Huge second half propels Spring-Ford past Boyertown
BOYERTOWN >> It didn’t begin the way the Rams had hoped.
Typically a quick-starting team with the ability to light up the scoreboard, Spring-Ford’s offense didn’t show it early on.
However, a late push in the second half powered the Rams to a 39-6 win over Boyertown on Friday night.
Coming off a 53-point first half performance against Upper Perkiomen the week prior and entering Friday night with a 66-5 first-quarter scoring advantage, the Rams (2-0 PAC-10; 4-0 overall) could only muster three points in the opening half at Boyertown’s Memorial Stadium.
“Offensively we really struggled in the first half. We didn’t have a good flow,” said Spring-Ford senior quarterback Ricky Venuto. “Nothing was going right at all. We really needed to wake up.
“We finally woke up and turned it on it the second half. We played Spring-Ford football and played really well in all phases of the game.”
Boyertown head coach George Parkinson says he’ll need to watch the film to see what changed in the final 30 minutes.
“Defensively I’m not quite sure what happened in the second half,” said Parkinson. “On offense we couldn’t get the ball moving. It seemed like our line couldn’t hold (Spring-Ford) back and they were getting a lot of pressure on our quarterback.
“Spring-Ford did a nice job. They certainly played four quarters and they had a nice offensive game plan in the second half. My hat’s off to them.”
Venuto finished the game with 142 yards and a touchdown through the air while completing nine of his 15 passing attempts. He also carried the ball eight times for 37 yards and two scores.
Stone Scarcelle spent time under center, in the backfield and out wide, where he totaled 71 yards (six passing, 26 rushing and 39 receiving) with a rushing and receiving touchdown.
“Stone can step in at anytime and do what we need him to do,” said Spring-Ford head coach Chad Brubaker. “He practices at wide receiver, running back and quarterback all week, so we’re pretty comfortable (with putting the ball in his hands).”
Running back Selwyn Simpson totaled 34 yards on the ground with a touchdown while Matt Gibson rushed it 13 times for 85 yards on the ground along with a 13-yard catch.
Trey Jarmon hauled in four catches for 79 yards.
“We executed a little bit better in the second half,” said Brubaker. “Boyertown deserves a lot of credit, they played us really well on defense. Mentally we were all over the place in the first half.”
The Bears had their chances.
As has been the norm this season, Boyertown’s offensive woes continued inside the red zone.
Late in the second quarter in a scoreless game, the Bears eventually got down to the 3-yard-line after a pass interference call on Spring-Ford.
But they couldn’t take advantage, after a false start penalty eventually forced them into a 26-yard field goal attempt which came up short.
“That was real deflating,” said Parkinson. “Our penalties killed us. We had (a penalty) when we really shouldn’t have and that’s really tough. The fact that we couldn’t punch it in was discouraging.”
About midway through the fourth quarter, Bobby Welsh picked off Boyertown quarterback Lawrence Garnett’s pass at his own 20-yard line and brought it all the way back to the Bears’ 13 to end another Bears’ redzone threat.
Garnett finished the game completing 8 of 17 attempts with a 10-yard touchdown to receiver Jerry Kapp.
On the ground, Garnett piled up 45 yards on 14 carries while running back Dan Heller totaled 58 yards on six carries.
Boyertown will look to get back on track Saturday as the Bears travel to Pope John Paul for a 1 p.m. game while Spring-Ford will look to keep its strong second half momentum rolling into its game against Methacton Friday at 7 p.m.
NOTES >> During halftime, Randy Kehl (‘66) and Tim Kusniez (‘95) were both inducted into to the Boyertown Football Hall of Fame. Both were given plaques and honored along with members of the 1962 Boyertown team which went on to win the Ches-Mont Championship. … Friday marked Boyertown’s 400th loss. … Owen Gulati nailed a 26-yard field goal in the first half and went 2-for-2 on extra points. … Spring-Ford’s Danny Kelchner finished with 1.5 sacks while Tim Rudderow had a half sack.
