Perkiomen Valley overcomes slow start, finishes fast against Cheltenham in non-league finale

GRATERFORD >> When caught in a deer-in-headlights moment early in Friday’s visit from Cheltenham, Perkiomen Valley’s football team quickly became the car.

Upon giving up a big scoring play in the first quarter, the Vikings got into gear on defense and Cheltenham stalled out the rest of the way while cruising to a 27-12 win at Thomas J. Keenan Stadium on Friday.

Perkiomen Valley didn’t allow a first down until the third quarter, while forcing six punts with just 175 yards of offense allowed. The win gives the Vikings a 3-1 record to end its non-league schedule.

“That just shows we trust one another and trust our brothers are going to do their jobs,” senior outside linebacker Robbie Sturges said. “The men to the left of you are going to do their jobs, the men to the right of you are going to do their jobs. Everyone is going to do their jobs and that’s what fuels our defense.”

Perkiomen Valley running back Xavier Nunez (7) carries the ball against Cheltenham at Thomas J. Keenan Stadium on Sept. 15. (Evan Wheaton – MediaNews Group)

The Panthers (0-3) shined the headlights on Perkiomen Valley with 7:30 to go in the first quarter. On just Cheltenham’s third offensive snap of the game, senior running back Stanley ‘Tre’ McLeod ran 74 yards to the house to go up 6-0 after a blocked extra point.

In the second quarter, the Vikings responded with an aggressive no-huddle offense, playing up tempo as Perkiomen Valley marched downfield. Pat MacDonald (7-of-12, 57 yards passing) gave the Vikings what became a permanent lead, 7-6 with a 5-yard keeper to the end zone with 7:27 before halftime.

On Cheltenham’s ensuing drive, senior quarterback Jonathan Ingram (9-of-19, 72 yards, 2 INT) was intercepted by defensive back Anthony Rodriguez, who returned the ball to the Panthers’ 6-yard line. Two plays later, MacDonald (13 rushes, 47 yards) scored again on a 1-yard QB sneak.

With two touchdowns in the matter of two minutes and 32 seconds, Perkiomen Valley entered halftime with a 14-6 advantage.

“We really took that long touchdown personal,” Sturges said. “We all hustled to the ball, and after one missed tackle, we have another person right there to make it. That’s really what helped us.”

Perkiomen Valley quarterback Pat MacDonald, center, is brought down by Cheltenham defenders at Thomas J. Keenan Stadium on Sept. 15. (Evan Wheaton – MediaNews Group)

Sophomore running back Nathan Reedy put on a show with 136 rushing yards on 22 carries, the bulk of his production coming after the break. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound backfield threat found a pair of 2-yard rushing touchdowns – one in the third quarter and another in the third.

Reedy’s first touchdown allowed Perkiomen Valley to lead by as much as 21-6 before Cheltenham woke up again offensively. After picking up their first first down of the game with 5:37 to go in the third quarter, the Panthers marched to the red zone with under a minute remaining in the third quarter.

Ingram took a 10-yard keeper on the outside to cut the game, 21-12 for Cheltenham – another missed PAT.

“I think our kids just made plays. We had a couple special teams mishaps as well,” said Perkiomen Valley coach Rob Heist, noting his squad’s missed PAT on the final touchdown of the game as well as a missed field goal. “The two dropped extra points were huge, especially when that had us up nine, two possessions there in the fourth quarter. We have a lot of playmakers on the defensive side of the ball.”

Cheltenham running back Stanley ‘Tre’ McLeod (3) prepares to stiff arm Perkiomen Valley’s Stephen Tracanna (43) at Thomas J. Keenan Stadium on Sept. 15. (Evan Wheaton – MediaNews Group)

Sturges was one of said playmakers, providing a sack while Juliun Corropolese iced the game with an interception as the Vikings’ defense limited Cheltenham’s most explosive weapon in McLeod.

A Division I prospect who went for 138 yards in the Panthers’ season opener and returned a forced fumble 89 yards for a touchdown last week, McLeod has been a force on both sides of the ball.

“He’s a leader. He’s a big part of our offense because we play him in a lot of different spots,” Cheltenham coach Troy Gore said of McLeod. “He got hurt early because we have him playing both sides, because he’s also a great linebacker. But we couldn’t maximize the effort and it kind of hurt us.”

The Panthers had more odds stacked against it than just playing in Perkiomen Valley’s venue with the traditionally uproarious student section that comes with it. Cheltenham was dealt a short stick by Mother Nature, having to finish a lightning-suspended Saturday night game this past Monday at Wilson.

Unpausing the action wasn’t immediate, either. Cheltenham and Wilson waited – again – for another weather delay to pass before finishing that game on Monday, which lasted over three hours of total play time.

The eventual 40-26 loss to Wilson, combined with a tight turnaround of four days, stacked some cards unfavorably for the Panthers ahead of facing the reigning back-to-back Pioneer Athletic Conference champion.

“It’s a big impact because it takes away a day of preparation,” Gore said. “It takes away a full day, a full meeting, lifting and it was huge. It’s adversity, we told our kids adversity is going to hit. You have to conquer it and keep moving.”

Cheltenham quarterback Jonathan Ingram (2) winds back to make a pass against Perkiomen Valley at Thomas J. Keenan Stadium on Sept. 15. (Evan Wheaton – MediaNews Group)

Cheltenham experienced another suspension of play on Aug. 25. during the Panthers’ season opener against Abington. According to an alert from Cheltenham superintendent Brian Scriven that night, the game was suspended “due to the discovery that an attendee was in possession of a firearm and safety concerns.”

In just four weeks, it’s already been a full season’s worth of adversity for the Panthers, who are taking it in stride and forging ahead to a more normal week with their matchup against Perkiomen Valley concluded in a normal manner.

“They’re responding great and they’re welcoming the challenge,” Gore said.

Next week Perkiomen Valley kicks off league play by hosting an undefeated Owen J. Roberts squad that’s ranked within the top 10 of District 1-6A.

As the reigning back-to-back Pioneer Athletic Conference champions – who rebounded off their first loss of the season by downing Delaware state champion Smyrna – the Vikings enter their PAC Liberty slate defending their crown while gunning for a three-peat.

“This was not our brand of football tonight, if we’re being frank. It’s a win, we’ll always take a win, but we need to clean a lot of stuff up,” Heist said. “Can’t put the ball on the ground, can’t have the amount of penalties we had tonight. We need to do a better job of that moving forward. We have league play starting next week, we know we have a target on our back and we know we’re going to get everybody’s best.”

Perkiomen Valley 27, Cheltenham 12
Cheltenham 6 0 6 0 — 12
Perkiomen Valley 0 14 7 6 — 27
SCORING
First quarter
C – McLeod 74 run (kick failed), 7:30
Second quarter
PV – MacDonald 5 run (Avery kick), 7:27
PV – MacDonald 1 run (Avery kick), 4:55
Third quarter
PV – Reedy 2 run (Avery kick), 10:04
C – Ingram 10 run (kick failed), 0:26
Fourth quarter
PV – Reedy 2 run (kick failed), 2:20
TEAM STATISTICS
PV C
First downs 12 4
Rushes-Yards 45-231 22-103
Passing yards 57 72
Total yards 288 175
Passes C-A-I 7-12-0 9-19-2
Fumbles-Lost 5-1 0-0
Penalties-Yards 8-60 14-85
Punts 4 6
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Cheltenham — McLeod 12-89, TD; Ingram 7-6, TD; Barksdale 2-5; Higginbotham 1-3.
Perkiomen Valley — Reedy 22-136, 2 TD; MacDonald 13-47; Nunez 10-48.
Passing
Cheltenham — Ingram 9-19, 72 yards, 2 INT.
Perkiomen Valley — MacDonald 7-12, 57 yards.
Receiving
Cheltenham — Dunn 5-49; Williams 1-11; Higginbotham 1-4; Gordon 1-7; Smith 1 -1.
Perkiomen Valley — Keough 3-29; Hall 2-15; Moreno 1-10; Reedy 1-3.
Sacks: PV 1 (Sturges); C 1 (Reese).
Interceptions: PV 2 (Rodriguez, Corropolese).
Fumble recoveries: C 1 (Alston).