PAC’s Week 9 brought out the best, the bizarre and the unexpected

POTTSGROVE >> Surprise, surprise. Perkiomen Valley and Pottsgrove will meet in another Pioneer Athletic Conference title game.

Expected? This writer thought so during the preseason.

The rest of the PAC, however? Man, what a conference schedule.

Friday night brought out the best, the bizarre and the unexpected. Here’s a look in The Mercury’s Nine from Week 9.

1. Bucktown Stunner: Owen J. Roberts made fools of The Mercury staff with a stunning result over a Spring-Ford squad that has now lost two of its past three games. Should we be surprised the Wildcats won? No, this was billed as a tight contest that could go either way. Surprised by the result? Yes. A 33-0 win wasn’t what anyone expected, especially with both teams vying for the last positions in the District 1 Class 6A playoff picture. It was the most complete victory OJR has had to date, with QB Dawson Stuart playing near flawless (12-26 for 209 yards and two touchdowns) and a defense doing the same, limiting the Rams offense to just 175 total yards. OJR now sits at No. 13 in the latest power rankings and is almost surely guaranteed their first district playoff appearance since the 2010 season.

2. Drama in Bear Country: What. A. Finish …  unless you’re a fan of Norristown. With Boyertown down 15-14 late in the final seconds, an Ayden Mathias interception at the buzzer was negated due to offsetting penalties which resulted in a rare untimed down. Mathias made up for his mistake the play prior, hooking up with Jerry Kapp on a 50-yard Hail Mary for the game-winning score. Said Mathias afterward: “To be honest that’s the furthest I’ve ever thrown the ball in my life.”

3. Left Speechless: There are not many times Pottsgrove head coach Rick Pennypacker is left speechless. After seeing star senior running back Rahsul Faison rush for 301 yards and another six touchdowns in Pottsgrove’s 63-27 victory over PJP, however, there just wasn’t much left to say for the veteran coach. “Rahsul is Rahsul,” he said. “He’s been doing this for us all season.” Faison came alive in the final three quarters after being limited to 28 yards in the first 12 minutes. He “only” had 115 yards at the half before turning on the jets in the final two quarters. His athleticism seemed as if he was some cheat code from Madden. His 48-yard touchdown run where he broke seven tackles before shoving away the final PJP defender on his cutback should and probably will be his featured video on HUDL. His explosiveness was on full display later in the third as he turned a simple power into a 38-yard sprint down the sideline for a score. His 33 touchdowns this season are the best in PAC history, breaking a record held by OJR great Ryan Brumfield (30). The question always remains, though. How much damage would Faison have done if he had played all four years in the PAC?

4. Eight is Great: Phoenixville’s Zion Small broke school history in the team’s 35-17 victory over Upper Merion, his eighth interception breaking a single-season record set by George Ferko in 1972.

5. Laundry Basket: Fans got treated to a whole bunch of yellow in this week’s contests as a season-high 102 penalties were called throughout the six conference matchups. Of the highest was Boyertown and Norristown’s contest which featured 32 penalties for an astounding 265(!) yards. Twenty-one flags were thrown in Owen J. Roberts’ 33-0 victory over Spring-Ford (160 yards) while Pottsgrove and Pope John Paul II also saw a fair share of the yellow hankeys with 20 penalties for 196 yards. 

6. No Pass: Perkiomen Valley’s opposing end zone is turning into a cool-kids only club. Apparently, no one in the PAC is cool enough to get access. Of the five home games held at Thomas J. Keenan Stadium, only one team has found the end zone: Spring-Ford in a 28-7 loss in Week 6. The Vikings have pitched four shutouts in their home digs and came two minutes away in Week 6 to make it a perfect five-for-five. That streak will be put to the test Friday against a potent Pottsgrove rushing attack.

7. Kick Away: Pottsgrove’s Nathan Kasper leads the league with 54 points, all coming from point-after attempts.

8. Defense and Special Teams Leading the Way: PAC defense and special teams units produced five touchdowns this past week. OJR’s Sean Praweckyj returned an 80 yard pick to the house with Perkiomen Valley’s Kevin Lovett (40-yard interception) and Upper Perkiomen’s Tyler Whary (35-yard interception) also registering pick-sixes. Pottsgrove’s Kobey Baldwin garnered his first punt return for a score, returning a 58-yard kick for a score in the second quarter of Friday’s win.

9. Status Quo:  A team other than Perkiomen Valley, Spring-Ford or Pottsgrove hasn’t won a PAC title since 2010 (Boyertown and OJR). That streak will continue.

Player of the Week

Rahsul Faison | Pottsgrove

Senior running back rushed for 301 yards on 28 carries and six scores. He leads all PAC rushers by 1,200 yards and is averaging a mind-boggling 10.7 yards per carry.

Coach of the Week

Rich Kolka | Owen J. Roberts

 

Kolka guided OJR to its most important win of the year, setting the Wildcats in nice position to grab their first district playoff berth since 2010.