Special teams play ignites Falcons' rout

by Jake Hallman, Special to The Pottstown Mercury

Posted on October 11, 2008

RED HILL — The one aspect Pottsgrove head coach Rick Pennypacker wanted to improve on coming into Friday night's Pioneer Athletic Conference game at Upper Perkiomen was special teams.

Mission accomplished.

Fueled by a pair of punt returns that went the distance thanks to senior Billy Sheppard, the Falcons also played some standout defense in a 41-14 victory over the Indians.

Sheppard opened the scoring on the second punt of the game as he took it to the house from 40 yards out. After the Indians' (2-3, 3-4) Shawn Wenhold returned the favor with an 88-yard kickoff return, Sheppard scored on a seven-yard sweep, then found the end zone again on a 55-yard punt return.

Sheppard (185 all-purpose yards, three touchdowns) struck again on a 51-yard pass in the third quarter and notched an interception on defense for good measure to go along with three solo tackles.

"I guess it's just new-found glory," Sheppard said of two stellar back-to-back games. "I like the success. I had some great blocking on those punts, though. Our punt return has always been on, but we just haven't had anyone kick the ball to us like that."

While Sheppard raised some eyebrows with his play the past two weeks, the effort is expected from Pennypacker. Understand, the veteran head coach was no doubt satisfied with the effort, but he wasn't surprised.

"Billy is one of our weapons," Pennypacker said. "He's a (Terrell) Chestnut, a (Preston) Hamlette, a (Maika) Paolamula. No one here is better than anyone else. But we want to get the ball in Billy's hands because good things happen. But none of this stuff happens by accident, we work very hard in practice to make it work."

What worked for the Falcons (5-0, 6-1) to perfection against the Tribe was its defense.

After yielding just 10 yards at the half, Pottsgrove's defense kept the Indians to 91 overall yards. The main culprits behind the success included linebackers Hamlette (two tackles for a loss, four solo stops) and Justin Oliveri (sack, tackle for a loss); and linemen Brad Demetrio (tackle for a loss) and Eric Figorski (tackle for a loss, three tackles), and Kayvon Greene (tackle for a loss).

"I was very proud of our defense, our defense played well," Pennypacker said. "And that's something we haven't been able to get in a while."

Pottsgrove's offense, meanwhile, was by no means shabby, but not its usual self in a 238-yard effort. Tailback Paolamula (18 carries, 74 yards, TD) led the ground game as Chestnut was held to 42 yards and Hamlette mustered 55. Chestnut tossed for 118 yards as Scott Madl pulled in two passes for 51 yards.

"We just can't make mistakes," Upper Perk head coach Keith Leamer said. "Our kids were ready to play, they came out on fire. I told them I was proud of them and they kept fighting to the end. Some of the guys really stepped up and played well, and we can build on that."

After Wenhold's electrifying 88-yard kickoff return in the first quarter, the Indians used a one-yard sneak from quarterback Tommy Paul to cap the scoring in the fourth quarter.

Besides his kickoff return, Wenhold also led his team in rushing with 13 carries for 50 yards; receiving with three catches for 36 yards; and he also picked off a pass late in the third quarter to set up the Tribe's final touchdown; and notched a tackle for a loss.

That drive featured Wenhold exclusively as the junior tailback rushed four straight times, caught a 27-yard pass on his back after the ball was tipped by a defender, ran a 37-yard sweep, and then got the ball to the 1, where Paul did the rest.

Upper Perk's defense got a homecoming boost from senior linebacker Mike Keller's six solo stops and a pass break-up, and a solid game from fellow backer Chase Fleming (six solo tackles, two for a loss). Defensive linemen Nick Hale (four solo tackles, three for a loss) and Jawad Majeed (four stops, two tackles for a loss) were their usual selves as Dan Wolfrom (two tackles, one for a loss), Tyler Krewson (tackle for a loss) and Britt Kerr (tackle for a loss) also got into the action.

The task at hand for Pennypacker, Sheppard and company is to keep the momentum going.

"We definitely took a step back on offense tonight, but I think our defense played well," Sheppard said. "We always care about being perfect, that 9-0 record. Every game is a big game, and our next game is always our biggest game."

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