New members Upper Merion, Norristown bolster PAC Senior Bowl
BUCKTOWN >> If Sunday night provided any indication of how Norristown and Upper Merion will fit in the Pioneer Athletic Conference as first-year members, it was this:
They’ll be A-OK.
Upper Merion’s Kori Smith stood out for Team Freedom, scoring three touchdowns while Norristown’s Rashon Wiggins hauled in a touchdown pass for Team American as Freedom ran away with a 42-18 victory in the PAC Senior Bowl held at Owen J. Roberts’ Henry J. Bernat Field.
“It was fun,” said Smith, who plans on attending Valley Forge Military Academy in the fall. “It was better than a regular high school game because you’re playing with all different types of people. Getting to know everybody, getting to know different kids from around the league, it was awesome. There was a lot of good talent here.”
“It was a great experience,” Team American and Norristown head coach Jason Powell said. “It was a great experience for our guys that played in the game tonight and it was good for myself and a couple of my other staffers that coached in it. We’re looking forward to coming into the PAC. We’ll have a young team coming up this year; they were here for the skills competition and they had a blast.”
Smith made sure this game would go down as memorable, scoring Freedom’s first points with a 4-yard plunge into the end zone during the first quarter before hauling in a strike from PJP quarterback Matt Duff for the team’s next score to make it 14-12. He, along with the play of OJR senior Mitch Bradford, made sure the game went in Freedom’s direction.
The Ursinus commit came up with big play after big play at receiver and quarterback, first hauling in a Hail Mary from Duff before bouncing off would-be tacklers for a 63-yard touchdown reception as time expired in the first half to give Freedom a 20-18 lead. Then, at quarterback, he broke free for a 60-yard run to set up the team’s next score — a Smith 2-yard touchdown on a toss sweep — to make it 26-18. Bradford then completed his day hooking up with Perkiomen Valley’s Aaron Morton for a 5-yard touchdown early in the fourth to make it 34-18 and send Freedom to its second win over American (Liberty) in the last three seasons.
“I think the man-to-man defense helped out because we had a lot of different skill guys that were able to take advantage of some of the matchups,” Bradford said. “We were ready to spread them out a lot, motion them into one-on-one matchups and take advantage of it.
“This game was awesome. Meeting these other guys and playing against guys from my own team, (Bill) Scherfel, Conor Mitchell, it was awesome.”
Norristown’s Wiggins had a touchdown reception in the first half, a second was negated due to a penalty. He’ll be attending Shippensburg University in the fall. Teammate Derik Cross will head to Kutztown with Lamont Sanford trying to walk-on at Bloomsburg.
“They’re good kids,” Powell said. “They bought in all year and I’m losing three really good guys. I hope they continue to succeed at the next level.”
NOTES >> Spring-Ford took first place in the underclassmen skills competition, taking first in the bench press, sled push and relay individual events. … Perkiomen Valley’s Ronnie Arch had a touchdown for Team American. … Pottsgrove’s Christian Pace had a interception in the loss. … Spring-Ford’s Bobby Welsh had a fumble recovery for Team Freedom, OJR’s Bryce Weeks a recovery for American. … Phoenixville’s Matt Palubinsky had a touchdown reception for Team American. … PJP’s Duff threw for two scores and ran for one more. … Team Freedom was coached by PJP’s Rory Graver.
