Pottsgrove

Maika Polamalu ran 10 yards for a touchdown, and Zach Robinson added the extra point to lift Pottsgrove to a 28-21 overtime win over Interboro last night at Coatesville for the Falcons' first District 1 Class AAA football championship. While Polamalu and Robinson took care of the winning points, it took a great defensive play by Angelo Berry to preserve the win for the 14-0 Falcons. Berry broke up a pass play on the Bucs' fourth-down play in their first overtime series. The Bucs won the coin toss for the overtime and chose to go on defense.

Two interceptions in the final three minutes - one turned almost immediately into a touchdown - lifted Strath Haven to a 42-28 victory over Pottsgrove in the District 1 Class AAA championship game Friday night at Coatesville. The victory, giving the Panthers (12-1) their 11th district crown, continued their domination over the Falcons in district title games. Pottsgrove (10-3) is 0-4 in meetings with Strath Haven with the district title on the line. The Panthers will meet Archbishop Wood, the District 12 champ, next weekend in what will also be the second round of the PIAA state playoffs.

After losing to Pottsgove by 40 points three weeks ago, Phoenixville went into Saturday's rematch hoping for a better overall showing and a possible upset victory. The final differential wasn't as bad for the Phantoms, but the Falcons, scoring on their first five possessions, again won in dominant fashion. Piling up 542 rushing yards on 50 attempts, Pottsgrove cruised, 42-13, at Plymouth Whitemarsh to claim its second PIAA District 1 Class AAA championship in the last three seasons.

Southeastern Pennsylvania has a new all-time leading rusher. Ryan Brumfield rushed for 329 yards and scored five touchdowns, including one on a 22-yard run with a recovered fumble, to lead Owen J. Roberts to a stunning 49-20 victory over defending Pioneer Athletic Conference champion Pottsgrove on Friday night. Brumfield's five touchdowns gave him 20 for the season. He has rushed for 1,706 yards this season, taking his career total to 7,451 yards. Entering the game, he had trailed just Curtis Brinkley of West Catholic (7,429 yards)

The Pottsgrove High football team yesterday lost one of its two appeals to regain a berth in the District 1 Class AAA playoff game. The Pottsgrove School District's request for a temporary restraining order to stop the game between Methacton and host Great Valley on Saturday was denied by Judge Bernard A. Moore at the Montgomery County Court House in Norristown. The PIAA also heard an appeal on the case yesterday and said it would announce its decision this morning. The forfeiture came because of Pottsgrove's use of an ineligible player, Londun Ricketts, a transfer from neighboring Pottstown High, during an Oct. 28 game against Owen J. Roberts.

Pottstown overcame the absence of two starters to win its PIAA District 1 Class AAA quarterfinal girls' basketball game Saturday against Sun Valley. Pottsgrove was not as fortunate.Top-seeded Pottstown played without senior Regina Oliver, who was forced to sit out in compliance with school and PIAA rules after she had been ejected from the Trojans' previous game. Pottstown also was missing sophomore Shyree White, who had a family commitment. Without Oliver and White, the Trojans, who run a three-guard set, were forced to rely primarily on the ballhandling of sophomore Jamell Beasley.

Phoenixville flexed its muscle in an 11-9 Pioneer Athletic Conference baseball win at Pottsgrove Friday, improving its league record to 2-0. Brett Illig and Chris Neskie pounded three-run home runs, and Todd Myer outdid his teammates with a grand slam to cap a five-run fourth inning that gave Phoenixville an 11-5 lead. Starting pitcher Tim Hartman went four innings to pick up the win. The offensive explosion was nothing new for the Phantoms, who have won two straight league championships, losing only one game along the way. Big bats and great starting pitching were the keys the last two years, and while the pitching is still rounding into shape, the bats are as formidable as ever.

Into Pottsgrove's season, a little rain had to fall. If Thursday night's storm seemed harsh to the Falcons, coach Rick Pennypacker knew it could have been a lot worse. His team led, 20-0, with less than four minutes left in the first half when a downpour forced the teams off the field. They wouldn't return until 3 p.m. Friday, by which time anything resembling momentum had washed away from Pottsgrove's sideline. The Falcons would eventually win, 28-7, but they looked downright sloppy Friday after a strong all-around effort Thursday night.

Harriton relied on balanced scoring and accurate foul shooting to secure a win in its District 1 Class AAA first-round basketball playoff game on Wednesday night, ousting visiting Upper Merion, 48-41. Upper Merion's James Mobley scored 18 points and the 10th-seeded Vikings (4-18) grabbed a surprising 24-22 halftime lead. Harriton answered with Matt Sherman's 18 points and nine rebounds, Detasia Dixon's 14 points with 9-for-9 foul shooting, and Itay Levy's 10 points with 4-for-4 marksmanship from the line in the final period.

MaryKate O'Brien completed a three-point play with one second left in the game to break a tie and give Penn Charter a dramatic, 45-42 win over Shipley in the Make A Wish Girls' Basketball Classic on Friday at Germantown Academy. Shipley led by 25-24 at halftime, but Penn Charter rallied behind Dee Thomas-Palmer (18 points) and Danielle Sienko (10). O'Brien had eight points, and Shipley got 13 from Aja Ellison. In the second game, host Germantown Academy beat Archbishop Ryan, 41-28, as Kiernan McCloskey had 26 rebounds for her second straight 20-plus rebound effort this week.

P ASSING ALONG some city high school football tidbits . . . Drew Loughery , it turns out, never did throw his final pass for La Salle. In fact, he'll be firing more as early as this afternoon. After pacing the Explorers to the 2009 Class AAAA state title, and finishing his career with 5,355 yards and 50 touchdowns, Loughery enrolled at West Chester and opted not to play football. But roughly a half-dozen times this season, usually on Tuesdays because his class load is light (one, in the morning)

Will the Archbishop Wood football team ever break a sweat on the road to Hershey? Again seizing early command, the Vikings notched touchdowns on all five of their first-half possessions and topped outmanned Pottsgrove, 41-22, Friday night in a PIAA Class AAA state quarterfinal at Northeast's Charlie Martin Stadium. In advancing to the Eastern final for the fourth straight season, the District 12 champions built a 41-0 lead in the first 29 minutes. The Falcons' three TDs came against Wood's second-teamers.

After losing to Pottsgove by 40 points three weeks ago, Phoenixville went into Saturday's rematch hoping for a better overall showing and a possible upset victory. The final differential wasn't as bad for the Phantoms, but the Falcons, scoring on their first five possessions, again won in dominant fashion. Piling up 542 rushing yards on 50 attempts, Pottsgrove cruised, 42-13, at Plymouth Whitemarsh to claim its second PIAA District 1 Class AAA championship in the last three seasons.

Chestnut Hill Academy's Dustin Wilson and Pennridge's Tori Gerlach each earned a trip to San Diego with a solid effort at the prestigious Foot Locker Northeast regional cross-country championships on Saturday at Sunken Meadow State Park, N.Y. Wilson placed fifth in the boys' qualifier for the Foot Locker national championship race to be held Dec. 10 at Balboa Park in San Diego. His time of 15 minutes, 50 seconds on the 3.1-mile course near Long Island Sound trailed winner Edward Cheserek (course record 15:20)