It sure wasn't pretty, but Upper Perkiomen's football team completed its unbeaten run through the Pioneer Athletic Conference's Frontier Division last week in Pottstown with a 21-6 victory.

            The Indians fell behind early, but scored three unanswered touchdowns to claim

Upper Pekiomen defenders Dylan Bieber, left, and Estrela Kubola, center, eye a fumble against Pottstown at Grigg Memorial Fiels.

a 21-6 victory over the winless Trojans on Friday, Oct. 17. As the Frontier Division's only unbeaten team, they will take on Liberty Division champion Spring-Ford in the PAC title game tomorrow night in Royersford.

            "Our preparation and hard work during the week will never change," Tribe head coach Dan Heinrichs said regarding this week's game. "Our mindset needs to be another week of 1-0. One thing we can't drill at practice is the will to win and the fight we have had for the last five weeks."

            The Tribe's fifth consecutive win got off to a rocky start. After trading possessions to start the first quarter, Pottstown (0-5, 0-9) orchestrated an 18-play scoring march that covered 10 minutes in the first and second quarters.

            The drive included two third-down conversions, a fourth-and-2 conversion on Upper Perk's 11 and ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass to give Pottstown the early lead, 6-0 at the 9:05 mark of the second quarter. Upper Perk's woes continued when they got the ball back on offense and found themselves in a fourth-and-20 situation after a penalty and sack.

            Zane Saeger helped turn the tide for the Indians (5-0 PAC, 7-2 overall) on the Pottstown's next drive by pulling down an interception on Pottstown's 36-yard line. The offense used an 11-yard pass to Ethan Scharneck on fourth-and-1 to continue the drive, and two plays later junior quarterback Grayson Sabo (8-of-14 for 113 passing yards, TD) found Scharneck (three catches, 67 yards, TD) again, this time for a 19-yard touchdown pass.

            "No panic occurred on our sideline," Heinrichs said. "I would say it was more of annoyance, knowing we should not have put ourselves in that situation. Not capitalizing on offense on the first drive and punting on fourth-and-30 was completely controllable and something we let affect our momentum."

            Upper Perkiomen retained that momentum in the second quarter, adding a pair of scores. It also scored once in the third and fourth quarters. Its first offensive drive of the second half advanced to the Trojans' 14, but a 31-yard field goal attempt was missed wide left.

            When the Indians got the ball back, they made the most of the opportunity. Scharneck pulled down a 37-yard pass from Sabo along the visitors' sideline on third-and-16. The play set the table for Brody Weiss' 15-yard touchdown off left tackle with less than two minutes in the third quarter.

            Zach Adam (10 carries, 49 yards, TD) capped the scoring as he took a handoff on a counter along his team's sideline, bounced off a defender and then walked the tightrope along the sidelines for a 22-yard touchdown. The drive was aided by good field position created by Indians' defense fourth down stand to get the ball on their own 36. Seven of their nine offensive drives began in Pottstown territory.

            Defensively, Brody Weiss led the Indians with 10 tackles as fellow senior linebacker Kane Krier tallied seven. Scharneck had a pair of solo stops and a quarterback hurry, as did Joe Schmittinger, who also broke up a pass. Braeden O'Donnell notched two solo tackles, forced a fumble and hurried the quarterback once.

            Spring-Ford advanced to the title game by defeating Owen J. Roberts, 21-9, last week. The team rallied from a four-game losing streak to open the season to post five consecutive Liberty Division wins.

            The Rams started 0-4, losing to Souderton (31-7), Easton (36-3), Downingtown East (21-17) and Downingtown West (30-0). Their closest PAC win came against Perkiomen Valley (30-21) on Oct. 3.

            Spring-Ford features running back Brayden Hinkle, a son of former Upper Perkiomen player, who ran for 135 yards and a score in his team's win over the Wildcats.

            Looking at the District 1 5A playoff picture, the Tribe is currently the 10 seed in the 16-team field.

            "Great teams find ways to win in terrible circumstances," Heinrichs said. "We need to rekindle that fire in our eyes early in the week and be ready to compete at a high level against a very good Spring-Ford football team who has done what we have after starting off the season on a rocky start. The only week that matters right now is week 10."