Identical rivals OJR, Great Valley meet in district opener

by Don Seeley, Pottstown Mercury Sports Editor

Posted on November 7, 2008

Tom Barr had a lot of good things to say about Gary Phillips and his Great Valley football team, and Phillips had a lot of good things to say about Barr and his Owen J. Roberts football team.

Speaking well of one another is usually the norm, of course. Heck, the last thing a coach wants is to get a little careless and utter a word or two that will only fuel their opponent's competitive fires.

But Barr and Phillips sounded as if they were reading from the same script, as if their props for one another were echoing off the rolling hills from Bucktown to Frazier and back again.

If that isn't enough to get you scratching your helmet, the Wildcats and Patriots put together identical 8-2 records in the regular season, finished just 10 points apart from one another in the playoff standings and, most important, have offenses and defenses that actually mirror one another.

Which should make tonight's meeting between the former longtime rivals as interesting, and perhaps as good, as any of the District 1-Class AAA opening round playoff features.

"Owen J. is a good football team," Phillips said.

"Great Valley is a good football team," Barr said.

Next?

"(Ryan) Brumfield is a great back," Phillips said of the Wildcats' running back. "He's fast, elusive, strong ... really tough to bring down."

"(Brian) Pommerer is a great back," Barr said of the Patriots' running back. "He's quick, gets around people, and strong ... the one guy who really scares us."

It went on and on.

And their bottom line is identical. Owen J. Roberts likes to run the football, giving it to Brumfield as often as possible, and asks quarterback Dan Miller to go up top on occasion ... play possession football, if you will. Great Valley likes to run the football, giving it to Pommerer as often as possible, and asks quarterback Seth Houston to go up top on occasion ... play possession football (if you haven't heard that before).

There's no question the Wildcats go as Brumfield goes. The 5-foot-10, 165-pound sophomore has carried 282 times for 1,913 yards and 18 of his 21 touchdowns. He can also take a toss and pass it, or stroll into the flat or hustle upfield and catch one, too. Miller, quite adept at eluding the rush and finding receivers, has completed 40 of 79 attempts for 714 yards and seven touchdowns.

Both have benefited from a very reliable offensive line that, other than center Nelson Munoz and guard Sam Morgan, was a gang of unknowns when camp opened back in August.

"We got to see (OJR) against Boyertown," Phillips said. "They haven't changed much. They're still doing the same things Owen J. Roberts teams always did. But I was impressed with their blocking. They're fundamentally sound. And the way they come off the ball ... and with Brumfield? He's a special back who does things that a lot of other kids can't do."

The Patriots hope to counter with a defense that has size, quickness and, most important, talent. Tackle Anthony McFalls, nose guard Myles Tornetta, inside linebacker John Nurthen, outside linebacker Justin Schellenger, cornerback Pommerer and safety Chris Campbell have been the keys in Phillips' 4-4 and 5-3 schemes.

Owen J. Roberts is going to need some defense, too, and a defense that plays a wee bit better than it has in recent weeks, too. Anchored up front by ends Cory Bissland and Kyle Moore and tackles Sean Moloney and Morgan, and in the middle with Rich Zazo flanked by fellow linebackers Sam Funk and Scott Syrek, the Wildcats have stepped up in the waning seconds the past two weeks to preserve both wins.

They've been strong against the run.

"But (Great Valley) has real good size up front, guys who range around 6-foot, 245 or so pounds, and really do a good job," Barr said. "And with Pommerer ... he's their go-to guy. He's the guy we're worried about."

Pommerer has carried just 147 times, but picked up 938 yards and 11 of his 16 touchdowns. He gets a breather once in a while thanks to Nurthen, the fullback, who has 627 yards and eight touchdowns himself. Houston is 62 of 130 for 820 yards, with a good portion of those tosses going to Pommerer.

"(Great Valley) has some weapons," Barr said. "If we don't read our keys, we're going to be in trouble."

SIDELINERS: The Wildcats and Patriots have met 43 times in the past, first in the Ches-Mont League and then in the Pioneer Athletic Conference. Both teams left the Ches-Mont for the PAC-10, but Great Valley left following the 2001 season. ... OJR, which won the last meeting (40-0 two years ago), holds a 29-12-2 advantage in the series. ... Phillips, in his 16th season, is 51-31 since leaving the PAC-10 and has an 83-88-3 career mark going into tonight's game. Barr, in his 12th season, is currently 78-59.

DISTRICT MATCHUPS

Owen J. Roberts' visit to Great Valley is just one of tonight's four match-ups that feature area teams.

Phoenixville is at Upper Moreland, and Pottsgrove hosts Interboro in two more District 1-AAA games, while Daniel Boone heads out to Northern York in one of the eight District 3-AAA opening-round games.

The No. 8 seeded Phantoms (7-3) are making their third postseason appearance in four years and still looking for their first playoff win. Four-year starter Anthony Nattle, unquestionably one of the area's premier individual talents, has been with the Phantoms in their previous trips. The No. 1 seeded Golden Bears (8-1) have one of the most exciting running backs in the entire district in Chris Smallwood, who is averaging nearly 200 yards and two touchdowns a game.

The No. 2 seeded Falcons (9-1) have won eight in a row and are averaging 42.2 points over their last five games. Quarterback Terrell Chestnut has already run for 1,000 yards, and tailback Maika Polamalu needs 79 himself to get to the 1,000-yard mark. Linebacker Preston Hamlette, and the little fella — Billy Sheppard — are part of a unsung defense that has progressed significantly each week. The No. 7 seeded Bucs (7-3), who lost their first two games but bounced back to win seven of the next eight — including the last four — have a talented quarterback in Jim McMenamin and a Division I-AA prospect in wideout Shawn Krautzel. Run game has been shared by three backs.

Out in District 3, the No. 9 seeded Blazers (7-3) will be visiting No. 8 seeded Northern York (7-3) for the third time. Three years ago, in their very first district playoff game, the Blazers came up short in a 38-30 first-round feature. Last year, though, they got even by shocking the top-seeded Polar Bears, 17-14. Boone quarterback Jon Monteiro has thrown for an all-time area record 2,564 yards already, and wideout Zach Keeley has caught 76 passes for an all-time area record 1,133 yards already. Defense will be the Blazers' key against Northern York, which has a productive tandem in quarterback Joe Tuschak and receiver Ryan Aumiller to go with running backs Robert Bleiler and Robert James.

PLAYOFF NOTES

Of District 1's 22 schools in the Class AAA bracket, only four of the Top 10 in enrollment — Rustin (No. 2 with 537 male students in 9th through 12th grades), OJR (No. 5 with 510), Interboro (No. 6 with 508) and Great Valley (No. 8 with 494) advanced to the playoffs. Strath Haven is 14th (459), Upper Moreland is 15th (450), Pottsgrove is 18th (410), and Phoenixville is 20th (381). ... Great Valley, which lost the 1995 District 1-Class AAA final to Methacton, also came up a point short (20-19) against Upper Merion in the district showdown four years ago. ... Pottsgrove is the area's only team with a winning record (5-4) in postseason play. The Falcons ended a string of three-straight, second-round setbacks to Strath Haven by reaching the District 1-AAA final a year ago only to fall 41-22 to eventual state-runnerup Garnet Valley. ... Daniel Boone is 3-3 in district play and 3-5 overall in the postseason (counting two appearances in the Eastern Conference playoffs).

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