Pope John Paul II cuts down Archbishop Carroll 23-0 in Reed’s return

UPPER PROVIDENCE >> Same visor, different colors.

More significantly: Different head coach, same outcome.

The Scott Reed Era at Pope John Paul II officially kicked off Saturday when the school opened the 2022 season by hosting Archbishop Carroll. Joining the program in 2021 as assistant to former eight-year head coach Rory Graver, Reed elevated to the top spot when Graver left earlier this year to become head coach at Wissahickon.

The Golden Panthers marked the transition by rolling Carroll, 23-0. Boyd Skarbek’s bruisingly productive runs and solid play by the defense, both part of the coaching philosophy Reed brought to his new post, were both key to the obligatory “first win” for a new head coach.

Reed, customary headgear in place, was happy to get that bit of business done. It contrasted with the same situation he experienced at the start of his decade-plus (2004-15) heading Perkiomen Valley’s grid program.

“It’s surreal,” he said. “I’m glad to have the first one. This time, I knew what I was getting into.”

Skarbek relishes his increased role in both the offensive and defensive game plans Reed has installed. He ran for 150 yards and three touchdowns while covering 21 yards on three of quarterback Luke Terlesky’s 13 pass completions.

“It’s good. With new coaches and a new playbook, we have better plays,” he said. “Everyone has a role.

“I like to run a lot and be a bigger part of the offense,” Skarbek added. “On defense, we do a lot more blitzing. I call out plays on motion and get back on drops.”

While the PJP offense produced a combined 301 yards, aided by the 115 off Terlesky’s passing to four different receivers, the defense limited Carroll to 18 yards. Its 57 passing stripes were cut into by a running game that was a negative-39 yards on the day, thanks to various sacks and drops.

The final outcome was a bit of a surprise to Carroll head coach Kyle Detweiler, who saw his squad perform well in recent pre-season training sessions.
“We had positive momentum from a scrimmage,” he said, “and our Friday practice was our best so far. I thought we were in a good spot.”

It was a battle through a 7-0 first half — PJP scoring inside the two-minute mark off Skarbek’s eight-yard scamper around right end — and two series into the third quarter. It was then the Panthers took charge for good.

Dominic DiBricida’s recovery of a fumbled punt to the Pats at their 11 set Skarbek up for a seven-yard TD scamper at the 4:26 mark. Two plays after the subsequent kickoff, Brent Mitala had the second of his two interceptions of James Wright passes at the PJP 20; two runs and a penalty preceded Skarbek’s twisting, cutting 68-yard run to the end zone 1:41 before the end of the quarter.

“I just romped up the middle and followed my blockers,” he said.

“That definitely was in impressive run,” Reed added. “It changed the game in our favor.”

The defense capped the Panthers’ scoring early in the fourth quarter. A fumbled snap to backup quarterback Mason Waller forced a scramble that ended with Carroll recovering the ball in its end zone, scoring a safety for the Pope.

Along with the interceptions and fumble recoveries, PJP saw T.J. Boccella, Denny Owens, Chase Frantz and Ignacio Escobar figure in on sacks and drops of Patriot ballcarriers behind the line of scrimmage.

“Our offense didn’t execute a little bit,” Detweiler said. “I can’t be more proud of the defense. It was on its head almost the entire second half. We flat out got tired.

“The points scored were more than I expected to give up.”

The Panthers’ receiving corps was headed by Brent Mitala and Brendan Kenning, each of whom had four catches. Kenning collected 43 yards, and Mitala 33.

Reed’s son, Braden, added a 24-yard reception that was the game’s longest from scrimmage.

“Kenning and Mitala made some big catches in traffic,” he noted.

That all said, Reed is far from considering his team a finished product at this early juncture of the season.

“We’re inconsistent,” he said. “We have to clean some things up.

“We (coaches) are working with the kids, bonding with them. All we want is for them to have success. The kids have done everything we asked, but they can’t always count on the defense scoring shutouts.”

NOTES >> Reed takes charge of a Pope John Paul II program that has logged five straight winning seasons, a District 1-4A title in 2019 and berths in the last two Pioneer Athletic Conference championship games (2019, 2021). … PJP had another chance to pad its point total early in the fourth, when Ben Bosio attempted a 21-yard field goal seven seconds in. But Bosio, who converted kicks on all three Panther touchdowns, saw his try go wide right. … Skarbek sizing up Archbishop Carroll: “We knew they were tough coming in. We didn’t take them lightly. It was definitely a physical game.”