Spring-Ford Dominates Pope John Paul II 28-0 on Homecoming Weekend

Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

Davin Ridall | October 18, 2026

ROYERSFORD – It was just one of those games where one team just overpowered another, and when you get a very good 4A school facing a very good 6A school, usually the bigger school has the upper hand. That’s exactly what happened in this game, as Spring-Ford was just too much for Pope John Paul II, crushing the Golden Panthers 28-0 on homecoming weekend.

The last time that these two schools matched up was in 2023, and it was Pope John Paul II that got the win in that game 28-27. That same 2023 season was also the last time that Spring-Ford entered week 8 with a 6-1 record, in both 2024 and 2025 they were 3-4 through the first seven games of the season.

“Obviously winning on homecoming means a little bit more, there’s more alumni coming around, a little more buzz around the program and the whole athletic scene,” Spring-Ford head coach Mike Palmer said about the win. “That one stung for us a couple years ago, not that we share that many kids now with that team, but it’s always good to get a win no matter who it is.”

The Rams really showed their dominance early on in the game, the defense came up with takeaways on the Golden Panthers’ first two drives. On Pope John Paul II’s opening possession of the game, TJ Dozier handed the ball off to Kassidy Jackson who ran right into Spring-Ford’s Randell Muluh, knocking the ball loose and allowing Jackson Wickersham to jump on top of it.

Then on the Golden Panthers next drive, Wickersham came up big again, as Dozier threw a pass in the direction of Connor Sidebotham, however Wickersham somehow made a diving interception, grabbing the ball just before it hit the ground.

“It’s obviously a very senior heavy group, they have a lot of experience overall on both sides of ball, but on defense in particular,” coach Palmer said about the defensive performance. “They’re fast, they fly around, they play aggressive, and they pride themselves, in their physicality and their preparedness.”

Spring-Ford’s offense came up empty on their opening possession of the game, however the two takeaways from their defense gave them a boost, as their next two drives began in Pope John Paul II territory, and they capitalized on both. The first of those touchdowns came from Phoenix Martin, who powered his way through Kassidy Jackson for a 2 yard score, capping off a 44 yard drive for the Rams and giving them a 7-0 lead with just over 2 minutes left in the opening quarter.

“He’s a phenomenal kid, he’s a sophomore and he came in this year with the right attitude,” coach Palmer said about Phoenix Martin. “He was obviously a phenomenal player growing up through middle school and ninth grade last year, but I think he came in with the mentality that I need to learn how varsity football is played.”

After the interception by Wickersham, Spring-Ford set up on offense as the Golden Panthers 42 yard line, and just four plays later, Kaden Pickersgill threw a perfectly placed ball and hit Shane Cornelison over the middle in the end zone for a 27 yard touchdown. The score gave Spring-Ford a 14-0 lead just 44 seconds into the second quarter.

Most of Spring-Ford’s offense came on the ground, they established the run game early with Martin and the rest of their backfield and Pope John Paul II’s defense never really found an answer to it. However, the Rams’ passing game was also effective in the couple of times that they turned to it.

“That’s exactly what our passing game has been, it’s been very clutch for us, it’s come in exactly when we needed it,” coach Palmer said about the passing game. “Like many other teams, we want to be able to establish the run game, but you can’t be one dimensional in high school football anymore, you need the passing dimension of your offense to take advantage of defenses that are trying to load up and stop the run.”

Being one dimensional like Palmer said was something that the Golden Panthers really struggled with on offense. Spring-Ford’s defense kept Pope John Paul II’s passing attack in check all game, which forced the Golden Panthers to have to consistently rely on the rushing attack that they were able to shut down very easily.

While running the ball was a struggle for the Golden Panthers, it was certainly not a problem for the Rams, as they continued to overpower Pope John Paul II’s defense with runs up the middle, continuously wearing down the Golden Panthers’ defensive front. This included another touchdown run late in the third quarter from Martin, who took the handoff and ran between his right guard and right tackle, finding a lane and sprinting 44 yards to the end zone.

“We’ve got five seniors starting on the offensive line and some young guys that are rotating in a little bit, and they’re all doing a phenomenal job,” coach Palmer said about how the offensive line played. “They’re as close-knit of a group on the offensive line as I’ve ever experienced as a coach, we truly feel like we have five best friends on the offensive line that really pride themselves in the run game and getting the run game going.”

That offensive line helped power Phoenix Martin to an 182 yard performance on 24 carries with two touchdowns to go with it. Martin outgained Pope John Paul II’s entire offense by himself. The Golden Panthers only managed 150 yards of total offense and committed three turnovers, including a turnover on downs at their own 33 yard line late in the fourth quarter.

Spring-Ford took advantage of the short field once more, with Pickersgill connecting with a wide open Aidan Lennon for a 20 yard score with just over three minutes left in the fourth, sealing the 28-0 win. Pickersgill finished the game with 138 yards passing and 2 touchdowns, completing 9 of his 15 pass attempts.

The Rams with the victory have now won four consecutive games and improve to 7-1, next week they’ll have a home date with Owen J Roberts. With the loss, Pope John Paul II drops to 6-2 on the season, with both of their losses this season coming by 28 points, they’ll try to rebound next week at home against Perkiomen Valley.