At the beginning of the season, Boyertown was probably not at the top of anybody's list as a possible postseason participant.

That was especially the case after the Bears lost their first four games.

Yet, here they are winners of four of their last six games and hosting Pocono Mountain East tonight at 7 in the Class 5A/6A Eastern Conference championship game.

Even after the 0-4 start, first-year Boyertown coach T.J. Miller expected his team to be playing an 11th contest this season.

"Yeah, I did knowing the guys on our team, their work ethic and determination," he said. "We knew at 0-4 that districts were probably out of it. These guys made the decision they didn't want the season to end. They wanted one more game. They wanted to turn Boyertown football around."

The Bears (4-6) began the season with games against Upper Perkiomen (No. 3 seed in the District 1 Class 4A playoffs), Exeter (No. 8 in District 3-5A), Pottsgrove (No. 1 in District 1-4A) and Academy Park (No. 4 in District 1-5A).

"Early on in the year, we were facing a lot of adversity," said Miller. "We faced some really good teams. We were building the program.

"We knew going into Methacton (in Week 5), that was a big win for us. The next week, we hung in with Perkiomen Valley (the eventual Pioneer Athletic Conference champion) until we got tired at the end. We thought maybe we could compete with some of the better teams in our conference."

Last week, Boyertown defeated Phoenixville 41-28 in a PAC crossover game matching the fourth-place teams from each division.

Jamison Moccia rushed for 187 yards on eight carries, including TD runs of 87 and 60 yards; Marcus Thomas ran for 102 yards; Ayden Mathias went 6-for-9 for 150 yards and three TDs; and Jerry Kapp broke the school record for career receiving yards and intercepted four passes.

Pocono Mountain East (4-6) saw its District 11-6A playoff chances end with a 42-22 loss to Pocono Mountain West. The last time the Cardinals made the district playoffs was 1988.

"Pocono Mountain East is a good football team playing in the East Penn Conference," said Miller. "They face a lot of good teams. They're very well-coached. We were able to scout them. Jacob Keane is one of the better linebackers we've seen. They have a good running back (Praize Andrews). Their quarterback (Dylan Rinker) does a good job running the offense."

Thomas leads the Bears and is fifth in the PAC with 822 rushing yards; Moccia is averaging 14.3 yards per carry while gaining 452. Mathias has thrown for 1,115 yards with 11 TDs and eight interceptions. Kapp has 27 catches for 484 yards and a 17.9 average.

On defense, Blaise Caroselli has been in on 75 tackles, followed by Kevin O'Connor with 69 (40 solo). Kapp has nine interceptions.

The Bears will be hosting a postseason game for the first time. They lost in the opening round of the district playoffs to Downingtown West 35-6 in 2006 and to West Chester Rustin 21-13 in 2010.

This is the first year they've been a member of the Eastern Conference. The championship game matches the Class 5A/6A teams with the highest rankings that have not qualified for district play.

"We told the seniors they deserve the results of their hard work," Miller said. "This is becoming the norm, making Week No. 11 a regular experience. At (Gov.) Mifflin (where Miller was an assistant coach), we found out that the Eastern Conference is a way to turn the program around.

"We're excited absolutely. We get to end the year winning a championship. We're proud to get to represent the PAC."

Contact Dennis Weller: 610-371-5061 or dweller@readingeagle.com.