Boyertown beats Phoenixville in 49-35 shootout

PHOENIXVILLE >> People who like a high-scoring, high-flying offensive football game got themselves a treat during Friday night’s Boyertown-Phoenixville Pioneer Athletic Conference football game at Phoenixville’s Washington Field.

Boyertown prevailed, 49-35, but not before a lot of action and numerous big plays on both sides – on offense, defense and on special teams – led to that final outcome.

The Bears, coming off a thrilling overtime loss to Pottsgrove, came back with another strong outing against the Phantoms by pulling away after the game was tied 28-28 to up their record to 4-4 in the PAC-10 (4-5 overall).

Phoenixville, by the same token, enjoyed its finest offensive game of the season while celebrating Senior Night for six players. The Phantoms, fired up for the occasion, put up big numbers in passing and running efficiency against the Bears and also capitalized on numerous penalties against Boyertown.

Neither Boyertown coach George Parkinson nor Phoenixville coach Evan Breisblatt predicted what transpired, but both of them were happy about a lot of what each team did on the field.

Phoenixville fell to 2-6 in league play (2-7 overall), but not before the Phantoms amassed 366 total yards, with 206 through the air and 160 more on the ground. Boyertown had big numbers too, finishing with 424 total yards, with 285 yards rushing and 139 yards passing.

“I thought it would be a competitive game,” said Parkinson. “We didn’t come out as sharp as we should have. Then we came out and did what we had to do and held them down.

“They (Phantoms) came out ready to play. They were fired up. Give them credit, their coaching staff and their players. They showed that tonight.”

Parkinson thought the penalties were the biggest negative about Boyertown, which hurt the Bears offensively and defensively and with field position. The Bears were penalized 12 times for 125 yards. Parkinson said his team will have to correct that part of its game before next weekend.

Boyertown quarterback Lawrence Garnett scored on three touchdown runs of 31, 1 and 14 yards and also passed 76 yards to Jerry Kapp for another score. Dan Heller scored three touchdowns on runs of 20 and 77 yards plus an 86-yard kickoff return. Star girls soccer goalie Sarafina Valenti kicked five extra points, and Garnett also passed to Kapp for a two-point conversion.

Garnett passed for 139 yards and rushed for 121 more yards. Heller rushed for 144 yards on just five carries. Kapp caught four passes for 123 yards with the one touchdown.

The Bears also got some big defensive outings from the likes of Chris Berry, Colin Black, Keith Brough, Hunter Vogels (interception) and David Terry and Mike Banks, who each registered sacks.

Phoenixville quarterback Troy Rossman had a big night, finishing 21-for-32 for 184 yards with one touchdown, a 6-yard toss to Matt Palubinsky. Palubinsky also completed one pass to Nasir Green for 22 yards. Palubinsky caught eight passes for 71 yards and rushed 15 times for 69 more yards with two TDs. He also had a big game defensively. Palubinsky scored on a 23-yard run in the first quarer and a 2-yard run in the second period. Matt Garcia ran for 88 yards with a 2-yard TD run. Bob Strunk recovered a fumble in the end zone for a TD. Miguel Ramirez booted a 31-yard field goal.

Durron Johnson made five receptions for 57 yards while Green had four grabs for 59 yards.

Defensively, the Phantoms got other strong games from Matt Branch, Ian Brown and Strunk (interception).

“I was certainly happy with how we played offensively,” said Breisblatt. “I thought we it was a pretty good game, very competitive. I thought our kids played their hearts out on the field. We couldn’t stop the jet sweep. We were pumped up and we played a good football game. It was exciting football.”

Notes >> The Phantoms also held Senior Night for cross country, band and cheerleaders. … Phoenixville seniors include Cory Bird, Brown, Palubinsky, Ramirez, Matt Simes and Mike Vargo.