Since 2016, the champions of the Liberty and Frontier divisions meet on the final weekend of October to determine the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s football champion.
Each time, the Liberty champion (either Spring-Ford or Perkiomen Valley) has emerged with the trophy. Both schools are in strong positions to do so again in 2023. But headlining the Frontier is last year’s District 1 Class 4A runner-up, Pope John Paul II.
Coming off a 10-2 record and returning the vast majority of their skill position talent, the Golden Panthers are nonetheless fueled by the championship losses that ended 2022 – a 21-14 setback to Perkiomen Valley in the PAC title game, and a decisive outcome against Interboro in the District 1-4A championship.
On the scoreboard and on the field, it was the closest PAC title game to date. That means precisely nothing to PJP’s players.
“It doesn’t matter that we only lost by one score,” said Brent Mitala, an All-Area honoree at wide receiver last season. “Losing’s losing, and it gives you motivation.”
Mitala is joined at wideout by first-team All-Area WR/CB Braden Reed, with QB Luke Terlesky and Frontier Division-leading rusher Boyd Skarbek in the backfield.
Defensive end TJ Boccella and leading tackler Ryan Lamson are back on defense, with new addition and Wisconsin commit Kevin Heywood (transferred from Archbishop Wood) figuring heavily into the middle of the defensive line and a sure bet to man a tackle spot on offense.
“He allows us to do so many things on both sides of the ball,” Mitala said.
Unseating PJP II from the spot they’ve held atop the Frontier since 2019 figures to be a Herculean task, but Phoenixville and Pottsgrove top the list of contenders.
The Phantoms and Falcons come into the season with motivation from differing outcomes – Phoenixville looking to show that last season’s winning record was the start of something special, while Pottsgrove wants to prove last year’s 5-5 mark was a momentary interruption of their perennial playoff-contending status.
Both teams return their starting quarterbacks, with Phoenixville’s Ty Romance back from injury and Pottsgrove’s Gabe Rinda looking to use 2022 as a springboard to greater things. The advantage in experience has to go to Phoenixville, as Sam Moore and Darius Watson return for one more year running behind a seasoned offensive line with numerous All-Area performers.
“Our line is the deepest it’s been,” Moore said.
Joey Quinter and Mason Kraichley return up front for Pottsgrove, and the Falcons figure to turn to the versatility of Bryce Caffrey and Riley Delp on offense. Both players figure in heavily on the defensive side of the ball as well, alongside returning defensive back Tre Cook.
Upper Merion lost a lot of production on the offensive side of the ball, so the early season will be key for getting new QB Jackson Solley acclimated behind an inexperienced offensive line. The Vikings will lean on the leadership of tight end Mike Scavello and running back Justin Besz on both sides of the ball, while hoping to take advantage of a unique weapon in four-year starting kicker Cyrus Palladino on special teams.
Dillon Mayes moves behind center at Pottstown, where the Trojans look for sustained improvement in coach Levert Hughes’ second year. Hughes expressed encouragement at the example set by his senior class in the offseason, noting the improved attendance at workouts.
The back seven figures to be a strength on defense with Dimark Lyons and Izaiyah Wilkerson as returning starters in the secondary, and I’samir Moreau, who moved in from New Jersey, joining the linebacking corps.
New coach and returning alumnus Dan Heinrichs takes the reins at Upper Perkiomen, where youth shouldn’t be confused for inexperience. The roster boasts numerous sophomores who saw extensive experience as freshmen, which combined with a strong senior class gives the Tribe a chance to make some noise in the first year of the new era.
Heinrichs promises a mixture of some new concepts with Upper Perk’s traditional “bread and butter,” which should mean plenty of work for returning leading rusher Zach Schwartz and backfield mate Brody Weiss. Up front, it’ll be ironman football as many Upper Perk linemen figure prominently on both sides of the ball.
LIBERTY DIVISION
For years, the battle between Spring-Ford and Perkiomen Valley has decided the Liberty Division and ultimately the PAC title.
But this season, that’s just the tip of the iceberg for both squads.
The Rams and Vikings each lost to the respective District 1-6A finalists in the playoffs last season (Spring-
Ford in the quarterfinals to District 1-6A champion Garnet Valley in double overtime; Perkiomen Valley by one point to runner-up Central Bucks West in the semifinals.)
A bounce here or there, and the two teams could’ve rematched with much more than a Liberty title and bragging rights on the line.
It’s the Vikings who carry that title and bragging rights into 2023. They’re set to defend the crown – literally, with the team’s strength residing in a stout linebacking corps led by Drew Kenworthy, Robbie Sturges, Sam Koehler, and Carter Euker.
The unit highlights a defense with six returning starters and ample talent waiting in the wings. Continued development from junior QB Patrick MacDonald and PV’s traditionally deep stable of ball carriers will be the key to balance if the Vikings hope to equal or surpass their achievements of 2022.
That aforementioned meeting with Spring-Ford happens in Royersford for the first time since 2020, a matchup that holds all kinds of meaning for the Rams’ senior class who looks to reclaim the PAC title that’s belonged to PV the past two seasons.
It’ll be strength-on-strength when Spring-Ford has the ball, as first-team All-Area QB Matt Zollers leads a talented unit featuring pass-catching seniors Mason Scott and Belal Abdelrahman alongside one of the area’s biggest mismatches in 6-foot-5 tight end Ryan Kerchner.
Two All-Area performers (Owen Norman, Luke Ellor) up front will make room for Spring-Ford ball carriers led by first-team selection at linebacker Mike Bendowski and Jamal Lewis. The defense for the Rams returns just four starters but has an All-Area performer at each level.
“(The PV game) provides us some motivation,” Bendowski said in the preseason, “but the motivation is to dominate all season.”
For Owen J. Roberts, the emphasis is getting off to a strong start in their annual opener with Conestoga Friday, an outcome that’s eluded the Wildcats the past two seasons. OJR replaces its top passer, rusher, and receiver so while early growing pains can be expected, junior two-way lineman Doug Keck is confident the Wildcats can overcome their youth and return to the district playoffs for a third straight year.
“If we play intense football, no line is going to stop us,” Keck said.
For Boyertown, the emphasis is reaching those District 1-6A playoffs for the first time in recent history after a turnaround season resulted in a near-miss last year. This time, returning PAC rushing leader Cole Yesavage looks to repeat behind a younger but potentially more athletic offensive line.
Along with backfield mate Jason Oakes, Yesavage figures prominently into the plans on both sides of the ball. Coach Justin Konnick’s words make it clear he’s ready to raise the bar for Boyertown football.
“By all means, the goal is to get to districts and get deep into (the playoffs),” he said.
It’s a similar story at Methacton, where coach Brian Kennedy says the Warriors are “tired of being average.” Improvement looks like a winning record within the PAC Liberty and a strong showing in a nonconference slate that includes Frontier foes Pottsgrove and Upper Perkiomen.
The Warriors are breaking in a new quarterback in junior Kolby Howarth, who figures to rely heavily upon powerful Anthony Perillo and explosive Wes Conover in the backfield.
At Norristown, a renewed commitment to strength and conditioning sees the Eagles, 3-7 a year ago, ready to cast aside the days of being considered the underdogs.
“Everybody sees us as small,” Rashon Giddens said, “but this year, we’re attacking more in the weight room. We’re ready.”
Norristown can send that message to their divisional opponents with results in non-conference tilts with Frontier schools Upper Merion, Pottsgrove, and Phoenixville.
![FAIRVIEW VILLAGE — It’s one thing to be selective. But there’s also such a thing as being too patient. Ben Clark, Methacton’s designated hitter in the No. 4 hole, had this fact in mind when he strode to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning, with the bases loaded and the game tied against the rival Spring-Ford Rams. “I’m just looking for a fastball, first pitch,” Clark said. “I feel like, during the season I’ve been too tentative, so I was just going to go out and be aggressive. I put a nice swing on it, and it […]](https://www.pottsmerc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LAN-L-BASEMETHSFORD050324-17.jpg?w=526 "FAIRVIEW VILLAGE — It’s one thing to be selective. But there’s also such a thing as being too patient. Ben Clark, Methacton’s designated hitter in the No. 4 hole, had this fact in mind when he strode to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning, with the bases loaded and the game tied against the rival Spring-Ford Rams. “I’m just looking for a fastball, first pitch,” Clark said. “I feel like, during the season I’ve been too tentative, so I was just going to go out and be aggressive. I put a nice swing on it, and it […]")