Pioneer Athletic Conference
Pottsgrove thinks its time has arrived
By Gorden Blain
As far as Pottsgrove head coach Rick Pennypacker is concerned, enough is enough.

The Falcons have had their fair share of strong, championship-caliber teams in the past. But they have reached the PIAA District 1 AAA championship game five times and have come up short each time.

This season Pottsgrove’s talent jumps off of the page. It all began to come together last season when the Falcons dominated conference play on their way to the championship and then advanced to the district AAA semifinals.

With a lineup still dominated by underclassmen, there’s no hiding the fact that Pottsgrove has what it takes to play football into December this season.

“We snuck up on people last year,” says Pennypacker. “We were shocked last year that they played beyond what we thought they could. They work and do everything they have to do. Hopefully, they play at the level they did last year and if they do, we could be pretty good. We’ve never been in this situation before. Now we’re the hunted, rather than the hunter. We have to react to that. We have the speed, talent and skill but can we play physical football? That’s our challenge.”

The headline grabbers are a foursome as talented as any group on any one team in Pennsylvania.

First team PAC all-star QB and DB Terrell Chestnut (6-0, 180, Jr.), a dual-threat who passed for 829 yards and 9 TDs and rushed for 1,493 yards and scored 25 TDs last season in his first season at QB. He already has major college football scholarship offers from Pitt and Rutgers and is on recruiters’ blue-chip lists. An AP first-team AAA all-state DB in 2007, he has 13 career interceptions.

“He’s a flat-out football player,” says Pennypacker. “He’s a great student. He has great character. He runs the 40 in 4.5 seconds. And now he’s an all-around QB.”

First team PAC all-star RB Maika Polamalu (6-1, 200, Jr.) rushed for 1,854 yards on 252 carries and scored 21 TDs and added another 247 yards on 11 receptions. He is the cousin of Pittsburgh Steeler safety Troy Polamalu and his father played at Penn State.

“He a freak of nature, “says Pennypacker. “He can run. He’s strong. He has great hands. He’s physical.”

First team AP All-state LB in 2008 and PAC all-star RB and LB Preston Hamlette (5-10, 225, Sr.) had 516 yards rushing and scored 7 TDs last season.

“He’s like a rock,” says Pennypacker. “He is very serious about his conditioning.”

DE-WR Kayvon Green (6-2, 210, Jr.) has emerged as a force on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

“He’s a player,” says Pennypacker. “He’s a big kid who can run. He’s definitely a Division 1 recruit… All of them are very committed, very smart football players. Our offense is geared around our talent.”

Pennypacker expects three other First team PAC all-stars--OL Dan Foust (Jr.), TE-LB Scott Madl (Sr.) and DE Justin Oliveri (Sr.), slotback Angelo Berry (5-7, 150, Sr.), who returns to Pottsgrove, where he was second team PAC all-star as a sophomore, from Norristown, and DB Isaih Quick (6-0 180, Sr.) to make important contributions.

With eight returning starters on both offense and defense, Pennypacker says the Falcons need to find three offensive linemen, a DT, OLB and DB. Second team PAC all-star ILB Paul Owens (Sr.) has transferred.

“They’re excited about the season and their work ethic has been tremendous,” says Pennypacker. “Our challenge is to keep them focused. Young kids read press clippings.”

They’re about to make plenty more this season.

The rest of the PAC…
Riding the momentum of its first winning season since 2004 and its best record since 2000, Owen J. Roberts remains a formidable conference championship and PIAA District 1 AAA playoff contender. First Team AP All-State AAA RB and PAC all-star RB and DB Ryan Brumfield (5-10, 170, Jr.), who rushed for 2,258 rushing yards and scored 23 TDs last season and now has more than 3,000 yards rushing in his first two seasons, is the centerpiece once again for the Wildcats offense. Syracuse, Pitt, Maryland and Army are showing interest. Also returning are first team PAC all-star LB Rich Zazo (5-11, 230, Sr.), a Penn and Princeton recruit who is also a FB and who missed four games in 2008 with a knee injury, honorable mention PAC all-star LB Scott Syrek (5-11, 230, Jr.), first team PAC all-star LB Sam Funk (Jr.), OL-DL Kyle Moore (6-4, 250, Jr.) and second team PAC all-star OL-DL Sean Maloney (5-11, 240, Jr.), who bench presses more than 300 pounds. Wildcats head coach Tom Barr continues to develop the offensive and defensive fronts with talented underclassmen that should only improve the next two seasons. Also a WR, Funk rushed for 269 yards and had 219 yards receiving.

Second team PAC all-stars TE and LB Vince Ciaverelli (6-0, 190, Sr.) and RB-LB Ricky Yenchick (6-0, 180, Sr.), OL-DL Kevin Bohl (6-5, 260, Sr.), who is a Villanova and Lehigh recruit, RB-LB Sam McQuiston (5-8, 160, Sr.), honorable mention PAC all-stars WR-LB-S Derek Ryan (5-10, 160, Sr.) and OL-LB Matt Voscuso (6-1, 180, Sr.) and QB Thomas Romano (6-1, 160, Jr.) return for Phoenixville. Phantoms head coach Bill Furlong expects the Phantoms to be a darkhorse challenger to the conference frontrunners behind Romano, who passed for 1,034 yards and 11 TDs last season. "As smart and athletic as Romano is, he is without a doubt our most improved player from a season ago," says Furlong. "Being that Romano is still under the radar, we feel he will have a breakout season and surprise a lot of people."

Honorable mention conference all-stars RB-LB Chase Fleming (6, 210, Sr.), who rushed for 368 yards and had 141 yards receiving, OL Steve Grover (5-11, 215, Sr.), DE Nick Hale (5-11, 195, Sr.) and DB Andrew Orlick (5-8, 185, Sr.) return for Upper Perkiomen. QB Casey Perlstein (6-1, 195, Jr.), after finishing 2008 as the starter for the Indians and passing for 252 yards and 2 TDs, and RB-DB Shawn Wenhold (5-8, 200, Sr.), who rushed for 606 yards and had 402 yards receiving, return along with OL-DL Dwayne Gillespie (5-11, 255, Sr.) and younger brother DB Ronnie Gillespie (5-10, 170, Soph.). Head coach Keith Leimer expects newcomer SE-CB Tyler Moser (6-1, 190, Sr.) to emerge as a playmaker on an offense that features a set of speedy, multi-threat athletes.

Honorable mention PAC all-star RB Logan Herb (Sr.), who rushed for 622 yards and scored 7 TDs and caught 21 passes for 288 yards, second team OL and honorable mention PAC all-star DL Wilmer Barndt (Sr.) and second team PAC all-star LB Jared Giles (Sr.) return for Boyertown.

With a veteran-dominated team, Methacton head coach Bob McNally believes the Warriors have the opportunity to climb over the .500 mark for the first time since the 2000 season. Drawing recruiting interest from PSAC, Patriot and Ivy league teams, the Warriors’ top offensive threat, honorable mention PAC all-star QB James McHugh (6-3, 195, Sr.), passed for 1,285 yards and 12 TDs in 2008. FB-LB Rusty Bryant (5-10, 190, Sr.), who had 381 yards rushing in 2008,OC Joe Markley (5-11, 220, Sr.), OL-DL Anthony Smith (5-10, 200, Sr.) also return along with defensive playmaker and second team PAC all-star OL-LB Michael He (6-1, 220, Sr.), who is a Johns Hopkins, Carnegie, Lehigh and Lafayette recruit. Honorable mention PAC all-star TE Patrick McMichael (6-2, 205, Sr.) and improving DB Michael Fontenella (5-10, 170, Sr.) also return.

Perkiomen Valley head coach Scott Reed says he doesn’t have any returning or emerging players to talk about. PK Justin Morgan (Sr.) was a second team PAC all-star last season, the only Viking to earn all-star recognition in 2008.

Spring-Ford largely rides on the shoulders of returning second team PAC all-stars RB David Tyler, who rushed for 1,021 yards, caught 20 passes for 327 yards and scored 17 TDs, and WR Andy Ellison, who caught 45 passes for 715 yards.

At St. Pius X, DE-LB Tyler Pollick (6-2, 200, Sr.) and QB-S Cole Parkinson (6-2, 165, Sr.) lead a group of 20 returning seniors who expect to improve over the 2008 team that won just one game. Pollick has drawn recruiting interest from Princeton, Brown, and Villanova. The multi-threat Parkinson passed for 653 yards and 5 TDs, rushed for 650 yards and caught 10 passes for 166 yards last season. Srs. Josh Rogers (6-2, 210, OG-DE), Matt Raymond (5-11, 230, OG) and Kevin Pence (6, 220, OT) return and former tackle Martin Shields (6-3, 230, Sr.) has been converted to TE to give the Winged Lions another option in head coach George Parkinson’s spread passing game. LBs Aaron Tarlecki (5-11, 185, Sr.) and Conner Myers (6, 175, Jr.) also return. Tarlecki rushed for 213 yards and had 213 yards receiving last season. A change is planned for next season when St. Pius X merges with Kennedy-Kenrick from the Philadelphia Catholic League to form a new high school Pope John Paul II in Upper Providence Township, which will continue to compete in the Pioneer Conference.

Pottstown head coach Brett Myers wants to find out if the Trojans off-season commitment in the weight room—an effort that has led him to call this the “physically strongest” team he’s ever coached, translates into more victories for a talented group of returning starters. Jeff Endy (5-9, 170, Jr.) is now the starting QB. OTs Will Carter (6-3, 285, Sr.) and Jacob Slick (6-2, 340, Sr.) lead a group of four returning starters on the OL. There’s a more prominent role for FB Marc Smith (5-8, 190, Jr.), who rushed for 668 yards and 4 TDs last season. LB Tyemeke Santos (6-1, 205, Sr.), a three-year starter who has Delaware and Temple interested, and second team DE Evan Bauer (6-3, 220, Sr.) are playmakers on defense.

Favorite: Pottsgrove
Main Contender: Owen J. Roberts
Preseason Player of the Year: QB-DB Terrell Chestnut (6-0, 165, Jr.) Pottsgrove