Notebook: Falcons left their mark this season

Pottsgrove running back Mark Dukes

By Don Seeley
dseeley@pottsmerc.com

LOWER POTTSGROVE — Mark Dukes, Tory Hudgins and their Pottsgrove teammates may have come up a little short in last week’s District 1-Class AAA semifinal, but they sure didn’t fail to leave some more marks in The Mercury area’s leader and record books.
Dukes and Hudgins finished up last weekend first and second in the area, respectively, in both scoring and yards rushing, a reflection of just how good the offensive line in front of them was this fall. Together, it led the way for another record-breaking year of football for the Pioneer Athletic Conference champion Falcons.
Dukes (1,347 yards) and Hudgins (1,267) are pretty much a lock to finish one-two in rushing. The only other player with a chance to run past them is Phoenixville’s Ryan Yenchick, who has 1,019 yards going into tonight’s game at Spring-Ford. Dukes (142 points) and Hudgins (141) could be overtaken in the scoring column, though, because Pottstown senior Monroe Hampton is right behind them with 138 points going into Thursday morning’s game at Owen J. Roberts.
Last week’s loss denied Hudgins of becoming just the third area quarterback to run for more than 3,000 career yards, too. Hudgins finished with 2,928 (7.2 yards a carry) and 53 touchdowns, and 4,385 total yards of offense.
Dukes closed with 2,489 career rushing yards, quite an achievement considering he had just 10 carries as a sophomore and missed 5½ games as a junior last season.

( For the complete story, click here )

SEELEY: Even Brubaker pleased with Spring-Ford's first playoff win

By Don Seeley
dseeley@pottsmerc.com

Spring-Ford head coach Chad Brubaker

ROYERSFORD — Chad Brubaker can be difficult to please at times. Then again, he’s no different than most (if not all) high school football coaches.
He took over the Spring-Ford program two years ago and led the Rams to a turnaround 9-3 record, their most wins since 1999 — but was disappointed by not getting into the district playoffs. Last season, he led the Rams to a perfect 9-0 run through the Pioneer Athletic Conference for their first title and most wins since 1998 — but was disappointed by a very lopsided loss to Coatesville in the opening round of the district playoffs. This season, except for a Week Five setback to unbeaten PAC-10 champion Pottsgrove, he’s led the Rams to 10 more wins — and though obviously disappointed by not successfully defending the league title, he was elated last Friday evening after the Rams beat Garnet Valley for the milestone first postseason win in the opening round of the district playoffs.
But Brubaker still isn’t completely satisfied.
“We have been talking about dominating a team for four quarters, no matter the level of competition on the other side of the ball,” he said this past weekend as he began preparations for Friday night’s District 1-Class AAAA quarterfinal challenge at unbeaten Ridley.
“We have not played our best games against teams with inferior records to our own. Conversely, Garnet Valley was an excellent football team, and our level of play rose to the occasion.”
The Rams will have to up that level of play this week, of course.

For the complete story, click here

NOTEBOOK: LC legend Algeo on hand to see postseason mark matched

By Don Seeley
dseeley@pottsmerc.com

Former Lansdale Catholic football coach Jim Algeo

LOWER POTTSGROVE — Jim Algeo may not be on the sidelines anymore, but he certainly isn’t out of the game.
The longtime Lansdale Catholic coach, who resigned last year after a Hall of Fame career that spanned 44 seasons, was in the stands last Friday night to watch his son — Pottsgrove assistant Jim Jr. — and the Falcons defeat longtime nemesis Strath Haven in the opening round of the District 1-Class AAA playoffs.
Algeo, who was accompanied by his wife and son Danny Algeo, the head coach at Cardinal O’Hara, has also sat in on a few Pope John Paul II games, where two of his daughters’ sons play for Mike Santillo and the Golden Panthers.
What the Algeos may or may not have known is that Pottsgrove head coach Rick Pennypacker and the Falcons win over Strath Haven tied Lansdale Catholic for the most postseason wins (15) by a Pioneer Athletic Conference team.

For the complete story, click here