Mercury Week 2 Football Review: Standouts, surprises, stats through two weeks

Even if it still feels strange to be discussing two weeks’ worth of high school football in August, area squads have put forth a pair of performances that will likely shape their season through September and October – all with the hopes of playing into November.

Leading the way has been Owen J. Roberts. The Wildcats delivered back-to-back shutouts in the first two weeks, and complemented that defensive performance by averaging 35 points per contest. Improving on Week 1’s 28-0 shutout of Conestoga (in which they held the Pioneers to 101 total yards) was a tall task, but OJR managed to do just that in forcing nine Daniel Boone fumbles (four recovered for turnovers) in Friday night’s 42-0 win. The Blazers didn’t complete a pass all night and saw their prolific triple-option attack held below three yards a carry.

On offense, Cooper Chamberlain accounted for five total TDs (three passing, two rushing) and 281 total yards. Two of the scoring passes went to Dante DeNardo, including a 73-yarder towards the end of the first quarter. Perhaps most encouraging, a running game that struggled in week one burst loose for 208 yards and over five yards per carry.

The Wildcats will try to keep it going when they visit Avon Grove next week, followed by a crossover contest in Week 4 with Upper Merion, a squad who’s racked up a 2-0 start of its own (the PAC’s lone undefeated squads). Uppe Merion’s Anthony Swenda (121 rush yards, 3 TDs) broke a 7-all tie with Norristown early in the second quarter with his second score, igniting a 32-0 Upper Merion run that put the ‘Battle of the Bridge’ out of reach.

The highest-scoring team thus far? That would be Pope John Paul II, averaging a gaudy 50.5 points per game after avenging last year’s playoff defeat in throttling New Hope-Solebury, 55-6. Kamal Gray passed for two more scores, giving him an area-high eight TD passes on the campaign, but the real story was the Golden Panthers’ defense and special teams, who held the Lions to 82 total yards and received two Andrew McDonald punt returns for touchdowns. Chris Bruder led a revitalized rushing attack with 129 yards and two scores on only eight carries.

At Upper Perkiomen, Logan Simmon is up to 420 rushing yards and six scores on the young season. The numbers would likely be higher, but coach Tom Hontz mercifully sat Simmon down at halftime last Friday as the Indians routed Kutztown, 57-6. The sophomore racked up 158 yards on the ground to go with three first-quarter touchdowns in the victory that improved the Tribe to 1-1. Simmon gashed Boyertown for 262 yards and three scores in the Indians’ opener.

Pottstown freshman QB Joneil Oister edged out Simmons for the rushing yardage lead in Week 2, tallying 159 yards in the Trojans’ 25-13 loss to Upper Moreland. The game was tied going into the fourth quarter, where the Trojans’ mistakes (six turnovers on the night) finally caught up with them. “We have to keep our emotions in check,” said head coach Jeff Delaney. “When you play under control, good things happen.”

It’s a tight battle for the area lead in passing yardage between PJP’s Gray, Spring-Ford’s Ryan Engro and Perkiomen Valley’s Ethan Kohler. Engro moved into the lead with a 237-yard night against Harry S. Truman, whom Spring-Ford throttled 58-19. The quarterback accounted for five total scores (four passing, one rushing), hitting six different receivers in the process. Engro’s cousin, junior Nick Teets, led the receivers with 105 yards and a score. The Rams’ secondary bounced back from a tough opener with three interceptions, two by Mason Brill who effectively put the game away with a pick-six late in the third quarter.

PV’s Kohler found Randy Washington for another long scoring play – the third between the duo in two weeks – for the main bright spot in PV’s 28-13 loss to Downingtown East. With 197 yards and three scores in the first two contests, Washington joins a group of go-to receivers in the area that includes OJR’s DeNardo, Spring-Ford’s Dante Bonanni, Pope John Paul II’s Steve Skarbek and Justin Kormos that could make the position the PAC’s deepest.

Around the Area >> In OJR’s win over Daniel Boone, junior Olivia Kqira converted the Wildcats’ final point after touchdown to become the first female football player in school history. The now-four-sport athlete (football, soccer, swimming, track & field) was able to translate her soccer skills into a role with the football team, and made school history in the process.

“I had her in class last year, and we discussed (joining the football team) as a possibility,” said OJR head coach Rich Kolka. “When she’s not at soccer, she’s here practicing with our kickers.”

Jason Williams trains not only Kqira, but multiple players on the Wildcats’ squad. “We trained all summer for track,” said Williams, “and one day she said she wanted to try kicking.”

Kqira not only made school history with the successful conversion, she offers the Wildcats depth at the kicking position, typically occupied by starting quarterback Cooper Chamberlain.

Boyertown’s struggles in the secondary returned as Exeter’s Gavin McCusker completed eight of 11 passes for 170 yards and four scores in the Eagles’ 37-0 shutout. Next week, the Bears will travel to Pottsgrove, where the Falcons find themselves in the unfamiliar position of an 0-2 start after a 56-21 loss to perennial 5A contender Academy Park. Led by do-it-all quarterback Barry Brown, the Knights rushed for an astounding 439 yards in the contest.

It’s been an imperfect storm for the Falcons, perhaps the hardest-hit team in the area in terms of graduations, as they started out the season with a pair of games against larger schools (6A Souderton, who is 2-0 on the year, topped Pottsgrove 31-18 in week one). “We like competition, we like playing larger schools,” said coach Bill Hawthorne. “The fact of the matter is we’re youthful, we’re learning. I’ll take the effort. The kids are fighting, we’re just making youthful mistakes.”

Methacton and Phoenixville each dropped nonleague contests, the Warriors falling 35-7 to Plymouth-Whitemarsh while Phoenixville fell short against Martin Luther King High, 26-18.

A Look Ahead >> A pair of inter-divisional, ‘nonleague’ contests highlight the slate. Pottsgrove hopes to break through when it hosts Boyertown, while Upper Merion tries to stay undefeated as it visits Methacton.

The Liberty Division trio of front-runners are in for tough tests, as both Perkiomen Valley and Owen J. Roberts go on the road. For the Vikings, it’s a renewal of their annual rivalry with Pennridge, while the Wildcats head down to southern Chester County for a battle with the Red Devils of Avon Grove. Meanwhile, Spring-Ford welcomes powerful District 3 contender Wilson West Lawn.

Norristown faces its third consecutive road game at Plymouth-Whitemarsh before playing its first night game at home against Cheltenham the following week. The Eagles had lights installed during the offseason.

In the Frontier, Phoenixville welcomes its second consecutive Philadelphia Public League opponent in Dobbins, while Pope John Paul II travels to Chichester. Upper Perkiomen and Pottstown simply swap opponents from last week, as the Tribe hosts Upper Moreland while Pottstown takes on Kutztown.