Defense saves the day as Perkiomen Valley escapes Owen J. Roberts, 16-9

September 20, 2019

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GRATERFORD >> With his Owen J. Roberts team down seven points and driving with under two minutes to play, overtime was the farthest thing from coach Rich Kolka’s mind.

“There wasn’t going to be overtime,” he said. “We were going to go for the game right there — I had the play starred and everything.”

But the opportunity never came. Perkiomen Valley’s Nico Holder was able to strip OJR quarterback Cooper Chamberlain at about the two-yard line, leading to a Jacob Sterling recovery to preserve a 16-9 victory for the Vikings in the PAC Liberty Division opener.

“I thought I had a chance to take it the distance,” said Sterling, “But one of their faster guys was chasing me. Speed wasn’t on my side.”

It was about the only thing that didn’t go as planned for Sterling and the Vikings defense, who held OJR to 194 total yards on the night and caused two turnovers, including the decisive fumble, in beginning the pursuit of a fourth consecutive PAC championship.

“We’ve been on a nice little streak here these past couple of years,” said PV coach Rob Heist, “and that’s largely the result of our defense playing the way they do.”

Perk Valley’s Jake Sterling pressues OJR’s Cooper Chamberlain as he gets off a throw. (Barry Taglieber – For MNG)

That defense was the story of the first half, limiting OJR despite repeated mistakes by their own offense. They first turned the Wildcats away when an early OJR punt was muffed at the PV 18-yard line. The OJR recovery yielded nothing, however, after the Vikings pushed the ‘Cats back seven yards on the following four plays.

Upon finally attaining possession, the Vikings’ offense embarked on an eight-play, 77-yard drive that ended with some misdirection, as QB Ethan Kohler rolled left and found Jon Moccia going right for a 14-yard TD pass. The kick failed, leaving PV ahead 6-0.

The lead would be short lived. OJR’s Dante DeNardo faked a handoff on the ensuing kickoff return, but kept the ball and raced 94 yards untouched up the Wildcats’ sideline to knot the contest at 6 after another failed conversion.

“We survived some big mistakes on special teams tonight,” admitted PV coach Rob Heist. “I thought we’d turned a corner there.”

An exchange of punts gave the Wildcats the ball at midfield halfway through the second stanza, and the combination of Chamberlain and running back Josh Jackson carried OJR deep into Vikings territory, the highlight Jackson’s twisting 30-yard run to the PV 3. The Vikings again stood tall, however, forcing OJR to settle for Chamberlain’s 21-yard FG, giving the Wildcats their first lead at 9-6.

Despite more than a 2-1 advantage in yardage gained, the Vikings went into the locker room trailing, much to Heist’s chagrin.

“I’m not exactly sure what we need to do offensively,” said Heist, “but we made way too many mistakes tonight.”

Things turned on the opening drive of the second half, after Rasheed Grayson returned the kickoff near midfield and Jacob Sturm (133 rush yards, 43 yards receiving) did the rest, finishing the drive with a 13-yard TD scamper on third down, putting the Vikings back on top, 13-9.

Sturm’s 176 total yards were the bright spot in a game decided by defense and special teams, allowing the Vikings to move the chains and limit OJR’s opportunities through the first three quarters.

“With these big guys doing the work up front, it’s been about myself and Jon (Moccia) building the stamina to keep rolling, play after play,” said Sturm. “My opinion is that we haven’t reached our potential offensively.”

With both PV running backs contributing a score on the night, the value of two bellcow backs became apparent as the PV rushing attack seemed to strengthen as the game went on.

“I think Jon’s one of the best backs in the league,” added Sturm, “and it helps that defenses can’t completely focus on either of us.”

After a Brayden Basile 25-yard field goal made it 16-9 PV, OJR would embark on its longest drive of the evening, taking eight minutes off the clock and traversing 77 yards in 15 plays with critical runs by Chamberlian and Jackson, and chain-moving completions to DeNardo and Christian Grossi.

But as the Wildcats appeared poised to hit pay dirt, Holder was able to strip the ball, setting up Sterling’s return to the OJR 40.

From there, the Vikings would run out the clock, cementing a hard-earned opening win in the Liberty Division.

While Owen J. Roberts answered any doubts about the sustainability of their hot start, taking the three-time defending champs to the wire, Kolka said the loss would hopefully motivate his team to come out even stronger next game.

“Obviously, we’re not going to rest on our laurels over something we almost accomplished,” he said. “But with guys playing hurt, guys going both ways — we did play one of the best teams in the district pretty tight.”

The Vikings (3-2, 1-0 PAC Liberty) travel to Norristown next week, while Owen J. Roberts (4-1, 0-1 Liberty) looks to get back on track when they host Boyertown.

The Wildcats made PV earn everything they got, little solace on this night but a strong indication for the remainder of the schedule.

“Coach (Jeremy) Mellon does a great job as defensive coordinator, putting these guys in position to bring pressure, setting up coverages,” said Kolka. “We did a good job defending, but they did enough to get the job done.”