Perkiomen Valley retains Battle Ax against Methacton

GRATERFORD >> It’s fairly predictable for a running back or quarterback to praise their offensive line after a big night.

A speedy receiver giving props to the big boys up front? Not quite as common place.

After tallying 106 yards receiving and two touchdowns in Perkiomen Valley’s 44-21 win over Methacton on Friday, Vikings’ senior Randy Washington made sure all the credit went to the likes of Will Marotta, Gavin Euker, Taylor Hartner, Eli Johnston and Kyle Rittenhouse, who went down early Friday with an ankle injury.

“The O-line, they hold down everything,” Washington said. “It’s amazing.”

.@pv_vikingfb captain Randy Washington had his second 100-yard, 2 TD game of the season Friday. Here he is on the Vikings’ 49-21 win over Methacton. pic.twitter.com/WOIXl5CfI1

— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) October 5, 2019

The Vikings’ (5-2, 3-0 Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty) dominant front led to a balanced offensive attack combining for 454 total yards to retain the title in the annual Battle Ax rivalry game.

Ethan Kohler tossed three touchdown passes, connecting twice with Washington and once with Logan Holloway. He also added a rushing touchdown to go along with his 182 yards passing.

Jacob Sturm led the rushing attack with a 144-yard, two-touchdown performance followed by Jon Moccia, who ran 10 times for 91 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown.

“We have a game plan in mind to be very balanced with the football, running, passing,” Sturm said.

“When you have one of the best lines in the area, it’s not too hard,” he added. “You can put anyone back there. With Jon, he’s one of the best backs in the area, me back there. It’s just too much to handle for these defenses”

Methacton (2-5, 0-3 PAC Liberty) put PV on its heels early with a 68-yard touchdown pass from Mike Merola to Larry Dickerson on the Warriors’ second offensive play of the day, giving Methacton a 7-0 lead less than a minute into the game.

The Warriors’ offense couldn’t get much traction after that, going three-and-out on four of its next five drives. Defensively, the Warriors mirrored their offense, forcing a PV three-and-out on its first offensive drive before allowing four PV touchdowns on the Vikings’ next five drives.

Dickerson ended the night with five catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns for Methacton. Merola finished with 123 yards passing, one to Dickerson and a 32-yard touchdown pass to Ron Fondots. Sophomore Dan Brandi added 50 yards passing and a late touchdown pass to Dickerson.

“We did that a couple weeks ago, and it didn’t turn out well,” Methacton coach Dave Lotier said of the Warriors’ big play to open the game. “I think that just shows where we’re coming as a team.

“We took some hits early in the season with guys getting injured, putting some young kids in. Their heads were spinning for a week or two, but they’re starting to see the light, and they’re starting to slow down a little bit. They’re starting to make a couple plays.”

After the 68-yard completion to start the game, Perk Valley held Methacton to just two first downs during the rest of the first half. The stingy defense allowed the Vikings to go up 28-7 at halftime and continue a stretch of 35 unanswered points to go up 35-7 on their first drive of the third quarter.

Matt Brock had two sacks, and Marotta added another for the Vikings’ defense. Washington noted the play of Hayden Bailly, Nico Holder, Nick McMenamin, and Euker for a PV defense that was rallying to the ball all night.

“I think our coaching staff, we just pound in that idea of ‘next play,’” Washington said of PV’s response to the early big play. “Just don’t let it happen again.”

After an exciting start, Methacton has lost four in a row. Loiter said he’s felt his team has bounced back after falling to Boyertown 40-6 in their Liberty Division opener, playing much better ball against two of the league’s top teams, Spring-Ford and Perkiomen Valley, over the past two weeks.

Marcus Melle, who contributes on offense, defense and special teams, and two-way lineman Mario D’Addessi and Dan Meier are three in particular he mentioned for continuing to battle through this rough stretch.

“We’re hoping to end this season on a positive note and with some momentum,” Lotier said. “The kids were just in there, they’re talking about winning some games and finishing strong … If we continue to get better, we’re going to be OK.”

“We’re trying to hold them accountable, but we’re staying positive,” he added.

The Vikings have looked the part of the reigning Pioneer Athletic Conference champion after holding off Owen J. Roberts in their Liberty opener, running away from Norristown and Methacton over the past two weeks.

PV plays Boyertown next week before facing Spring-Ford, possibly for the division title, on Oct. 18.

“Coach always says 1-0 mentality,” Sturm said. “That means after the win you can celebrate for the night, but once you get back to film on Saturday, forget about it. You’re trying to go 1-0 week by week.”