Flying start helps Methacton outlast Pottstown, 14-7
POTTSTOWN >> Methacton got off to a fast start by returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown Friday night at Pottstown. And though the rest of the night didn’t go all that smoothly at times, the Warrior defense stopped the Trojans inside the 10 yard line twice and quarterback Dan Brandi ran out the clock at the end for a 14-7 win at Grigg Memorial Field.
Giancarlo DeFilippis ran the opening kick back 81 yards and into the end zone just 13 seconds into the non-league contest matching Pioneer Athletic Conference opponents and the Warriors (3-1) led all the way. Mason Miller caught a touchdown pass from Gabe Hicks for the Trojans (0-4).
“We got things going and then we were shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Methacton coach Brian Kennedy. “Untimely things. But we got a ‘W’. We are 3-1.”
Pottstown, which was missing over a dozen players due to COVID protocols, had two good chances to tie the game in the second quarter. But a 2-yard loss on 3rd-and-goal from the three, followed by an incomplete pass on 4th down, ended the one opportunity. Then a fumble at the four ended another on the Trojans’ next possession.
“We were there,” said Pottstown coach Jeff Delaney. “That loss on third down at the goal line really hurt us and then the fumble.”
Methacton scored on a 44-yard drive early in the third quarter as Dean Sapalidis caught a 31-yard pass from Brandi to the four, Anthony Perillo rushed to the one, and Brandi took the ball in himself from there on the next play.
“He controls our offense,” Kennedy said concerning his senior quarterback, who completed 13 of 24 passes for 134 yards. “He does a great job controlling our offense whether it’s throwing or running.”
Miller intercepted a pass for Pottstown early in the fourth quarter and the Trojans marched 80 yards from there in 15 plays with Hicks hitting Miller with a 23-yard TD pass with 4:16 to go.
But the Warriors recovered an onside kick at the 50 and Brandi ran 15 yards on the next play and also made runs of 10 and six yards in the final minutes as the Warriors ran out the clock.
“We’ve got to play better in all the PAC games,” said Brandi. “I’ve got to get the team on my back and get back on track. We got off to a great start with the kickoff. We were moving and then just going into a drought. The offensive line played good. We had some tough penalties to swallow. We’ve got to execute better.”
“Give Pottstown credit,” said Kennedy. “They played hard. They didn’t roll over with the lack of numbers.”
Hicks went 9-for-16 through the air for 105 yards, with four completions to Jamiere Williams for a total of 41 yards, Malachi Neely carried the ball 20 times for 58 yards and Rashean Bostic intercepted a pass and caught one for 30 yards for the Trojans.
Sapalidis caught five passes for 57 yards and Brody Borkowski rushed for 32 yards for the Warriors.
“I’m extremely proud of the kids,” said Delaney. “This is the first game they really played together and played four quarters. The kickoff return at the beginning of the game made the difference. Defensively, we’ve been challenging them all week to step up. They certainly did today. Now we’re starting the league and we’ll have everybody back.”
Methacton 14, Pottstown 7
Methacton 7 0 7 0 14
Pottstown 0 0 0 7 7
M-DeFilippis 81 kickoff return (Ready kick)
M-Brandi 1 run (Ready kick)
P-Miller 23 pass from Hicks (Rodriguez kick)
Team Statistics
M P
First downs 14 12
Yards rushing 85 71
Passing yards 134 105
Total yards 219 178
Passes C-A-I 13-24-2 9-16-0
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 8-49 5-50
Punts-average 2-20.5 3-30.0
Individual stats
Rushing
Methacton: Borkowski 12-32; Brandi 12-28, 1 TD; Perillo 5-19; Ballinger 1-3; Dickey 1-3; Totals 31-85,
1 TD.
Pottstown: Neely 20-58; Bostic 6-16; Thomas 1-5; Hicks 7-(-8); Totals 34-71.
Passing
Methacton: Brandi 13-24-134, 2 INT’s.
Pottstown: Hicks 9-16-105, 1 TD.
Receiving
Methacton: Sapalidis 5-57; Dickey 4-42; Chapman 2-24; Hill 1-10; Borkowski 1-1; Totals 13-134.
Pottstown: Williams 4-41; Bostic 2-29; Miller 1-23, 1 TD; Neely 1-13; DiPietro 1-(-1); Totals 9-105, 1
TD.
Interceptions: Pottstown-Bostic, Miller.
