Spring-Ford, Pottsgrove, PJP II in good standing as season hits midway point

The first days of October seem awfully early for a conversation about the football postseason, but incredibly, as of this past weekend the regular season is more than half finished.

From the beginning of the season, teams accumulate district playoff points based upon their own classification and the classifications of the schools they defeat.

A simplified explanation of the system:

• Teams earn a base number of points (140) per win. The total win value changes in increments of 20 for each higher or lower classification of the defeated opponent.
• Win or lose, a team receives 10 bonus points for each game an opponent wins throughout the season, regardless of that opponent’s classification. This attempts to reward those schools that play the most competitive, challenging slate of opponents.
• At the end of the regular season (October 27), each team’s win and bonus points are added together to yield a cumulative total that is divided by the number of games played. This yields a team’s point average, by which their qualification and seeding for the playoff is determined.

In Classes 6A and 5A, the top 16 teams qualify for the District 1 playoffs. In Class 4A, it’s only the top four (out of seven total teams). Class 3A is a combined district field with Philadelphia’s District 12 and will feature four qualifiers.

Without any further ado, here’s the playoff picture for area teams after six weeks of the regular season:

Class 6A

The state’s “big-school” classification, home to all of the Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division schools, is loaded at the top this year. Five undefeated teams (North Penn, Garnet Valley, Downingtown West, Downingtown East, and Coatesville) grace the top of the standings. Spring-Ford sits just beneath this group at No. 7, meaning the Rams would host their opening District 1 game (higher-seeded teams host games throughout) if current seedings hold.

A little further back sits Perkiomen Valley at No. 12 and Owen J. Roberts at No. 13. The Vikings have recovered from an 0-2 start – the two losses coming against No. 3 Downingtown West and No. 4 Downingtown East – with a four-game winning streak that includes a 33-6 decision over OJR. Spring-Ford meets the Wildcats and Vikings in the coming weeks, meaning the head-to-head PAC matchups will wield considerable influence over the eventual shape of the District One Class 6A playoff field.

With records of 1-5, Boyertown (No. 31), Methacton (No. 25), and Norristown (No. 28) face an uphill climb to get back into this season’s playoff picture, but will look to play spoiler for the top three teams in the PAC Liberty Division over the balance of the regular season.

Class 5A

Upper Merion’s impressive 4-2 start has given the Vikings their current No. 8 placement in the 5A standings, putting them firmly in contention to host a district game. Challenging matchups with Pope John Paul II, Pottsgrove, and Pottstown await, however, and will ultimately determine where the Vikings end up in the standings.

A Delaware County trio tops this list with No. 1 Penn Wood (5-1), which was a playoff team in 6A last year, No. 2 Springfield-Delco (5-1) and No. 3 Radnor (5-1).

Phoenixville (2-4) currently stands at No. 17 in a field that can accommodate only 16 teams. Pulling out a victory in one (or both) of their upcoming road challenges at PJP or Pottsgrove would obviously go a long way in securing a District berth for the Phantoms.

Upper Perkiomen, with a record of 1-5, is on the outside of the playoff race looking in for the 2018 season. The Indians faced a tough challenge this year, moving up a class to 5A (they were district runners-up at Class 4A last season.)

Class 4A

Pottsgrove has all but cemented themselves as the top seed in Class 4A with their blistering 6-0 start, one that features a pair of victories over 6A schools Methacton and Boyertown (worth an extra 40 ‘win’ points a piece.). In fact, the Falcons’ current power points total of 1,050 is tops in the district.

Pottstown is currently right behind at No. 2, having taken down one 6A and one 5A school each. The Trojans enjoy two more opportunities in the coming weeks for extra points against 5A schools Upper Merion and Upper Perkiomen.

Glen Mills (3-3) and Springfield-Montco (4-1) sit at Nos. 3 and 4 currently, with Bishop Shanahan (3-3) lurking.

Class 3A

District 1 has yet to clearly outline the format for the Class 3A playoffs, but it appears logical that Districts 1 and 12 would be combined into a single region, with the top four (of eight total candidates) qualifying.

Whatever the case, it’s a safe bet that Pope John Paul II and their 5-1 record will not only be involved in the playoffs, but in contention for a top seed and at least one home game. Currently, PJP sits at No. 2 with the top spot being held by the Philadelphia Catholic League’s Conwell-Egan (6-0).

For all the grumbling about “crossover week” in the past couple years, the beauty of the PAC’s new season-ending tradition is that each Frontier Division school has the opportunity, in the final week of the regular season, to take down a 6A school and reap the added ‘win point’ benefits from that victory. Clearly, those added points can be the difference in making the playoffs or hosting a playoff game.

Six takeaways from Week 6

Spring-Ford established remarkable balance in their offense this week, mixing 27 carries with 26 pass attempts in their 41-7 Homecoming victory over Methacton. After being forced to the air in earlier wins over Wayne Valley (N.J.) and Exeter, it was paramount for the Rams to establish a dependable running game with Boyertown, Owen J. Roberts, and Perkiomen Valley on deck.

Local TV station NBC10 made Pope John Paul II-Pottsgrove their Game of the Week, and the vote was rewarded with a classic in which the lead changed hands four times, the last of those occurring with less than a minute to go when Pottsgrove QB Jay Sisko sneaked over for the winning points as the Falcons stayed undefeated, 35-28. The remarkably even contest (PJP 305 total yards, Pottsgrove 303) cemented both teams as threats in not only the PAC but their respective district classifications as well.

Pottstown was able to grind out a 14-8 decision over Phoenixville at Washington Field Friday night behind the legs of quarterback Josiah Wiggins (21 rushes, 144 yards, 2 TDs). This sets up an intriguing matchup between the Trojans and similarly resurgent Upper Merion, who also improved to 4-2 (2-0 PAC Frontier) with a 17-9 win over Upper Perkiomen that saw RB Zaire Savage get back on track with 141 yards rushing and a TD.

The return of running back Jamie Moccia yielded 89 yards on the ground and a pair of scores, but it wasn’t nearly enough as Boyertown fell to a fifth consecutive defeat at the hands of Owen J. Roberts (4-2, 1-1 PAC Liberty), 35-13. Marcus Martin carried for three scores as the victorious Wildcats overcame a late injury to QB Cooper Chamberlain.

Speaking of QB injuries, Perkiomen Valley’s Cole Peterlin missed the first three quarters of the Vikings’ showdown with Norristown (moved to Methacton for weather), but returned in time to complete a 32-yard screen pass to Jon Moccia for the deciding points as PV survived, 14-7. The Eagles (1-5, 0-2 PAC Liberty) played PV remarkably even throughout the contest but couldn’t quite equalize in the final minutes.

Daniel Boone’s appearance in the Gridiron Classic — and coach Rob Flowers’ reunion with his former team — didn’t have a happy ending as Reading upended the Blazers, 16-13, dropping them to 3-3 and 0-2 in the Berks Inter-County Conference Section 1.

Offensive Player of the Week >> Pottsgrove QB Jay Sisko gets the nod for his late-game heroics vs. Pope John Paul II, leading two late touchdown drives to keep his squad undefeated. Sisko completed a 30-yard pass to Jimai Springfield to set up Isaiah Taylor’s tying touchdown run, then powered the final points over the goal line himself for his second TD carry on the evening. In all, Sisko finished with 139 yards rushing and two TDs plus the 30-yard completion to Springfield.

Defensive Player of the Week >> Freshman Bryce Pippin was all over the field in Owen J. Roberts’ 35-13 win over Boyertown Friday. Pippin starred defensively with three of the team’s five sacks on the night, and filled in ably at quarterback when Cooper Chamberlain exited the game due to injury.