FOOTBALL: Pottsgrove dominates Upper Perkiomen in second half to turn close game into a rout

RED HILL — Pottsgrove led Upper Perkiomen by only a touchdown at halftime on Friday night. But the Falcons came out after the break with the game plan that has worked for years – a punishing ground game, key pass completions and a tough defense.

That combination turned a close contest into a rout as Pottsgrove blanked the Indians in the second half and pulled away for a 46-14 win in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier Division football opener for both teams at Indian Stadium.

Mikhi Dargan rushed for 202 yards and three touchdowns and Isaiah Rivera added 147 yards and two scores as the Falcons (4-1, 1-0) piled up 430 yards on the ground. Zach Schwartz ran for 90 yards for Upper Perk (3-2, 0-1).

"I think we just tightened down on both sides of the ball," said Falcons head coach Bill Hawthorne, whose team had a 268-66 advantage in total yards in the second half and scored on all four of its possessions. "Pound, pound, pound, play-action passes and good special teams. As always, our defense played a heck of a game in both halves. That's a good recipe."

"We played one half of a football game last week and one half of a football game tonight," said Upper Perk head coach Dan Heinrichs. "The second half last week and the first half this week, but we weren't able to carry it over."

The Indians stopped Pottsgrove on the Upper Perk 11-yard line as time ran out in the first half to trail just 21-14 at that point. But the Falcons drove 53 yards to start the third quarter, with Rivera running 29 yards for a touchdown.

Brandon McGinley ran for two points to make it 29-14 and then intercepted a pass a few plays later before the Falcons marched 60 yards for another touchdown, with Dargan scoring on a 24-yard run.

"At halftime, we said we've got to communicate better," said junior Dargan, who also played safety on defense. "Work as a team. I thank my line for blocking for me in the second half."

Then the Falcon defense forced a punt and Pottsgrove drove 93 yards as quarterback Chase Hawthorne threw to Cameron Waller for 47 yards and then hit Thomas Sambrick with an 18-yard TD pass to make it 43-14 with 9:20 to go. A 27-yard field goal by Jake Gondos wrapped up the scoring.

"We communicated. We were one instead of 11," Dargan said concerning the Falcon defense. "Whoever wants it more is going to have it. We just wanted it more in the second half."

"Upper Perk is a very good team," Bill Hawthorne said. "They're going to wreak some havoc down the line. We were doing the little things right, taking what the defense gives us with power and veer and iso and play-action passes."

Upper Perk, which had won its first three games of the season for the first time in 20 years, scored on the fourth play from scrimmage when QB Logan O'Donnell fired a quick pass over the middle to Aiden Void, who turned it into a 58-yard touchdown.

But the Falcons bounced right back to tie the score less than two minutes later on a 71-yard run by Rivera. Dargan ran into the end zone from two and 27 yards out later in the first quarter for a 21-7 advantage. Then Upper Perk pulled to within seven on a 28-yard TD run by Brody Weiss early in the second and then halted a 69-yard Pottsgrove drive to end the half.

But the Indians could not handle the Falcons after the break, losing their 17th straight to Pottsgrove, last winning 41-21 in 2006. The Falcons lead the all-time series, 28-9.

"We never regained our momentum," said Heinrichs. "We came out flat. That can't happen. Tackling and small stuff, you can't mess that up. We had no tackling and had no execution. They run what they run and they're good at what they do."

Pottsgrove 46, Upper Perkiomen 14

Pottsgrove 21 0 15 10 – 46

Upper Perk 7 7 0 0 – 14

UP-Void 58 pass from L O'Donnell (Lash kick)

PG-Rivera 71 run (Gondos kick)

PG-Dargan 2 run (Fondos kick)

PG-Dargan 27 run (Gondos kick)

UP-Weiss 28 run (Lash kick)

PG-Rivera 29 run (McGinley run)

PG-Dargan 24 run (Gondos kick)

PG-Sambrick 18 pass from Hawthorne (Gondos kick)

PG-Gondos 27 FG