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Grand day for Crognale, Boyertown
by Jake Hallman, Special to The Pottstown Mercury
Posted on November 28, 2008
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| NHSCA Sports Network photo/Bruce Good |
| Boyertown's David Crognale threw for 214 yards and a TD against Upper Perk, becoming the first player in PAC-10 or Berks County history to run and pass for over 1,000 yards in the same season. |
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| NHSCA Sports Network photo/Bruce Good |
| Shawn Wenhold scored both of Upper Perk's touchdowns against Boyertown, while rushing for 115 yards on just 10 carries. |
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| NHSCA Sports Network photo/Mike Leister |
| Aaron Sassaman kicked 3 field goals for the Bears in their win over the Upper Perk Indians on Thanksgiving Day. |
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| NHSCA Sports Network photo/Mike Leister |
| Ryan Schwager caught David Crognale's pass and scored from 58 yards out for Boyertown's only touchdown in the game. Schwager finished with 70 yards receiving on 4 catches, and ran for another 41 yards. |
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RED HILL — Later definitely proved better than never for Boyertown's football team.
While Bears first-year head coach Mark Scisly had been waiting for his team to play a solid 48 minutes of football all year, he finally got it in Thursday morning's Thanksgiving Day showdown against Upper Perkiomen.
Boyertown (5-4 Pioneer Athletic Conference, 5-7 overall) grounded out over 300 yards of offense, held the Indians (4-5, 5-7) to under 200, and came up with a pair of second-half turnovers to underline a 16-14 victory.
"It's just feels great, there's no other way to describe it," Scisly said, who inherited a team that was 1-8, 1-11 overall last season and absorbed a 41-14 loss against the Tribe last Thanksgiving.
"I am just so happy for our senior class to get this victory. Our kids have worked so hard to come back from a one-win season a year ago. This was one of the best games we've played. We wanted this game and it showed."
As has been the case with any Boyertown victory this season, senior quarterback David Crognale shared a big part in the win. Crognale, the only player in Berks County and the Pioneer Athletic Conference to run and pass for over 1,000 yards in a season, accounted for over 75 percent of his team's offense.
He was held in check a bit on the ground for 61 yards on 18 carries, but was an efficient 12 of 21 for 197 yards and a touchdown in the air. And along the way, he guided an offense that was perfect four tries on fourth down to control the clock.
"All of our losses were by a couple points, and it's unbelievable to end your career with a win, especially against your rivals," Crognale said, whose team lost all four of its PAC-10 games by a total of less than 20 points.
"It's a game where you don't like them, they don't like you. It's meaningful, everyone's here to watch you on Thanksgiving, there's nothing better than that."
Another key to Boyertown's win came from the leg of kicker Aaron Sassaman. The sophomore opened the scoring with a 28-yard field goal in the first quarter, was good from 27 yards in a second-quarter attempt, then split the uprights with a 26-yard try in the third quarter.
"You have to tip your hat to Sassaman, the way he kicked those three field goals," Scisly said. "If you would have told me we would have kicked three field goals and scored one touchdown and won this game, I wouldn't have believed you. He has really come along this year, and he's going to be good."
Upper Perk answered Sassaman's first field goal with a 38-yard touchdown run from Shawn Wenhold (nine carries, 92 yards, two touchdowns). Wenhold found his way to the end zone after leaping over a defender, regaining his balance and putting on a pair of ankle-breaking moves.
Boyertown closed the gap with Sassaman's next boot, 7-6, then took a 13-7 lead as Ryan Schwager (104 all-purpose yards) scored on a 58-yard pass. The Indians' Chase Fleming (five solo tackles, tackle for a loss) set up the next score as he picked off a pass on the Bears' 20 and Wenhold bulled his way in from two yards out.
But the Indians' 14-13 halftime lead didn't hold up.
Sassaman's last kick with 48 ticks left in the third put the Bears ahead after a 15-play, 8-1/2 minute drive, and a costly fumble gave Boyertown the ball and its offense was able to pick up the tough yards.
"We just turned the ball over in the second half and that was the ballgame," said Indian head coach Keith Leamer. "They did a great job, came on our field and beat us, we just didn't get it done in the second half. I just challenged our underclassmen that this is something that should eat in their crawl for the rest of the year until we get started in August.
"This is motivation for them to get bigger, stronger and faster so that when we go to Boyertown next year, it's for a PAC-10 championship."
Ty Showers led Boyertown's defense with four solo tackles and a tackle for a loss. Other key contributors included junior linebacker Jared Giles (fumble recovery, solo tackle), Kevin Kluk (tackle for a loss), Wilmer Barndt (tackle for a loss), Brandon Weller (tackle for a loss), and Ian Repko (fumble recovery).
"At the end there, the way we were able to drive the ball and the way Crognale ran was a testament to the line," Scisly said. "This will give us all of the momentum in the off-season to get ready for next year."
NOTES
Upper Perk's defense was paced by four solo tackles apiece from linebackers Mike Keller and Nate Pompei. Wenhold, Tom Paul (pass break-up), Nick Hale (pass break-up) and Dan Wolfrom all had tackles for a loss. Mark Cole picked off a pass and had a tackle for a loss and John Schultz had a quarterback hurry.
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