Brock, Perkiomen Valley hold on to beat Boyertown in PAC semifinal after delay
ROYERSFORD >> It took a full 24 hours to play the PAC semifinal between Perkiomen Valley and Boyertown.
But PV junior Matt Brock needed less than two minutes to turn the game permanently in his squad’s favor.
Brock won the opening faceoff of the fourth quarter to start Wednesday’s session, and one minute, 57 seconds later he buried his second goal of the contest to give PV back its two-goal lead. Boyertown had no answer for Brock at the X either, as the junior led PV to an 8-6 victory and a trip back to the PAC title game.
Brock went 15-for-18 on faceoffs over the course of the contest, and was key in Perkiomen Valley’s domination of possession after Wednesday’s resumption.
“Matt Brock is the best at what he does,” Boyertown coach Grady Wise said. “He controls the X, controls possession. We gave him all we could, but at the end of the day, that was the story.”
The game, delayed after three quarters by repeated lightning sighting at Owen J. Roberts High School on Tuesday night, resumed at Spring-Ford Wednesday with PV ahead 5-4.
It wasn’t just Brock making the difference during Wednesday’s fourth quarter. Sophomore Sam Nice and freshman Matt Farrington also bagged PV tallies to grow the Vikings’ lead to 8-4 by the 6:54 mark.
Farrington’s older brother Rob turned in one of his 12 saves, robbing Boyertown’s Brady McFalls to set up his younger sibling’s tally.
“We need to get contributions up and down our lineup,” PV coach Bryan Churchey said. “With a young team—40 of 53 guys in the program are freshmen and sophomores—that’s a big part of building the team atmosphere.”
McFalls and Brewer Johnson drew the Bears closer with late tallies, but it would be too little, too late for the No. 2 seed.
It wasn’t always pretty, and it certainly wasn’t easy. But after a season of ups and downs, the Vikings (11-7) are right back where they intended to be.
“It’s not just the lacrosse stuff, every year we spend a lot of time building our team, bringing everyone together in a team-first atmosphere,” Churchey said. “It’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish.”
But on Wednesday, the start was the finish. Jack Scaliti’s two goals paced PV to their Tuesday night lead, along with Rob Farrington’s eight early saves and Brock’s work at the X.
For the Bears, a heroic effort from their man-down unit helped the squad build an early lead. Playing a man short for three minutes in the first quarter, Boyertown got goals from Griz Eardly and Carson Flint. A great individual effort from Shane Clinton helped Boyertown add a later goal, while Trey Lignelli was the lynchpin for a strong defensive effort. The Bears seemed to have the better of the play for much of Tuesday’s third quarter before the lightning forced the game’s suspension.
But it would be the Vikings who’d play with a purpose out of the gate Wednesday. Playing without middie Nick Steele, the Vikings placed greater offensive responsibility upon Brock atop his duties at the X. The midfielder happily accepted.
“The work we’ve put in as a team included the work I put in to step up on offense,” Brock said. “We came in fired up. We were mad we got cancelled last night. We were ready to go.
“I think having our JV guys here on the sideline gave us a lift too—they brought the intensity.”
PV and Churchey hope to have Steele back for Thursday’s title game.
Despite their league playoff campaign ending sooner than they’d hope, Boyertown (12-6) stands in excellent position to fulfill its preseason goal of winning multiple postseason games. Coming into play ranked seventh in what will eventually be a 24-team District 1 Class 3A playoff field, the Bears stand a strong chance at a first-round bye depending on the rest of the week’s results throughout the district, which would mean hosting a second-round matchup next Thursday.
“Playing for the league championship is icing on the cake, but our goal is to be playing late into May,” Wise said.
“Some of our play today was a little uncharacteristic. We’re a good team. We’ll rebound.”
There will be no rest for the weary, as the Vikings will turn around and get ready for Thursday night’s PAC title game at Upper Merion High School against No. 1 Spring-Ford, the league’s eight-time defending champions. It’ll be the second straight year that the Vikings and Rams meet for all the marbles, and Churchey knows it’ll take another all-out effort to overcome the kings of PAC lacrosse.
“Coach (Kevin) Donnelly and Spring-Ford, they’re the staples of lacrosse in our area,” Churchey said. “They’re the best of the best. They’ve earned it and maintained it. We’ve been humbled earlier this year, but it’s made us hungrier. Now we just have to earn it.”
Brock certainly wasn’t about to offer any bulletin board material.
“It’s gonna be fun,” he promised.
