Pottsgrove turns the lights off on Methacton
FAIRVIEW VILLAGE >> With the flip of a switch, Methacton introduced Friday night football to its community this weekend.
But Pottsgrove had its own power generation going at the same time. And it got a leg up on the rest of the Pioneer Athletic Conference with a 48-14 victory over the Warriors.
Ryan Finn threw for three touchdowns, Rahsul Faison ran for two other TDs and Avery Grant sprinted an electrifying 91 yards for a ground score to help the Falcons (1-1) put behind them an opening-week loss to West Catholic.
And while it wasn’t picture-perfect by any means, head coach Rick Pennypacker saw instances of improvement from his squad.
“I hate to see sloppy play. That’s a reflection on me,” he said. “We put the ball on the ground too much … fumbled punts.
“But we’re getting better.”
The Pottsgrove offense’s latest franchise back, Faison, cemented that standard with a 212-yard rushing game. The junior transfer from Archbishop Carroll got his team rolling on its second possession, going 43 yards through his right tackle for a score less than four minutes into the game.
Faison added another 71-yard bolt up the middle with 6:56 left in the third quarter. Boosting the Falcons’ lead to 36-7 at that point, the TD was Pottsgrove’s apt answer to the Warriors (0-2) scoring off Mike Ciriello’s block of a Noah Rimel punt at the visitors’ 46, which Will Roese scooped up and returned to the end zone.
Grant also emerged as a 100-yard rushing performer, covering 124 yards on eight totes. The bulk of that came on a run from the Falcons’ nine, where a previous Methacton punt rolled dead.
“Grant is outstanding,” Pennypacker noted. “He’ll be seeing a lot of time on defense, but we also want to get him on the field on offense. He’s very capable.”
While Pottsgrove was getting a combined 339 yards from six runners, Ryan Finn was showing his stuff behind center.
The Falcons’ senior quarterback directed one of the program’s biggest aerial games in a decade. Though going 5-for-14 and touched for a pair of picks, Finn threw touchdown passes to Desmond Austin (17 yards), Garner (47 yards) and Bailey Delp (53 yards) to help Pottsgrove build a 29-point halftime lead. His completions covered 139 yards.
“Finn threw well when he had time,” Pennypacker said. “We feel teams have been loading the box on us. We have receivers with speed, and we want to throw outside more.
“We’ll be more balanced this year.”
The installation of lights as part of the high school’s overall stadium-renovation project attracted a sizeable crowd for Methacton’s home opener … “a Thanksgiving Day crowd,” as described by head coach Paul Lepre. And the Warriors showed steam in the second half, their special teams factoring in two third-quarter touchdowns.
Along with Roese’s scamper to the end zone on the blocked punt, Methacton got a five-yard scoring pass from Jason Eckman (11-for-23, 74 yards) to Ryan O’Toole at the 2:30 mark off the second of successive fumbled punts by Pottsgrove. Colby Stahl was credited with the recovery.
“We spend time on it (special teams) because that comprises about one-third of a game,” Lepre said. “We have ample practice on it, and the kids really step up.”
Like their guests, the Warriors showed a measure of turning the corner from last week’s 41-0 loss to Upper Dublin.
“It’s been difficult the last 3-1/2 years,” Lepre said. “The kids gave it their hearts tonight.”
NOTES
Jay Sisco completed Pottsgrove’s scoring inside the game’s final minute. The Falcon sophomore, taking over for Finn behind center toward the end, had a 23-yard run off-center good for a touchdown with 36 seconds left. … Isaiah Taylor, the lone ninth-grader listed on the Falcon roster, had 27 yards on six carries in late fourth-quarter action. … LePre noted Methacton had twice played night football at home, using portable lights both times.
