Pope John Paul II cuts down Carroll 43-14 in season opener
CONSHOHOCKEN >> About the only thing the Pope John Paul II players need to focus is singing more on-key when they serenade their fans after a win.
There weren’t any other aspects of their game plan the Golden Panthers didn’t master Friday. They were the complete package when they opened the 2021 season with a 43-14 romp over Archbishop Carroll at Conshohocken “A” Field.
The offense amassed the lion’s share of its 393 yards from the rushing game, solid line play enabling Josh Little to collect 202 yards and score three touchdowns. The defense limited the Patriots to just 18 yards total offense and two scores in the final 4:58 of a contest where the entire second half was played under a running clock. And the kickoff teams kept Carroll from advancing the ball out of its half of the field the first eight times it was playing.
As for their singing talents …
“That’s something we’re hoping to do a lot this year,” PJP head coach Rory Graver said after his team’s inspired lid-lifter. “The kids worked extremely hard in camp. They were prepared for a night like this.”
The O-line’s preparation was lauded by Little, who racked up all his yardage and scoring in the first half alone. The senior running back opened the PJP scoring with a 47-yard burst through his right tackle on their first possession, following that with jaunts of 60 and 61 yards in the second quarter.
“It was all on our side,” Little said. “The guys on the line showed up, and the holes they made were huge.”
In between Little’s scoring runs, the Panthers got a seven-yard scoring pass from D.J. Clarke to Kese Williams — he contributed 37 yards on a pair of carries — around the two-minute mark of the first quarter. Steele DePetrillo had the first-half capper, a two-yard plow up the middle 1:36 before halftime that came after Clarke (6-for-8) hooked up with Braden Reed on a 32-yard completion.
The PJP running game got timely play from several players seeing action in the second half. Sophomore Dominic DiBricida scampered four yards around right end for a touchdown with 9:21 to go, and classmate Boyd Skarbek ran eight times for 48 yards.
“We challenged the offensive line this week,” Graver said. “They led the way for Josh and D.J. Even our receivers, though they didn’t get a lot of touches, were blocking well.”
On the defensive side, the Golden Panthers saw T.J. Boccella and Chase Frantz drop Carroll quarterback Andre Groce for sacks and Williams intercept a Groce pass near the end of the first half.
“Our defensive coach, Tony Yerger, coached them well,” Graver added. “He puts the attitude into the players.”
Carroll put out its best efforts from late in the third quarter to game’s end. The Patriot defense halted PJP one yard from scoring late in the third, and they scored twice in the final 4:58.
The first TD was a 33-yard connection from James Wright to Jesse Ventre — a play made more spectacular by the fact Wright got the ball off while being hit by a Panther defender. The second came with 1:10 left, Victor Taylor returning a punt 75 yards for the score.
“These kids don’t know adversity … they don’t know how to overcome it,” Carroll head coach Kyle Detweiler said. “There was one key thing. I’m proud of the fact they didn’t quit.”
Detweiler admitted the defensive stop in the third quarter was very big for his team’s confidence.
“We talk all the time about getting off the field on third down and getting the ball back to our offense,” he said. “If you’re giving them (opponents) long drives, that’s not a recipe for success.”
PJP was the decided leader in physical conditioning. The Panthers fared better on the humid Friday night than Carroll, which had to contend more with the effects of heat cramps on individual players.
“We knew how hot it was in practice,” Detweiler said, “and we emphasized hydration. We had to keep the chemistry flowing, but when you have your second and third lines in, it’s tough. We had mental errors, but they (PJP) didn’t make them.”
The Golden Panthers extended their current win streak to a second season. They went 3-0 in the COVID-abbreviated 2020 campaign.
“Last year, we had a lot of talented seniors,” Little said. “We had the season taken away from them. We were hungry to get the season going.
“We have to stay focused in practice. We can’t celebrate this too much.”
