Perkiomen Valley outscores defending Delaware state champions Smyrna, 46-38

GRATERFORD >> Coming off a tough loss to Downingtown West last week, Perkiomen Valley had a choice as they prepared to face last year’s Delaware state champions, Smyrna.

The Vikings could lick their wounds and hope to regroup during league play, or they could rally around one another and make a statement that last week was a speed bump rather than a roadblock.

Perkiomen Valley responded in a manner befitting a two-time defending league champion, getting an early lead and withstanding repeated rallies from their opponents from the First State, ultimately prevailing 46-38 to improve to 2-1 on the season.

The Vikings got touchdowns from five different players, balancing their scoring evenly (23 points per half). Junior quarterback Patrick MacDonald both ran and passed for two touchdowns in a back-and-forth thriller that was delayed briefly at the start due to weather.

“We had the lead at half, but we knew they (Smyrna) made a second-half comeback in their last game,” said senior tight end/linebacker Robbie Sturges, the recipient of the first of MacDonald’s two scoring passes.

“We had to keep our foot on the gas pedal. They made a great run, but I think we were the better team tonight.”

A 10-point lead for Perkiomen Valley grew to 33-16 early in the third quarter when Sturges caught a career-long 46-yard touchdown pass from MacDonald to give the Vikings their largest lead.

The champions from Delaware answered, but MacDonald scampered in from five yards out to start the fourth quarter and reopen the 17-point advantage.

Smyrna kept responding, but PV always had an answer, their last scoring play courtesy of a Xavier Nunez 25-yard catch-and-run.

The Vikings’ take-on-all-comers mentality was at the forefront of the victory. In building the team’s schedule, PV could’ve seen last week’s road game at Downingtown West and taken it easy with an overmatched opponent Friday.

Instead, they searched far and wide for a suitable challenge and found one in the Eagles of Smyrna.

“I love playing this tough schedule,” Sturges said. “Now, we can go into league play, and hopefully the District playoffs, and be prepared for anybody. We’re not going to be surprised by anything, or playing a level of talent we haven’t seen before.

“Plus, it makes us get our minds right in the summer and work hard all offseason. I think the tough schedule is the way to go.”

“We genuinely believe that if we want to be the best team, we have to play the best teams,” said PV coach Rob Heist. “But the reality is that it’s getting tougher and tougher to find that third and fourth game.

“So we look high and wide for teams that will challenge us. That’s what we got. That’s a heck of a team over there, and I’m proud of our guys because this was a back-and-forth battle.”

In a game with statistical standouts too numerous to list, Heist focused on the guys up front who made it all possible.

“I thought our offensive line was the difference in the game for us,” he said. “Smyrna’s got some nice players on that defense, particularly their nose guard (Caleb Blane). We were worried about him all week long, but our guys played wonderfully.”

It will come as no surprise that it doesn’t get any easier for PV, as they welcome Cheltenham to Thomas Keenan Stadium next Friday.

Notes: It was Youth Night at Perkiomen Valley, as well as a “Gold Out” game to show support for families and children battling childhood cancer. The Vikings’ famed student section showed out in force for the home opener, most attendees clad in gold from head to toe.