The Pioneer Athletic Conference opened its 27th season this past weekend ... Pottsgrove reassured everyone it is indeed a contender for another league title with its rout of Pope John Paul II; Boyertown bounced back from a disappointing season-opening loss with a convincing win over Upper Perkiomen; and Perkiomen Valley, well, let's just say a whole lot of people are paying a whole lot more attention to the Vikings after their relatively easy win at Methacton.
In non-league games, Phoenixville pulled off what many considered the Upset of the Week by defeating Exeter; Owen J. Roberts got overrun by a better-than-expected Rustin; Pottstown, which at first thought it had a Saturday morning game at Penn Wood, turned the rescheduled affair into Friday Night Fright for their Delaware County visitors with a blowout win; and Spring-Ford - without one of its main offensive gears - still had little trouble in its shutout of Daniel Boone.
Hill School and Perkiomen School ??? Not yet. They both open their seasons this coming weekend with the Indians traveling down to Tower Hill in Delaware on Friday and the Rams entertaining Germantown Academy on Saturday afternoon down on Keim Street.
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A first ... According to Boyertown football fanatic/historian Ross "The Squiggles" Smith, last Friday's match-up was the very first time in 55 games a Boyertown team played under the lights at Upper Perkimoen. The longtime rivals played many of their early games (1952 through 1993) before either school had lights or on Thanksgiving morning; didn't play one another (1994-99) when Boyertown was in the Ches-Mont League and/or moved up into the Berks League and District 3; then rescheduled one another and played on Thanksgiving morning from 2000 through last season. ... One thing about the last two games - the officials may have needed new whistles. In their last two meetings, the Bears and Indians have been flagged for a combined 41 penalties for 401 yards.
Ouch ... if Methacton coach Paul Lepre wasn't hurting a bit after that loss to PV, he sure was after checking into the trainers room. Just a week after losing playmaker Cooper Given to a concussion, Lepre had to deal with replacing two-way starter Kyle Lowery and two others during Saturday's game. Given said he expected to be cleared to play this week, but Lowery (high-ankle sprain) and as many as three others may not be ready to return. ... No official word yet on when Spring-Ford's Jarred Jones is due back. The junior running back sat out last weekend with a shoulder injury suffered late in the Rams' opener against Whitehall. Tate Carter and Yousef Lundi sure handled the running chores rather well in his absence, though.
Making a pass ... PJP's James Bleming may not scramble quite as well as David Cotellese did during last year's record-breaking season, but the Golden Panthers' quarterback can throw the ball very well. And while it looks as though he'll be making fewer handoffs than expected because of the team's inability to run, he will - like Cotellese did - create some interesting defensive adjustments no matter who PJP plays. Fleming is 32 of 65 for 524 yards and five touchdowns already against two pretty darn good teams (Berks Catholic and Pottsgrove), and those numbers would even be a wee bit better if not for some drops.
Help Wanted ... kicking, as in kickoffs and extra-points, has been an exercise in futility for some teams so far. That's not to say there aren't some quality kickers around. Word is a few coaches have been in contact with their school's soccer coaches. That's not unusual anymore (anywhere in the country, either), but one said he's already well over his allotted number of texts for the month of September in his attempt to find a kicker.
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Coming Tuesday here on Mercury Sports Live: Seel's Super Six, and there's been some shaking goin' on since last week's first ranking.
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