and most amazing individuals I have ever known,” said Mickey McDaniel, the athletic director at Spring-Ford High School. “What Amelia has gone through, what she continues to go through … she is one very, very incredible young lady.”

Something mom and dad have known for quite some time.

“Every day is so different, so challenging,” Sharon Corney said. “She never, ever, ever, ever asked if she was going to die. And the only time I ever saw her cry was when we were in the car together and she said, ‘Mom, today (Jan. 10, 2008) is the day I was supposed to take my driver’s test.’ She just wanted to be in school, in her classes, with her friends.

“She has never looked back. A big part of her success has been her ability to focus on her journey to get through all of this. We always knew we had a quiet, determined and hard-working child, but wasn’t until the last two years that we saw how strong and courageous she is.”

Local softball trio won't let season fade

noreply@blogger.com (Talking Sports with Seeley) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:48:00 +0000

This column originally ran in the May 30, 2009 edition of The Mercury.

(A little of this and a little of that … just had to mention them after nearly a week of showers, downpours and thunderstorms, and being locked in the office)

The high school sports year isn’t over quite yet. And who knows, it may have another two weeks of life – at least that’s what three softball teams and their faithful fans are hoping for.

Spring-Ford, despite finishing second in the Pioneer Athletic Conference and getting a less-than favorable seeding for the postseason, won the program’s very first district title Thursday afternoon with a win over Central Bucks South in the District 1-AAAA final. Mandi Rush came up with yet another gem on the mound, Alexis Karkoska set the offensive tone with a first-inning home run, and the defense was near-flawless. The Rams showed their resiliency in bouncing back from the disappointing runner-up finish in the PAC-10, and considerable character in the semifinals earlier in the week by blanking Pennsbury without head coach Tim Hughes, who left school before they boarded the bus because of a family emergency.

Owen J. Roberts, unquestionably the area’s dominant softball program in recent years and the PAC-10 champions this spring, wasn’t able to defend its district title. The Wildcats, who everyone knows has an ace of spades with Kelly Schymanski on the mound and a slew of gals who sure can swing the bat, self-destructed on defense – an overlooked strength of their game. But getting into

the semifinals earned them a spot in Monday’s opening round of the AAAA state tournament. If they mend their defensive ways, beware … they can play as well as anyone anywhere in Pennsylvania.

The area will have a third team in the state playoffs, too. St. Pius X, despite being idle for nearly two full weeks, swept the District 1-AA title Thursday that, along with Spring-Ford’s victory, gave the PAC-10 a daily-double.

ADDING A BANG

Speaking of Pius, most are aware the Lions will be teaming up with Kennedy-Kenrick in two years at the new Pope John Paul II High School just outside Royersford in Upper Providence Township.

Mind you, no one is predicting any dynasties, at least not yet. But the baseball program got a little boost Thursday when Kennedy-Kenrick won the District 12-AA title with a 12-1 rout of Philadelphia Public League representative Neuva Esperanza.

FOURSOME

Owen J. Roberts’ athletes are keeping the OJR Athletic Association on its financial toes. Four of the schools’ spring sports teams – baseball, boys lacrosse, boys track and softball – won Pioneer Athletic Conference championships.

Now the Owen J. Roberts Athletic Association (rest easy taxpayers, NOT the Owen J. Roberts School District) will be getting all the Wildcats’ sizes for their championship jackets.

Greg Gilbert’s ballclub ended Boyertown’s run in baseball, something Gilbert savors considering he is still regarded one of the best Bears to roam the infield at Bear Stadium. Eric Wentzel’s boys also ended Phoenixville’s impressive streak in track. And Jeff Neese and Kevin Kirby continued to do their thing in boys lacrosse and softball, respectively, by successfully defending their titles despite admirable challenges from around the league.

CLASS ACTS

Both from Phoenixville, too.

First, earlier this spring, the Phantoms’ tennis team lost. That’s right, lost. Methacton dealt the Phantoms a 6-1 setback … it’s first Pioneer Athletic Conference loss since the league was formed back in 1986-87. If you’re wondering, the Phantoms won 196 straight matches in that span. And head coach Leo Scoda, who has defined class to the letter in every one of his 46 years coaching the Phantoms, had nothing but praise for the Warriors and their coach Cara DeCicco.

The second class act comes from Liz Jones, a senior student-athlete who back in April reached the coveted milestone of 200 career goals in lacrosse. While some will say acknowledging your teammates and coaches is what everyone does, well, try again. Not all do, especially in this me-me-me society. Jones did, lauding her teammates, head coach Jen Foresta and assistant Aamina Thornton. Then later this spring, get this – she sent a lengthy e-mail to The Mercury (as well as to sister-paper The Phoenix) and thanked the sports staffs for all the coverage they gave her throughout her high school career. Good luck in college young lady – you certainly have a lot of fans in the media.

REACH THE SUMMIT

It’s easy to pick up a newspaper, turn on CNN or sign onto the Web and read or hear every imaginable horror story, way too many about kids, too.

Tired of it? Want to hear some great stories?

If so, stop over at Sunnybrook on Monday night (7:30 p.m.) and sit in on the 10th annual Summit Awards program. It’s free … empty the wallet, don’t even bring a dime. The awards aren’t about top scorers and championships, either. But when you hear the stories, hear about the memorable moments, the individual achievements on and off and the playing fields, how some have overcome adversity, and learn about the commitment of coaches and others have made for so long to student-athletes, well, you’ll walk out of the ballroom feeling pretty darn good about this generation … and feeling pretty good about life.

ON TO SUMMER

Believe it or not, the “summer” baseball seasons are well underway. Yep, the li’l guys started playing before the infield grass turned green; all those Junior Legion and Babe Ruth leagues have almost two full weeks of play in already; and the Senior Legion and AAU ballclubs are breaking sweats now, too. Even the not quite over-the-hill guys down in the Perkiomen Twilight and up in the Tri-County adult leagues have been swinging away for almost two weeks, too.

American Legion baseball has moved up its postseason schedule a week, which means some leagues – like the Bux-Mont and Chester County – will be playing almost daily. Up in Berks County, a few feathers were ruffled when officials abandoned division play and went with one 16-team alignment, or a 15-game league schedule.

Boyertown manager Rick Moatz, incidentally, needs 17 wins – and he’ll get them – to reach 1,000 in his career with the Bears. Moatz may also have the biggest challenge of his 22 years in the dugout in trying to get the Bears back to the Mid-Atlantic Regional, something he’s done quite regularly the past decade.

Spring City and Boyertown will be hosting a couple of postseason tournaments, too. The Red Sox will entertain the Region Three field at Ram Stadium, just behind Spring-Ford High School, while the Bears remain home at Bear Stadium for the Pennsylvania State Tournament.

If you want a bang for your buck (even though they don’t charge to watch), catch the Pottstown PAL Spartans’ AAU ballclub over at Ringing Rocks. Head coach Jim Goodhart’s lineup can, in a word, hit.

Also, keeping the arms fresh and bats hot is something a lot of post-Legion and college players have been doing for a long, long time down for Collegeville in the Perky League. The other night, OJR graduate Adam Hartzell, who had a banner season for Elizabethtown College, fanned nine in six innings to help the Sox stop Lansdale.

FAREWELL

The Pottstown area lost two outstanding men this week – Adam Sabuacak and Bob Eppehimer.

Sabuacak was just 26 when he died from an unknown pre-existing medical condition. He played sports at Pottstown High School, played them well, and was upbeat in victory and defeat … a class young man on and off the playing fields. And since graduating, no one was a bigger fan of Pottstown sports.

Eppehimer, “Golden Voice” as we knew him, was 86. Few knew he was the president and valedictorian of his Pottstown senior class back in 1941, and few knew he served with the U.S. Navy during World War II. But everyone, or so it seemed, knew that voice … the voice of WPAZ radio for 50-plus years. And to those of us who knew him just a little better than others, he was the “Ol’ Fella” who smiled, smiled and smiled, and had story after story after story to tell – especially those countless proud tales of his wife, four daughters and grandchildren. The “Ol’ Fella” loved helping people, especially those less fortunate than him, and he loved life … for 86 long years.

Both will be missed dearly.