Bryce Caffrey’s night leads Pottsgrove past Nolan Clayton, Upper Merion
KING OF PRUSSIA >> The chance to finish a trying season with a winning record was a motivating factor for Pottsgrove on Friday.
So was improving its standing for the district playoff race.
But for the evening’s hero, senior Bryce Caffrey, the motivation was much simpler.
“We just wanted to win a football game,” said an exhausted Caffrey, after his three touchdown receptions and numerous other contributions led a gutsy effort in a 27-21 win at Upper Merion.
“We just wanted to do what Pottsgrove football does, and that’s succeed,” Caffrey said. “We’ve got injuries, like No. 6 right here (Xavier Leibensperger) – it’s all about being a team and coming together.”
Indeed. the Falcons have been beset by injuries throughout 2022, and Caffrey’s mention of Leibensperger wasn’t by coincidence. The senior linebacker made his return from a broken arm – still wearing a cast – and made a key interception that led to a Pottsgrove touchdown.
“They cleared me Tuesday,” Leibensperger said. “First career interception – I’m just happy to contribute.”
The two sides traded highlight catches for touchdowns in the second stanza, but first Pottsgrove took advantage of a short field to convert a fourth down, quarterback Gabe Rinda (10-for-13, 96 yards, 3 TD) finding Caffrey for five yards on a fourth-down play to give the Falcons a 6-0 advantage.
But with 3:25 left in the second quarter, Upper Merion cashed in after a Nolan Clayton sack ended a Pottsgrove drive. Facing third and long, Upper Merion QB Zayd Etheridge lofted a pass. As the ball drifted toward the back line, Preston Thomas elevated over a Pottsgrove defender for a tying score that led to Cyrus Palladino’s go-ahead PAT.
The lead was short-lived, however, as Trenton Allen flipped the field just before halftime by intercepting Etheridge at the Upper Merion 42-yard-line. Pottsgrove moved the ball as methodically as possible in a two-minute drill, culminating in Caffrey’s second touchdown catch of the quarter as time expired.
This one was the result of a deflection, as the back caught the ball at the 2-yard line and powered through tacklers to give Pottsgrove the lead at the break.
On the first drive out of the locker room, Rinda found Caffrey for a third time down the right sideline, this one for 25 yards and a 20-7 Pottsgrove advantage after a two-point conversion from – you guessed it – Caffrey.
But disaster nearly struck for Pottsgrove late in the third quarter, as Rinda left the game with an injury. Caffrey took the snaps in his absence but started cramping toward the end of the third quarter.
Undeterred, Pottsgrove coach Bill Hawthorne turned to his third-string QB (and son) freshman Chase Hawthorne, whose first varsity completion was a 23-yard scoring strike to a diving Riley Delp to put Pottsgrove up by 20 toward the end of the third quarter.
But just as Caffrey’s big night was coming to an end, Upper Merion began turning to its own all-purpose weapon, Villanova commit TE/DE Nolan Clayton.
First, Clayton’s catch-and-run down the left sideline picked up 49 yards and set up a Justin Besz score to cut the margin to 27-14. After the senior’s fourth tackle for loss of the evening, coach Davis Chubb put him in as a wildcat quarterback where Clayton picked up a pair of first downs and found Mike Scavello for 19 yards on a pop pass.
“Everyone else seems to do (the direct snaps), so we gave Nolan a chance,” Vikings coach Davis Chubb said.
Zayd Etheridge (17-for-30, 242 yards, 2 TD) found Mike Scavello for the score that brought Upper Merion within 27-21 with three minutes to play.
Pottsgrove ran the clock down before punting, and Etheridge hit Preston Thomas (six catches, 95 yards, TD) and Clayton twice before an Eli Zayas sack drove Upper Merion into a do-or-die 4th-and-25, Scavello came open at the last second just as Etheridge was hurried into his 30th and final throw of the night, but it landed incomplete allowing the Falcons to kneel out their fourth win of the season.
When the dust settled, the tale of the tape between to do-it-all standout on both sides had Caffrey with six catches for 50 yards and three scores, 13 rushes for 55 yards, a two-point conversion run, a completed pass for 14 yards, and a half-dozen punts that averaged 30 yards.
On his Senior Night, Clayton finished with 125 yards receiving, 27 yards rushing, a completed pass for 19 yards, four tackles for loss (two sacks) and a pair of 25-yard punts.
No word on whether the duo worked the snack stand at halftime for good measure.
The victory brings the Falcons even on the 2022 campaign (4-4, 2-2 PAC Frontier) and back into the thick of the race for a District 1 Class 4A playoff berth. Pottsgrove came into play in the No. 5 spot of a four-team field, but the win combined with other results figures to see them move up.
“We have Upper Perkiomen next,” Caffrey said. “We won’t take any team lightly; we have a lot to prove as a team.”
Meanwhile, at 3-5 (1-3 PAC Frontier) Upper Merion sits on the fringes of the Class 5A 16-team field.
“We’re so close,” Chubb said. “I think we need to get one of these close games in order to push us to the next level – that’s what we’re lacking. That’s all we’re lacking.”
Pottsgrove 27, Upper Merion 21
Pottsgrove — 0 12 8 7 — 27
Upper Merion — 0 7 0 14 — 21
SCORING PLAYS
PG — Caffrey 6 pass from Rinda (kick blocked)
UM — Thomas 25 pass from Etheridge (Palladino kick)
PG — Caffrey 5 pass from Rinda (run failed)
PG — Caffrey 25 pass from Rinda (Caffrey run)
PG — Delp 23 pass from Hawthorne (Coons kick)
UM — Besz 6 run (pass failed)
UM — Scavello 7 pass from Etheridge (Crittendon pass from Etheridge)
TEAM STATISTICS
PG UM
First Downs 15 18
Rushing Yards 113 29
Passing Yards 133 261
Total Yards 244 290
Passes C-A-I 12-16-0 18-31-3
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 9-80 2-20
Punts-Avg. 3-30.3 2-25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Pottsgrove – Mayes 14-37, Caffrey 13-55, Rinda 10-32, Rivera 1-4, Cook 1-1, Tea, 1-(minus-16).
Upper Merion – Besz 12-24; TD, Clayton 3-27, Riley 2-3, Etheridge 2-(minus-16), Crittendon 1-6, Thomas 1-(minus-7), Team 1-(minus-8).
Passing
Pottsgrove – Rinda 10-13, 96 yards, 3 TD; Hawthorne 1-2, 23 yards, TD; Caffrey 1-1, 14 yards.
Upper Merion – Etheridge 17-30, 242 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT; Clayton 1-1, 19 yards.
Receiving
Pottsgrove – Caffrey 6-50; 3 TD, Delp 4-57; TD, Rinda 1-14, T. Miller 1-12.
Upper Merion – Clayton 6-125, Thomas 6-95; TD, Scavello 3-29; TD, Crittendon 3-12.
Sacks: Pottsgrove – White, Zayas.
Upper Merion – Clayton 2, Scavello.
Interceptions: Pottsgrove – Allen, Leibensperger, Demeno.
