Peterlin saves the day for Perkiomen Valley in win over Norristown

FAIRVIEW VILLAGE >> Perkiomen Valley quarterback Cole Peterlin wasn’t supposed to play in the Vikings game on Friday night. Even after being cleared by his doctor, the senior was listed at QB2 on the Vikings’ depth chart.

“If this game was going to be played on our sloppy field, there was no way we were going to risk his health,” Vikings head coach Rob Heist said. “But once the game got moved to a turf field, we thought he could help us if we needed him.”

Indeed, Heist did call on Peterlin in the fourth quarter and the senior responded by hooking up with running back Jon Moccia on a screen pass late in the game to lead the Vikings to a 14-7 victory over Norristown at Methacton High School.

“I just wanted to get out guys excited,” Peterlin explained. “I knew the game wasn’t over yet and all we needed was once score to win.”

Despite trailing late, Perkiomen Valley scored the game’s first touchdown on a 2-yard run from Moccia, but after that, the Vikings’ offense went silent, punting five times and turning the ball over on downs twice before finally taking the lead late in the fourth.

“Norristown’s defense played a heck of a game,” Heist said. “I thought their front did a great job of stopping our runners and not letting us get any big plays.”

The Eagles’ offense amassed just 75 yards of offense in the first half before finally catching fire in the closing minute of the second quarter. Quarterback Daniel Watson completed passes of 37, 6 and 13 yards to push the Eagles within 25 yards of the end zone with just 17 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Watson then hooked up with Xzavier Gorski for 21 yards and then sneaked it in himself as time expired. An extra point gave the Eagles their first lead of the game.

Freshman Ethan Kohler got the start at QB in place of Peterlin and played well, despite some uninspiring numbers, avoiding the Norristown pass rush and slinging the ball down the field.

“Ethan is awesome,” Peterlin gushed. “You saw his talent out there tonight, he was making some great plays.”

“Another kid would’ve buckled under the pressure he faced tonight,” Heist added. “But I thought Ethan was poised, I thought he was confident and he played very, very well.”

Despite Kohler’s play-making abilities, the Perkiomen Valley rushing attack was stymied by Norristown, gaining just 110 yards on 35 carries. Despite losing the field position battle for much of the game, the Eagles defense held to just 250 yards of total offense and 13 first downs.

Despite the loss, Friday night’s game marked a huge improvement for the Eagles, who had fallen to Perkiomen Valley the past two seasons by a combined score of 87-0. Watson finished the night with 211 yards of total offense and wide receiver Xzavier Gorski caught 7 passes for 99 yards.

However, the Norristown offense struggled to hold on to the ball, turning it over four times in the second half.

The Perkiomen Valley offense was led by Moccia’s 68 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns, while Kohler contributed 108 passing yards and another 19 yards on four carries. Jacob Sturm was the Vikings’ leading rusher, picking up 51 yards on just 5 carries.