Bears Grind Out Win Over Phantoms

When the Boyertown football staff scouted Phoenixville, they saw a talented team on the video. They also noticed that many of those capable players line up on both offense and defense for the Phantoms.

“They looked good on film; they were 5-1,” Boyertown coach Mark Scisly said of the Phantoms. “But we thought we could wear them down a little bit because they have so many two-way players. I thought we did.”

Yes, the Bears did. Running the football on all but one play from scrimmage—behind an offensive line that averages 255 pounds per player—Boyertown muscled its way to a 33-17 win over Phoenixville in a Pioneer Athletic Conference game in front of a large Homecoming crowd at Washington Field Saturday afternoon.

“Most of it was told on the line of scrimmage,” Phoenixville coach Bill Furlong said. “They did a better job than our guys.”

Phoenixville (3-2 in league and 5-2 overall) led for just two plays in the game. Ian Harrigan’s extra point gave the Phantoms a 7-6 lead with 8:14 left in the second quarter. But Boyertown’s Max Marcus returned the ensuing kickoff 79 yards to the Phantom 6 yard line and Jared Von Dohren rumbled those final yards on first down, putting the Bears in front to stay.

Boyertown rolled up more than 300 yards on the ground in the game. Marcus and Joe Neimen each rushed for more than 100 yards.

“We knew they were good,” Furlong said. “Their strength is our strength. They did a great job up front with their line. Our guys fought. It was not a lack of effort [on our part].”

Despite the Bears powerful rushing attack, the Phantoms hung within striking distance until Boyertown quarterback Chase Garber rolled left, tucked the ball under his arm and snaked into the end zone with 10:16 left in the game. Peter Slabonik’s point after put Boyertown up 26-10. The 16-point margin was as close as the Phantoms would get.

“We hung in and hung in … and just couldn’t get the big play,” Furlong said.

Boyertown, (1-4 in league and 3-4 overall) later scored on a 32-yard run by Marcus to go up 33-10, but Phoenixville battled to the end, scoring on the final play when quarterback Alec McQuiston hit Ryan Yenchick streaking down the right sideline for a 66-yard touchdown.

Phoenixville’s other points came when talented kicker Ian Harrigan hit a 40-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.

“Phoenixville is a well coached team that plays hard,” Scisly said. “Those kids have a lot of heart. You see it every week. They come off the ball and they know how to win.”

But in this contest the Phantoms were worn down by a bigger—and probably more importantly—a deeper team. Phoenixville battles the depth challenge that smaller schools typically face. (Only Pope John Paul II has a smaller enrollment than Phoenixville in the Pioneer Athletic Conference.) About a dozen Phantoms see significant playing time on both offense and defense. Some are part of the offense or defensive player rotation, but many rarely come off the field. Bigger schools often play just a few players both ways, which gives them more rest and often results in fresher team late in games.

The loss dropped the Phantoms two games behind league-leading Spring-Ford (5-0) in the loss column, but Phoenixville is still very much in contention for a District 1 AAA playoff berth. Phoenixville entered the weekend ranked second in the AAA playoff rankings.

“We were in playoff consideration coming into the game and this loss shouldn’t change that,” Furlong said.

Phoenixville will cross the Schuylkill River to the face Pope John Paul II (3-3 in league 4-3 overall) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Phoenixville  0          10        0          7 —     17

Boyertown     6          13        0          14 —   33

B — Max Marcus 8 run (kick failed)

P — Travis Andrews 5 run (Ian Harrigan kick)

B — Jared Von Dohren 6 run (run failed)

B — Joe Neiman 5 run (Peter Slabonick kick)

P — Harrigan 40 field goal

B — Chase Garber 4 run (Tyler Zellers kick)

B — Marcus 32 run (Slabonick kick)

P — Ryan Yenchick 62 pass from Alex McQuiston (Harrigan kick)