Barr rushes for 324, Pottsgrove tops PJP

It may have a crowded backfield.

But for Pottsgrove, having enough runners is nothing but a good thing.

Especially if they run like Tyrell Barr did Saturday afternoon.

Barr was electric, reeling off touchdown runs of 90, 66 and 48 yards as Pottsgrove overcame a turnover-filled first half to run away with a 44-20 victory over Pope John Paul II.

But all wasn’t good for the Falcons as the team committed three turnovers in the first half and saw an early 17-0 lead get whittled down by a gritty Pope John Paul squad to a 23-20 advantage at the half.

“First half is on me, that’s all my fault,” Pottsgrove head coach Rick Pennypacker said. “I’m just lucky we didn’t lose the game because of me. It was stupid coaching, stupid preparation on my part.

“You can’t have four or five turnovers in the first half and expect to win. But that’s on me, those kids in the white shirts, they played their butts off for me.”

Falling into the early deficit after Barr ripped a 66-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage, Garrett Bleakley converted on a 27-yard field goal and Chris Defrancesco hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass, PJP got to work.

Matt Duff led the Golden Panthers on three straight touchdown drives, his 12-yard scramble for the team’s first score and a 56-yard pass to the wide-open Joey Giannone were the highlights that saw the Golden Panthers pull to within 23-20 with 6:39 left in the first half.

But that’s as close as PJP got.

Duff, after throwing for 144 yards in the first half, was limited to just 31 in the second. The offense, after amassing 154 yards of total offense in the first half, was limited to 46 the rest of the way and reached the 50-yard line just once.

Duff finished the game 11-of-20 for 185 yards and two scores in the loss.

“I’m proud of the effort, but one thing you can’t do against a Pottsgrove team is go down 17-0,” PJP head coach Rory Graver said. “You can’t let them score on the first play, you can’t let them get the momentum. We are proud of how we responded, made it a game going into halftime. Second half, I don’t think it was a thing where we came out flat or anything like that, we just didn’t make enough plays.”

It was Pottsgrove that did.

Barr struck again on the first offensive play for the Falcons, taking a handoff and rushing 90 yards down the left sideline for the score to make it 30-20. Less than two minutes later, he struck again, this time ripping off a 48-yard score. Janusek put an end to the scoring with a one-yard plunge midway through the fourth.

“We came out of halftime fired up,” Barr said. “I wanted to do anything to win this game. Our coaches came in and gave us some great speeches and gave us some great motivation. They had us all fired up coming out here to take the ballgame.

“Coming out of the second half it was all mental. We had to get our mental mind frame back and we had to play our hearts out. The offensive line did a great job. We have to have a good week next week.”

NOTES >> Tyler Smith and Mike Gantert each recorded two sacks in the victory with Kobey Baldwin getting an interception. … Jared Johns-Lupold had an interception in the loss with Andrew Salvo recording a game-high five receptions for 76 yards. … David Debias had two fumble recoveries for PJP. … Bleakley was 5-of-6 in PAT tries. … Pottsgrove averaged 8.2 yards per rush in the win, PJP just 2.2. … Pottsgrove went 3-for-4 on fourth downs.