BOYERTOWN >> A Pioneer Athletic Conference football championship wasn’t in the cards for Pottsgrove this fall.

 

A double-digit loss to Perkiomen Valley last week dashed those hopes for the Falcons, the Vikings clinching that distinction in the process. But a district playoff berth was still within its grasp, and Pottsgrove kept control of that destiny Friday against Boyertown.

 

With Torin Verdone and Michael Fowler each figuring in on two touchdowns, the Falcons rolled up a 38-6 victory on the Bears in both teams’ PAC-10 regular-season finale. While putting a damper on Boyertown’s Senior Night ceremonies, the visitors’ mindset was not so much the game having playoff implications as it was the actual post-season.

 

“We prepared like it was a playoff game,” head coach Rick Pennypacker said. “We felt if we didn’t win, we could end up getting a lower seed. If we did win, we could be looking at maybe getting a home game.”

 

 

That approach fueled Pottsgrove (7-2 league, 7-3 overall) in an early-game surge that saw it score on its first three possessions — all set up by the defense forcing Boyertown to turn the ball over — for a 21-point lead through the first quarter. A one-sided victory, and the possibility of bringing the “running clock” into play, appeared very much in the cards.

 

 

But the game played differently from there. The Bears (5-4, 5-5) stemmed the run by marching for their lone touchdown less than three minutes into the second quarter, and the Falcons saw three potential scores negated by penalties (two) and a fumble into the end zone.

 

 

“We didn’t play smart,” Pennypacker said. “Fumbling the ball at the one-foot line ... we can’t make mistakes like that. I want us to keep improving, but we’re still making mistakes.”

 

 

To its credit, Pottsgrove didn’t let those missed opportunities undo the night’s overall effort. They got other points from Garrett Bleakley (35-yard field goal), Fowler (44-yard punt return) and Devon Fink, whose 22-yard scoring run with 4:18 left to play capped an effort that saw him gain a game-high 117 yards on a workmanlike 22 carries.

 

 

“Since that last game,” Fink said, “we played as hard as we can to make everything right. We knew we had to come back and get a victory.”

 

 

Tyler Smith’s recovery of a Lawrence Garnett fumble, on Boyertown’s third touch of the game, set the stage for Verdone’s one-yard burst up the middle with less than 3-1/2 minutes expired. The Bears went another three plays on their next series before Deyon Doctor picked off Garnett (6-for-13, 50 yards) in prelude to Verdone (10-for-16, 128 yards) hooking up with Michael Fowler (seven catches, 113 yards) on a nine-yard TD toss at the 5:08 mark.

 

 

Fowler then pounced on another Bear fumble at the home team’s 42. A 30-yard Verdone-to-Fowler hookup and three Fink carries put fullback Paris Janusek in position to cover the last four on a pair of runs one minute before the end of the opening stanza.

 

 

“Our line,” Fink said about the success of a running game that got a combined 155 yards from four runners. “They had the best technique.”

 

 

Bleakley converted his field goal seconds before the half ended, the original 30-yard attempt pushed back five yards by a penalty. The back-and-forth start to the second half was punctuated by Fowler taking a Boyertown punt at its 44 and roaring along the hosts’ sideline to score with 3:13 remaining until the fourth.

 

 

Fink then provided the capper by bursting through right tackle for his 22-yard run. In the meantime, the Pottsgrove defense kept the Bears bottled up at their end of the field until their sixth and final possession, which ended on downs at the Falcon 35.

 

 

“Our kids have come a long way,” Pennypacker said. “Pat Finn (recovered fumble) played the whole game. He set the tone on defense along with (Madison) Kelsey and (Kysan) Harrow.”

 

 

Pottsgrove stood fifth of 11 teams in the district’s Class AAA power rankings coming into the week. In addition to a solid seat in the eight-team playoff bracket, it also assured itself of finishing with no less than a share of second place in the PAC-10 standings — contingent on the outcome of Saturday games involving Methacton and Spring-Ford (both 6-2).

 

 

“The teams will keep getting harder as we go through the playoffs,” Fink said. “With a hard matchup like Boyertown, we get confidence from it.”

 

 

NOTES

Garnett finished as Boyertown’s leading rusher with 44 yards on 16 carries, followed by Mitch Warriner (six carries, 29 yards) and Will Scholl (10 carries, 28 yards). “Garnett is a fantastic runner,” Fink said, “but at the end, we did a pretty good job stopping them.” ... Boyertown completed its first season under the direction of head coach George Parkinson matching its PAC-10 record from one year ago. With Upper Perkiomen’s loss to Perkiomen Valley Thursday, the Bears came into their finale poised to finish at least fifth in the league.