The Owen J. Roberts and Pottstown football teams have had a pretty rough go of it over the past two months — with just one combined win between the two since Week 5.
Shortly after noon on Thursday, though, either the Wildcats or Trojans will have something to be plenty thankful for: a season-ending victory.
The Wildcats (2-6, 2-9) and Trojans (1-7, 2-8) close out Pioneer Athletic Conference play with the 56th edition of their traditional Thanksgiving Day battle at OJR’s Bernat Field.
And you can better believe both squads hunger for a ‘ W’ as much as they do a holiday feast.
“A win would feel extremely good for the outgoing seniors and provide something good and positive for their memories,’ said OJR coach Tom Barr, whose squad took last year’s meeting 27-6. “And for the underclassmen, it would be a confidence-builder.’
The same goes for the Trojans, who are seeking to halt a six-game losing streak.
“It would be huge for us to close out the season with a victory,’ Pottstown coach Don Grinstead said. “It is very important to our guys that we finish the season strong, and get a win. We had early success this season (in a 2-2 start) but could not maintain it so a win on Thanksgiving would obviously mean a lot to our guys.’
Both teams have had to tackle their share of adversity this season, most notably a slew of injuries. The Trojans lost stalwart linebacker Vaughn Bertoti to a broken leg in a preseason scrimmage, while the Wildcats have had to tinker with their personnel packages throughout the fall.
Thanks to a couple of long layoffs — Pottstown hasn’t played since Nov. 1; OJR has been idle since Nov. 7 — each squad has had time to heal up.
The Wildcats, who have utilized four different quarterbacks this year, are expected to go with junior Mitch Bradford behind center — though Barr indicated freshman Dawson Stuart could see a few snaps here and there.
Adam Pinelli (who battled a calf injury for the second half of the year) is back in the backfield along with Khalil Spriggs and fullback Bill Scherfel, with Tony Thomas and Brad Kinckner the top receiving targets.
“They don’t make any bones about what they are and who they are,’ Grinstead said. “They’re going to come out, run the ball and punch you in the mouth. We’ve stressed to our kids that it’s a matter of how we respond to that. Last year (when Wyatt Scott ran for 198 yards and four TDs) we didn’t respond very well. They kept running the ball and getting four-to-five yards a carry.’
The Trojans are similarly ground-based, with senior quarterback Gary Wise (team-high 706 yards, nine touchdowns), running back Bryant Wise and rushing/receiving threat Brandon Tinson their main weapons.
“We make no mistake about what we’re going to do, either,’ Grinstead said. “We’re going to run the triple option, and we’re hoping to execute it better than we did down the stretch.’
Containing Pottstown’s “Big 3′ will be the objective for an OJR defense led by linebacker Scherfel and safety Bradford, while a Trojans’ D that’s gotten big contributions from linebackers Gary and Bryant Wise, safety Tinson and sophomore lineman Ernest McCalvin will be tasked with slowing down the Wildcats’ power running game.
“We’ve got 10 guys playing both ways,’ said Grinstead. “But the great thing about that is that, unlike the last half of our schedule, we only have to do it over one game.’
A game that should shape up as a pitched battle, despite the combatants’ respective records.
“We’ve been fighting through adversity all year, especially on the injury front,’ Barr said. “Penalties have been hurting us, and we haven’t been consistent.
“We’ve been moving guys from one position to another and asking kids to step up. They’ve been coming through, but we’ve just been coming out on the short end of the stick.’
That will change today for one of the teams as the Wildcats and Trojans add another chapter to their enduring rivalry.
