Week 10 Preview: Pope John Paul II out for revenge on Perkiomen Valley in PAC championship rematch

Played in a driving rain and windstorm, last season’s Pioneer Athletic Conference championship game between Perkiomen Valley and Pope John Paul II saw two high-flying offenses limited to the ground game, as the Vikings overpowered the Golden Panthers 30-0 in claiming their fourth PAC title in six years.

Now it’s Pope John Paul II’s turn to try to return the favor on its own turf. And its got another ace up its sleeve in first-year coach Scott Reed, who knows the Perkiomen Valley program as well as anyone.

Reed, who coached Perkiomen Valley from 2004 to 2015, elevated the program to the heights current coach Rob Heist and his staff have since maintained. He still teaches within the school district and returned to local high school football last year as an assistant coach at Pope John Paul II before taking the top job this season.

“Scott Reed is a pillar of the Perkiomen Valley football program,” Heist said. “The passion for football that he brought to growing our program was unquestioned.

“Scott and I started together coaching eighth grade at PV. I value our relationship and everything that we’ve been through together as a staff immensely. I had no doubt when he took the head football coach job at PJP that they would be successful, and that has proven true. Scott is a terrific teacher, coach, and person.”

It’s been a wildly successful return as the Golden Panthers stand at 9-0 (5-0 PAC Frontier) behind an offense loaded with contributing skill players. Sophomore Luke Terlesky is completing an impressive 73 percent of his passes, accumulating a league-leading 1,577 yards to go along with 14 passing touchdowns.

Favorite targets include fellow sophomore Braden Reed (36 catches for 612 yards, 5 TDs), junior Brett Mitala (33 catches for 427 yards, 6 TDs), and senior Brendan Kenning (22 catches for 342 yards, 3 TDs).

And as impressive as those numbers are, the key for Perkiomen Valley may lie in bottling up a running game powered by senior Nyzir Lake and Justin Lopata on the offensive line, paving the way for Boyd Skarbek’s 6.6 yards per carry and 17 rushing scores in 2022.

The Vikings come in off an impressive defensive performance against Boyertown where they forced four turnovers and held the Bears scoreless until the final minute.

The linebacker level is as good as any, with Carson Pascoe and Robbie Sturges manning the outside positions. Vance Junker, Drew Kenworthy, and Carter Euker also contributed several tackles in thwarting the Bears repeatedly.

When Perkiomen Valley goes on offense, its relying upon its own sophomore quarterback, Patrick MacDonald, to take care of the ball and make big throws when needed. MacDonald (68 percent completions, 823 yards passing, 9 TDs) conducts a diverse running game led by junior Jake Stewart (6.6 yards per carry, 8 TDs) and senior Ryan Klimek (394 yards rushing, 7 TDs).

Michael Poruban (27 catches for 434 yards, three TDs) is MacDonald’s favorite target through the air.

The Vikings also have Owen Peterlin, Brad Curci, and other offensive weapons to play roles in an increasingly unpredictable attack.
“PV and No. 39’s depth is a major concern,” Reed said. “They have so many good players at all three levels on both sides of the ball, and just about every one of them plays on one side of the ball.”

By contrast, the Golden Panthers employ many of their main contributors on both sides, but a couple x- factors could be Derek and Dylan Skarbek. Dylan, a freshman, stepped up in the place of injured teammates and has become a valued contributor while Derek – one of those previously injured teammates – has returned to provide stability and leadership in the secondary.

It’s hard to find a special teams advantage, as Perkiomen Valley’s Klimek and Pope John Paul II’s Ben Bosio are each among the league’s most accurate kickers.

With no common opponents between the two, we look at their biggest games to date. Perkiomen Valley has a pair of one-point wins against a pair of District 1 Class 6A playoff teams in Downingtown West and Spring-Ford, and a competitive loss against District 12 powerhouse Roman Catholic, whose loaded schedule has yielded only one loss to Malvern Prep.

Pope John Paul II topped 6A Father Judge in Week 2 and blew out perennial contender Berks Catholic the following week. It hammered its way through the Frontier Division, its narrowest margin 19 points against Upper Merion and recording two shutouts along the way.

The Golden Panthers also enjoy homefield advantage this year, plus any added preparation familiarity that comes with playing their home games during the days on Saturdays as opposed to the Vikings’ customary Friday evening contests.

It’s the seventh year of Liberty vs. Frontier matchups, with the ‘small school’ division yet to break through. And the thing that makes it so hard to predict said breakthrough is that the majority of those Frontier losses have come against this year’s Liberty representative.

It’s the closest title matchup in years, but in the end… Perkiomen Valley 27, Pope John Paul II 19

Spring-Ford (6-3, 4-1 PAC Liberty) at Phoenixville (6-3, 4-1 PAC Frontier), 7 p.m. Friday

Coach Chad Brubaker admitted his Rams weren’t prepared for last year’s crossover matchup and promised that won’t be the case when Spring-Ford travels to Phoenixville for a matchup of Class 6A and 5A playoff teams. Spring-Ford’s defense hasn’t allowed a touchdown in two weeks, but Methacton scored on a kickoff return against the Rams, making kick coverage this week’s area of focus.

Matt Zollers hit seven different received in an 11-for-11 performance last week against Norristown.

Phoenixville goes as 1,000-yard rusher Sam Moore goes, and Moore looks to bounce back from a quiet game in a loss to Pope John Paul II. The Phantoms hope to capture the homefield advantage robbed from them last week in hopes of picking up a win over 6A Spring-Ford, which would lift their chances of hosting a District playoff game.

Owen J. Roberts (5-4, 2-3 PAC Liberty) at Pottsgrove (5-4, 3-2 PAC Frontier)

Huge contest for the Wildcats, currently in the last spot of the 16-team Class 6A playoff field, and for wide receiver Danny Cashman, who stands within striking distance of both the single-season (722 yards, Matt Raymond) and career (1,294 yards, Hunter Hinrichs) receiving records at Owen J. Roberts.

While a win doesn’t automatically clinch a playoff spot for the Wildcats, a loss makes their road to the postseason quite challenging.

Pottsgrove is in a similar race for a spot in the Class 4A field but can in fact clinch that spot with a win over 6A Owen J. Roberts. The Falcons will use a combination of senior Bryce Caffrey and freshman Chase Hawthorne at quarterback in the absence of Gabe Rinda.

Methacton (4-5, 2-3 PAC Liberty) at Upper Merion (4-5, 2-3 PAC Frontier)0 

Methacton’s move to 5A this season creates a situation where the two teams are right next to one another in the District 1 playoff race. Methacton’s in the playoffs, while Upper Merion is likely with it but might need the win just a little more to ensure that position.

“Two teams, neck and neck in the 5A playoff standings going at it,” Upper Merion coach Davis Chubb said. “We’re playing for the same thing. How much better can it get?”

They’ll get no sympathy from a Warriors squad battling a number of injuries to key contributors and hoping to have Anthony Perillo and Levi Borkowski available on Friday. Tyler Weil-Kaspar was a jack-of-all-trades last week vs. Owen J. Roberts, but coach Brian Kennedy hopes to have him in one spot for Friday night’s contest.

Boyertown (4-5, 2-3 PAC Liberty) at Upper Perkiomen (2-7, 1-4 PAC Frontier)

Payback is the theme for the hosts, who no doubt remember the 61-0 thrashing they received at Memorial Stadium to start the 2022 season.
Back at home this time, Upper Perkiomen hopes to send its seniors out on a high note by demonstrating their improvement in this bookend contest with Boyertown.

For the Bears, the opportunity to go .500 in Justin Konnick’s first season at the helm after playing a challenging schedule would be indicative of the measure improvement the squad displayed in 2022.

Cole Yesavage looks to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season for Boyertown.

Norristown (2-7, 0-5 PAC Liberty) at Pottstown (1-8, 0-5 PAC Frontier)

Another rematch from the nonconference slate, the first matchup saw Norristown seize control of a seesaw contest to claim a 21-12 win in Week 3.

Pottstown hopes to send out seniors like Joneil Oister with another victory, but they’ll be looking to youngsters Kingston Allen, Antwon Lofton, Mikell, Williams, and Jace Burgess to give the banged-up team a boost.

Daniel Boone (1-8, 0-5 Lancaster-Lebanon 3) at Fleetwood (2-7, 0-5 Lancaster-Lebanon 3)

The Blazers are in search of a conference win in this final contest with Fleetwood. A week 3 victory over Muhlenberg was followed by five consecutive losses for Boone, and coach Rob Flowers hopes to see the team dig deep in hopes of salvaging some momentum going into the offseason.

Hill School (2-5, 1-1 Mid-Atlantic Prep League) at Kiski Prep (2-4), 2 p.m. Saturday

Next week brings the biggest game of the year for the Rams, and this week’s visit from Kiski Prep gives Hill a chance to refine its offensive attack and shore up the defense before going to take on Lawrenceville.

Kiski broke a four-game losing streak last week, topping Riverdale Baptist while Hill dropped a hard- fought contest to Blair Academy.