Falcons Put Away Panthers

"Sloppy. Very sloppy."

Such sentiment is typically the domain of the coach prowling the losing sideline. Yet one need to have only witnessed the game, Pottsgrove's 44-19 drubbing of Pope John Paul II, to understand why victorious head coach Rick Pennypacker would say such things of his team's performance. Plagued by fumbles, penalties and personal fouls, the Falcons seemed to do everything in their power to keep an overmatched conference foe alive on the road in their opening round district playoffs tilt. The Grove's number one seed for Class AAA guaranteed them hosting this opening round game, but it did not guarantee them winning it.

The Golden Panthers took the fight to Pottsgrove early, hanging tough through the first half before finally giving way.

"Our kids didn't match the intensity that PJP had," Pennypacker said. "I'll take the blame for it."

The Falcons finally found some of that fire in the second half, once again riding their relentless ground game to the victory. With 5:45 left in the third, the Golden Panthers closed Pottsgrove's lead to 30-19 on a fumble scoop and run by defensive back Chris Veisbergs. Momentum seemed to have shifted to the scrappy visiting side when Pottsgrove began their response. Quarterback Tory Hudgins earned the Falcons first first down on three consecutive keepers before fullback Robby Curtin busted one long to put the Grove in the red zone. After being held out of the end zone on their first three attempts, Curtin finally managed to punch in the score at the beginning of the fourth.

The Falcons defense then managed to force a three and out, taking the ball out of dangerous Panthers passer David Cotellese's hands. Hudgins and the offense engineered another scoring drive, this one keyed by a 13-yard run to convert a fourth-and-1. Curtin's drive continuing dash ended a yard shy of six points. Hudgins pushed his way in for the score and the eventual 44-19 spread. From there on out, it was merely a matter of how close Pope John Paul would get. 

The Panthers fell victim to the curse that often befalls football underdogs; jacked on emotion in an emotional game, they come on like gangbusters for the first two quarters. By the time an entire half of hitting has been absorbed, most begin to lose steam as the gap widens and the team with more talent tends to take over. This is particularly true when facing a steamroller of a running game that likes to bludgeon opponents and devour hope as well as yards and the clock.

The game did not seem so in hand at all times. Trailing 15-0 early, it looked as though Cotellese and company would get run off the field like so many other opponent had been this season. But the signal caller came into the game a well established threat, and the Grove could only contain him for so long. An aggressive attack in the Panther's backfield did the trick early. After Cotellese was sacked on the game's opening play by defensive end Steve Ambs, Pope John Paul turned to running back Matt Bildstein to take some of the pressure off. Bildstein responded, running well and keeping the Falcons' front seven busy. Seemingly possessing an insatiable appetite for the prolate spheroid, Bildstein continued to ballhawk on defense, providing some much needed menace on the opposite side of the ball as well, including forcing the fumble that led to Veisbergs touchdown. Cotellese finally made his mark mid-way through the second. Rolling out of the pocket to evade a fierce pursuit, the left hander found Bildstein streaking down the sideline for a 66-yard reception to the Falcons' 1-yard line. From there fullback Johnnie Cherneskie plowed in for the first playoff points in Panthers history. 

While Cotellese (14 for 31, 202 yards) and Bildstein (124 yards and a touchdown on four receptions) were getting it done through the air, Pottsgrove relied on their tried and true rushing attack to carry them through. The Falcons frequently found success running left off tackle, their spirit crushing brand of ball hinging on the stellar line play that they have received all season.

"That's expected of them now," Penypacker said of his offensive line, paying a compliment to a unit that has decimated opposing defenses all year.

Curtin led all rushers with 200 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Danny Michaels tacked on 97 more and a touchdown of his own. Marquis Barefield added on 49 yards and another score before leaving the game in the third. Hudgins complemented his 67 yards and pair of touchdowns by throwing for 61 yards as well in a 3 for 4 outing. While one runner may look like another to the untrained eye, a key to the Falcons' success is that the multi- headed hydra they keep in the backfield bites in so many different ways. Curtin runs like the prototypical fullback, a sturdy hard-charging bull not afraid to initiate contact. That desire for hitting can have repercussions, however, as Curtin was responsible for several of Pottsgrove's seven fumbles. Had the Grove lost more than three of them, this article may have had an entirely different ambition.  

Barefield runs more East-West than his counterparts, sidestepping and start-stopping his way down field, tacking slowly towards the end zones. Hudgins is a combination of the two, running between inside but utilizing a devastatingly quick spin to torque his way through tackles for that extra yard.

The Falcons secondary kept a lid of sorts on Cotellese, with Ludy racking up tackles in the secondary. Danny Michaels managed to pick of two Panther passes, one a shoestring snag in the end zone and the other to ice the contest with time running down.

The game behind them and a victory in the books, the Grove will play host next Friday to another playoff opponent. With a stone look on his face and a slightly agitated demeanor--after a 25 point win, mind you--it is obvious that the head ball coach is bound and determined to not have another performance like this one, and that the onus rests with him to avoid another game that is "not our brand of football." It is not the time of year to make mistakes or let the mind wander.

"This is the playoffs," Pennypacker said. "You have got to be focused every game."