Mercury Football Preview: Crunch time for PAC championship hopefuls

Along with three-time defending champion Perkiomen Valley, Spring-Ford and Owen J. Roberts have spent the past few weeks of football separating themselves from the pack in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division.

The only time the top three squads have met to date is Perk Valley’s narrow 16-9 victory over OJR in a Week 5 showdown

With the undercard complete, the heavyweight battles resume Saturday afternoon when 6-1 Owen J. Roberts visits 5-2 Spring-Ford at Coach McNelly Stadium at 2 p.m. The Wildcats are looking to keep their Liberty Division title hopes alive, while Spring-Ford looks to set up a potential winner-take-all showdown with Perkiomen Valley next Friday.

“Our players are awfully excited to have the opportunity to compete in a game of this magnitude,” said OJR coach Rich Kolka.

Both defenses have compiled some gaudy numbers, over the full season in OJR’s case and in the past several weeks for Spring-Ford. The Wildcats are allowing only eight points per game over their first seven contests. Spring-Ford has followed a specific pattern to victory during conference play — a too-close-for-comfort first half, followed by pulling away late for lopsided victories.

While this week’s encounter is expected to be anything but lopsided, coach Chad Brubaker hopes he’s found a critical part of the recipe to turn his squad into a four-quarter team.

The Rams have allowed only seven points after halftime in their three conference games combined. While the defense certainly deserves credit for the lack of points allowed, the truth is the development of a punishing and diverse running game has allowed SF to keep opposing offenses helpless on the sideline while they widen their leads and run the clock.

A fully healthy Ryan Engro, the Rams’ senior quarterback, has shown the willingness and ability to increase his share of the run game over the season, while Liberty Division-leading rusher Armante Haynes (6.7 yards per carry, nine rushing TDs in 2019) was ably complemented last week by sophomore Harry Adieyefeh (7.1 yards per carry, two TDs this season). Adieyefeh’s breakout game against Boyertown saw him make the most of 10 carries, breaking loose for 158 yards and his two scores.

“We’ve encouraged Ryan [Engro] to keep the ball when he sees an opportunity,” said Brubaker. “[Against Boyertown], that meant more designed QB runs.”

The defense is another story, where the Rams have lost key contributors at each level. Donnie Nicoline has become a fixture on the defensive line next to Blake Terrizzi, the division’s leader in sacks, while Mason Brill leads a secondary that’s had to cover for the absence of Andrew Yoon. But last week Spring-Ford lost defensive leader James Albert, a middle linebacker who stood poised to break the school record for tackles. Brubaker didn’t rule Albert out for Saturday but allowed that he was highly doubtful to play.

Zach Marinello and Jseth Owens will be asked to step in at linebacker in a time-sharing situation against OJR’s option-heavy run game.
The game marks Spring-Ford’s Homecoming, and the pregame meal will be a brunch where players are accompanied by their mothers. Brubaker says traditionally, each senior says a few words to the group about his relationship with his mother. “It can be a very emotional event,” he said.

With 18 seniors on this year’s roster, the Rams hope the emotion carries into the afternoon’s contest.

For the visiting Wildcats, the sour taste of the tight loss to Perkiomen Valley won’t be completely erased unless they can go on the road in an equally big game and come out on top. The path to the division title for OJR is a little murky with their one conference loss, but a win Saturday is an absolute imperative. If they can make it happen, they’d immediately become Spring-Ford’s biggest fans next week at Perkiomen Valley. In the meantime, they’ll focus on keeping their conference-leading defense up to the task against one of the area’s most prolific attacks.

Jon Hannevig (leading the area with five interceptions), Mason Cutrone, Dante DeNardo, and the rest of the secondary will be tasked with holding down Spring-Ford prolific receiver corps, led by Dante Bonanni (37 catches, 577 yards, two TDs). The Rams will be without Blaize Scarcelle, meaning Zach High and BJ Beard will see increased roles alongside Bonanni and Nicholas Teets.

Ian Sordilla and Boston Follis lead a productive group of OJR linebackers that will have their hands full with Engro’s dual-threat capabilities. With such an accomplished secondary behind them, the linebackers will be tasked with slowing the SF running game and attempting to make the Rams’ offense one-dimensional.

When the Wildcats have the ball, do-it-all QB Cooper Chamberlain will lead an attack that features speedy RB Josh Jackson, plus a growing group of pass-catching targets that include leading receiver DeNardo, plus Hannevig and Christian Grossi.

Since the Perk Valley game, the Wildcats have submitted consecutive breakout offensive performances, averaging 41 points in wins against Boyertown and Norristown. But Chamberlain knows better than to get carried away.

“Not to downplay anything our offense has done,” he said, “we’re really clicking right now But the real test comes against those teams like Spring-Ford.”

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Upper Merion (4-3, 2-1 PAC Frontier) at Pottsgrove (3-4, 2-1 PAC Frontier), 7 p.m. Friday

Last Meeting: Pottsgrove survived one of its toughest regular season challenges last year from Upper Merion, 17-7.
Preview: This game will go a long way towards determining the Frontier Division, as a Pottsgrove win would mean Pope John Paul II can clinch the title with a Saturday victory over Pottstown. An Upper Merion win, however, sets up a winner-take-all showdown in King of Prussia between the Vikings and Golden Panthers next Friday regardless of the PJP result.
The theme for this game seems to be “nothing comes easy,” as the teams are near mirror images of one another, with punishing running games, an emphasis on taking care of the ball, and defenses striving for greater consistency. Upper Merion will look to improve on their last outing (allowed 400 total yards in a 39-20 loss to Pottstown), while Pottsgrove certainly wouldn’t mind a repeat of last week, when the restricted Upper Perkiomen to only 132 yards in a 21-6 victory. UM’s Anthony Swenda and Pottsgrove’s Isaiah Taylor, the two leading rushers in the PAC, figure to see plenty of work in this smashmouth encounter.

Pottstown (4-3, 1-2 PAC Frontier) at Pope John Paul II (6-1, 3-0 PAC Frontier), 2 p.m. Saturday

Last Meeting: PJP fought past Pottstown 20-12 one year ago.
Preview: A Trojans victory would throw the Frontier into utter chaos, and the possibility seems much more plausible than it did one week ago. Coach Jeff Delaney was obviously pleased with the performance of QB Joneil Oister and WR Jahzeel Watson, but also lauded senior Cole Miller’s work in his debut at center. David Hicks and Matt Walker will be asked to clog running lanes against a PJP offense that has shown great versatility in its past few outings.
The Golden Panthers exceeded 200 yards rushing once more, while Kamal Gray averaged almost 16 yards per completion in a 47-6 win over Phoenixville. Coach Rory Graver says the key to sustaining such performances is the work of the lines on both sides of the ball, led by senior Matt Dobrowlowski.

Perkiomen Valley (5-2, 3-0 PAC Liberty) at Boyertown (2-5, 1-2 PAC Liberty), 7 p.m. Friday

Last Meeting: The Bears fell to Perkiomen Valley, 42-21, last season.
Preview: Cousins Jon and Jamie Moccia will be feature in the respective backfield when the Vikings and Bears renew acquaintances in Boyertown Friday. Jon Moccia combined with Jacob Sturm for 235 rushing yards in last week’s 44-21 win over Methacton, while Jamie raced for his school-record fourth career kickoff return for a touchdown in a loss to Spring-Ford.
Boyertown coach T.J. Miller lauded the improvement of OL/DL Cody Akins and WR Connor Rohrbach last week but stressed the need for his team to play a full 48 minutes. Meanwhile, PV and coach Rob Heist are preaching consistency as they take another step towards what they hope will be a fourth consecutive PAC title.

Phoenixville (2-5, 1-2 PAC Frontier) at Upper Perkiomen (1-6, 0-3 PAC Frontier), 7 p.m. Friday

Last Meeting: The Phantoms shut out Upper Perk, 49-0, last season.
Preview: Residing just outside the Class 5A playoff picture (18th in a field that takes 16 teams), the importance of this game for Phoenixville can’t be overstated. Coach Don Grinstead acknowledged the rash of injuries that have beset the Phantoms but added that it’s been a season-long situation and at this point, the replacements have seen sufficient reps to offer greater consistency down the stretch.
QB Hunter Flack continues to be a bright spot during a tough campaign at Upper Perkiomen. His 167 passing yards last week against Pottsgrove were a season high, and this week Flack will look to expand his own role in the running game as the Indians aim to finish 2019 on a high note.

Norristown (0-7, 0-3 PAC Liberty) at Methacton (2-5, 0-3 PAC Liberty), 7 p.m. Friday

Last Meeting: Norristown slugged their way past the Warriors 14-7 in 2018.
Preview: Someone will see their losing streak come to an end Friday night, as the Eagles and Warriors try to salvage some momentum after trying starts to the conference slate the past several weeks. Larry Dickerson (125 yards receiving last week against Perkiomen Valley) has become the go-to offensive weapon for Methacton, while Brett Romano will lead a defense tasked with slowing Norristown’s stable of skill players.
Steven Haschak and Travis Cummings filled in at quarterback for the Eagles when Nick DiNolfi went down with an injury last week against OJR. Zion Malone, who broke loose for a 70-yard touchdown run in that contest, figures to feature prominently in Norristown’s attack.

Daniel Boone (1-6, 0-4 Berks I) at Muhlenberg (0-7, 0-4 Berks I), 7 p.m. Friday

Last Meeting: Boone topped Muhlenberg last season, 38-21.
Preview: It’s been a tough 2019 campaign for the Blazers, but they head on the road hoping to salvage some pride against winless Muhlenberg while building for the future. Coach Rob Flowers has encouraged his squad to persevere through numerous injuries that sabotaged some of their goals for the season, and says he’s seeing progress through all three phases of the game.

Hill School (0-5) at Hun School (4-1), 3 p.m. Saturday

Last Meeting: Last year, Hun blasted Hill School, 60-7.
Preview: It’s the second straight week against a New Jersey powerhouse for the Rams, after last week’s 42-7 setback at the hands of Peddie School. Hun School, off a 50-12 victory over Blair Academy, presents numerous challenges on both sides of the ball, in particular a significant size advantage on the lines.