Pope John Paul II throws Terlesky birthday party in rout of Archbishop Ryan

PHILADELPHIA >> The postgame huddle for Pope John Paul II wasn’t complete without singing happy birthday to the man of the hour.

Junior quarterback Luke Terlesky spent his 17th birthday by throwing for 221 yards and three touchdowns against Archbishop Ryan, blowing out candles and eating cake all afternoon in a 45-7 rout of the Raiders at Northeast High School on Saturday.

The win marks the Golden Panthers’ second of two road games to open the non-league slate in 2023. The biggest present? Some pep in the step to start september.

“If we can finish this (non-league schedule) out 4-0, which I think we’re very capable of, I think we’ll feel really good going into league play and then eventually districts,” Terlesky said.

The second team All-Mercury signal caller found tight end Denny Owens in the end zone on a 16-yard strike to go up 7-0 on Pope John Paul II’s opening drive, which took just three plays.

First team All-Mercury running back Boyd Skarbek (13 rushes, 185 yards, 3 TD) punched in a 3-yard touchdown, followed by another 35-yard dash to the end zone and a two-point conversion in the first quarter, greasing the engine of an offense that amassed 353 first-half yards.

“Last week we struggled in the first half. Today, we just hit the ground running on offense,” Terlesky said, noting a scoreless first half against Chambersburg. “We were a lot better tempo-wise, better at driving down the field a lot quicker. Just in a better rhythm today than last week.”

Pope John Paul II wide receiver Braden Reed (3) escapes an Archbishop Ryan defender and races down the sideline at Northeast High School on Sept. 2. (Evan Wheaton – MediaNews Group)

Up 22-7 in the second quarter, Terlesky (15-of-20) aired it out to wide receiver Braden Reed (7 catches, 160 yards, 2 TD) for big scoring plays of 61 and 43 yards to enter the locker room with a commanding 36-7 lead.

Skarbek found his third touchdown in the third quarter on an 18-yard scamper at the 8:12 mark, boosting the Golden Panthers 43-7 to enact the running clock through the remainder of the game.

Senior defensive lineman TJ Boccella made a tackle in the back of the end zone on a muffed snap on a Raiders (0-2) punt attempt midway through the third quarter for one last bit of juice on the scoreboard.

With an offensive line – anchored by Makel Parker, Aidan Sgarra, Ignacio Escobar, Chase Frantz, Kevin Haywood and Owens – Terlesky had much time in the pocket to make big scoring plays while the backfield produced just as much.

Haywood spearheads the offensive line at a hefty 6-foot-8, 315 pounds. A two-way Wisconsin signee who transferred from Archbishop Wood, the senior’s impact is felt immediately.

“He always gets the job done, never makes any mistakes,” Skarbek said of Haywood. “He’s really good at what he does.”

Archbishop Ryan quarterback Frankie Mawson, right, rolls out of the pocket against Pope John Paul II at Northeast High School on Sept. 2. (Evan Wheaton – MediaNews Group)

Haywood wasn’t the only transfer from Archbishop Wood on the field. Junior quarterback Frankie Mawson had his second start under center, finishing 11-of-23 for 103 yards.

Last week, Mawson faced his old haunt and was down 31 points before cutting it to a 37-34 loss. In his first career start, Mawson was prolific, connecting on 29-of-39 passes for 447 yards and four touchdowns – setting a new Philadelphia Catholic League record in the process.

“Just the way he handled himself down 31 points to his old school, he never pouted, never put his head down,” said first-year Raiders coach Mark Ostaszewski, an Archbishop Ryan alum of 2014. “(Mawson) just tried to lead and that’s something we look for in the quarterback position. A leader more than anything else.”

The Raiders’ lone touchdown came with 5:54 left in the first quarter. Junior defensive back Bryce Werner intercepted Terlesky and returned it for a 13-yard pick-six. The play almost crashed Terlesky’s birthday party, equalizing the game 7-7.

Archbishop Ryan defensive back Bryce Werner (11) returns an interception for a touchdown against Pope John Paul II at Northeast High School on Sept. 2. (Evan Wheaton – MediaNews Group)

But Pope John Paul II forced five punts, Boccella made a sack and fumble recovery to go with his safety, and both Brent Mitala and Brandon DeAngelo came up with interceptions for the Golden Panthers, keeping Archbishop Ryan well away from the red zone all afternoon.

“Pope John Paul is an excellent school. They look like they run a very tight ship over there. We just have to be better,” Ostaszewski said. “We’ve played one half of football in two games. We have to look in the mirror and start playing better.”

Werner’s pick-six is the only scoring play against the Golden Panthers through two weeks of the season. Pope John Paul II has outscored its first two opponents 67-7 after a 22-0 outing at Chambersburg.

“Being that it’s year two of running the defense, I think a lot of the kids are confident in everything they’re doing this year,” Golden Panthers coach Scott Reed said. “A lot of kids are back and they ran a lot of the same concepts last year.”

Pope John Paul II defensive back Brent Mitala (5) meets Archbishop Ryan running back Dave Laws (2) in the open field at Northeast High School on Sept. 2. (Evan Wheaton – MediaNews Group)

Pope John Paul II is aiming to get back to the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship for a third straight year, having lost the previous two to Perkiomen Valley. The Golden Panthers are also looking to return to the District 1 Class 4A final, a rout at the hands of Interboro.

But with a large core of players who won the District 1-4A baseball final this past spring, Pope John Paul II has had a taste of winning in big moments. With that team chemistry translating to the gridiron, they hope to make the most of it this season with the bulk of their starting skill position players back from last year.

“We all have a lot of team chemistry, we all bond together and hang out on the weekends,” Skarbek said. “It’s just good to have the same group of guys back and we’re all hungry to get our revenge.”

Pope John Paul II 45, Archbishop Ryan 7
Bishop Shanahan 7 0 0 0 — 7
Archbishop Ryan 22 14 9 0 — 0
SCORING
First quarter
PJP – Owens 16 pass from Terlesky (Bosio kick), 9:35
AR – Werner 13 pick-six (Jackson kick), 5:54
PJP – Skarbek 3 run (Skarbek run), 2:55
Second quarter
PJP – Skarbek 35 run (Bosio kick), 1:23
PJP – Reed 61 pass from Terlesky (Bosio kick), 8:27
PJP – Reed 43 pass from Terlesky (Bosio kick), 2:53
Third quarter
PJP – Skarbek 18 run (Bosio kick), 8:12
PJP – Boccella safety (Bosio kick), 5:40
TEAM STATISTICS
AR PJP
First downs 9 14
Rushes-Yards 19-74 216
Passing yards 103 232
Total yards 177 448
Passes C-A-I 11-23-2 16-22-0
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties-Yards 6-55 7-75
Punts 5 2
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Pope John Paul II — Skarbek 13-185, 3 TD; Reed 1-5; Terlesky 1-(minus-4); DeAngelo 1-11; Myers 2-9; Lucci 2-(minus-2); Moran 1-1; Witter 1-11.
Archbishop Ryan — Mawson 5-13; Dalton 5-19; Morgan 4-11; Laws 1-0; Celins 1-9; Thompson 3-22.
Passing
Pope John Paul II — Terlesky 15-20, 221 yards, 3 TD; Witter 1-2, 11 yards.
Archbishop Ryan — Mawson 11-23, 103 yards, 2 INT.
Receiving
Pope John Paul II — Reed 7-160, 2 TD; Owens 3-37, TD; Mitala 3-13; Skarbek 1-2; DeAngelo 1-9; Moran 1-11.
Archbishop Ryan — Morgan 5-24; Rogers 1-10; Werner 3-18; Spinelli 1-29; Dalton 1-6; Demas 1-16.
Sacks: AR 1 (Montgomery); PJP 2 (Boccella, Clayton)
Interceptions: PJP 2 (Mitala, DeAngelo).
Fumble recoveries: PJP 1 (Boccella).