Trojans Win Thriller Over Phantoms

It was a strange and off-balance game at Grigg Memorial Field Friday night, as neither Trojan nor Phantom could seem to establish dominance. It is fitting that an absurdly eccentric play would be the catalyst that turned a static game of attrition into a thrilling, barreling train wreck of a finish that came down to the bitter end. When the dust settled, Phoenixville had the ball on Pottstown's half yard line, but the Trojans had the 13-9 victory.

Phoenixville (3-1 PAC 10, 4-1 overall) looked disjointed at times, suffering numerous penalties on offense, in particular on the opening drives of the game. While Pottstown (2-1, 3-2) had its own share of laundry issues, the tilt's bizarre ending would be set in motion by a tiny yellow flag for the Phantoms.

Holding a 9-6 lead deep in the fourth quarter, the Purple and White were in rhythm on a potentially game ending drive. A long run by Phantoms back Travis Andrews, followed with a fantastic keeper by quarterback Alex McQuiston, seemed to put the Phantoms in position to close out the game. The Flag struck, as McQuiston's play was called back for holding. Facing third down and with four minutes to play, Phantoms coach Bill Furlong gambled on his defense: he dusted of a Lee Corso classic, uncorking a quick kick.

Taking over at the 26-yard line, the Trojans and quarterback Sage Reinhart tried to mount a game winning drive. Operating out of the shotgun, Pottstown head coach Brett Myers put the game in Reinhart's hands.

"When (you've) got a kid like Sage, who's been working for this - to be the Pottstown quarterback - his whole life, it's not hard to trust him," Myers said.

That trust seemed to be misplaced on the first play of the drive, as Reinhart dropped back and rolled right. Facing heavy pressure from the Phantoms, Reinhart tossed a desperation pass as he went to the ground; the kind of pass that makes coaches and fans cringe, with images of interceptions wracking their minds. Monroe Hampton was there, however, hauling in the heave for a Trojan first down. After a completion to Malik Brinkley, Reinhart found Corey Baker for two plays in a row, to the Phantom's 19. One Phoenixvile timeout and an incompletion later, and Reinhart was finding Brinkley on the outside for an untouched, 19-yard screen into the end zone.

"Those plays were made January in the gymnasium at 6 in the morning … he's been doing that every week since than," Myers said. "So that's not a shock." Reinhart went 13 of 21 for 133 yards, with five of those passes going to Baker for 33 yards. Hampton caught four balls for 46 yards, and added 38 on the ground to complement Baker's 35.

Pottstown's point after attempt was good, and the Trojan's seemed set with a 13-9 lead and 2:29 left to play. That warm, safe feeling was quickly eradicated on the ensuing kick off. The kick sailed high and out of bounds, giving the Phantoms life and excellent field position.

"That kick out of bounds, I'll take blame for that," Myers said. "I have a sophomore kicker, and I told him to kick it to me, and that wasn't necessarily the best thing because he came up short. But that's on me. We haven't practiced that. We'll make sure we practice him angling his kicks a little bit this week."

McQuiston wasted no time in taking advantage of his gift, engineering a seven play drive that would find his team just short of victory.

The Trojan defense had spent much of the game gumming up the Phantom's vaunted rushing attack, particularly on the interior. Those players seemed replaced with paper bags, however, as Travis Andrews - dragging a decent portion of the Pottstown defense with him - and Ryan Yenchick slashed their way to the Trojan's 8-yard line. With 41.5 seconds to play, a McQuiston rocket into the end zone briefly stole the crowds breath, before being waved incomplete. Yenchick took a pitch and catch inside the 5-yard line, before being wrapped up by Hampton and Christian Gonzalez. McQuiston spiked the ball, giving the Phantoms time for one more play. Phoenixville found Nattle outside, but the Trojan defense was there, holding the edge and ending the Phantom menace at the half yard line.

"It feels good," Myers said of the win. "Phoenixville is a real good football team, and you see the heart and the effort they have. They were down, there's two minutes left; they didn't quit. They thought they we're going to win that game, and rightfully so, because they've got some good kids there … and a coaching staff that gets their kids ready to play."

An exciting ending did not seem to be in the cards for most of the game, as the two teams took turns turning the ball over on downs or launching punts while the offenses struggled to gain traction. The Trojans could not break long runs to the outside, as Phoenixville's speed allowed them to contain and funnel runners into the middle. The Phantom's seemed equally incapable of settling into a rhythm against the Trojan's front.

"I would say all 11 guys played well," Myers said. "We knew we had to stop the run. They shocked us a little bit by throwing so much and so well, and our kids really did a nice job adjusting to some of the things that we didn't expect to see."

Special teams played an integral role in the game, even before the finish. Hampton had a punt return for a touchdown called back on a penalty on Pottstown's first play, while a botched Phantom's snap in the fourth set up a Trojan field goal attempt. Pottstown defensive end Derrick Wilson also recovered a fumble on a muffed punt.

"Special team's play has improved since last week," Myers said.

The Phantom's Sean Hesser provided the only fireworks of the first half, scoring a touchdown in the second mere minutes before the break. Ian Harrigan added the other points, connecting on a 30-yard field goal in the third. Brinkley ran for 37 yards on 10 carries, and scored the Trojan's first touchdown, a 3-yard plunge in the fourth.