Caffrey, Pottsgrove mix it up in 40-21 win over Upper Perkiomen

RED HILL >> The Pottsgrove football team has been hit by a slew of injuries this season. One of the most recent knocked its starting quarterback, Gabe Rinda, out of the game in the third quarter last week.

So the Falcons decided to mix things up a bit on offense Friday night at Upper Perkiomen. The result was a spectacular performance by junior running back Bryce Caffrey, who ran and passed his team to a 40-21 win at Bill Keeny Stadium.

Caffrey threw for two touchdowns and ran for three in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier Division contest. Freshman quarterback Chase Hawthorne split time with Caffrey behind center for the Falcons (3-2 Frontier, 5-4 overall) and went 6-for-6 passing for 82 yards. Zach Schwartz ran for 74 yards and two touchdowns for Upper Perk (1-4, 2-7).

“I’m excited and happy to win,” said Caffrey, who rushed for 162 yards on 17 carries, caught three passes for 32 yards and completed both of his pass attempts for 45 yards and the two scores. “I had fun with my team and came out and won with my team. It doesn’t matter how it gets done.”
Pottsgrove drove 75 yards on nine plays over 5½ minutes on the game’s first possession, with Caffrey hitting Riley Delp with a jump pass over the middle for 16 yards and a touchdown.

Then the Indians immediately hurt themselves with a penalty and were forced to punt and the Falcons drove 40 yards with Caffrey running six yards into the end zone to make it 14-0 with 13 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

Caffrey took a pitch and threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Thomas Miller midway through the second quarter. Then the Falcons got the ball back on an interception by Tre Cook and drove 35 yards, finishing up with a 2-yard run by Caffrey. That made it 26-0 at the half.

Pottsgrove drove 43 yards after an Upper Perk fumble in the third quarter, scoring on a 25-yard run by Caffrey to open up its largest lead of the night at 33-0.

“We can’t take any game lightly,” said Caffrey. “We have to work hard and win games.”

“I like Caffrey in the field, conversely to when he’s in the wildcat,” said Pottsgrove coach Bill Hawthorne. “He’s about as dynamic a player as there is.”
Upper Perkiomen got on the board later in the quarter when Pottsgrove fumbled and Schwartz ran 41 yards to the two-yard line and scored from there a couple of plays later.

But the Falcons came right back with a 68-yard drive, topped off by a 2-yard run by quarterback Hawthorne.

“Hawthorne, a freshman … I can’t say anything but good things about him,” said Caffrey. “He makes good decisions and I trust him.”

“He managed the game,” coach Hawthorne said concerning his son. “He did everything we asked of him in his first start.”

Indian quarterback Mike Boyle hit Sam Carino with a 56-yard touchdown pass and Schwartz ran 12 yards for a touchdown to make things closer. But only nine minutes remained in the game at that point and the Falcons were able to eat up some time on their next two possessions to wrap up the win.
Pottsgrove ran for 278 yards on 46 attempts on the night, including 49 yards on 12 carries by starting fullback Anthony Mayes and 48 on 10 tries off the bench by D’Shaun Mitchell.

“The offensive line is really starting to get it,” said Bill Hawthorne.

Caffrey also had a long punt return for an apparent score called back by a penalty. He finished with six carries of at least 15 yards, often putting on a quick burst of speed to run past the defense.

“When he gets out into the open, he’s fun to watch,” said coach Hawthorne.

SCORING
First quarter
PG-Delp 16 pass from Caffrey (Tice kick)
PG-Caffrey 6 run (Tice kick)
Second quarter
PG-Miller 29 pass from Caffrey (kick failed)
PG-Caffrey 2 run (run failed)
Third quarter
PG-Caffrey 25 run (Tice kick)
UP-Schwartz 2 run (Watkins kick)
PG-Hawthorne 2 run (Tice kick)
UP-Carino 56 pass from Boyle (Watkins kick)
Fourth quarter
UP-Schwartz 12 run (Watkins kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

PG UP
First downs 18 8
Rushes yards 278 62
Passing yards 127 103
Total yards 405 165
Passes C-A-I 8-8-0 8-25-1
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-1
Penalties-Yards 5-56 4-26
Punts-Avg. 1-34 2-31.0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing
Pottsgrove: Caffrey 17-162, 3 TD’s; Mayes 12-49; Mitchell 10-48; Rivera 3-22; Leibensperger 1-5; Tibbs 1-(-1); Hawthorne 2-(-7),1 TD
Upper Perkiomen: Schwartz 12-74, 2 TD’s; Romanowski 2-3; Weiss 1-(-3); Northern 1-(-3); Boyle 2-(-9)
Passing
Pottsgrove: Hawthorne 6-6-82; Caffrey 2-2-45, 2 TD’s
Upper Perkiomen: Boyle 9-25-103, 1 TD, 1 INT
Receiving
Pottsgrove: Caffrey 3-32; Trenton 2-35; Delp 2-31, 1 TD; Miller 1-29,1 TD
Upper Perkiomen: Romanowski 3-23; Carino 2-61, 1 TD; Northern 2-10; Eruba 1-9
Interceptions: Pottsgrove-Cook
Sacks: Upper Perkiomen-Weiss