Upper Perkiomen explodes in second half of 38-12 win over Pottstown

POTTSTOWN >> Upper Perkiomen had numerous opportunities to score in the first half Friday night at Pottstown, only to be stopped time after time by the aggressive Trojan defense. But a blocked punt, a recovered fumble and a failed fake punt gave the Indians even more chances to score after the intermission. And this time they did not fail, as they wiped out a 9-point deficit and more in a 38-12 Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier Division win at Grigg Memorial Field.

Zach Schwartz ran for 170 yards and two touchdowns and Mike Boyle passed for two scores for Upper Perk (1-2 Frontier, 2-5 overall). Dillon Mayes and Rasheen Bostic ran for touchdowns for the Trojans (0-3, 1-6).

“At halftime, we talked about how our very first drive was a nice drive and then we had that penalty,” Upper Perk coach Tom Hontz said concerning a personal foul that pushed the Indians back from a 1st-and-goal at the 1-yard line all the way back to the 24. “In the second half, we were very disciplined and we capitalized on some of their turnovers.”

On the other hand, the Trojans showed a lack of discipline at times – especially at some crucial junctures – as they were whistled for 16 penalties on the night for a total of 108 yards.

“All those penalties,” said Pottstown coach Levert Hughes. “You can’t win games like that.”

Upper Perkiomen drove 60 yards on its first possession, but had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Logan Watkins after the costly infraction. The Trojans fumbled the ball away at the 24 on their first play after the ensuing kickoff, but the defense came through again as Kydair Cotton intercepted a pass in the end zone.

Then Pottstown drove 93 yards and took the lead on a 1-yard run by quarterback Mayes. And the Trojans boosted their lead to 12-3 after stopping the visitors on a 4th-down play and 67 yards the other way, topped off by a 15-yard TD run by Bostic.

The Pottstown defense went right back to work after the halftime break, dropping the Indians for three straight losses, including a hard hit by Mylil Wilson for a 2-yard loss on a screen play.

But things started to go downhill quickly after that for the hosts. The blocked punt set the Indians up at the 17 and Boyle hit Schwartz with an 8-yard pass to cut the deficit to 12-10. Then the lost fumble gave Upper Perk the ball at the 12 and Schwartz ran seven yards for a TD and a 17-12 advantage shortly after.

A surprise run on a 4th-and-16 play by the hosts came up short at the 35. And once again the Indians capitalized, scoring on a 2-yard pass from Boyle to Tyler Hoffer to make it 24-12 midway through the fourth quarter. An interception by Matt Delzingaro and late TD runs by Schwartz (79 yards) and Weiss (40 yards) clinched the win.

“It was just great to get a win,” said Hontz, whose team had dropped four contests in a row.

The Upper Perk defense held the hosts to 209 yards, with just 50 of them coming in the second half.

“I really like the way Chidike Eruba played,” said Hontz. “He really played well out there and he keeps improving. And Ethan Scharneck played defense really well. The key was to control No. 9 (Mayes) and we did that pretty well.”

Pottstown held the visitors to 288 yards, including only 40 through the air. But penalties were too much to overcome, including one on a 4th-down play that gave the Indians a first down at the two.

“We make a stop and give them15 yards,” said Hughes. “We make a stop and get a personal foul. It’s a maturity thing mentally. We’ve still got to teach them how to win. We’ll change it.”

Before the game, the Pottstown 2002 undefeated championship team was honored. The squad out-scored its opponents 403-3 in nine league games and allowed opponents past the 50-yard line just three times the entire season.

Upper Perkiomen 38, Pottstown 12

Upper Perkiomen 3 0 14 21 38
Pottstown 0 12 0 0 12

SCORING
First quarter
UP-Watkins 31 FG
Second quarter
PT-Mayes 1 run (kick failed)
PT-Bostic 15 run (pass failed)
Third quarter
UP-Schwartz 8 pass from Boyle (Watkins kick)
UP-Schwartz 7 run (Watkins kick)
Fourth quarter
UP-Hoffer 2 pass from Boyle (Watkins kick)
UP-Schwartz 71 run (Watkins kick)
UP-Weiss 40 run (Watkins kick)

TEAM STATISTICS
UP PT
First downs 17 12
Rushing yards 248 137
Passing yards 40 72
Total yards 288 209
Passes C-A-I 10-17-1 5-14-1
Fumbles-Lost 4-2 0-0
Penalties-Yards 6-65 16-108
Punts-Avg. 1-45 2-6.0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Upper Perkiomen: Schwartz 23-170, 2 TD’s; Weiss 2-47, 1 TD; Boyle 4-14; Krier 2-9; Northern 1-5; Hoffer 2-3
Pottstown: Booker 5-53; Bostic 10-43, 1 TD; Mayes 9-27,1 TD; Wilson 2-22; Thomas 4-5; Spell 1-2; Lyons 2-0; Green 1-(-7); Suber 1-(-8)
PASSING
Upper Perkiomen: Boyle 10-17-40, 2 TD’s, 1 INT
Pottstown: Mayes 5-14-72, 1 INT
RECEIVING
Upper Perkiomen: Schwartz 4-15, 1 TD; Hoffer 3-17, 1 TD; Northern 2-5; Carino 1-3
Pottstown: Wilson 2-23; Bostic 1-22; Winfield 1-14; Washington 1-13
Interceptions: Upper Perkiomen Delzingaro. Pottstown-Cotton