FRUSTRATED BOYERTOWN STOPPED BY WEST CHESTER

BY DAVE KUTCH READING EAGLE

BOYERTOWN PA 11/9/2016

Boyertown is going through a most frustrating football season.  The Bears continually go out and play well, only to lose because of a lack of speed. 

It was the same story Friday night in a 21-20 Ches Mont League loss to visiting West Chester East. 

The verdict was decided with two minutes left when Brian Musselman’s sweep  for a two point conversion was stacked up inside the 1.  Musselman had just scored his third touchdown, using a similar play around the same end from 5 yards. 

The pitch sweep – to either side – led by a man in motion was a bread and butter play all night for Boyertown. 

“They had their end lined up inside or right in front of our end,” explained Boyertown coach Don Grim.  “Our fullback slipped in going for his block on the conversion.  He still threw his block and our guys did a super job.  They just came up a foot short. 

“They (East) played it well on that particular one.  It was our best play and we wanted to go for two.”

“It’s (coming up short) a bad habit we have.  I told the kids I’m extraordinarily proud of them the way they went out and played super.”

“It’s hard to explain to anyone why they can give them so much of themselves and still not come out on top.  I think this was our best all-around  game.”

The Bears had 18 first downs to East’s eight.  Musselman led the rushing attack of 175 yards with 101 on 15 carries.

“Musselman played his best game,” Grim said.  “He injured his shoulder earlier, and he’s just starting to get back in good condition.”

Musselman scored all the touchdowns – on a 13 yard pass from Rob Eidle and on runs of 12 and 5 yards. 

Eidle spiced the traditional running attack 89 yards passing. 

“We knew we’d have to pass more,” Grim said.  “They came with nine or 10 men rushing.  They did the same thing last week against Phoenixville.  They were blitzing to take away our running game.  They would crowd us on first and second downs, then let up on third down.”

But big plays again did in the Bears (3-6, 3-7). 

Friday it was two passes, Mike Stofflet hitting Bill Ward for touchdowns of 49 and 70 yards. 

“The first was a total breakdown,” Grim said.  “The guy who was supposed to cover it wasn’t there at all.  He might have tipped or fallen.  On the second one, he just hit the receiver perfectly.”

Boyertown scored first, driving 58 yards on eight plays bridging the first two quarters.  Musselman took Eidle’s pass for the final 13 yards with 11:10 left in the half.  Joe Dobry converted the first of two placements. 

It took east (6-3, 7-3) just four plays and 2:09 to draw even.  Stofflet hit the wide open Ward over the middle with 9:01 left in the half.  Chris Kerlin kicked his first of three placements. 

Boyertown held east at the Bears 26, following and Al Deans interception.  Boyertown ran out of time at the East 10 and the half ended 7-7. 

For the second straight week, the beginning of the third quarter was unkind to the Bears.  East required only three plays and 1:15 to cover 76 yards following the kickoff.  Stofflet hit Ward for the final 70 yards, Ward eluding Eric Irey’s desperation dive at the 30. 

Boyertown got a break on the Viking’s next possession.  On first down, Stofflet fumbled and the Bears recovered at the 26. 

Boyertown needed only two plays to score.  Robert Kulp gained 14 and Musselman went the final 12 for a 14-14 tie with 7:45 left in the third quarter. 

East which lost the services of ace running back Jack Byrne because of a pinched nerve, took the lead on its next possession.  The Vikings moved 58 yards in eight plays.  Stofflet gained 29 on a scramble and Byrne 4 despite a fumble.  Deans carried the other six times, scoring from the one with 3:19 left in the third quarter. 

“Jack hurt his shoulder at practice Tuesday, running a drill,” said Coach jack Byrne, his father.  “He got hit early tonight and it flamed up.  He couldn’t extend his arm.  That’s why he had trouble holding the ball.”

“Boyertown keyed on him.  They forgot we have another back (Deans) and a tight end (Ward).  Good balance is our key.  We played well when we had to. 

“Boyertown did a good job preparing for us and played a good ballgame.  Don Grim had a good game plan and they executed it well.”

Boyertown which was driven back from the Viking 13 early in the fourth quarter, took over following a punt at the East 36 with 4:32 left.  Seven plays later, Musselman swept left end for the touchdown.  Then he was stopped on the two point conversion attempt. 

Boyertown tried an onside kick but East controlled it.  The Vikings, who have won six straight since losing their opener, got a first down – Deans broke a run for 35 yards on a third and eight – which allowed them to run out the clock.  Deans finished with 93 yards on 17 carries. 

WEST CHESTER EAST                                       0              7              14           0              --             21

BOYERTOWN                                                     0              7              7              6              --             20

 

SCORING             BOY        MUSSELMAN 13 YARD PASS FROM EIDLE (DOBRY KICK)

                                WCE       WARD 49 YARD PASS FROM STOFFLET (KERLIN KICK)

                                WCE       WARD 70 YARD PASS FROM STOFFLET (KERLIN KICK)

                                BOY        MUSSELMAN 12 YARD RUN (DOBRY KICK)

                                WCE       DEANS 1 YARD RUN (KERLIN KICK)

                                BOY        MUSSELMAN 5 YARD RUN (RUN FAILED)

 

RUSHING: WEST CHESTER EAST: DEANS 17-93, BYRNE 7-18, STOFFLET 10-17

                   BOYERTOWN: MUSSELMAN 15-101, IREY 16-57, KULP 7-25, EIDLE 3-(-8)

 

RECEIVING: WEST CHESTER EAST: WARD 2-119, DEANS 1-8, BYRNE 1-3

                      BOYERTOWN: MUSSELMAN 4-47, IREY 2-17, KULP 1-6, NEIFFER 1-19

 

PASSING: WEST CHESTER EAST: STOFFLET 4-7-130 YARDS

                  BOYERTOWN: EIDLE 8-22-89 YARDS- 2 INTERCEPTIONS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STATISTICS                                                          WCE                                       BOY

FIRST DOWNS                                                    8                                              18

RUSHING YARDAGE                                        34-128                                   41-175

PASSING YARDAGE                                         130                                         89

TOTAL YARDAGE                                              258                                         264

PASSES                                                                 4-7-0                                      8-22-2

FUMBLES LOST                                                  6-1                                          0-0         

PUNTS                                                                  5-25.8                                    4-38.3

PENALTIES                                                          6-50                                       5-40

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BEARS ARE GENEROUS IN LOSS TO WHIPPETS

BY DAVE MESITER READING EAGLE

DOWNINGTOWN PA 11/16/1984

You can just bet that the Downingtown Whippets were not on Boyertown football coach Don Grim’s Christmas shopping list. 

Grim wasn’t about to give the Whippets one darn present – not even a stocking stuffer.  And yet, that’s exactly what happened here Friday night. 

In fact the Bear’s gave Downingtown four stocking stuffers – also known as fumbles – and neatly gift wrapped a 16-0 win for their Ches Mont rivals. 

Despite the win by Downingtown, the C-M runner up, league leader and undefeated Owen J Roberts was in a position to clinch the title with a victory over Coatsville this afternoon. 

Boyertown (3-7, 3-8), which has been hurt by turnovers  all season, fumbled four times, half of which Downingtown (8-2, 9-2) turned into a pair of touchdowns. 

After a scoreless first quarter, it was Bears running back Brian Musselman who lost the first fumble on his 13. 

Two plays later, Whippets quarterback Kevin Martin threw a 10 yard touchdown pass to end Bob Martin, who was running a curl pattern in front of the goal post. 

Later in the quarter, Bears defensive back Randy Geouque intercepted a Martin pass – the senior had picked one off in the first quarter, too – to give his team good field position at its 43. 

On the running of Eric Irey (12 carries, 32 yards) and the passing of Rob Eidle, the Bears moved to the Whippets 4, where Irey bobbled the ball trying to get in for the score. 

It was the closest Boyertown would come to scoring. 

Had Irey scored and the Bears converted the extra point, it would have been 7-7 at the half.  Instead, it was the same old scenario for Boyertown – more costly turnovers. 

After the game, Grim had no answers for the turnovers and refused to blame a bitter wind-chill factor. 

“Today we just didn’t play our normal game,” Grim said.  “We sort of handed the game to them.  I just don’t really know how why.  We’re not normally a fumbling team.  I really don’t understand what the problem was; maybe Downingtown was just hitting harder.”

It looks as if things were going to change in the opening seconds of the third quarter when Musselman intercepted martin at midfield. 

But on the ensuing runback, uh huh, he fumbled.  Downingtown’s Greg DiRocco recovered at the Bears 35. 

Nine plays later Kevin Martin sneaked over  from the one, giving his team a 13-0 lead. 

But Downingtown coach mike Dominick, who has turned last years 1-11 Whippets into a repectable team, wasn’t satisfied. 

Faced with a fourth and 10 on his 42 during a drive midway through the fourth quarter, Dominick decided to go for it. 

With everybody thinking long pass – including Boyertown – Kevin Martin set up a perfect screen to Ralph Miller, who was running out of the backfield.  Miller caught the ball on the run and carried it 30 yards. 

The drive stalled again, but this time Dominick sent in Brian Murphy, who kicked a 25 yard field goal to close out the scoring. 

Boyertown could find no momentum in the second half, getting just one first down on 14 offensive plays.

The game was delayed by about 20 minutes in the first quarter when Downingtown back John Hayes went down with an apparent neck injury.  He was admitted to Paoli Memorial Hospital as a precautionary measure. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOYERTOWN                                     0              0              0              0              --             0

DOWNINGTOWN                             0              7              6              3              --             16

 

SCORING:            DOWN                  B. MARTIN 10 YARD PASS FROM K. MARTIN (MURPHY KICK)

                                DOWN                  K. MARTIN 1 YARD RUN (KICK FAIL)

                                DOWN                  MURPHY 25 YARD FIELD GOAL

 

RUSHING: BOYERTOWN: MUSSELMAN 5-11, IREY 12-32, KULP 7-33,

                   DOWNINGTOWN:  LIVINGSTON 14-48, K. MARTIN 6-21, DIROCCO 12-49, R. MILLER 8-58,

                                                      RAGLAND 4-2

 

RECEIVING: BOYERTOWN: MUSSELMAN 1-10, IREY 2-11, NEIFFER 2-29

                       DOWNINGTOWN: RAGLAND 1-18, B. MARTIN 1-10, DIROCCO 1-(-11), R. MILLER 1-30

 

PASSING: BOYERTOWN: EIDLE 5-14-50 YARDS- 2 INTERCEPTIONS

                    DOWNINGTOWN: K. MARTIN 4-15-47 YARDS- 3 INTERCEPTIONS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STATISTICS                                                          BOY                                        DOWN

FIRST DOWNS                                                    6                                              16

RUSHING YARDAGE                                        24-76                                     44-178

PASSING YARDAGE                                         5-50                                       4-47

TOTAL YARDAGE                                              126                                         225

PASSES                                                                 5-14-2                                   4-15-3

FUMBLES LOST                                                  4-4                                          0-0

PUNTS                                                                  5-37                                       1-40

PENALTIES                                                          4-34                                       5-45

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JOE DOBRY’S FG LIFTS BEARS

BY DOYLE DIETZ READING EAGLE

ROYERSFORD PA 11/22/1984

A three game losing streak at the start of the season put Boyertown’s football team at a disadvantage. 

It did it’s best to overcome that start by winning three of its next five games, but then disaster struck.  Another three game losing streak ruined any chance of a winning season. 

Still the Bears considered Thursday’s Ches Mont League game at Spring Ford very important.  The game meant a lot to them going in – and even more when it was over as they came away with a 16-14 victory. 

“Before the game, one of the coaches said to the team, “Let’s conclude our season with a victory and set a goal for next year,” said coach Don Grim.  “He said, ‘Let’s start a string’”

Boyertown (4-8, 4-7) has it’s one game string because junior kicker Joe Dobry came through with a 23 yard field goal with 35 seconds left. 

“I asked him (Grim) if they could just get it to the middle of the field,” Dobry said.  “I really wasn’t too nervous.  And all I heard was ‘Let’s go Joe’ from the guys.”

Eric Irey set up the field goal with a 3 yard gain to the 6 on third and goal.  Dobry’s kick was a low line drive that just cleared the crossbar. 

“I knew they would be rushing hard, so I wanted to kick it hard in case they got a hand on it,” Dobry said.  “I knew it was going to go through one way or another.” 

Grim said he started to think about Dobry trying a field goal after the Bears got the ball near the 30. 

“I told him to get his leg loose and be ready just in case,’ Grim said.  “I shook his hand and wished him luck.”

Boyertown’s luck apparently had run out earlier in the fourth quarter when the Rams (4-8, 3-8) went 74 yards in four plays to take a 14-13 lead. 

A 35 yard pass from Andy Mooney to Mike Costello opened the drive.  Costello took the pass away from Brian Musselman, who had excellent coverage.  Two plays later, the rams had a first down on the 28 and then got a big break. 

Mooney threw a pass away to avoid a sack, but the Bears were penalized for interference.  On the next play, Scott Highley ran 16 yards for a touchdown; Mooney got the conversion on a sweep with 7:44 left. 

Boyertown took over at it’s 40 when the kickoff went out of bounds.  The Bears reached the 33 in four plays, but lost the ball when Irey fumbled at the 32, with John Hampton recovering. 

But Irey made a big defensive play to force a punt.  On third down, he sacked Mooney for 4 yards, and the Bears took over on their 48 after a 17 yard punt return by Musselman. 

On first down, the Rams appeared to get the ball back on an interception by Steve Vanderslice.  Instead, pass interference gave the Bears the ball at the 37. 

Boyertown drove for two more first downs before Dobry made his field goal.  The kick more than atoned for his missed placement after a 1 yard touchdown run by Bob Kulp in the third quarter. 

Dobry set up that touchdown with a 20 yard punt return to the S-F 28.  A 14 yard pass from Rob Eidle to Tim Neiffer was the key in the five play drive.  Three plays later, Kulp scored for a 13-6 lead. 

Eidle’s passing allowed the Bears to take the lead in the second quarter.  He was 3 of 3 for 50 yards in a five play, 51 yard drive. 

Musselman, who began the drive by losing 3 yards on a fumble he recovered, ended it with a 22 yard pass reception from Eidle.  Dobry kicked the placement for a 7-6 lead with 7:34 left in the half. 

“It was a screen and I was able to get open because they had a big rush,” Musselman said.  It feels good to know you played hard and were able to win the last one.”

Later in the second quarter, Musselman made another big catch.  But that one came on defense. 

Spring Ford had the ball on the 23 with just over a minute to play.  Vanderslice tried to pass for the touchdown, but Musselman intercepted at the one and the Bears ran out the clock. 

“We were in the zone, and I had the inside third of the field,” Musselman said.  “I just followed his eyes and made the play.”

Ironically, it was the pass that gave the Rams an early 6-0 lead.  Mooney was 3 of 3 for 56 yards in a nine play, 62 yard drive on the opening series.  All the completions were on third down plays, including a 10 yard touchdown pass to Costello at 8:21. 

“We had some bad coverage,” Grim said.  “We were watching instad of dropping. 

“But we brought Andy (Edsall) in and he played it perfect after that, and we were able to shut it down.”

Irey was the leading rusher with 87 yards on 26 carries.  He finished with 772 yards on 210 carries to lead the Bears, and 3 of the most important yards he gained all season came on the final carry. 

It not only gave Dobry a chance to kick the field goal that ended the frustration, but gave the Bears something to build on for what they hope will be a satisfying season next year. 

 

 

 

BOYERTOWN                                     0              7              6              3              --             16

SPRING FORD                                    6              0              0              0              --             14

 

SCORING             SF           COSTELLO 10 YARD PASS FROM MOONEY (KICK FAILED)

                                BOY        MUSSELMAN 22 YARD PASS FROM EIDLE (DOBRY KICK)

                                BOY        KULP 1 YARD RUN (KICK FAILED)

                                SF           HIGHLEY 16 YARD RUN (MOONEY RUN)

                                BOY        DOBRY 23 YARD FIELD GOAL

 

RUSHING: BOYERTOWN: IREY 26-87, KULP 5-26, MUSSELMAN 5-5, EIDLE 3-0

                     SPRING FORD: HIGHLEY 21-78, VANDERSLICE 3-49, VALERIO 9-27, WUNDER 1-(-7),

                                              MOONEY 5-(-31)

 

RECEIVING: BOYERTOWN: MUSSELMAN 4-53, NEIFER 2-20, HAMM 1-25, IREY 1-3

                     SPRING FORD: COSTELLO 2-45, HIGHLEY 1-33, WUNDER 1-13, HAMPTON 1-6

 

PASSING: BOYERTOWN: EIDLE  8-13-101 YARDS

                  SPRING FORD: MOONEY  5-8-97 YARDS, VANDERSLICE 0-4-1 INTERCEPTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STATISTICS                                                          BOY                                        SF

FIRST DOWNS                                                    12                                           12

RUSHING YARDAGE                                        39-118                                   39-116

PASSING YARDAGE                                         101                                         97

TOTAL YARDAGE                                              219                                         213

PASSES                                                                 8-13-0                                   5-12-1

FUMBLES LOST                                                  4-1                                          0-0

PUNTS                                                                  6-30                                       7-32

PENALTIES                                                          3-32                                       6-51