Perkiomen Valley football storms past Owen J. Roberts in District 1-6A first round

GRATERFORD >> Two offensive plays, two touchdowns … and Perkiomen Valley was on its way to a win over Owen J. Roberts Friday night in the opening round of the District 1 Class 6A playoffs. And unlike the first time the two teams met this season when the Vikings had to hang on for a win, this time there was no suspense as Perkiomen Valley came away with a 56-19 decision at Thomas J. Keenan Stadium.

Patrick MacDonald completed 10 of 11 passes for 178 yards, Jake Stewart ran for three touchdowns and Ryan Klimek for two more for the No. 2 seed Vikings (10-1). Hunter Rhoads rushed for 120 yards and Danny Cashman set a team season record for receiving yards for the No. 15 Wildcats (6-5).

Perkiomen Valley will host No. 7 Souderton, a 10-0 winner over Central Bucks South, in a quarterfinal next Friday.

The Vikings led Owen J. Roberts 20-0 in the fourth quarter in the fifth week of the season and wound up with a 20-13 win, with the Wildcats having a shot from the 20-yard line on the final play.

“We talked about that all week,” Perkiomen Valley coach Rob Heist said. “We wanted to start fast and see it through, finish it this time.”

The Vikings’ defense forced a quick punt at the outset this time and MacDonald hit Michael Poruban with a 49-yard touchdown connection on the first play from scrimmage. Then Stephen Ciaudelli returned another Wildcat punt 50 yards to the 4-yard line and Stewart ran it into the endzone from there on the next play. Klimek ran 30 yards on the second play of Perkiomen Valley’s next possession to make it 21-0 seven minutes into the contest.

“I think they were more ready to play than we were,” Wildcats coach Rich Kolka said. “I don’t know if it was mentally or physically or a combination of both. That, and they were just way more physical than we were.”

“It was not like the first time,” MacDonald said. “I really think the line did an amazing job up front. The receivers ran crisp routes. Everything was clicking.”

Q1, 7:22 — Perky returns the punt to the OJR 4-yard line, Jacob Stewart takes it in from there.

Two offensive snaps, two touchdowns for the Vikings.

Perkiomen Valley 14, Owen J. Roberts 0 pic.twitter.com/P3FLO882RW

— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) November 4, 2022

The Wildcats drove 52 yards – 38 of them on a pass from Michael Reed to Cashman – scoring on a 4-yard run by Rhoads to make it 21-6. But touchdown runs by Stewart, Klimek and MacDonald in the second quarter made it 42-6 at the half.

Part of the success for the Vikings was due to the booming kickoffs by Klimek, consistently to the 3-yard line, that gave the Wildcats mediocre to poor field position time after time.

“That’s huge,” said Heist. “When you have a kicker like that in high school forcing any team to drive the field. He does whatever we ask and he never complains. He’s our utility knife.”

“When I was young, I played soccer,” said Klimek, who had a team-high 62 rushing yards. “That plays a lot into it. And it comes down to strength in the weight room. The best part is helping my team the best way I can.”

Stewart and Rasheem Grayson ran for touchdowns in the third quarter for the Vikings. Rhoads ran 31 yards for a score in the final quarter and Owen J. Roberts’ Lucas Wornson pulled in a 10-yard pass from Reed in the endzone to wrap up the scoring.

Perkiomen Valley wound up with 350 total yards, 172 on the ground and 178 through the air as MacDonald played with poise throughout the night.

“I can’t say enough about Patrick,” Heist said. “He was thrown into the mix in game two when Danny Koehler was injured. He’s smart. He asks all the right questions. We’re excited to see how he is progressing.”

Q2, 8:52 — Ryan Klimek takes it in from 16 yards out for his second TD of the night.

Vikings have scored on every drive so far.

Perkiomen Valley 35, Owen J. Roberts 6 pic.twitter.com/6JhS24UkG0

— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) November 4, 2022

The Viking defense allowed only four first downs and 97 yards in the first half while the offense scored on all six of its possessions.
“I was pleased with how we played tonight,” Heist said. “I hope that carries over to next week. We want to be playing our best football at the right time of the year.”

“That is a district-seasoned football team,” Kolka said.

The Wildcats have not been able to get past the first round of the playoffs the last several years, due in part to not earning a high seed during the regular season and consequently having to start out against tough opponents.

“You’ve got to finish in the top eight,” Kolka said. “That’s the goal.”

And the Vikings will now try to advance past the second round for the first time since 2016.

“We’re taking it one game at a time, as we always do,” Heist said. “Souderton is a great football team.”

Perkiomen Valley 56, Owen J. Roberts 19
Owen J. Roberts 6 0 0 13 – 19
Perkiomen Valley 28 14 14 0 – 56
SCORING
First quarter
PV-Poruban 49 pass from MacDonald (Klimek kick)
PV-Stewart 4 run (Klimek kick)
PV-Klimek 30 run (Klimek kick)
OJR-Rhoads 4 run (run failed)
Second quarter
PV-Stewart 2 run (Klimek kick)
PV-Klimek 16 run (Klimek kick)
PV-MacDonald 3 run (Klimek kick(
Third quarter
PV-Stewart 8 run (Klimek kick)
PV-Grayson 28 run (Klimek kick)
Fourth quarter
OJR-Rhoads 31 run (Kish kick)
OJR-Wornson 10 pass from Reed (kick failed)
TEAM STATISTICS
OJR PV
First downs 11 15
Rushing yards 114 172
Passing yards 141 178
Total yards 255 350
PAsses c-A-I 18-27-0 10-11-0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 5-37 8-52
Punts-Avg. 5-24.6 1-45
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Owen J. Roberts: Rhoads 19-120, 2 TD’s; Brower 1-4; Hinrichs 2-(-2); Reed 4-(-8)
Perkiomen Valley: Klimek 6-62, 2 TD’s; Stewart 9-44, 3 TD’s; Grayson 3-31, 1 TD; MacDonald 3-15, 1 TD; Hall 1-15; Nunez 2-5; Curci 2-1; Muceli 1-0; Rodriguez 1-(-1)
Passing
Owen J. Roberts: Reed 18-27-141, 1 TD
Perkiomen Valley: MacDonald 10-11-178, 1 TD
Receiving
Owen J. Roberts: Cashman 12-90; Wornson 2-18, 1 TD; Daubert 2-14; Rhoads 1-11; Hinrichs 1-8
Perkiomen Valley: Poruban 3-87, 1 TD; Keough 2-33; Peterlin 2-11; Stewart 1-21; Curci 1-18; Grayson 1-8
Interceptions: none
Sacks: Perkiomen Valley-Koehler, Nelson