Mercury Football Review: Perkiomen Valley-Downingtown West delivers another instant classic

Geographically, they may not be natural rivals.

But the now-annual Perkiomen Valley-Downingtown West tilt is becoming a staple of each season’s non-conference schedule. And both programs are better for it.

“I told coach (Mike) Milano as we were shaking hands Friday night that this is becoming an instant classic year after year,” said Perkiomen Valley head coach Rob Heist, after his Vikings moved to 2-0 with a thrilling, come-from-behind 30-29 win over Downingtown West. “This is why we keep scheduling one another. We’re similar programs in a lot of ways, and I like to be tested in the early season.”

Mission accomplished. Coming off an opening win of their own over Highland Regional (N.J.) in the opener, the Whippets gave the defending PAC champion Vikings everything they could handle and more at Thomas J. Keenan Stadium Friday.

“We were clawing back almost from the start,” said Heist. “An early turnover, they get the lead right away – I think we’re at the point as a program, though, where our kids know we are never out of a game. They are a bigger team than us, but our kids know that we never quit, and we didn’t.”

Downingtown West used that size up front to pave the way for four touchdown drives on six possessions before halftime, taking a 26-10 lead into the locker room. For the Vikings, it led to a few modifications on defense – some due to injury, some strategic – that ultimately paid off in a second half to remember.”

“Carson Pascoe came in for us as an outside linebacker,” said Heist, “and ended up leading the team with 14 tackles. Stephen Ciaudelli came in at safety after our starter went down with some cramping issues as well, and he performed admirably.”

Pascoe, Ciaudelli, and the rest of the Vikings defense rose up to hold D-West to a mere field goal after the Whippets’ explosive first half, allowing the evening’s offensive standout to emerge.

“Jake Stewart was lightning in a bottle for us,” Heist said of the junior running back who made the most of his 14 touches (nine rushes, five receptions) to accumulate 152 total yards and three scores after the break, including the decisive 27-yard catch from QB Danny Koehler.

Stewart’s first TD catch came at the start of the second half, a 15-yarder to bring PV with 26-17. D-West answered with a field goal, but by the first minute of the fourth quarter Stewart had reached pay dirt twice more, a 49-yard run followed shortly by the decisive reception.

From there, a game that featured 59 total points in the first three quarters turned into a defensive battle, with D-West’s final drive reaching the Vikings’ 30 before senior Vance Junker and sophomore Dimitri Toman made plays on third and fourth downs respectively to preserve the victory.
It doesn’t figure to get much easier for the Vikings in the remaining non-league slate. A trip to Cheltenham this week marks the team’s first contest away from Keenan Stadium before they return on September 16 to host Roman Catholic, a team loaded with potential Division 1 recruits highlighted by WR Tyseer Denmark, a junior whose list of college offers reads as a Who’s Who of College Football (Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Ohio State to name a few.)

“And that’s what we want – to be tested constantly,” said Heist. “I can’t think of a better way to prepare us for everything we’ll see in PAC play and beyond.”

Around the Area

Phoenixville highlighted the PAC teams notching their first wins of 2022 with an impressive 35-7 victory over defending District 1-4A champions Bishop Shanahan. Shanahan may have had a feeling it would be a long night when they returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, only to see the play nullified by a block-in-the-back penalty. From there, the Phantoms would force seven turnovers and enjoy a career night from Ahmid Spivey (five receptions, 193 yards, 2 TDs) en route to a statement victory. This week, the Phantoms welcome emerging 5A power Chester from the Del Val League.

Owen J. Roberts evened their record at 1-1 with a comprehensive 42-6 victory over Wissahickon. Hunter Rhoads’ second start yielded his first 100-yard rushing games (120 yards, two TDs) while senior quarterback Michael Reed threw for another 125 yards and three scores. The ‘Cats defense caused four turnovers and held Wissahickon to less than a yard per rushing attempt, while special teams got in on the act with Colin King’s 75-yard return of a field goal that was blocked by Derek Hinrichs. The ‘Cats are back on the road again at Avon Grove Friday.

Upper Perkiomen rebounded from a week one setback at Boyertown for their first win, besting Schuylkill Valley 31-14. Mike Boyle passed for 203 yards and two touchdowns, including the early “play to beat” for longest play from scrimmage this year, a 93-yard scoring strike to Chidike Eruba. Zach Schwartz stuffed the stat sheet with 130 rushing yards, two touchdowns, a 21-yard reception, plus a pair of interceptions on the defensive side. The Indians looks to move above .500 this Friday at Fleetwood.

Spring-Ford, Pottsgrove, and Pope John Paul II all moved to 2-0 with victories over District 12 opponents, one win per day over the extended holiday weekend slate of high school football. It started on Thursday night at Coach McNelly Stadium, where the Rams rode the continued hot hand of sophomore QB Matt Zollers (171 passing yards, four TDs) to a 28-8 victory over Olney. Special teams were a big part of the difference as the Rams blocked a pair of first-half punts to set up short fields and resulting touchdown strikes. Spring-Ford hosts District 3’s Cumberland Valley this week.

The next night, Pottsgrove welcomed District 12-2A champions West Catholic for what’s become an annual non-league tilt. Like most, this one was a tight, defensive battle early until Pottsgrove’s Brandon Chestnut-Smith stepped up after halftime, carrying 21 times for 91 yards en route to a hard-earned 20-6 victory. Each team turned the ball over three times, but a pair of grinding TD drives after halftime made the difference for 2-0 Pottsgrove, who heads to Norristown this week.

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Ocean City, Pope John Paul II capped off the weekend with a thrilling 22-21 overtime victory over Father Judge. Boyd Skarbek capped a 141-yard rushing performance with a two-point conversion in overtime after Father Judge roared back from a 14-0 deficit. The Golden Panthers, now 2-0 with a pair of wins over Philadelphia Catholic League opponents, welcomes Berks Catholic, a District 3 powerhouse on Saturday afternoon.

Say this for PAC teams in Week 2: they were willing to take on all comers. Boyertown was the third school to match up against a defending District champion, but they weren’t as fortunate, falling 37-21 to District 3-5A standard bearers Exeter. Plymouth Whitemarsh shut out Methacton, 34-0, while Pottstown also fell to 0-2 after a 48-7 loss at the hands of Interboro.