PHOENIXVILLE – When the Phoenixville football team watched its division mate Pope John Paul II of the PAC Frontier win its first conference title last season, it realized how close it was to playing for the title itself.

The Phantoms led by two touchdowns in their head-to-head matchup with PJP last October before things fell apart and ultimately resulted in a 38-21 loss. The Golden Panthers beat Spring-Ford by a single point and won the PAC the following week, leaving Phoenixville lamenting the what-ifs and what-could-have- beens.

Now a group of experienced and talented seniors hopes to iron out the mistakes and put the Phantoms in position to win their first conference title since 2005.

“It definitely makes us hungrier when we see them do it,” senior WR/CB Kevin Kingsbury said of PJP. “It makes us look like we have a chance to do it too. We just have to be able to play the whole game and not make those little mistakes that hurt us in the long run. There’s nothing that should hold us back. We have the heart and the mentality to do it. It can happen.”

Returning senior running back and linebacker Deacon Williams said the Phantoms “took their foot off the gas” against the Golden Panthers. Phoenixville entered PJP play with a 7-1 record but finished 1-3; the team won a District 1-5A first-round playoff game against West Chester East before ending the season with a humiliating 40-14 loss to top-seeded Chester, who beat the Phantoms twice in 2023.

Phoenixville definitely lost some substance at the end of last season, although head coach Anthony Ciarello said there is a clear difference between wanting to win a championship and actually winning it.

“We’ve told them over and over again that if they want to accomplish what another team has accomplished, their expectations can’t be higher than their effort,” Ciarello said. “I remind them that their goal of winning the PAC is perfect and that it’s great to want to win a second-round playoff game. All of that is to be expected, but if the effort doesn’t exceed the expectations, then it doesn’t matter.”

The Phantoms lost seven starters from last year’s team to graduation, including starting quarterback Ty Romance, who threw for 1,049 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushed for another 432 yards and six touchdowns in 2023. In his place will be his younger brother Talon, who did not play last year but threw for 891 yards and nine touchdowns in 2022 when Ty was out with an injury. Talon, who is 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, has some experience as a starter and has learned a lot from his accomplished older brother, so Ciarello said he views Talon as a returning starter.

“Stepping in for my brother is a huge advantage,” Talon said. “I learned a lot as his replacement and he walked me through everything. We watched film together and he went through everything with me step by step, which made me a better player on and off the field. It was an incredible experience.”

Romance’s play so far in 2022 should largely alleviate the nervousness and pressure that comes with being a starting quarterback in the PAC.

“I want to stay calm and not let pressure get to me,” he said. “If something falls into the dirt, I still have to keep my confidence. How I act will affect the whole team. If they see my energy drop, they get depressed, so I’m going to stay positive and help everyone get healthy again.”

Other losses for Phoenixville include linemen Danny Astleton and Jamie Gray, RB Sam Moore (792 yards, nine TDs in 2023), WR Hayden Tenbroeck (323 yards, five TDs), fullback Darius Watson (274 rushing yards, three TDs) and DE Shane Callen.

The good news is that there are plenty of holdovers to be excited about, and that starts with Williams, who rushed for 1,097 yards on just 153 carries (7.2 yards per carry) and 13 scores. Williams had the third-most rushing yards in the PAC and was one of only four backs to surpass 1,000 yards in 2023. He said the team has shown a more pass-happy offense in camp, leading Williams to believe the passing game can create opportunities for running backs and vice versa.

“I just want to be there when I’m needed the most,” Williams said. “Being there for big games and big moments is something I didn’t do very well last year. There were some big games where I wasn’t at my best. So when it matters and the moment is critical, I want to step up and do my best. It’s my senior year and we haven’t won a PAC championship since 2005. We’re hungry and we want to win.”

The Phantoms return three starters on the offensive line: TJ Howard and Andrew Kirk are seniors, and Cameron English begins his junior year as a sophomore starter. Skill-position players left over from last year’s team include two seniors, wideout Trey Lear and tight end Chris Mull, giving Phoenixville seven returning senior starters (six if you don’t count Romance as a returning starter, unlike Ciarello).

On defense, the team is similarly experienced. Howard (end) and Kirk (tackle) are back on the defensive line, while Williams, Mull and Tre Wheeler return as anchors at linebacker. Ciarello said the secondary is the most experienced group, with Lear, Kingsbury, Bobby Gray, Henry Roberts and Myles Tenbroeck all being veterans in the defensive backfield.

Ciarello’s biggest concern is depth. As a smaller school, Phoenixville has a wealth of players who can play both ways, so a key injury here or there could certainly derail the team’s lofty expectations.

“We have the right players, but not many,” Ciarello said. “We have maybe 17 players that can play college football; last year there were probably 22. When you lose five players, you have to change as a coach and change your approach. The coaches are going to take it businesslike and find a way to be successful because these are good guys. They come in and do their jobs, and that makes me happy.”

Phoenixville’s first game is Friday night at Reading and the drive to achieve something special that hasn’t been achieved in a long time is still unbroken.

“When adversity hits us, we have to persevere,” Kingsbury said. “We can’t take a game off. I realized I’ve done that in the past, but I can’t do that because my team needs me. I have something to do every game and I have to give it my all.”

“We have to be disciplined,” Williams reiterated. “We’re a talented team, but there are a lot of talented teams. It’s all about the intangibles and doing the little things right. Eliminating the penalties and not getting hurt. We got hurt in those big games last year, so we’re working on our discipline so we can be where we need to be.”

Much of this group has been playing together since second or third grade, and for many on this team, which is primarily made up of seniors, this is their last chance to really make an impression.

“We’ve always been together and this is our last season,” Romance said. “I’m going to give everything for the whole team and try to make us one. Our brotherhood is special and I love that.”

Phoenixville Schedule 2024

23.8. in Reading, 7pm
9/6 against West Chester Henderson, 7 p.m.
13.9. in Kennett, 7 p.m.
21.9. with Pope John Paul II, 1pm
27.9. in Upper Merion, 7 p.m.
10/4 in Pottstown, 7pm
10/11 against Upper Perkiomen, 7 p.m.
18.10. against Pottsgrove, 7pm
25.10. against TBA (PAC crossover game), 19:00