Spring-Ford snaps skid, blasts Boyertown 42-7
ROYERSFORD >> A three-game losing streak has rarely been seen around Spring-Ford in recent times.
It became clear early Friday night: it was not going to reach four.
The Rams dominated all phases and got two touchdowns apiece from seniors Payton West and Harry Adieyefeh as they rolled to a 42-7 victory over Boyertown at Coach McNelly Stadium.
It was 28-0 at halftime in favor of Spring-Ford, which improved to 3-3 (1-1 PAC).
“I think we knew the level we could play at, we just had to fix some little things,” said Adieyefeh, who ran for 91 yards on 14 carries. “We all know the team we have and tonight was a good first step. We knew what we could do, we just had to get the ball rolling.”
The Rams spread the wealth offensively: quarterbacks Ryan Freed and Matt Zollers split time and combined to go 17-for-19 for 290 yards and three touchdowns. They connected with eight different receivers, headed by Gage Swanger (5 catches, 47 yards) and Zach Zollers (4 catches, 62 yards, 1 TD).
“It felt good, good to be back in the groove,” said West. “It was nice giving people opportunities in space to run the ball and keep the ball moving.”
Boyertown got a hard-earned 77 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries from senior running back Leo Egbe. But the Bears (0-2 PAC, 2-4 overall) were outgained 444-145 in total yards by the Rams.
“We know we’re a lot closer to them than what we showed tonight,” said Boyertown head coach TJ Miller. “We just didn’t play to our ability.
“We couldn’t get our running game going in the way we wanted. Our passing wasn’t what we wanted in the quick game; it just wasn’t there.”
Senior QB Freed connected with receiver Kolten Kqira on a 9-yard score with 8:10 left in the first quarter to open the scoring. Spring-Ford doubled the lead when the Zollers brothers connected on a 22-yard touchdown pass as freshman Matt, who split drives with Freed, threw a fade to junior Zach in the right corner of the end zone.
It was 21-0 on senior running back Harry Adieyefeh’s first score of the night, a 5-yard burst with 7:33 left in the second quarter. The score was set up by a long reception from Freed to Carson Brogdan.
With 5:30 to halftime Matt Zollers hit West in stride on a slant for a 59-yard touchdown and 28-0 lead.
Spring-Ford enacted the running clock when Adieyefeh ran in from 6 yards on its first drive of the third quarter. With kicker Liam McGarvey’s fifth extra point it was 35-0.
West added another score, this time running, on a 23-yard touchdown run as a Wildcat QB, for 42-0 early in the fourth.
“I liked the execution on offense,” Adieyefeh said. “We got in the red zone and scored a lot, which we hadn’t been doing a lot the last two games. We came out running the ball, everyone scoring and finishing drives so it was really good.”
Boyertown avoided the shutout when Egbe rushed up the middle from 10 yards out with 5:37 to play.
Two weeks ago the Bears won a four-overtime epic over Pottsgrove, a performance Miller would like to see replicated going forward rather than Friday’s lopsided loss.
“To beat a team in four overtimes tells you about the grit and toughness of a team,” Miller said. “When we play our best we can beat anybody. When we don’t play our best, we can get beat by anybody and we’ve shown that this year. Now we have to play our best to make it consistent.”
It was Spring-Ford’s 11th straight victory over Boyertown, a streak that dates back to Oct. 22, 2010.
At 3-3, it’s time for the Rams to go streaking again to ensure they are back in the District 1 Class 6A playoffs, a run that began in 2015.
“We need to keep playing well, don’t let up on any of these PAC teams and show them we’re still a dominant team in the PAC and district,” Adieyefeh said.
Spring-Ford 42, Boyertown 7
Boyertown 0 0 0 7 – 7
Spring-Ford 14 14 7 7 – 42
SF-Kolten Kqira 9 pass from Ryan Freed (Liam McGarvey kick)
SF-Zach Zollers 27 pass from Matt Zollers (McGarvey kick)
SF-Harry Adieyefeh 5 run (McGarvey kick)
SF-Payton West 59 pass from Matt Zollers (McGarvey kick)
SF-Adieyefeh 6 run (McGarvey kick)
SF-West 23 run (McGarvey kick)
B-Leo Egbe 10 run (Foskey kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
B SF
First downs 7 20
Rushing yards 122 154
Passing yards 23 290
Total yards 145 444
Passes C-A-I 3-9-0 17-19-0
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 5-45 4-30
Punts-Avg. 6-28.2 2-31
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Boyertown – Leo Egbe 14-77, Jason Oakes 4-39, Cole Yesavage 3-10, Anthony Panarello 8-1, Chase Ristine 2-1, Roman Marinello 4-(-6)
Spring-Ford – Harry Adieyefeh 14-91, Arthur Vigilante 1-25, Payton West 2-25, Matt Zollers 3-12, Jseth Owens 2-12, Josh An 1-11, Luke Hall 2-(-10), Ryan Freed 1-(-12).
Passing
Boyertown – Anthony Panarello 3-9-0-23
Spring-Ford – Matt Zollers 10-12-0-159, Ryan Freed 6-6-0-121, Arthur Vigilante 1-1-0-10.
Receiving
Boyertown – Jason Oakes 2-18, Cade Sennott 1-5.
Spring-Ford – Gage Swanger 5-47, Zach Zollers 4-62, Carson Bogdan 2-76, Adieyefeh 2-15, West 1-59, Will Fish 1-12, Jake Reigh 1-10, Kolten Kqira 1-9.
Interceptions – none
Sacks – Bears 1.
