Pope John Paul II defense shines in statement win over Pottsgrove

ROYERSFORD >> Despite only nine seconds remaining in the game and his team ahead by four scores, Pope John Paul II linebacker and senior captain Justin Mitala — and most of the other defensive starters — remained on the field Saturday.

“We wanted that (shutout) so badly,” said Mitala. “We have a great offense, but all week our defense knew we could make a difference. That’s why we wanted that goose egg.”

The shutout wouldn’t happen, thanks to a late field goal. But it was the only lament for the Golden Panthers in their comprehensive 28-3 defeat of Pottsgrove on Saturday in Royersford.

The win moved the Golden Panthers into a tie for first place in the PAC Frontier Division with Upper Merion (each 2-0 in the league.) But perhaps more importantly, the victory symbolized a changing of the guard — at least for this season — in the division’s pecking order.

Since divisional play began in 2016, the top of the PAC Frontier has been the exclusive domain of Pottsgrove and their cumulative 15-1 divisional record over that time. (The Falcons’ only other divisional loss also came at PJP in 2016.)

While there are three games left in the 2019 regular season, and ample time for Pottsgrove to make up the ground lost on Saturday, PJP made a definitive statement with a decisive — and at times dominant — performance.

“It starts with our defense,” said Pope John Paul II coach Rory Graver. “Pottsgrove has some phenomenal running backs, a good offensive line — we knew our defense would need to set the tone, and they did.”

The Golden Panthers forced three second-half turnovers and sacked Pottsgrove quarterbacks four times, while balancing Pottsgrove’s chunk plays in the running game by stopping a third of the Falcons’ 42 rushing attempts for zero or negative yardage.

Perhaps as impressively, the PJP offense gave the Falcons a dose of their own medicine, using a consistent running game to wear down the opposing defense after building an early lead. In all, the Golden Panthers averaged more than nine yards a carry in rushing for over 250 yards after halftime. Five different ball carriers gained over 30 yards a piece as the PJP offensive line dictated the pace of the game on belly plays, jet sweeps, QB scrambles, and every other type of run.

“As an offensive lineman, there’s not always a whole lot of love for us. I’m not gonna get all the credit, I’m not gonna get my name in the paper,” said PJP’s Sean Anderson (somewhat ironically.) “But I take pride in that. Stay humble, stay focused, and take steps in the right direction. The little things take care of the big things.”

Pottsgrove was able to force PJP to drive the length of the field in the early going, but it was no issue for the Panthers. After a Luke Kaiser punt pinned the Panthers at their own 10, quarterback Kamal Gray flipped the field with a 74-yard connection to Justin Kormos over the deep middle, setting the stage for Steve Skarbek’s 14-yard TD catch two plays later to give PJP the 7-0 lead.

It was Gray’s 20th TD pass of the season, but he was far from done. The senior QB connected with Kormos and Andrew McDonald for long gains before finishing the drive with a short QB sneak from the one, expanding the lead to 14-0 just a minute into the second quarter.

Kamal Gray 1-yard sneak has PJP up 14-0 on Pottsgrove with 10:53 left in first half. pic.twitter.com/I3wvByV7vV

— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) September 28, 2019

 

Meanwhile, Pottsgrove was failing to gain traction despite numerous different looks on offense, including a wildcat set with Kayden White taking snaps and expanding the ball-carrying options for the Falcons.

Rylee Howard and Isaiah Taylor shook loose for a few modest gains, but Pottsgrove’s Amir Brunson finally got a big play for the offense on a 49-yard carry down the right sideline with about five minutes left in the second quarter to set up the Falcons in the red zone.

Ryan Sisko came in at QB after starter Joe Silvestri was shaken up, and immediately fired a 16-yard completion to Kayden White. But penalties and a sack by Matt Dobrowolski left Pottsgrove with a 4th and 11, and Julian Paskel thwarted the drive with the Panthers’ third sack of the half to send the Golden Panthers to the locker room with a 14-0 advantage.

The Golden Panthers missed a few chances to put the game away in the second quarter. A pair of drops in the red zone ended one scoring opportunity prematurely, and Gray overthrew a wide-open Kormos on the last possession of the half.

But it was no matter, as McDonald intercepted Pottsgrove’s Sisko at midfield to start the second half, and after a 29-yard scamper by Gray on a read option, Steele DePetrillo carried it over from four yards out to expand the lead to three touchdowns at 21-0.

From there, the Golden Panthers attempted to run clock behind the speed of Daylin Gooden at RB, while the defense continued making life difficult on the Pottsgrove offense. McDonald capped PJP’s scoring with a 15-yard touchdown carry with about three minutes remaining, while Kormos and Justin Mitala added fourth-quarter interceptions as PJP attempted to maintain their third shutout of the season. It lasted until Pottsgrove’s Luke Kaiser kicked a 27-yard field goal with five seconds to play.

“That (field goal attempt) was just about giving our kids one more positive,” said Pottsgrove coach Bill Hawthorne. “I can’t ask for any more than the way our players are fighting. We’ve been hit by injuries like nothing I’ve seen in over 20 years.

“But that’s not meant to take anything away from PJP. They were the better team today, and Rory and his group deserve nothing but credit.”

Justin Kormos (three catches, 115 yards) was Gray’s main target in a modest (by his standards) 8-for-22 day, passing for 157 yards, a touchdown and one interception. McDonald rushed for 100 yards on 11 carries, while Gooden carried eight times for 98 yards.

Isaiah Taylor led Pottsgrove with 93 hard-fought yards on 15 carries, while freshman Brunson impressed with 64 yards on only five carries. Playing through injury, Darrian Seaman gave a yeoman’s effort on both lines for the Falcons, while Max Dopwell had three tackles for loss.

Pope John Paul II (5-1, 2-0 PAC Frontier) tries to stay in the driver’s seat for the division title when they visit Phoenixville Friday, while Pottsgrove (2-4, 1-1 PAC Frontier) plays its second straight road game at Upper Perkiomen. The Golden Panthers travel to play current co-division leader Upper Merion on Oct. 18.