Miller, Brumfield help Wildcats end year on winning note

by Don Seeley, Pottstown Mercury Sports Editor

Posted on November 28, 2008

BUCKTOWN — Dan Miller, Ryan Brumfield, and their Owen J. Roberts teammates had to be thinking if only they could play, or replay, one game ... perhaps just a half.

That would've been the visit over to Pottsgrove back in Week Four, when the Falcons broke up a 14-14 halftime stalemate with 27 unanswered points and left Miller, Brumfield, and the rest of the Wildcats questioning their confidence, if not their resiliency.

But did they ever show their poise, their ability to bounce back.

And both may have never been more obvious than throughout Thursday morning's 50th anniversary of Thanksgiving Day football with Pottstown.

The Wildcats spotted their guests a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game, then answered with scores on five of their next six possessions to top the Trojans, 34-13, close out a 10-win season for the first time in eight years, and finish up just that forgettable game back of unbeaten Pottsgrove in the Pioneer Athletic Conference standings.

Owen J. Roberts, which upped its advantage in the storied series to 30-19-1, ended up 8-1 (10-3 overall). Pottstown, which once again played well at times only to see mistakes undermine the effort, ended up 2-7 (3-9).

Miller, the diminuitive but oh-so-deceiving 5-foot-9 senior, had a hand in all but one of the OJR scores. He capped the first two brief drives with a pair of one-yard sneaks into the end zone, then eluded Pottstown rush after rush to throw two touchdowns passes — 17 yards to Kevin Fitch and 18 yards to Francis Polignano — that helped create a 27-7 halftime spread.

Brumfield, who benefited the most from Miller's arm that kept the Trojans on their collective heals, not to mention a yeoman's effort up front by his offensive line, carried for the remaining score — a 20-yard run around the right side with 1:46 left in the third quarter.

By game's end, Miller ran 15 times for 112 yards and hit 9 of 13 passes for another 119 yards to finish with 231 yards overall. And Brumfield, who has two more seasons to slash and dash, took 25 handoffs for 219 yards to set a new Owen J. Roberts single-season rushing record (2,254 yards) and run away with the area's rushing and scoring titles.

"This is a great feeling," deadpanned Miller, who also added three tackles and an interception from his corner on defense. "Coming back from last season like we did, turning things around ... and getting a 10-win season. It feels great."

"We wanted this game, so getting (the win) and the 10-win season was big for us," added Brumfield. "We had a couple of injuries and didn't play at all like ourselves in that (Pottsgrove) game, but we really wanted the 10-win season. We came back and played well."

Maybe no better than they did against Pottstown.

"This was a very good way to finish, a real positive way to finish," said OJR head coach Tom Barr. "I thought we played four good quarters.

"After Pottstown scored first, I thought we did very well on offense and defense. Our line played well up front, (Miller) did an exceptional job, and (Brumfield) ran well again. And on defense, the kids got off their blocks and played well, too."

But, like they did so often this season, the Wildcats had to come back.

Pottstown saw to that after taking its first possession of the day 50 yards in just two plays — a 13-yard run by Kenny Baker (18 carries, 75 yards) and a 37-yard run by sophomore quarterback Jeff Endy (13 carries, 95 yards). Amanda Ayer's point-after made it 7-0 just 2:53 into the game.

"We were focused on this game," Miller said, fully aware neither he nor anyone else in the Wildcats' lineup could impact Pottsgrove's battle with St. Pius X. "Pottstown came out ready to play. We knew we had our hands full. And when they scored, I think it was a wake-up call for us."

The Wildcats didn't stir, either ... they indeed woke up.

It took just six plays to finish off their ensuing possession, and nine to finish off the next. Brumfield broke long runs in both, and Miller stepped off a few of his own as well as hit a couple of long passes. After his second sneak and Brumfield's two-point conversion, OJR had a 14-7 lead — and there was no surrendering it the remainder of the way.

"That's a very good football team," said Pottstown head coach Brett Myer, nodding toward the Wildcats at midfield. "Give that team a lot of credit. They did a nice job out here.

"We came out, moved the ball and scored. But eventually, the things we were doing, (OJR) caught up to."

Pottstown, which had just 26 players in uniform, nonetheless was in it until its hosts added on those two second-quarter touchdowns. It was only 14-7 when Devon Hartman blocked a punt to give the Trojans the ball on OJR's 16-yard line at the 8:17 mark of the second quarter. But two plays later, Endy was slammed in his own backfield, fumbled, and the Wildcats' Kyle Moore recovered.

From there, well, it was pretty much all Owen J. Roberts.

"We only had 26 kids, but we had 26 kids who wanted to play football," Myers said. "We were talking about that the other day when one of our kids said, 'Coach, we only need 11 to play, though.' He was right, and these kids played hard.

"And I can't say enough about five of our seniors — Nick Maloney, Kenny Baker, Brenen Phillips, Andrew Epps, and Anthony Lyon. They were special kids for us, kids who all showed improvement, and that's improvement on the field as well as in the classroom."

Improvement that Barr saw as well in his own team ... throughout the season, and especially Thursday morning.

"Coming into the season, we knew we'd have some tough games," he explained. "We got through most of them, and it would've been nice to win the (PAC-10) title, too. But 10 wins ... that's amazing and not have a championship to show for it. Then again, Pottsgrove is a good football team and earned it.

"Today, well, when Pottstown scored, I knew it was early in the game and we had plenty of time. I knew when we got the ball back, we'd be able to run the ball and bounce back. We showed that all year. This team fell behind a lot, but kept its poise and came back to win a lot of games."

"It would've been great had we won just one more," Brumfield said. "But we just have to go back to work now and get ready for next year."

NOTES

Brumfield broke OJR's single-season record of 2,046 set by Matt Lucas. Barr (2,029) and Dennis Laws (2,006), who was also at Thursday's game, were the only other Wildcats to run beyond the 2,000-yard mark. His 2,254 yards represents the fifth-best, single-season total in area history. And in PAC-10 games only, his 1,762 yards erased OJR's previous-best of 1,631 set by Mark Sterious in 1993 and represented the fourth-best total in the league's history. ... Phillips (44 yards) and Marc Smith (20) also contributed to Pottstown's run game, which produced 214 of its 215 yards of total offense. ... Baker finished with his second-straight 1,000-yard season and closed his career with 3,102 yards — second on Pottstown's all-time chart.

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