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Week 4 Football Preview: Four unbeaten PAC squads put their records on the line

Spring-Ford will look to avoid its third consecutive loss on Friday against unbeaten Downingtown West. (Rick Martin / Rick Martin's Sports Page)
Spring-Ford will look to avoid its third consecutive loss on Friday against unbeaten Downingtown West. (Rick Martin / Rick Martin’s Sports Page)
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It’s the second week of the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s crossover with the Ches-Mont League, with Ches-Mont winning seven of the 12 contests in Week 3. But among the PAC’s triumphs were four league squads retaining their unbeaten marks. Those schools lead off this week’s preview.

(All games at 7 p.m. Friday.)

Upper Perkiomen (3-0) at Unionville (2-1)

Indians head coach Dan Heinrichs says his team established an identity last week in a convincing win against Sun Valley.

“This was a huge positive for our program and we need to continue to build on what we have accomplished thus far,” said Heinrichs. “Confidence is something you cannot drill or work on at practice; that can only come from (the players) and their mindset. You try to work on it as a coach, but ultimately it comes from them.”

Zach Schwartz and Zach Adam combined for over 350 yards rushing and will be counted on once more against a Unionville team that Heinrichs expects to present a more balanced attack on offense.

Norristown (3-0) at West Chester Rustin (3-0)

It’s the best start in years for head coach Joe Milligan’s Eagles, who’ve gritted out a pair of low-scoring victories in the past couple weeks. But business picks up in a big way against the Golden Knights, who’ve allowed only six points per game through their own 3-0 start and went on the road against reigning PAC champion Pope John Paul II for a 20-13 victory just last week.

Marzon Carr stars on both sides of the ball for the Eagles, who aim to enter PAC play undefeated for the first time since joining the conference.

Owen J. Roberts (3-0) at Avon Grove (2-1)

The Wildcats make the trip to Avondale for a second straight year with three decisive victories already under their belts. QB Corey Schock’s command of the offense continues to grow, while Lorenzo Satiro and Brody Mazzerle take command of a linebacking unit that’s the strength of a stellar defense.

Corey Schock, left, and Lorenzo Satiro will look to keep Owen J. Roberts undefeated as the Wildcats travel to face Avon Grove. (Rick Martin / Rick Martin's Sports Page)
Corey Schock, left, and Lorenzo Satiro will look to keep Owen J. Roberts undefeated as the Wildcats travel to face Avon Grove. (Rick Martin / Rick Martin’s Sports Page)

Phoenixville (2-0) at Kennett (1-1)

It’s the first of four straight road games for the Phantoms and by far their longest trip as they head to Kennett Square. Coach Anthony Ciarlello is pleased with the senior leaders on his team, including quarterback Talon Romance, running back Deacon Williams and wideouts Kevin Kingsbury, and Trey Lear, but says the emphasis this week is perfecting the “next man up” philosophy.

“We have a lot of players going two ways and need to find a way to get those guys some rest,” he said.

Ciarlello is wary of Kennett’s big-play ability and hopes his defense can make enough stops to give Phoenixville’s own prolific attack (44.5 points per game) the advantage.

Downingtown West (3-0) at Spring-Ford (1-2)

The effort and focus were greatly improved for the Rams last week, but an inability to take advantage of key opportunities has Spring-Ford on a two-game losing streak as they welcome Downingtown West to Coach McNelly Stadium.

Coach Chad Brubaker says offensive communication will be a key this week, along with causing turnovers on the defensive side, where West will present plenty of misdirection to open lanes for their stable of quality running backs.

In what figures to be another tight game, Spring-Ford hopes to win the field position battle on the strength of their kicking game, where Ryan Fields was flawless on conversion and Ryan Reavy booming three touchbacks on kickoffs.

Pope John Paul (2-1) at Bishop Shanahan (3-0)

PJP’s first loss came last week in a tight battle with WC Rustin, and head coach Scott Reed says the key to a strong bounce-back performance is attention to detail and improved execution.

“We are still dealing with way too many penalties, and we need better effort on some of our special teams,” he summarized. “We are making things more difficult on ourselves because we are not perfecting our fundamentals.”

The Golden Panthers’ defense remains a strength, thanks to the outstanding two-way play of Anthony Borzillo and Dylan Skarbek and the linebacking consistency of Sean McNally and Ryan Lamson. Meanwhile, the 3-0 Eagles of Shanahan will have revenge on their minds after PJP bested them in last year’s District 1-4A championship game.

Braden Reed, 3, and Pope John Paul II will look to bounce back from their first loss of the season on Friday. (Rick Martin / Rick Martin's Sports Page)
Braden Reed, 3, and Pope John Paul II will look to bounce back from their first loss of the season on Friday. (Rick Martin / Rick Martin’s Sports Page)

Coatesville (2-1) at Perkiomen Valley (1-2)

Last week’s performance against Downingtown West was certainly not the Vikings’ best, but coach Rob Heist chose to look at the positives heading into this week’s matchup with Coatesville.

“We believe in not wasting a good failure,” he summarized. “I know our team will respond.”

Execution is the one-word answer for what the Vikings hope to improve this week, tacking better and causing more turnovers on defense to increase scoring opportunities. It won’t be an easy task against a typically talented Coatesville group featuring numerous high-level performers on both sides.

Dimitri Toman keys the secondary for PV against the Coatesville passing attack, while Heist singled out Colin Sturges for his quality play at running back.

Pottsgrove (2-1) at West Chester East (2-1)

Pottsgrove’s passing game broke out in a big way last week in a win over Oxford, with stellar offensive line play clearing the way for Chase Hawthorne and Deymein Doctor to connect a half-dozen times for 100 yards and two scores. Hawthorne was a flawless 11-for-11 on his passes, and coach Bill Hawthorne also lauded Tommy Sambrick and Cam Waller for their excellent two-way play.

As the Falcons prepare to travel to WC East, Hawthorne says the emphasis remains in the trenches, where Pottsgrove faces a bigger, deeper team in the Vikings. “We need to play a fundamentally-sound game in all three phases,” he said.

Boyertown (0-3) at Downingtown East (1-2)

First-year coach Jami Sands saw some positives in Boyertown’s 28-24 loss to Avon Grove last week.

“Guys are starting to show some heart and passion as to how they play football and enjoy the game,” he said. “We still need to limit some mistakes, but the team is improving every week and hopes to put an error-free performance together where we make our opponents earn everything they get.”

Error-free is a solid approximation of what the Bears will need against a Downingtown East group that looked rejuvenated in a comeback win at Spring-Ford last week. Quarterback Connor Foskey is the engine of the Bears’ offense, while Tillman Henley and Michael Palmeiro factor in as key two-way contributors.

Upper Merion (0-3) at West Chester Henderson (1-2)

After last week’s setback against West Chester East, the Vikings travel up Route 202 this week to meet Henderson. Upper Merion continues to search for their offensive identity and hopes to find answers against a Henderson defense allowing more than 30 points per game.

Methacton (0-3) at Great Valley (1-2)

Finishing games is the emphasis for the Warriors going into their first matchup with Great Valley in more than 25 years.

“We have been in position to win games all season, but have to learn how to finish,” summarized head coach Eric Ranieri. “The effort is there. This week we have been focusing on the little things that have been holding us back.”

Ranieri says he looks for his senior leaders on all three units to set the tone not only on Friday night, but in practice throughout the week.

Pottstown (1-2) at Oxford (1-2)

A pair of teams looking to bounce back from losses meet at Oxford. Levert Hughes’ young Pottstown team would love to take a .500 record into PAC Frontier play starting next week, but most solve an Oxford team with plenty of returning starters from a year ago.

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