FOOTBALL: Pope John Paul II standouts do it all in shutout win over Pottsgrove

POTTSGROVE — Versatility is not optional within Pope John Paul II’s football program.

Not only do most Golden Panthers have roles on both offense and defense, but numerous starters have roles on PJP’s special teams.

So when quarterback Luke Terlesky and wide receiver Braden Reed scored their respective touchdowns early in the Golden Panthers’ 41-0 win at Pottsgrove’s Pennypacker Field on Friday night, they didn’t spend much time celebrating.

They each had roles to play on the field ensuing extra points.

Terlesky passed for two scores, ran for another, and served as the Golden Panthers long snapper, while Reed did a little bit of everything in all facets of the game.

“When I was a freshman, I wanted to find a way to get on the field,” said Terlesky, who knows his way around various methods of throwing a ball as a pitcher and West Chester commit on the baseball diamond. “And not too many guys want to be long snappers or know how to long snap.”

Terlesky was well-suited in that regard, as his uncle Steve long snapped at West Virginia University.

“He taught me everything I know,” said the PJP senior.

It didn’t take long for the Golden Panthers to get rolling, thanks to a smothering defense that caused two turnovers and sacked Pottsgrove quarterback Chase Hawthorne five times on the evening.

After recovering a fumble at the Pottsgrove nine-yard line, it took just two plays for Terlesky to power across from five yards out for the opening points.

Three minutes later, it was Reed who came in motion and took a feed up the middle for an identical five-yard score.

The pair would connect once more in the first quarter, this time for a 71-yard touchdown to make it a 21-0 PJP lead.

But after each score, the senior duo would connect in a different way — long snapper Terlesky delivering the ball to holder Reed, who held for each of Sam Simonic’s successful conversions.

On the evening, Braden Reed ran for two touchdowns, caught a third, registered four solo tackles, had a 50-yard kickoff return and punted twice for an average of 34 yards.

Terlesky added a second touchdown pass to Bradey Bass on the final play from scrimmage before halftime for a 27-0 PJP halftime lead.

Reed saved his best for his final play of the night, the two-point conversion that followed his third touchdown, a 10-yard run with six minutes to play on the third quarter.

From his position as holder, Reed took a snap but rolled out as if to run. Finding himself walled off by Pottsgrove defenders, he reversed field, outrunning the entire defense to the pylon for a conversion to make the score 35-0, and invoke the running clock.

“I kind of muffed the snap,” Reed, a Villanova commit, admitted. “By the time I got ahold of it, there wasn’t time to get it on the tee. So it was pretty much backyard football from there.”

Pottsgrove was more than ready for the defending champions from PJP. After all, the Falcons were the team that claimed the Frontier title for the first three seasons of the two-division format before the Golden Panthers started their current run.

But the Falcons never recovered from the early turnovers, despite strong offensive efforts from fullback Isaiah Rivera and a couple of early touchdown-saving tackle from safety Tommy Sambrick.

Pottsgrove head coach Bill Hawthorne says with so much football still ahead of his players, he doesn’t want the team to rush putting the disappointing outcome in the rearview mirror. The Falcons need to learn from the tough outing.

“As much as you want it put it behind you, you can’t ignore what happened here tonight,” he said. “Our execution and discipline weren’t near where it needs to be in order to compete with a team this talented and well-coached. All the credit goes to (PJP).”

CJ Scruggs closed out the evening’s scoring with a late third quarter run from five yards out for the final margin of 41-0.

Throughout their 6-1 (3-0 PAC Frontier) start to the 2024 campaign, the Golden Panthers have weathered the efforts of contenders from Springfield-Montco, Bishop Shanahan, Phoenixville, and now Pottsgrove, who fell to 5-2 (2-1 PAC Frontier).

Even PJP’s one wobble — a week three loss to District 1-5A contenders West Chester Rustin — was a one-score game not decided until the final play. The Golden Panthers have done all of it while identifying new contributors to replace All-Area and All-State level players from 2023’s PAC championship team.

“Anthony Borzillo, Zahaid Edwards-Boone, Brandon DeAngelo,” said Reed, rattling off names of contributors who are either new to the program or in expanded roles this season. “We lost a lot of guys from our senior class last year, and it’s been nice to see people step up into those roles.”

“Everyone’s gonna give us their best,” said Terlesky. “We know that, and it means we have to work that much harder, be that much sharper as far as preparing and recognizing tendencies.”

Pottsgrove stays at home next week to battle Upper Merion (a Thursday night contest) before heading back on the road to Phoenixville. If Friday night’s winners from PJP are able to stay the course, that Pottsgrove/Phoenixville game will likely determine second place in the Frontier.

But the big question remains — can PJP do it again? Can they weather everyone’s best shot and successfully defend not only the PAC Frontier title, but their league and District championships in the coming weeks?

The Golden Panthers know better than to get that far ahead with games against Upper Merion and Pottstown on the horizon. PJP will be expected to win both contests, but they can’t afford to overlook any team, especially with every opponent circling their names on the schedule.

“1-0 every week,” summarized Braden Reed. “Same mentality. That never changes.”

BOX SCORE

Pope John Paul II 41, Pottsgrove 0

Pope John Paul II —    21   6   14   0   —   41

Pottsgrove —   0    0   0   0   —   0

SCORING PLAYS

PJP — Terlesky 5 run (Simonic kick)
PJP — Reed 5 run (Simonic kick)
PJP — Reed 71 pass from Terlesky (Simonic kick)
PJP — Bass 1 pass from Terlesky (kick failed)
PJP — Reed 10 run (Reed run)
PJP — Scruggs 5 run (kick failed)

TEAM STATISTICS

PJP               PG
First Downs                19                  8

Rushing Yards           194                29

Passing Yards           136                94

Total Yards                 315              123

Passes C-A-I          10-16-0          6-12-1

Fumbles-Lost             0-0               3-3

Penalties-Yards        2-25                0

Punts-Avg.                2-34             3-25.7

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

Pope John Paul II – Terlesky 9-51; TD, Skarbek 6-56, Scruggs 6-21; TD, Reed 4-24; 2 TD, Baldino 2-10, Reedinger 2-8, Nymark 1-13, Lucci 1-6, Witter 1-5.

Pottsgrove – Dargan 12-36, Hawthorne 9-(minus-21), Rivera 3-6, Doctor 1-9, Mayes 1-2, Team 1-(minus-3).

Passing

Pope John Paul II – Terlesky 7-13, 114 yards, 2 TD; Witter 2-2, 14 yards, Lucci 1-1, 8 yards.

Pottsgrove – Hawthorne 6-12, 94 yards, INT.

Receiving

Pope John Paul II – DeAngelo 2-30, Scruggs 2-15, DiGiacomo 2-14, Reed 1-71; TD, Owens 1-4, Bass 1-1; TD, Lucci 1-1.

Pottsgrove – Dargan 2-41, Waller 2-17, Rivera 1-21, Doctor 1-15.

Sacks: Pope John Paul II – Borzillo, Myers, Frantz, Lamson, Owens.

Interceptions: Pope John Paul II – DeAngelo.