Upper Perk rallies past Pottstown

by Jake Hallman, Special to The Pottstown Mercury

Posted on September 20, 2008

RED HILL — It wasn't by any means perfect, but to Upper Perkiomen head coach Keith Leamer, it was the next best thing.

Sure there were missed assignments, a misread play here and there, and a handful of penalties, but when it came down to it, the Indians used sustained drives and a few key plays to hold off Pottstown, 27-21, for the Tribe's first Pioneer Athletic Conference victory.

But it wasn't easy.

The Indians, who took a 21-14 deficit into halftime, used a 65-yard scoring scamper by Chase Fleming to start the second half on its first play. Upper Perk (1-1, 2-2) then tallied the game winner with 8:20 left in regulation as senior tailback Ryan Connor bulled his way into the end zone from two yards out.

Pottstown took the ensuing drive and came up short on fourth-and-7, then forced a punt to get the ball back with two minutes left and no timeouts. A pair of Indian pass interference calls moved the ball to the Tribe's 18-yard line, but three incomplete passes and a seven-yard scamper by quarterback Tony Miller came up three yards shy of a first down.

"Our seniors are stepping up and running with their roles as leaders, and our defense looked great against an explosive team," Leamer said.

"To be down and bounce back the way we did, I'm proud of the staff, the kids - they all showed mental toughness tonight."

One Indian player who exemplified that toughness was Connor. Although usually accustomed to playing fullback, an ankle injury to junior tailback Shawn Wenhold gave Connor a chance to shoulder the offensive workload.

And he didn't disappoint.

His night included 31 lugs for 160 yards and three touchdowns, an effort that helped the Tribe control the clock and keep Pottstown's offense off the field. And like any team-oriented running back, Connor was quick to spread the praise around to center Jacob Nyce, guards Matt Fody and Dean Winkler, tackles Curt Zimpfer and Dwayne Gillespie and tight end Mike Paul.

"Our line did awesome, there were big holes tonight," Connor said. "With Shawn being out, we had to go with me, and I was ready after getting all the reps in practice. I'm a power back, I just want to pound and pound. I definitely surprised myself, I knew I was capable of a big game, but everyone just played big tonight."

Connor also helped out in the third quarter as he laid a key block to spring Fleming on his touchdown.

"Ryan Connor is a selfless individual who does whatever the team needs him to do," Leamer said. "I can't say enough about he, Fleming and the offensive line –it's a great group."

Brett Myers' Trojans weren't too shabby, either.

The visitors opened the scoring just two minutes into the game on fourth-and-2 as senior tailback Kenny Baker (19 carries, 141 yards, TD) ran off left tackle, used a stiff arm in the backfield and raced 55 yards for a score.

After Connor scored his first touchdown two drives later, the Trojans answered again as Lamont Walton picked off a Tommy Paul (6-14, 63 yards) pass and raced 36 yards into the end zone. Upper Perk tied it up on the next series thanks to another Connor touchdown before Brenen Phillips took the ensuing kickoff 79 yards for a score and that 21-14 halftime lead.

But an Upper Perk surprise onsides kick and a fumbled punt stymied Pottstown in the second half to force the late-game drama.

"Our kids gave it everything they had," Myers said. "If we want to win close games, we have to eliminate mistakes, and that's up to me. We were not ready in the second half, we didn't come out right, we made two crucial mistakes and that was that. And that can't happen against a good football team."

Defensively, Pottstown got a monster game from junior linebacker Tymeke Santos. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder recorded 11 tackles, and notched another three for a loss to lead the hit squad. Anthony Lyon had five stops himself and one for a loss, as linemen Evan Bauer (three tackles, one for a loss) and Nick Maloney (three tackles, two for a loss) also came up big.

"What's bad is that our kids poured their hearts into this and they came out without a win, and they did everything they could," Myers said. "When we're down, we fight, our kids will bounce back and be ready for next week."

NOTES

The game was the 600th in Upper Perk's history since the jointure of East Greenville and Pennsburg high schools in 1952 and gave the Indians a 12-11 edge in the PAC-10 and overall series. ... The Indians' defense was paced by tackle Jawad Majeed's seven tackles and two for a loss, and seven stops by senior linebacker Mike Keller. Fleming and Nate Pompei both had five tackles, while Britt Kerr, Kenny Golden and John Schultz tallied three and Nate Hale blocked an extra point.

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