Inside Pitch: Methacton's Clayton Harwick

Darryl Grumling gets the inside pitch on Methacton senior catcher Clayton Harwick.

MERCURY SPORTS: WEDNESDAY RECAP

Spring-Ford pitcher Tyler Eckman (Kevin Hoffman/The Mercury)

Spring-Ford's David O'Such wins the 100 meters Wednesday. 

 

Wednesday featured a full slate of local sports including coverage of rematches of last season's Pioneer Athletic Conference championship between Spring-Ford and Boyertown in baseball and Spring-Ford and Owen J. Roberts in boys lacrosse. Also Wednesday, the Mercury covered the track and field double dual meet between Boyertown, Spring-Ford and Upper Perkiomen and girls lacrosse action between Methacton and Perkiomen Valley.

BASEBALL: Clutch Klemann, Eckman carry Spring-Ford over Boyertown, 3-2 in 8 innings

BOYS LACROSSE: Owen J. Roberts rallies past Spring-Ford

 TRACK AND FIELD: Spring-Ford boys and girls sweep Boyertown, Upper Perkiomen

GIRLS LACROSSE: Fast-starting Methacton tops Perkiomen Valley, 10-5

WEDNESDAY’S ROUNDUP: Perkiomen Valley softball freshman duo one-hits Boyertown

Mercury Sports: Saturday Recap

Mercury file photo Sue Benfield stepped down before this season after 41 years in charge of the Boyertown softball program.

Pick up Sunday's Mercury, which includes a profile of longtime Boyertown softball coach Sue Benfield, coverage of Perkiomen Valley/Methacton boys lacrosse, and our 2013 softball previews.


SOFTBALL: Benfield leaves quite a legacy at Boyertown

BOYS LACROSSE: Perkiomen Valley beats Methacton in "Rivalry Day" showdown

SOFTBALL: 2013 Season Preview Capsules

LOCAL ROUNDUP: Spring-Ford, Methacton combine for 5 firsts in track and field classic

GIRLS BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK: Eisenhard, Watson close out standout careers

By Darryl Grumling

Boyertown's Kaitlyn Eisenhard

dgrumling@pottsmerc.com; @MercSmokinD

Methacton's Kelsey Watson

For the past two years, Methacton and Boyertown have been somewhat obscured by the giant shadow Spring-Ford’s girls basketball team has cast over the Pioneer Athletic Conference.

That didn’t stop either the Warriors or Bears from enjoying rewarding campaigns this winter, nor did it stop Kelsey Watson and Kaitlyn Eisenhard from making their presence felt in their final scholastic seasons.

The end of the road for each standout player came Friday night, when Watson and Methacton fell to Cardinal O’Hara, 46-34, and Eisenhard and Boyertown were defeated 57-37 by Central Dauphin in a pair of PIAA-AAAA Tournament openers.

By the time the final horn had sounded in both games, though, Watson and Eisenhard had already cemented their legacies as two of the best in their respective schools’ histories.

( To read the complete story, click here )

BOYS BASKETBALL: Methacton's late rally falls short vs. Wililam Penn

Methacton’s Justin Ardman eyes the basket against William Penn’s Jahaire Wilson in the second half of a PIAA Class AAAA game Saturday at Dallastown Area High School. William Penn beat Methacton, 67-63. (Photo by Chris Dunn/Digital First Medi)

By Colin Snyder
York Daily Record/Sunday News

DALLASTOWN — Survive and advance.

It was what William Penn was trying to do Saturday night.

The upset-minded Warriors of Methacton very nearly send the Bearcats home disappointed.

The District 3 runner-up Bearcats saw an 18-point, third-quarter lead dwindle to as little as a basket Saturday evening at Dallastown High School, before escaping with a 67-63 win over Methacton.

“Methacton played like their season was on the line,” Sowers said. “They were nailing threes with our arms up. I don’t know what else we could do.

“When we are missing foul shots and they are making threes, things can change pretty quick. We shot horrific from the line in that quarter. Everybody is good in the Quad-A state tournament. We wanted the W and I’ll take it.”

(For the complete story, click here...)

WRESTLING: Methacton’s Tracey Green takes 6th in PIAA-AAA championships

Photo by Nate Heckenberger Methacton’s Tracey Green tries to hold down Warwick’s Tom Devenney in a 2-0 loss in the 285-pound fifth-place bout on Saturday night in Hershey.

By Don Seeley
sports@pottsmerc.com

HERSHEY — Tracey Green wasn’t exactly on Pennsylvania wrestling’s radar screen when the season opened last December.
But he is now ... and will be when next season gets under way this December.
The undersized but overachieving Methacton junior proved he was among the state’s premier heavyweights this weekend by finishing sixth at 285 pounds during the PIAA-Class AAA Championships at the Giant Center.
The noticably shorter and lighter Green, surrendering upwards of 5-to-6 inches and 35-to-50 pounds to his opponents all year, won three of his six bouts over the grueling three days here, dropping his last one, 2-0, to Warwick senior Tom Devenney.
Green was the fifth and final Pioneer Athletic Conference medalist on the mats Saturday night, joining Boyertown’s Jordan Wood (second at 220), and Owen J. Roberts’ threesome of Derek Gulotta (eighth at 113), Colby Frank (eighth at 126) and Gordon Bolig (eighth at 182).

(For complete story, click here ... )

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Cardinal O’Hara overwhelms Methacton

Methacton’s Kelsey Watson (22) scored 13 points in the Warriors’ season-ending loss to Cardinal O’Hara Friday night in the first round of the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament. (File photo by Mark C Psoras\JRC)

By Denny Dyroff
sports@pottsmerc.com

UPPER DARBY — The first half of Friday night’s game between Methacton and Cardinal O’Hara had a bit of an undertaker vibe.
The O’Hara girls were burying threes with amazing ease in the PIAA Class AAAA girls basketball opening round game at Bonner-Prendergast High’s gym. Methacton, on the other hand, was digging a hole for itself that was almost too deep to allow escape.
The second half was a different game. O’Hara didn’t make a three-point basket the entire half and the Warriors outplayed the team from Delaware County for long stretches in both the third and fourth quarters.
Methacton closed to within six in the final half of the fourth quarter. But the experienced Lions, who are ranked third in the state, withstood the surge and held on for a hard-fought 46-34 victory.

(For complete story, click here ...)

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Spring-Ford leads four area squads into PIAA tourney

Starters Sarah Payonk, left, Sammi Haas, second left, and the Spring-Ford girls basketball team begin their quest for a state title when the PIAA Championships get under way Friday. The Rams reached the semifinals a year ago. (File photo by Kevin Hoffman/The Mercury)

By Darryl Grumling
dgrumling@pottsmerc.com

The whiteboard in the locker room of Spring-Ford’s girls basketball team, the one with a laundry list of goals for the season, has seen plenty of checkmarks over the past several weeks.
An unbeaten Pioneer Athletic Conference regular season? Done.
Second straight PAC-10 championship? Cross it off.
Back-to-back District 1-AAAA titles? Taken care of.
Tonight, Spring-Ford will begin the quest for its ultimate goal — PIAA gold — as the Rams (27-2) square off with District 3 No. 7 seed Hershey (21-5) in a Class AAAA opener at Norristown at 7:30 p.m.
Three other PAC-10 girls squads — Boyertown, Methacton and Pope John Paul II — are also set to begin state tourney play.
In other AAAA openers tonight, the District 1 No. 7 seed Bears (19-9) face District 3 runner-up Central Dauphin (20-6) at Milton Hershey at 8 p.m., and District 1 No. 9 seed Methacton (24-6) takes on District 12 champ Cardinal O’Hara (22-5) at Monsignor Bonner at 7:30 p.m.
In Class AAA first-round action Saturday, District 1 No. 3 seed Pope John Paul II (18-6) meets District 12 runner-up and three-time defending PIAA champ Archbishop Wood (16-8) at 5 p.m. at Archbishop Carroll.

(For complete story, click here ... )

BOYS BASKETBALL: PJP, Methacton push on to PIAA Tournament

Brendan Casper (24) leads the Methacton boys basketball team into the PIAA Tournament, which begins Friday. The Warriors are due to face District 3 runner-up William Penn High School out of York. (Mark C Psoras/JRC)

By Jeff Stover
jstover@pottsmerc.com

They’ve both navigated the tricky – and sometimes treacherous – waters of the District 1 playoffs the past two weeks, and remained upright during that span.
Now, Pope John Paul II and Methacton embark on a different voyage this weekend: The PIAA Tournament, which brings together Pennsylvania’s 30-plus top teams from four classifications for another two weeks of competition leading to state championships. The Golden Panthers, fresh off a second-place finish in the District 1-AAA tourney, will open today against District 11 runner-up Bethlehem Catholic; the Warriors, in turn, make their debut in state-level competition 6:30 p.m. at Dallastown High Saturday against District 3 runner-up William Penn High School out of York.

(For complete story, click here ... )

BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK: Six area squads prepare for PIAA Tournament

Mercury file photo Spring-Ford’s Shelby Mueller (5) and Boyertown’s Kaitlyn DeHaven (4) will try to help their respective teams in the PIAA Class AAAA Girls Basketball Tournament, which begins Friday.

By Darryl Grumling
dgrumling@pottsmerc.com

Spring-Ford’s girls basketball team earned its second straight District 1-AAAA championship, the Methacton boys and Pope John Paul II girls qualified for states for the first time and the Pope John Paul II boys reached the 1-AAA final.
All told, six area squads — including the Methacton and Boyertown girls — reached the promised land that is the PIAA tourney.
Here’s a quick look back how they each got there, and look ahead to their opening-round state matchups.
CLASS AAA GIRLS
On a rampage: The Spring-Ford girls marched through their district opposition like Sherman through Georgia, waging a scorched net campaign in which their average margin of victory was 25.6 points.

(For complete story, click here ... )

SWIMMING: State qualifiers finalized

By Steve Moore
smoore@pottsmerc.com

The PIAA unveiled the state swimming psych sheets today. Some area swimmers already knew they were Bucknell-bound by finishing in the top 5 (AAA) or first place (AA) in their event at the District 1 Championships. Others had to wait for today to see if they earned a wild card berth.

Full entries can be seen on the PIAA website by clicking here.

See below for a rundown all the local qualifiers.

PIAA Basketball Sites, Times Announced (with driving directions)

By Steve Moore
smoore@pottsmerc.com

The PIAA unveiled its state playoff basketball brackets on Sunday. PAC-10 teams earned spots in Class AAAA and AAA Girls and Class AAAA and AAA boys.

The complete brackets can be found at the links above, and a rundown of the local teams can be found below.

Click on the name of each site for quick Google Map driving directions.

• AAAA GIRLS (FRIDAY)

• SPRING-FORD: District champion -- and potential state title favorite -- Spring-Ford (25-2) will host Hershey (21-5), the 7th-place team out of District 3, on Friday night at Norristown High School (7:30 p.m.)
• BOYERTOWN: The 7th-place team out of District 1, the Bears (19-8) will have to travel a little bit to face Central Dauphin (20-6), the second-place team out of District 3. That game is Friday at 8 p.m. at Milton Hershey High School.
• METHACTON: The Warriors (22-5) finished as the ninth-place team out of District 1, and will travel to Monsignor Bonner High in Drexel Hill to face District 12 champion Cardinal O'Hara (21-5).

• AAA GIRLS (SATURDAY)

• POPE JOHN PAUL II: The third-place team out of District 1, Pope John Paul (18-5) will face District 12 runner-up Archbishop Wood (17-9) on Saturday at Archbishop Carroll at 5 p.m.

• AAAA BOYS (SATURDAY)

• METHACTON: The Warriors (22-5) enter as the seventh seed out of District 1 and will face District 3 runner-up York (23-3) on Saturday at 6:30 at Dallastown High  in their first ever state playoff game.

• AAA BOYS (FRIDAY)

• POPE JOHN PAUL II: As the second seed out of District 1, the Golden Panthers (15-9) will face District 11 runner-up Bethlehem Catholic on Friday night at 6 p.m. at Freedom High School in Bethlehem.

BOYS BASKETBALL: Methacton edges Ridley in OT, locks up district’s 7th seed for states

 By Jon Vander Lugt
sports@pottsmerc.com

For the Methacton boys basketball team, Friday’s game was not entirely dissimilar from the last.
Much like what happened in Tuesday’s game, Methacton was able to jump out to a healthy lead. Up 16-6 after the first and 22-13 at the half, Methacton seemed to be in control of the game.
This time, the rails came off in the third quarter. When Ridley outscored the Warriors 20-5 in the frame and went into the fourth quarter up by six, it seemed as though Methacton fans were in for a re-run of the Coatesville breakdown.
That’s where the similarities between the contests ended.
Methacton took charge in the fourth quarter behind the play of Brendan Casper and Matt Forrest to force overtime and didn’t let off the gas in the extra frame, and left the gym with a 46-41 win, snapping their two-game losing streak and lockin up the seventh seed out of District 1 for the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament.

(For complete story, click here ... )

GIRLS SWIMMING: Methacton 200 free relay makes states

Jen Rees was part of Methacton’s fifth-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay at the District 1 Swimming Championships Thursday at La Salle. The Warriors team of Rees, Nicole Young, Kristen Wang and Kiersten Groff earned an automatic bid to the PIAA Championships in the event. (File photo by Adrianna Hoff/JRC)

By Steven Moore
smoore@pottsmerc.com

PHILADELPHIA — The most nerve-wracking moment for the Methacton girls swim team on Day 1 of the District 1 Swimming Championships Thursday came when they were standing on the deck, not swimming in the pool.
After some quick number-crunching and a massive cheer, four Warriors had secured state bids.
Methacton finished fifth in the day’s final event at La Salle University’s Kirk Pool — the Class AAA 200 freestyle relay — to secure an automatic bid to the PIAA Championships, slated for later this month at Bucknell University. Their time of 1:38.72 was good enough to clinch the only automatic state berth of the day for any PAC-10 girls swimmer or relay.

(For complete story, click here ... )

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Methacton blows by Whippets, earns second trip to states in school history

Rick Kauffman/Times Herald Staff Methacton's Jenna Carroll raises up for 2 of her 23 points over Downingtown West's Holly Schanck.

By Rick Kauffman
sports@pottsmerc.com

WORCESTER — The Methacton girls were all smiles Wednesday night, not just because of the win they achieved, but also because of what came with it.
For the second time in school history, and twice under coach Craig Kaminski, the Methacton girls basketball team earned a trip to the state tournament.
“It wasn’t easy, we took the hard road to get here,” Kaminski said. “But, we got to the big show.”
In Methacton’s 47-34 win over Downingtown West, their resolution was never in question.

(For complete story, click here ... )

BOYS BASKETBALL: Methacton falls short in fourth quarter

Photo by Adrianna Hoff/JRC Methacton’s Sean Mann goes up for a 3-pointer during Tuesday’s game against Coatesville.

By Jonathan Vander Lugt
sports@pottsmerc.com

FAIRVIEW VILLAGE — One week ago, after its win over Souderton, Methacton coach Jeff Derstine stressed how important it’s going to be for his team to play all four quarters moving forward.

Never was that more evident than Tuesday night.

The first three quarters went well for the Warriors. Despite an officiating crew that was generous with the whistle, Methacton was able to establish and maintain an offensive rhythm. Its zone defense also kept Coatesville at bay, forcing the Raiders to take uncomfortable shots, and keeping them from penetrating in the lane. Methacton went into the fourth with a seemingly safe 42-36 lead.

From that point forward, the wheels came off.

Coatesville broke through Methacton’s defense in the fourth en route to outscoring the Warriors, 27-4, and coming away with a 63-46 blowout.

(For the complete story, click here...)

BOYS BASKETBALL: Methacton comes up short against Great Valley

Methacton’s Brendan Casper blocks a shot by Brad Sherry of Great Valley in the third quarter. (Photo by Nate Heckenberger/JRC)

By Jonathan Vander Lugt
sports@pottsmerc.com

MALVERN — The stage was set for Methacton.
Riding the momentum of their 54-45 win over Souderton Thursday that clinched their program’s first-ever PIAA state playoff berth, sixth-seeded Methacton went on the road to take on the third-seeded Great Valley Patriots in their District 1-AAAA quarterfinal match with high hopes.
Methacton spent the majority of the game down, and when it looked the bleakest for the Warriors, they stepped up and fought back. Their furious fourth-quarter rally wasn’t enough though, and the Warriors fell to Great Valley in a 41-38 nailbiter.

(For complete story, click here ... )

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Methacton falls into consolations after loss

Photo by Adrianna Hoff/JRC West Chester Rustin’s Noelle Powell looks for an opening through Methacton’s Jenna Carroll and Kara Steinke.

By Jon Vander Lugt
sports@pottsmerc.com

FAIRVIEW VILLAGE — Coming off of Tuesday night’s state playoff berth-clinching win for the boys’ team at Methacton, their girls headed into Wednseday’s game with similar expectations.
Unfortunately, the Methacton faithful went home with a different result. The Warriors dropped a heartbreaker to lower-seeded West Chester Rustin, 54-49.

(For complete story, click here ... )

BOYS BASKETBALL: Methacton beats Souderton, secures state berth

Photo by Mark C. Psoras/JRC Methacton’s Anthony O’Brien applauds as Souderton’s John Kanas gets ejected from the game during Tuesday’s District 1-AAAA playoff game at Methacton. Kanas received two technical fouls and was thrown out in the second half. The Warriors advance to the quarterfinals, where they will travel to Great Valley on Friday night (7 p.m.). The win also secured Methacon a bid in the PIAA Tournament.

By Jeff Stover
jstover@pottsmerc.com

FAIRVIEW VILLAGE — There was some uncertainly about when — if ever — the Methacton boys basketball program qualified for the PIAA state playoffs.
But there was no question about the Warriors achieving that feat Tuesday ... and even less about the effort they put out in their berth-securing 54-45 victory over Souderton.
Playing high-octane ball over the final eight minutes, the Warriors reversed a six-point deficit into a decisive second-round victory in District 1’s Class AAAA bracket. And by virtue of reaching the tournament’s quarterfinal round, Methacton guarantees itself of at least four more games in the postseason — not to mention continued contention for district medals.

(For complete story, click here ... )

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Methacton outlasts Council Rock North in first round

Mercury file photo Methacton’s Jenna Carroll had 19 points to lead the Warriors over Council Rock North on Saturday.

By Jon Vander Lugt
Special to The Mercury

FAIRVIEW VILLAGE — In game where a pesky Council Rock North team continued to nip at Methacton’s heels, the Warriors were able to find a way to win behind Jenna Carroll and Kelsey Watson, 46-38, in the first round of the PIAA District 1-AAAA playoffs Saturday.

(For complete story, click here ... )