Perkiomen Valley bests Owen J. Roberts 12-4 in matchup of close coaching connections

BUCKTOWN >> Boys’ lacrosse became an official Pioneer Athletic Conference sport in 2007, the same year Bryan Churchey graduated from Perkiomen Valley.

Now in his 11th year as head coach at Perkiomen Valley, Churchey has the opportunity to see his own players return to the area and give back to the game, just as he did after his own playing days at PV and Cabrini.

Kevin Mo, who played goalie for Perkiomen Valley from 2014 to 2017, is now at the helm of Owen J. Roberts’ program. On Thursday night, Mo matched wits with his mentor for the first time.

And while the teacher bested the student on the scoreboard in the Vikings’ 12-4 win over Owen J. Roberts, Churchey’s admiration for his former player and now counterpart couldn’t be clearer.

“As a coach, you don’t get a lot of players like Kevin,” said Churchey. “His freshman year was the definition of baptism by fire, but he grew up in front of our eyes. 

“To this day, he’s the only sophomore to be voted a team captain.”

Coaches Churchey and Mo are more than opposing coaches in the PAC. Mo serves as a head coach and assistant director in Churchey’s Black Bear Lacrosse Club, while his father Larry is an assistant on the PV staff, as he was during Kevin’s playing days.

“I trust Kevin implicitly,” said Churchey. “The word that comes to mind is maturity. Success takes time, and there’s no doubt in my mind he’ll be successful [at OJR].”

On the field, the possession-dominant Vikings reeled off five consecutive goals after allowing the opener. Brad Curci and Matt Horgan tallied twice in the first half, with Bryce Coletta and Jackson Baker adding goals on extra-man opportunities.

Noah Delo went 15-for-17 on faceoffs, not losing a draw until the final seconds of the third quarter. Delo’s dominant performance allowed PV to play keep-away, sustaining possessions and wearing out the OJR defense, who played without two-way midfielder and faceoff man Jutty Daubert.

“This is the kind of performance I expect of myself,” said Delo, a senior midfielder. “If I can start the offense while giving the defense a break [by winning faceoffs], that’s what I want to achieve.”

When OJR was able to gain possession, a stingy defense led by Vance Junker and short-stick defensive midfielder Ryan Klimek worked in tandem to force numerous OJR turnovers.

 For the game, Horgan led the Vikings with five points (three goals/two assists) with Curci adding a hat trick of his own. Senior Shea Fusco had a goal and three helpers.

Perk Valley’s challenging non-league schedule is paying off in conference play. The Vikings dropped early contests to District 1 powerhouses Wissahickon and Downingtown West, but grabbed their first victory last week against Methacton and haven’t looked back since. 

They improved to 3-4 with Thursday’s win (3-0 PAC).

“Coach Churchey talks about trusting the process, focusing on ourselves,” said Delo. “We take that into consideration all the time, and coming into PAC play we were ready.”

Jack Leddy had four saves in the cage for the Vikings, who managed to avoid giving up an extra-man goal despite six penalties on the evening.

Kevin Mo’s time at Perkiomen Valley was a crucial factor in the program’s growth into perennial PAC and District 1 contention. Mo’s junior year of 2016, PV scored their first District 1 playoff victory in school history against Downingtown East. The year after his graduation, the Vikings made PIAA 3A states for the first time.

Now he hopes to duplicate that success at Owen J. Roberts, a team that returned to the PAC championship last year for the first time in five seasons.

“When I think about my time at PV and at Seton Hill [University, where he played in college], I’m taking elements of both programs,” said Mo. “I want to instill that work ethic, show up every day ready to give it everything you have.”

Brody Calle, Danny Walker, Blake Walther, and Will Whitlock had the goals for OJR on Thursday night. 

The ‘Cats return to the PAC championship last season came at the expense of PV, so Thursday’s night result denotes a measure of revenge for the Vikings.

But on this night, the matchup on the sidelines was the bigger story – two Perkiomen Valley graduates and lacrosse players going head-to-head on the scoreboard but working together to further the tradition of boys’ lacrosse in the PAC.

Coach Mo has built a coaching staff consisting of former PV teammates, allowing Churchey to grow his own coaching tree throughout the league he’s called home since its inception.

“One thing we always say at PV – leave it better than you found it,” said Churchey. “And it goes for every community. Most of the guys out here, they’re volunteers. That speaks to their passion.”

 

Perkiomen Valley –   3   3   3   3   –   12
Owen J. Roberts –   1   2   1   0   –   4

Perkiomen Valley

Matt Horgan 3 goals, 2 assists, Brad Curci 3 goals, Bryce Coletta 2 goals, assist, Shea Fusco goal, 3 assists, Patrick Lamirande goal, Jackson Baker goal, Connor Macklin goal

Noah Delo 15/17 faceoffs
Jack Leddy 4 saves

Owen J. Roberts

Brody Calle goal, Danny Walker goal, assist; Blake Walther goal; Will Whitlock goal; Gabe DellaPenna 2 assists; Owen Clefisch assist
Brady Callahan 8 saves