Dominating first half lifts Spring-Ford over Pottstown

ROYERSFORD >> The tailgate parties raged outside of Coach McNelly Stadium all morning long.

For Spring-Ford, the party never stopped as the Rams utilized a dominating first-half performance to overcome Pottstown 34-0 on their annual Homecoming game Saturday afternoon.

“Our defense put us in that situation,” Spring-Ford head coach Chad Brubaker said. “Obviously they played really well today. They’ve been very solid all year long and they continued to improve every week and that’s a great thing for us to see. We’re seeing maturity from our kids and their understanding of what we’re trying to do is getting better and better each week.”

Spring-Ford’s defense paved the way for the Rams’ offense in Saturday’s victory, allowing only 75 yards of total offense and one first down.

The dominating effort gave Pottstown’s trio of Brandon Tinson, Bryant Wise and Isaiah Mayes fits all game. Tinson was held to a season-low 30 yards rushing while the offense went 0-for-11 on third down conversions and didn’t cross the 50 until the two minute mark of the third quarter.

“It was a good team effort,” Brubaker said. “We had different guys making plays. They started out getting a first down and then we settled in and had a better feel for what they were trying to do.”

“Every week we’re learning something different,” Pottstown head coach Don Grinstead said. “The one thing that you have to teach a young team is when you are having a good season and when you do play really good teams, you have to control your emotions. It lays a foundation for you throughout the course of the game to play a little smarter.

“I thought early on we didn’t control our emotions that well.”

Senior quarterback Ricky Venuto had another standout performance for the Rams, throwing for 266 yards on 18-of-28 passing with three touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Stone Scarcelle finished with a game-high seven receptions for 81 yards and a score as the Ram offense amassed 500 yards of total offense, all while building a commanding 31-0 halftime lead.

Junior running back Matt Gibson paved the way for the Rams’ ground game, rushing for 94 yards on 15 carries with Jason Wilson adding 54 yards in some late-game work. Trey Jarmon figured in on a second-quarter touchdown reception as he finished with 61 yards receiving on three receptions. Quinn McKenna also had a standout day for the Rams, hauling in four passes for 74 yards and a score as the Rams tallied 27 first downs and 7.1 yards per play.

“Our line was blocking really good and we were doing well running and passing the ball,” Gibson said. “We had momentum coming into this game and it felt good to come away with the win today.”

Spring-Ford had built a commanding halftime lead due in large part to its great starting field position, not starting a drive beyond its own 40 throughout the entire first half.

Selwyn Simpson (14 carries for 46 yards) started the scoring with a 3-yard score on the Rams opening drive before Venuto connected with Scarcelle for a 10-yard touchdown two possessions later to make it 14-0. Venuto then connected with McKenna for a 9-yard scoring strike to make it 21-0 that followed with an Owen Gulati 25-yard field goal and another Venuto touchdown pass, this one to Jarmon for a 24-yard score and a 31-0 lead right before the half.

From there it was settled.

Pottstown, despite only allowing a 40-yard field goal by Gulati, couldn’t muster anything offensively in the second half, only gaining 27 yards of total offense as it was forced to punt four times while turning the ball over on downs once.

“They’re good up front,” Grinstead said. “They are a hard team to run the ball against and we’re a running team. There’s never been any secret about that, and we’re going to be a running team. We just didn’t execute very well.”

NOTES >> Pottstown punted the ball eight times in the loss with Wise averaging 39.8 yards per punt. … Pottstown was only flagged once in the loss for 10 yards. Spring-Ford had seven penalties for 65 yards. … Scarcelle finished 2-of-2 passing for 37 yards. … Venuto’s interception-less streak snapped as Jimmy Zazzi picked him off in the fourth quarter. … Bobby Welsh had an INT for SF.