Successful senior class has Phoenixville on course for another winning season

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 had a far-reaching impact on practically every aspect of American life.

In its aftermath, some organizations not only survived, but flourished. That was true for the Phoenixville High football program, which has been on a decided upswing since the shutdown and alteration of activities that accompanied the pandemic.

“The players that season,” Phantom head coach Anthony Ciarlello recalled, “played only four games. They’ve grown a lot. They earned anything they got.”

What the players from the Class of 2024 got, alongside their other teammates, is a streak of winning records. From the 2-2 mark of 2020, they went 4-2 in 2021 and 6-5 the following year, making the PIAA District 1-5A playoffs but bowing out in the first round to Springfield-Delco.

Coming into the current season with a roster numbering approximately 40 to 50 players – 12 of them are seniors – Phoenixville is in strong position to continue its upward swing. Its bolstered by a corps of returning varsity performers who scored a combined eight spots on the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s All-Frontier Division first and second teams a year ago.

“They have a chance to turn the corner, and help set it up,” Ciarlello, heading into his fourth year leading the program, said. “They have to continue the healthy start.

“The kids do a lot to stay in shape,” he added. “A number of them run track in the spring. They’ve worked at a higher level in the off-season.”

Quarterback Ty Romance is back behind center following a junior season where he was injured in Phoenixville’s first game. His younger brother, Talon, stepped in and ranked sixth among PAC quarterbacks with 891 yards (52-for-108) and nine touchdowns in league play.

“Things have been going pretty well,” Ty Romance noted. “In the offseason, we’ve been going with 7-on-7s and roving times rotated workouts.

“The team is a brotherhood.”

The Phantoms will be well-stocked behind Romance, with Sam Moore and Darius Watson lining up in the offensive backfield. They combined for more than 1,250 yards rushing and 10 scores in 2022.

Moore is coming off a productive junior campaign that saw him finish fourth in the PAC with 959 rushing yards and five TDs. His output earned him first-team honors in the conference’s All-Frontier Division offensive backfield.

Watson covered 302 yards and scored five touchdowns as a junior fullback. Deacon Williams, a junior, could also figure in the ground game this fall, as could classmate Myles Tenbroeck.

“Our running backs have grown the last few years, running with the ball,” Moore said.

The O-line is headed by seniors Danny Aselton and Jamie Gray. Joining them are juniors Andrew Kirk and T.J. Howard, both of whom were second teamers on the 2022 Frontier offensive line.

“Our line is the deepest it’s been,” Moore added.

Targets for Romance will include senior tight end Shane Callen and junior wide receiver Trey Lear.

“The key will be making our reads and understanding defenses,” Romance said. “The line up front is good. Trey Lear and Callen are big targets.”

The defense is anchored by a number of seniors who’ve played both sides of the ball. Four of them were accorded all-division honors in 2022.

Moore and Aselton are both ends, and both were all-Frontier second teamers last fall. Watson was another second team All-Frontier pick at inside linebacker, and junior T.J. Howard got similar honors as a defensive tackle.

Gray remains stout as a defensive tackle. Kirk figures to see double-duty on the d-line, with Callen in the mix at defensive end and Williams at linebacker.

“The linemen are pulling together,” Aselton added. “The big part of our success is pulling together.”

Lear is back at defensive back, coming off an All-PAC Frontier second team performance his sophomore season.

Among the youngsters, sophomore Cameron English is making a case for playing both lines.

“He’s worked hard to become a leader,” Watson said.

Other seniors on the roster are Camar Brown (OL/DL), Ryan Rea (OL/DL), Issac Sampalo (OL/DB), Hayden Tenbroeck (WR/DB), Carlton Wing (RB/LB) and Gabriel Zambrano (K).

For the 2023 season, an Oct. 21 game with Pope John Paul II looms big on Phoenixville’s radar. The Golden Panthers were the only Frontier opponent over which the Phantoms were unable to prevail, blanked 42-0 on Oct. 22.

“It was a rough game last year,” Callen recalled. “We don’t just want to win. We need to win.”