BUCKTOWN - You could call it a 'heart-y' effort on the part of the Owen J. Roberts football team.

 

The Wildcats didn't get off to a great start in Friday's game with Boyertown. A flurry of quick-strike scores by the Bears, coupled with injuries to their offensive line, left the 'Cats trailing their guests by a 20-7 count just seconds into the second quarter.

 

A disheartening set of circumstances, to be sure. But Roberts regrouped from the early setback - and again, under a similar situation, in the second half - to pull out a heart-stopping 35-34 victory that salvaged the school's Senior/Parents Night contest.

 

The third of quarterback Dan Miller's three touchdown tosses on the night, a 19-yard hookup to Jon Raymond down the middle, pulled Owen J. even with Boyertown at 34-all with 1:15 left to play. The margin of victory in this Pioneer Athletic Conference pairing came from Nate Mummert, who delivered the last of his conversion kicks - and the win for his team (2-6 league, 3-7 overall).

 

'The kids worked together as a team,' OJR head coach Tom Barr said afterward. 'That was something they didn't show the last couple games.'

 

The teamwork aspect proved quite critical, particularly on the injury-riddled offensive line. Playing without their center, guards and left tackle at one stage, Roberts also saw tight end Brad Megay (two catches, 49 yards) go off the field after pulling down a halfback-option pass from Raymond late in the second half.

 

'At one point, we had only one starter from the offensive line in,' Barr noted. 'But the kids who filled in were aggressive. They played with a lot of heart and pride.'

 

The Wildcat pride got stung by Boyertown's early offensive surge: Three touchdowns in little more than a four-minute span of the first and second quarters. A pair of 22-yard Ryan Schwager TD runs and 37-yard scoring toss from David Crognale to Wes Mitchell were meshed by onside kicks the Bears (1-7, 1-9) recovered.

 

'We were moving the ball well. The kids were playing excited, particularly on the onsides kicks,' Boyertown field boss Ron Zeiber said. 'We told the kids to have fun, and play aggressive.'

 

Owen J's recovery from that onslaught was fueled by freshman tailback Ryan Brumfield (25 carries, 130 yards) scoring on a 10-yard run and Raymond (55 yards on three catches) pulling down a TD toss from Miller (5-for-12, 114 yards) in the final minute of the first half. It drove the second-half kickoff 75 yards in under two minutes, Dominic Marinello bulling his way into the end zone from five yards out.

 

Boyertown had its own injury issue - the loss of its starting quarterback, Crognale, with hip and back problems on its third touchdown drive. But sophomore backup Kyle Fultz (7-for-12, 120 yards) directed the visitors to another pair of touchdowns, classmate Logan Herb on the receiving end of a 10-yard pass and rolling 23 yards around his left end with 6:17 left for a 34-28 lead.

 

'Those are two sophomores we're excited to get back,' Zeiber noted. 'They know how to work hard. They make for an exciting group, with a lot of things to look forward to in the future.'

 

Owen J's next possession ended with Miller being picked off by the Bears on the second play. Getting the ball back on downs, Roberts survived a fumble and penalty en route to Raymond's acrobatic catch of Miller's toss through the Boyertown secondary.

 

'That call came from up top,' Barr recalled. 'The coaches told us he (Raymond) was going to be wide open.

'If if wasn't there, I had a fourth play ready. But Raymond was telling us he would be open on a jet slant.'

 

NOTES

Herb had a combined 108 yards' offense for the Bears: 61 on 14 carries, and 47 on five receptions ... Miller's first TD toss of the game was a 21-yard connection to Megay, coming with 4:06 left in the first quarter.