Mercury Week 7 Football Preview: Pioneering Perkiomen School brings 8-man game to Pa.

Hit especially hard by graduations after the 2017 season, Perkiomen School faced the unpleasant notion of trying to rebuild their program with first-time players in order to compete in 2018.

But rather than trying to catch up, they decided to blaze an entirely new trail.

Pennsylvania became the 31st state to offer eight-man football when Perkiomen School Headmaster Mark Devey decided to take the school’s program in this direction, hiring 2011 Upper Perkiomen graduate Casey Perlstein to lead the Panthers’ groundbreaking program.

“I’m really grateful for the opportunity,” said Perlstein, who played at Kutztown University and coached for three years under Tom Hontz at Upper Perkiomen.

As the first eight-man program in Pennsylvania, Perkiomen School finds themselves traveling to Connecticut each weekend this month to play games against eight-man teams from the New England 8-Man Football League. The idea of expanding the idea within Pennsylvania is on the docket, however, with “schools that have either dropped football, or may be on the verge of dropping football,” according to Perlstein.

“If we can have four teams in Pennsylvania and four in Connecticut—a North and a South division—that’s ideal,” he said.

As for the game itself, Perlstein noted the main difference in an eight-man football game. “Come out here and the first thing you’ll notice is the field is much smaller,” he said. Indeed, teams play on an 80-yard x 40-yard surface (as opposed to 100 yards by 53 yards in 11-man football.) End zones are still ten yards long, and most other rules remain the same. There are some nuances to the game that can change strategy.

“It is more of a high-scoring game,” Perlstein allowed. Average scores tend to fall in the 40s or 50s, with anything in the 30s or below qualifying in a low-scoring game. “You’re not going to see a 10-7 slugfest.”

Perlstein has also noticed the reduced emphasis on the kicking game. Last week, in their Perkiomen School’s inaugural game against Millbrook School, the teams combined for only one punt, and went for two after each touchdown. “Coaches have advised me that we should get good at onside kicking,” said Perlstein. “There’s just not as much of a field position battle.”

The first game against Millbrook saw the Panthers fall, 48-22, in the program’s inaugural eight-man contest on Sept. 29. Perlstein was happy with the performance, given the youth and experience of his squad.

“Our quarterback is a freshman,” he said. “We have two sophomores at running back; one of whom hasn’t played since middle school. So we’re inexperienced, but it’s youth as well. We have a few years with this group of kids.”

One senior playing his first game was Tautvydas Kupstas, a transfer student from Lithuania and contributor on the Panthers’ basketball team, who was rewarded with his first touchdown.

“Eight-man student fits our student body much better than traditional football,” summarized Perlstein. “For a lot of guys, this is their first varsity experience, and for others it’s their first time playing football.”

Boyertown (1-5, 0-2 PAC Liberty) at Spring-Ford (5-1, 2-0 PAC Liberty) >> Spring-Ford coach Chad Brubaker was pleased with the Rams’ improved efficiency in last week’s victory against Methacton. The early season saw Spring-Ford enjoy similar offensive success, but with frustrating spurts of unproductive plays offset by a couple of large gains or scores. Last week, quarterback Ryan Engro enjoyed his most consistent, efficient outing in completing almost 80 percent of his passes (20-for-26) for 273 yards and 3 TDs.

This week, Spring-Ford looks for another inspired defensive performance from Armante Haynes, who registered nine tackles after being pressed into action at linebacker, and continued production from Nate Orkfritz-Robinson, who Brubaker called a “stat-sheet filler.”

For the Bears, coach TJ Miller says that while he’s pleased with the effort and improvement from his underclassmen-loaded squad, the time has come to start translating that effort into on-field success.

QB Noah Segal, RB Jon Myers, and WR/CB Connor Rohrbach have started making that difference — Rohrbach in particular with his first career interception last week in a 35-13 defeat to Owen J. Roberts. Miller also lauded the senior leadership exhibited by running back Dylan Robertson.

With season-opening starting QB Ayden Mathias expected to miss at least another week, Segal will continue to gain experience running the Bears’ attack as Boyertown looks to upend the Rams, ranked No. 15 in the PaPrepLive.com Top 20.

Norristown (1-5, 0-2 PAC Liberty) at Owen J. Roberts (4-2, 1-1 PAC Liberty) >> Despite the final outcome, last week’s 14-7 defeat against Perkiomen Valley may have been the Eagles’ most inspiring performance this season. Norristown outgained explosive PV, 282-250, and held the lead until midway through the fourth quarter. A couple of lost fumbles hurt the Eagles, who experienced some close-game growing pains in the final minutes.

Coach Joe Milligan was pleased with the Eagles’ progress on special teams, specifically in the kicking game. He’ll look for leaders like Zahir Haynes, Likine Wallace, and leading receiver Christian Thomas to step up again this week against an Owen J. Roberts squad that boasts the Liberty Division’s leading rusher in Marcus Martin. “Stopping the run’s going to be our biggest challenge,” Milligan summarized.

OJR coach Rich Kolka was pleased with the improved tackling shown by his squad in a 35-13 win over Boyertown. This showed in the Wildcats’ five sacks—three of which were registered by freshman LB Bryce Pippin. He looks for another solid effort from Martin, Pippin, and two-way contributor Ian Sordilla against a big, physical Norristown squad.

Perkiomen Valley (4-2, 2-0 PAC Liberty) at Methacton (1-5, 1-1 PAC Liberty) >> This year’s “Battle Ax Game”—the annual trophy earned by the winner of the PV-Methacton game—will double as Senior Night for the Warriors. “This group of seniors have been through a lot in this program,” said coach Dave Lotier. “But they’ve stuck through it and come out stronger. I expect them to play with passion Friday night.”

One such senior is Mike Torcini, who’s been productive in all facets of the offense for Methacton this year. Torcini figures to feature prominently in Friday’s offensive game plan. Matson Leggin stepped into the kicking role against Spring-Ford in the absence of Chris Meehan and excelled, drilling an extra point and getting consistent distance on kickoffs.

Lotier acknowledged the challenge will come in defending PV’s high-powered offense. QB Cole Peterlin’s status remains day-to-day after he missed most of the Norristown game with an injury, but freshman Ethan Kohler proved capable of leading the Vikings’ offense as well. For PV’s part, coach Rob Heist said he wants to see more explosiveness from his offense and a cleaner performance from his special teams against an improving Methacton squad.

Pottstown (4-2, 1-1 PAC Frontier) at Upper Merion (4-2, 2-0 PAC Frontier) >> Despite the Vikings picking up their fourth win in five outings last week, coach Victor Brown didn’t mince words after the game.

“I wasn’t pleased with how we played,” the Upper Merion coach said. “Sloppy, and entirely too many mistakes, mentally and physically. Too many penalties, dropped passes, and missed tackles.”

Brown’s response is indicative of how he’s changed expectations this year at Upper Merion, where the Vikings will look to make it three straight wins behind improving quarterback Dale Clayton and a stout defense led by Mark Picariello.

This week, the Vikings square off with a resurgent Pottstown team whose 14-8 win over Phoenixville last week was led by a dominant defensive effort. Nehemiah Figueroa led the way with 11 tackles and an interception, while Jon Oister and Dereck Darden contributed seven tackles apiece from their linebacker spots. In a game between two squads who like to run the football and play tough defense, Pottstown QB Josiah Wiggins represents the best chance for a game-breaking play.

Upper Perkiomen (1-5, 0-2 PAC Frontier) at Pottsgrove (6-0, 2-0 PAC Frontier) >> After last week’s emotional, come-from-behind 35-28 win over Pope John Paul II, this week looks like a prime letdown spot for the Falcons, ranked No. 10 in the PaPrepLive.com Top 20 and the last remaining PAC unbeaten. But Pottsgrove coach Bill Hawthorne is all too aware of the perception, and guarding against overconfidence in his team.

“Upper Perk always plays us tough,” Hawthorne explained. “and we expect nothing less Friday night.”

The Indians were much improved last week, holding Upper Merion under 300 total yards and forcing seven punts despite a 17-9 loss. They’ll need that effort and more to stop PAC leading rusher Isaiah Taylor, QB Jay Sisko and the rest of a Pottsgrove offense averaging over 234 points per game and 228 yards on the ground per outing.

Phoenixville (2-4, 0-2 PAC Frontier) at Pope John Paul (5-1, 1-1 PAC Frontier), Saturday 1 p.m. >> The Golden Panthers look to bounce back from last week’s heartbreaker at the ‘Grove. While the 35-28 final score makes the game look like a shootout, in truth it was big special teams plays providing much of the yardage for the scoring. The PJP defense was led by Justin Mitala and CJ McCafferty, who stayed busy all night in stopping the Pottsgrove rushing attack.

PJP coach Rory Graver lauded the leadership qualities of QB Kamal Gray, who thrived in the toughest environment he’s experienced in his brief time at PJP. “The best thing about Kamal is his intense desire to be successful,” said Graver.

When Phoenixville arrives in Royersford Saturday, they’ll bring with them an offense that will look familiar to a team that just played Pottsgrove—a pair of tough ballcarriers in senior Alex Washington and Travis Pannella, and QB Connor Patania who can make the defense pay with his legs and arm. The key matchup will be PJP quarterback Gray attempting to solve a defense allowing only 18 points and 125 yards passing per game.

“We’d like to be a little more balanced in our offense,” said Phoenixville coach Don Grinstead. “We’ve started to get some rhythm in our passing game, and we need to continue on that path to create the balance we ultimately want.”

Daniel Boone (3-3, 0-2 Berks Inter-County Conference, Section 1) at Governor Mifflin (3-3, 3-0 Berks Inter-County Conference, Section 1) >> The Blazers will need to bounce back quickly from last week’s 16-13 defeat at the hands of Reading, coach Rob Flowers’ former team. The game was part of the Baseballtown Classic series of high school football contests played at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Blazers failed to complete a pass last week, and were limited to only 147 yards on the ground.

They’ll look to vary up the offense some against the Mustangs, who’ve averaged 44 points over their first three conference contests. Quarterback Kolbie Reeser leads a young, explosive offense that’s rebounded from an 0-3 start for Governor Mifflin.

Hill School (0-4) at Peddie School (2-2) >> Hill is still in search of their first victory of the season after last week’s 58-27 defeat at the hands of Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. Things won’t get much easier this week, as they travel up to New Jersey to battle Peddie School. The Falcons came down to Pennsylvania last week and took PaPrepLive.com’s No. 3 team, Malvern Prep, to the limit before losing 27-24.