Kendra clutch for Upper Perkiomen
Indians edge Phantoms 41-40 to improve to 6-1
PHOENIXVILLE » Ryan Kendra has been a leader on the football field and basketball court for four years at Upper Perkiomen High School.
An All-Pioneer Athletic Conference player in both sports, the 6-foot-4 senior has been a leader at crunch time for the Indians.
Kendra stepped in the clutch in a big way Friday night with 18 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot as Upper Perkiomen nipped Phoenixville, 41-40, in an exciting contest.
Kendra had plenty of help from his teammates as Upper Perkiomen took a 23-14 lead at halftime. The game was then tied at 29 entering the fourth quarter as Kendra won it on a pair of free throws before blocking a last-second shot to end it.
“It was tight, very stressful,” said Kendra. “We came in knowing they could shoot the lights out. We had to slow them down and move them off the line. We started playing lackadaisical. You can’t sleep on anyone.”
Upper Perkiomen improved to 3-0 in the PAC Frontier and heads into Christmas with a 6-1 record, the best record of any PAC school. Phoenixville dropped to 0-2 PAC and 2-4 overall.
Senior Liam Boyle played a solid all-around floor game, and senior Jon Brown scored nine points with one 3-point field goal and made two steals, one of them a critical theft in the fourth quarter that led to Kendra’s two foul shots for the winning margin with 53 seconds left in regulation time.
Brendan Jenkins, Phoenixville’s 6-6 senior center, contributed 14 points, 14 rebounds and one blocked shot while battling the Indians’ 6-8 Will Walker.
“It was physical down low,” Upper Perkiomen coach Jared Krupp said. “Jenkins hit a couple key buckets at
double-double as part of an overall solid performance in the Trojans’ non-league victory over the Cougars.
Reddick complemented her gamehigh 17 points with 10 rebounds. She also had five assists and five steals on the night.
Pottstown also got 12 points from Emme Wolfel and 10 from Riley Owens as it built a 22-17 halftime lead before finishing the game off in a 15-9 fourth quarter.
Boys basketball
POTTSTOWN 58, LANSDALE CATHOLIC
54» Anthony Brown and Aaron Diamond both hit for 14 points as the Trojans held off the Crusaders in their non-league game.
Tre Bass was another double-figure scorer for Pottstown, scoring 11. The locals used a 19-16 edge in second-quarter scoring to offset LC’s 1312 first-quarter lead. BISHOP SHANAHAN 75, UPPER MERION 41 » K.J. Pugh and Nick Sheppard were the bright spots for the Vikings as they were overrun by Shanahan in their non-league game.
Pugh had 13 points to lead UM (06), with Sheppard adding 10.
Wrestling
ARCHBISHOP WOOD 52, UPPER PERKIOMEN 21 » The Vikings took advantage of the Indians’ shorthanded status to pile up a big score in their non-league match.
Wood benefited from five forfeits as its advantage in contested weights was just 22-15. Upper Perk got off to an early 12-0 lead with a 44-second pins by Gavin Marks at 113, but a Jarek Svanson fall at 132, a decision by D.J. McIlvaine at 170 accounted for the bulk of its points. METHACTON 43, COATESVILLE 32 » Aided by six pins, the Warriors broke away from the Red Raiders to win their non-league match.
Methacton’s falls were recorded by Kibwe McNair (132), William Rebert (138), Andrew Malek (145), Jake Benarick (170), Connor Sullivan (220) and Tonee Ellis (285). Roman Moser added a major decision at 152, and Corey Morabito a regular verdict at 120.
Boys swimming
DANIEL BOONE 84, EXETER 83 » A nearsweep of first place in all individual and relay events was key to the Blazers edging the Eagles in their Central Penn League meet.
Boone’s Joe and Chris Guiliano each won two races to lead the locals: Chris took the 200 IM (2:01.56) and 100 breast (1:02.08), Joe headed the 100 free (50.08) and 100 back (54.43). Another double-winner for the Blazers was Hunter Sprenkle in the 200 free (1:58.73) and the 500 free (5:20.68).
Girls swimming
DANIEL BOONE 91, EXETER 79 » Though it was matched in individual-event wins by the Eagles, the Blazers used a sweep of the relays to win the Central Penn League meet.
NoElle Sprenkle swam legs on all Boone’s relays, serving as anchor on its 200 medley (1:56.61) and 200 free (1:47.05). The Blazers’ 400 free also won out in 3:59.32. COATESVILLE 66, PHOENIXVILLE 36 » Erini Pappas was the Phantoms’ top individual winner in their non-league meet with the Red Raiders.
Pappas took the 200 IM in 2:10.60, and the 100 fly in 58.86. Mary McNamara added her first in the diving competition (220.35 points) to Phoenixville’s totals.