Pottsgrove gets rolling late to deny Pope John Paul II, 35-28

LOWER POTSGROVE >> Pottsgrove has a (deserved) reputation as a run-first football team.

But it’s not that they can’t throw the ball — they just save it for when they absolutely need a big pass.

For example, senior quarterback Jay Sisko bailed the Falcons out of a late 3rd-and-long Friday night with a 30-yard toss to Jimai Springfield that kept the Falcons alive, igniting a 35-28 come-from-behind victory over Pope John Paul II.

Pottsgrove improved to 6-0 (2-0 PAC Frontier) while the Golden Panthers were neck-and-neck the entire game but took their first defeat in going to 5-1 (1-1 PAC Frontier).

Sisko’s throw set up Isaiah Taylor’s second TD of the game, tying the game at 28 with four minutes remaining. After a PJP three-and-out, Sisko and the offense retook the field, and the quarterback busted a 28-yard run of his own before finishing off the Panthers with a one-yard quarterback sneak with 50 seconds remaining.

But none of it would have been possible without the must-have play through the air.

“We had a mismatch there, and we took our shot,” said Sisko. “Jimai came up huge.”

It wasn’t the first time. Springfield stopped the bleeding early on when PJP ran out to a 13-0 lead. Springfield took the ensuing kickoff 85 yards to get Pottsgrove on the board before the end of the first quarter.

“We needed some fire, a spark,” said Springfield. “It was a different game from that point.”

One thing that stayed the same, however, was Springfield’s impact in all three facets. Aside from the aforementioned reception and return TD, his critical strip and fumble recovery in the final minutes of the first half allowed Pottsgrove to go to the locker room in a tie game rather than trailing an explosive Panthers offense.

“All the credit in the world to Pottsgrove,” said PJP head coach Rory Graver. “That’s an excellent football team.

“But I am very proud of the way we battled tonight. Just needed to make a few more plays in the end.”

There were plays, to be sure, but as Graver alluded, most of them came early. CJ McCafferty started the game off with an 81-yard kickoff return that set up the Panthers at the Pottsgrove 16. Two plays later, junior QB Kamal Gray danced away from trouble and found Steve Skarbek in the back of the end zone for the opening score.

A quick exchange of punts was followed by Gray finding Justin Kormos on a screen pass to take the Panthers inside the red zone again, where AJ Natale ran off left tackle for a 16-yard score and a 13-0 lead for the visitors.

Any thoughts that Pottsgrove would be shellshocked lasted about as long as it took Springfield to return the ensuing kickoff 85 yards, with Mike Sereny’s extra point cutting the PJP lead to 13-7.

As the Pottsgrove defense gained a second consecutive stop on a Ryan Bodolus sack, the offense gained its first momentum when Sisko scrambled for 30 yards on a 3rd and four. Two plays later, Sisko powered over form two yards out to give Pottsgrove its first lead, 14-13.

The script repeated itself with another PJP three-and-out, followed by a Springfield punt return to the Panthers’ 25. Again, it took only two plays for the Falcons to cash in, this time with Isaiah Taylor going in from 21 yards out to make the score 21-13.

Gray and Kormos wouldn’t take long to change the momentum, however, as the QB found his receiver wide open down the left sideline for a 76-yard score. Gray ran in the two-point conversion himself to knot the score again five minutes before half.

It was Springfield stepping to the forefront again just before halftime, stripping the ball after a 33-yard Gray-to-Skarbek connection and thwarting a PJP scoring opportunity.

The third quarter saw an early exchange of turnovers, followed by PJP gradually winning the field position battle as they loaded the box against the Falcons. Both defenses settled in, but the Panthers were able to start the fourth quarter just inside Pottsgrove territory.

On the first play of the quarter, Gray and Skarbek connected for their second TD of the night, this one a beauty of a 47-yarder down the right sideline.

But from that point, Sisko and Pottsgrove’s offense were the story. The quarterback repeatedly broke big runs up the gut by keeping on the veer, taking advantage of a defense keying on Taylor (29 carries, 118 yards, 2 TD on the night.)

“I’ve been running that veer since I was in 8th grade,” said Sisko, who carried for a game-high 139 yards. “Teams are so used to us running power, they flow to the running back every time. Once we get the option in there, they’re uncertain because they spend all week preparing for power.”

Most remarkable, perhaps, was the blocking Sisko received on the long throw to Springfield. After a night spent blocking for power and option runs, the line gave him several seconds to throw.

“They are the best offensive line I’ve had in four years,” Sisko summarized.

Ryan Bodolus had three sacks for the victorious Falcons, while Rylee Howard’s interception at midfield thwarted PJP’s last-ditch opportunity.

They came up a couple plays short Friday night, but after running roughshod over their non-conference schedule, PJP proved they were no fluke. Gray threw for 265 yards, but the long TD to Skarbek to start the fourth quarter was his last completion of the night as the Pottsgrove defense stepped up under pressure.

“I thought Kamal competed tremendously well tonight, he did a great job,” said Graver “There are always a couple plays you’d like to have back, but overall he did a tremendous job in a tough place to play.”