Boyertown drops PAC opener to Owen J. Roberts

Avery Grimm rushes for 281 yards and a touchdown as Owen J. Roberts defeated Boyertown 27-20 Friday in a Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division opener at Memorial Stadium.

Leo Egbe scored on a 62-yard run to give the Bears (0-1, 2-3) their only lead in the opening minute of the game.

Grim’s 74-yard TD run tied it 7-7 18 seconds later and the Wildcats (1-0, 4-1) never trailed again.

Michael Reed threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Dan Cashman early in the second quarter and ran for a pair of 2-yard TDs in the third quarter as the Wildcats broke ahead 27-14.

Grimm accounted for 281 of Owen J. Roberts’ 285 rushing yards.

Egbe finished with a team-high 97 yards on 15 carries. Roman Marinello rushed for 67 yards on nine carries, including a 10-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter.

The Bears had one more possession and drove to the Wildcats’ 27 before being stopped on downs with 3:55 remaining. The Wildcats ran out the clock to secure their fourth straight win after opening the season with a 17-14 overtime loss at Conestoga.

Boyertown starting quarterback Ryder Gehris was injured in the third quarter and left the stadium in an ambulance.

The win was the fourth straight in the series for Owen J. Roberts, which now leads it 33-25-2.

The teams have split 20 meetings in PAC play.