Dougherty steps up in Perkiomen Valley’s win over Pottsgrove

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GRATERFORD >> With standout receiver and defensive back Randy Washington wearing a sling Friday night, Perkiomen Valley needed someone to rise to the occasion.

The question was answered early on, when senior Michael Dougherty intercepted a Pottsgrove pass on the first drive of the game.

Dougherty finished with two interceptions and had a receiving touchdown in the Vikings’ 29-16 win over Pottsgrove in Friday’s Pioneer Athletic Conference crossover matchup.

“Randy’s an explosive player, and we had to have guys step up everywhere on the field,” Dougherty said. “We were taking what we were given. We have a next-man-up mentality, and that’s what we did.”

 

“Doc’s a great leader for us,” PV head coach Rob Heist said. “He does all the right things. He does the little things correctly. He’s got a great rapport with our quarterback. He’s a first-year starter at safety. We’re asking a lot from him, and he never comes off the field.”

A late October matchup between Perkiomen Valley and Pottsgrove has become almost customary since the PAC moved to its two-division format in 2017, meeting in the first two league title games.

This season the teams finished as runners-up in their respective divisions to set up the matchup. That didn’t mean there wasn’t anything on the line.

Perk Valley quarterback Ethan Kohler (11) is hugged by offensive lineman Jakob Sterling (56) after Kohler’s TD run Friday against Pottsgrove. (Owen McCue – MediaNews Group)

Perk Valley quarterback Ethan Kohler tossed for 262 yards and two touchdowns and ran another score in himself to lead the Vikings to a win in Friday’s slugfest between two teams that will play in the district playoffs next week: unofficially Perkiomen Valley was No. 13 in 6A after Friday night. Pottsgrove dropped to No. 2 in 4A.

Pottsgrove’s Isaiah Taylor led the Falcons with 73 yards rushing.

“We’ve got a mutual respect from our staffs for one another,” Pottsgrove coach Bill Hawthorne said. “We know neither staff is going to treat it any different than any other game. When we’re playing, it’s for pride. It’s two great football programs. It’s pretty much what high school is all about … We just had some good football tonight, and tonight PV was the better team.”

Washington had been red hot over the last three weeks, becoming the area’s leading pass catcher with three straight games of 100-or-more receiving yards and multiple scores. He had 117 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s Liberty clash with Spring-Ford, when he suffered a broken arm late in the fourth quarter that will keep him out the rest of the season.

 

With Washington out, Kohler spread the ball around to five different targets. Jacob Sturm caught a 17-yard TD pass in the first quarter, and Dougherty caught a fourth-down conversion and a 26-yard touchdown pass late in the first half to give PV a 13-3 lead.

Jon Moccia was Kohler’s top target, hauling in six passes for 91 yards. Nick McMenamin added three catches for 68 yards, Dougherty had three catches for 38 yards, and Rasheem Grayson, who ran in a score, caught two passes for 41 yards.

“Having Randy on the field, he’s a game changer,” Kohler said. “It really hurts not having him. We had guys step up this week. We’re all about next-man-up mentality, so as long as people keep playing to their full potential and we keep getting our business done, we should be good.”

Pottsgrove’s Amir Brunson (26) runs for a touchdown Friday against Perkiomen Valley. (Owen McCue – MediaNews Group)

The Pottsgrove defense held the Vikings’ prolific ground attack to a modest 3.8 yards per carry and 129 total rushing yards. After the early PV score, the Falcons’ defense kept the Vikings out of the end zone until Dougherty’s TD grab with 44 seconds left in the half.

The Falcons held PV scoreless in the third quarter, allowing freshman running back Amir Brunson to run in a 26-yard touchdown and pull Pottsgrove, whose first points came on a Luke Kaiser 25-yard field goal in the second quarter, within three, 13-10, heading into the final 15 minutes.

Darrian Seaman, Zachary Van Horn and Max Dopwell were disruptive up front for Pottsgrove, each tallying a sack for the Falcons. Max Neeson, who added 34 yards rushing, Rylee Howard and Justin Westcoat were constantly credited for tackles.

“Neeson is a consummate Pottsgrove football player,” Hawthorne said. “I don’t know where we’d be without that kid, starting middle linebacker, starting fullback. He does everything and anything.”

 

Grayson’s 13-yard touchdown run put the Vikings ahead 26-10 with 9:13 left, and Brayden Basile’s 32-yard field goal extended the lead to 29-10 with three and a half minutes remaining.

Pottsgrove quarterback Joe Silvestri connected with Messiah Smythe for a 65-yard touchdown pass in response to the Basile kick, but the Falcons could not recover an outside kick to keep their hopes alive.

After allowing 101 yards in the first half, all which came on the ground, Perkiomen Valley did a nice job bottling up the Falcons’ rushing attack in the second half, holding them to a total of 162 yards rushing in the game.

Aidan Owens had two sacks, and Nico Holder and Jakob Sterling each added another for PV.

“They’re an aggressive team,” Dougherty said. “They ran the ball very well, but I think we responded well on offense and stopped them when we needed to.”

Pottsgrove quarterback Joe Silvestri (13) tries to escape the grasp of Perkiomen Valley’s Brendan Shayer on Friday. (Owen McCue – MediaNews Group)
Perkiomen Valley offensive lineman Elias Johnston (59) signals a Vikings’ rushing score Friday against Pottsgrove. (Owen McCue – MediaNews Group)
Perkiomen Valley’s Rasheem Grayson (6) runs down the sideline after a catch with Pottsgrove’s Shane Caffrey in pursuit. (Owen McCue – MediaNews Group)

Owen McCue

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