Pottstown's Pink Nightmare

The Mervine Street Showdown takes many forms, but like the NCAA bottom line, it matters most in two sports: basketball and football. This season's edition of the gridiron rivalry took on a slightly different shade, as both teams wore special uniforms as part of the PAC-10's Play for a Cure initiative. All the donations collected at the game will go directly to the Phoenixvile Cancer Center.

"I'm very proud of both schools," Pottsgrove head coach Rick Pennypacker said about the teams' participation.

A blush 50-yard line falcon was joined by ribbons ringing the field, neon pink Pottstown helmet stripes and carnation colored uniforms for the Grove. While the Falcons may have looked different, they played the same, riding a dominant running game to a 35-14 victory. Tailback Mark Dukes led the team with 216 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while quarterback Tory Hudgins added 183 yards and two more touchdowns from under center.

The scrappy Trojans were ready to fight in the first half, trading blows with Pottsgrove in an up and down game. Pottstown went to back Malik Brinkley early and often, utilizing the speedy senior in the option, on jet sweeps, or on short passes from Sage Reinhart. Brinkley led Pottstown in rushing with a 60 yard performance, while Reinhart was 8 of 17 for 97 yards. 

A promising Pottstown opening drive was cut short when Danny Michaels intercepted Reinhart at the Grove 45-yard line. That early scoring opportunity would be sorely missed, as two drives later, Tory Hudgins ripped off a 73-yard scamper up the right side into the end zone to cue "Hail to the Victors."

Undaunted, the Blue and White fought back, keeping the ball on the ground in the hands of Reinhart and Dayon Mohler. Mohler took a jet sweep to the Falcons 49-yard line to set up a 51-yard touchdown pass from Reinhart to Misohn Coppock to tie the game with 3:09 left in the first quarter.

Pottsgrove looked loose at times on offense, plagued by false starts and fumbles.

"I thought we were sloppy tonight a little bit on offense," Pennypacker said. "We'll take care of that this week."

 A fumbled pitch on the option was recovered by the Trojan's Cory Hueber to end the Grove's scoring threat going into the second quarter. A steady dose of Brinkley moved the Trojans past midfield before the Pottsgrove defense, keyed by Michaels and Sean Figueroa, finally tightened to turn the ball back over to the hosts. It was the Trojans turn to play defense, as they managed to bottle up Hudgins and force a fourth down. Facing fourth-and-1 at the Pottstown 49, tailback Mark Dukes got the first down and then some, barreling all the way into the end zone. A bobbled snap on the extra point was snapped up by holder D.J. Ludy, who took off around the left side of the defense and dove over the pylon to put Pottsgrove up 15-7 with 5:52 to play in the half.

The Falcons were not done scoring yet, as Hudgins and Dukes slashed their way to the Trojan's 13-yard line with 10.3 seconds to go before halftime. Hudgins again found the end zone, scoring with only 2 seconds left on the clock to put the Falcons up 21-7 at intermission.

"We've got to finish quarters, to finish halves" Pottstown head coach Brett Myers said. "We gave up a touchdown to Upper Perk with under 30 seconds in the half, we did the same thing tonight, and at the end of the game at Upper Perk. We're not finishing halves, and that's on me. I need to look at what we're doing and what we're calling there and who's in what position."

The momentum had shifted to Pottsgrove, and the Falcons kept the accelerator pressed down to start the third, as Mark Dukes burned the Trojans for a 60-yard touchdown run. Mere moments into the second, Pottstown found themselves down by two touchdowns.

As the Falcons offense continued to hit home run plays, the defense began to put pressure on Reinhart and get into the backfield to stop the talented Brinkley.

"He is a hard kid to defend," Pennypacker said. "And Brett does a terrific job with formations, of spreading you out and doing things."

Pottsgrove did manage to shut down one of the Trojan's most effective weapons in the second half. "It was the jet sweep," Pennypacker said. "But we took care of that at halftime; we made the adjustments."

With the jet grounded and the noose tightening, Pottstown responded, rather than shrinking back.

"I don't care what anybody says, I don't care what the record is; nobody can doubt the effort of our Pottstown kids," Myers said. "They have heart, they play, they compete."

The visitors showed that spirit when Falcons fullback Robby Curtin's fumble was recovered by Najee Johnson at the Pottstown 40-yard line. Reinhart used short screen passes and option plays to find Brinkley in space. The Trojan Horse put the drive on his shoulders, converting key drive-continuing plays, including a fourth-and-2 from the Grove's 38-yard line. His efforts were finally rewarded when Mohler took one in from the 12-yard line to make the game 28-14 entering the fourth.

Dukes once again went to work for Pottsgrove, grinding up the middle as the Falcons began the final quarter on a time killing drive.

"The whole offensive line played well," Pennypacker said. Paving the way for the Pottsgrove backs were tackles Madison O'Connor and Scott Schollenberger, guards Eric Bonenberger and Dylan Pritchard and center Zach Birch. "Our goal was to wear them down," Pennypacker said. "Try to pound them a little bit with our run game."

Dukes and Hudgins sidestepped, juked and busted tackles all the way to the Trojan's 13 before a Hudgins touchdown run was called back for holding. One play later, the Grove was in the end zone again, as Dukes took a pitch to the right before cutting back for the 22-yard scoring run. Facing a 34-14 deficit and a ticking clock, Reinhart went to the air, throwing three incompletions to give Pottsgrove the ball back at their own 34 with less than eight minutes to play.

The Falcons found themselves on fourth down yet again, this time converting a fourth-and-one on the Trojan 41 with a bruising Curtin plunge. From there, Hudgins once again took over, a fleet footed pink sidewinder whose forward progress and relentless chewing of clock would not be denied. After another holding penalty negated a Dukes touchdown, the Falcons lined up in the victory formation to close out the game.

Myers was proud of his team's competitiveness in the losing effort. "I feel for them because I didn't get them over the hump right now, right here," he said. "It's a big game, it's our rival. Most of these kids have played PAL football together."

That sentiment is echoed on the opposite sideline. "You can throw out the records, you can throw out the score," Pennypacker said.

"They hung right in there. It was a fight; they're always going to be fights. It's always going to be like that, like a battle."