Sun Valley sinks Pottstown, 27-6
Pottstown football got over the hump last season, but when a new year started on a scalding Saturday afternoon at Grigg Memorial Field, the Trojans were back at rolling the boulder up the mountain.
Sun Valley certainly did its part to get the ball rolling the wrong direction on the Trojans. The game’s first touchdown was a beauty when Sun Valley QB Gabe Boccella dropped one down the chimney to Ishy Ahmad, who made an over-the-shoulder catch while well-covered for a 28-yard TD play.
“That was a phenomenal play. Great catch, great throw,” Boccella said.
Sun Valley’s Jon Kester falls forward into the end zone for the Vanguards’ second score.
The momentum firmly with the Vanguards in the second quarter with a pair of touchdowns inside 3:36 of halftime, Caliph Jones’ interception return for a TD that gave Sun Valley a 15-point lead that fully held up in a 27-6 win over Pottstown.
Photo Gallery: Sun Valley at Pottstown
The boulder was rolling back down on Pottstown in the second quarter, recalling the tests of adversity the Trojans generally passed last fall while going 7-5 and making the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. Gary Rhodenbaugh had been there as offensive coordinator under Don Grinstead; Saturday he was making his debut as Pottstown coach. So at halftime with his team trailing Sun Valley 21-6 due largely to mistakes and costly penalties, Rhodenbaugh was eager to see if there was a carry-over from 2015 in the overcoming adversity category.
Not quite, but not bad considering the effort put forth in the third quarter particularly. On two possessions the Trojans moved the ball inside the Sun Valley 30 but got turned away on fourth down both times. Getting down there and threatening to tighten up the game showed fight; not closing those drives and, more to the point, not starting off well and getting in that precarious position gave the new head coach plenty of teaching ammunition this week as school starts. New season, old course: Football Adversity 101 for a team that has talent and tenacity.
“One thing we talked to the kids at halftime about that we were concerned about was resiliency and the ability to bounce back,” Rhodenbaugh said. “So we are happy we were able to put some drives together.
“We weren’t able to finish them in the second half, and that’s something we need to work on. But they showed some resiliency, and we still need to work on that and overcoming that adversity.”
“We want to carry over what we started last year,” Pottstown nose tackle Ernest McCalvin said. “Coach keeps telling us to keep our heads up; when we make a mistake, keep our heads up.”
The mistakes that proved too much to overcome occurred in a momentum-shifting sequence in the second quarter.
An Owen Morton-to-Aaron Diamond 44-yard TD hookup had gotten Pottstown on the board, trailing 7-6 after a blocked point-after kick. But Sun Valley broke a big run that ended up being a back-breaker when an unsportsmanlike penalty on Pottstown tacked on. Quentin West’s 35-yard burst plus the 15-yard flag put the Vanguards on the Trojan 25-yard line. Next play, Pottstown was flagged for pass interference, which set up Jon Kester’s 9-yard TD run with 3:36 left in the half.
On the ensuing possession, Morton was picked off by Jones, who took it to the house from 53 yards out as Sun Valley took its 15-point halftime lead.
“The pick-six was the key play of the game,” Sun Valley coach Ray Gionta said.
Pottstown’s Isaiah Mayes runs through an arm tackle before being brought down by Sun Valley’s AJ Basht (58).
Pottstown, led by some good blocking and the running of Isaiah Mayes and Anthony Wiggins, reached the Sun Valley 27 and 26, respectively, on consecutive possessions but stalled on fourth down both times.
“They were moving the ball pretty good,” Gionta said. “Pottstown looked pretty good on film, and they’re scrappy and well-coached. It was an even game for most of the game.”
The Vanguards ran some fourth-quarter clock and got a 12-yard TD gallop from Charlie Wendling with 6:40 left to play. With a lot of kids on both teams playing two-way on an extremely hot day, Gionta noted, “It was a tough day for everybody.”
Especially for the Trojans, who might’ve deserved better had they played better in certain stretches.
“We need to work together more as a team and execute more,” McCalvin said.
And as Rhodenbaugh noted, there’s a lot of football ahead.
“Our goal primarily is to win the Frontier Division and go to the District 1 playoffs,” he said. “And a week one loss doesn’t necessarily take any of those away.”
Notes >> Both teams showed good depth at running back. Mayes led all rushers with 78 yards. Rhodenbaugh is excited about his backs as runners and receivers and calls his offense “a little more Wing-T-ish” this season.
