Chestnut finds end zone twice as Falcons rout Pottstown

by Don Seeley, Pottstown Mercury Sports Editor

Posted on November 1, 2008

LOWER POTTSGROVE — There were no masks, no make-up, no costumes. But Pottsgrove sure didn't look like Pottsgrove on Friday night.

At least in the first quarter ... or until having a short sideline chat with head coach Rick Pennypacker.

"When he talks, we listen," said fullback-linebacker Preston Hamlette.

And do they ever respond.

The Falcons broke up a scoreless struggle and went touchdown-for-touchdown with visiting Pottstown, put up two unanswered scores for a 20-6 halftime advantage, then went on a second-half tear that ended in a 49-12 romp that enabled them to clinch a tie for the Pioneer Athletic Conference title as well as no worse than a No. 2 seed in next week's District 1-Class AAA playoffs.

"We didn't underestimate (Pottstown), they're just a good team," said Hamlette, who had yet another monster game on defense and took his only handoff of the evening in for a touchdown. "Pottstown is bigger than us, just as fast if not faster, so that was our concern.

"But we just weren't playing well in the beginning. We didn't make any adjustments, we just got a good talking to from (Pennypacker)."

And the Falcons turned it into a Fright Night of sorts for their guests.

Quarterback Terrell Chestnut ran 19 times for 80 yards and two touchdowns and completed 6 of 7 passes for 87 yards and another score, a seven-yard flip to Billy Sheppard. Maika Polamalu took 24 handoffs a team-high 135 yards and found the end zone twice as the Falcons amassed 255 of their 332 yards on the ground.

They needed the production, too, because Pottstown (2-6, 2-8) got some big plays on both sides of the football early on to keep its hopes for a second straight upset intact.

But even though Evan Bauer had a couple of sacks and Nick Moloney and Tymeke Santos added one apiece, and even though Kenny Baker ran for a game-high 169 yards -- to finish the night with an even 1,000 on the season -- the Trojans simply could not keep pace from the second quarter on.

"Pottstown had a great game plan, and it took us some time to figure it out," Pennypacker said. "But once we did, once our kids made the adjustments started playing football, we were able to turn it around. The kids played well."

Especially on defense. In the second half, Pottstown was limited to just three first downs and 99 yards of offense, and 43 of them came on quarterback Tony Miller's 43-yard burst.

Headlining the effort that curtailed and cut down the Trojans were Hamlette, with nine tackles and a fumble recovery; Paul Owens with eight tackles; Sheppard with seven tackles and an interception; and Eric Figorski with six tackles. Kayvon Greene also chipped in with a sack for the Falcons (8-0, 9-1).

"We were worried about (Pottstown's) speed," Hamlette said. "That was our concern. But we knew how important it was to win here so we could clinch a tie (for the PAC-10 title) and a spot in the district playoffs."

Polamalu's 18-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter put the Falcons on top 7-0, and it was a lead they wouldn't relinquish. But Pottstown was in it for a while, thanks in part to Baker's 57-yard bolt less than two minutes later to get his team within 7-6.

Four snaps later, though, Chestnut went 44 yards and with 55 ticks remaining in the first half went four yards to give the Falcons that 20-6 spread at the break.

Miller's 43-yard run set up Santos' 15-yard run off a counter that got Pottstown back to within 20-12 just over 2-1/2 minutes into the second half ... then Pottsgrove responded defensively, limiting Pottstown to virtually no yardage, and offensively, by scoring on four straight possessions.

Sheppard caught the seven-yarder from Chestnut; Polamalu went 22 yards; Hamlette bulled in from a yard away; and Herschel Dube capped it with a seven-yard dash.

"Sometimes in high school football things get away from you," said Pottstown head coach Brett Myers. "That's what happened tonight. But that (score) isn't a sign of how our kids played our how prepared our coaching staff was, but (the score) is a reality.

"We came out and played well, and Moloney and Bauer were two of the reasons. But sometimes you just face a better team. We'll regroup. We're still trying to working our way up."

Which is what Pottsgrove has done since opening week.

"Back in August, I didn't think we looked sharp in beating Exeter and then we got smoked by Wissahickon," Pennypacker said. "We just didn't play well. Then we played who I thought were the top three teams in our league.

"The kids got better every week. They improved every week. This (tie for the title) isn't something we anticipated early on, so we're proud of the effort the kids have given us."

NOTES

Chesnut became the first area quarterback to run for more than 1,000 yards in a season when he went over the mark and finished the night at 1,038. ... Polamalu is at 921. ... Pottsgrove will be joined in the District 1-Class AAA bracket by PAC-10 rival Owen J. Roberts, which outlasted Boyertown, 31-26, Friday night. Barring any major upsets today (Upper Moreland vs. Norristown and Great Valley vs. Kennett), the Falcons and Wildcats will open as the No. 2 and No. 5 seeds, respectively.

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