COLLEGE SIGNING: Pottsgrove's Tory Hudgins to Bucknell

Kevin Hoffman/The Mercury Pottsgrove’s Tori Hudgins signed a letter of intent to play football at Bucknell. Seated are parents Anthony and Ashley. Standing, from left, coach Rick Pennypacker, athletic director Gary Derenzo, quarterback coach Bill Hawthorne and principal Yolanda Wiliams.

By Don Seeley
dseeley@pottsmerc.com

LOWER POTTSGROVE — Tory Hudgins took his share of hits each and every time he carried the football, all 406 of them.
Now, or for the next four years, he hopes to deliver his share of hits.
Hudgins will get that opportunity after signing a national letter of intent with Bucknell University during a press conference Wednesday afternoon at Pottsgrove High School.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior, who as Pottsgrove’s starting quarterback helped drive the Falcons to a Pioneer Athletic Conference title and three straight postseason appearances — including the District 1-Class AAA championship in 2011 — was recruited as an athlete and will likely settle into the Bison’s secondary as a corner or safety.

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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.

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SEELEY: Hudgins separates himself from the pack

Pottsgrove quarterback Tory Hudgins is brought down just short of the goal line on a carry during Friday night’s win over Perkiomen Valley. (Photo by Tom Kelly III)

By Don Seeley
dseeley@pottsmerc.com

There have been quite a few conversations this fall about Pioneer Athletic Conference quarterbacks, or who exactly is the best of the bunch. There’s been quite a few names tossed around and, generally speaking, all have been part of the discussions, too.

And it sure seems as though everyone has had a valid argument for getting their favorite onto the coaches’ ballot, which will be filled out and voted on early next month.

Hey, if you think Obama-Romney is a toss-up (or so we’re told), try separating what has become the Elite Eight of the PAC-10 (and that is in no way a political slam on the remaining two).

But if anyone has put together as impressive a football campaign as any other — up to this point of the season, that is — it’s been Pottsgrove’s Tory Hudgins.

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Tory Hudgins, Hank Coyne are two of a kind

Tory Hudgins (5) and Pottsgrove take on Spring-Ford Friday.

Hank Coyne (11) and Spring-Ford visit Pottsgrove in a battle of unbeaten squads Friday.

By Darryl Grumling
dgrumling@pottsmerc.com

At first glance, Pottsgrove’s Tory Hudgins and Spring-Ford’s Hank Coyne appear to be at opposite ends of the quarterback spectrum.
Hudgins does most of his damage on the ground, racing around the gridiron like Dale Earnhardt Jr. at a NASCAR track.
Coyne, meanwhile, is quite comfortable getting it done through the air: picking apart opposing secondaries with a plethora of precise passes.
Upon closer inspection, however, Hudgins and Coyne have a lot more in common than you might think.

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