Vikings drop first league game, fight back

Following three consecutive come-from-behind wins by the Vikings, it appeared Perkiomen Valley had the Phantoms right where they wanted them. Scoring a touchdown just as the fourth quarter got under way, the Vikings narrowed the Phantoms' lead to 14-9.

What the Vikings did not anticipate was the Phantoms' offensive line taking over the trenches. Alec McQuiston and company embarked on a 12-play, 70-yard drive that consumed most of the final quarter, and preserved a 14-9 Phoenixville win. The Phantoms are 3-0.

Even though the drive may not have resulted in points, as Ian Harrigan’s 27-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left with 2:01 left in regulation, it succeeded in keeping the Vikings offense, which has been lethal in the second half all season, off the field.

“It was important when they scored to regain the momentum,” said McQuiston, who scored both Phantoms' touchdowns on the ground. “After last week, we needed to come out and prove to the rest of league and ourselves that we could close out a game like this. The offensive line played incredible again tonight. They do such a great job opening holes for us to run through.”

Phoenixville (3-1 league, 5-1 overall) got on the board first on a 66-yard burst around the left side by McQuiston, who outran the Perk Valley secondary in a sprint to the corner of the end zone, posting the Phantoms to a 7-0 edge following the PAT from Ian Harrigan.

The Phantoms dialed up their blitz packages and defensive scheme late in the first half as the Perkiomen Valley passing attack had early success featuring a 30-yard strike hauled in by senior Ryan Boyd and Clay Domine with a 36-yard effort, before leaving the game with an injury.

The Vikings (4-2 overall, 3-1 league) got on the scoreboard just before the intermission as Kyle Chudoba, who had missed earlier from 34 yards out, banged a 27-yard field goal through the up rights cutting the lead to 7-3 at the break.

Following a failed fake punt attempt on the first Perk Valley possession of the second half from the Vikings 35-yard line, the Phantoms ran on seven straight snaps.

Perk Valley took advantage of a Vinny Nattle fumble, which they recovered on their own 27-yard line, starting a Vikings scoring drive that was fueled by a 35-yard pass play to Steve Giampa.

Wideout Ryan Boyd registered the biggest hit of the night on Phantoms running back Brian Madden as he cleared the way for Giampa downfield. Boyd leveled Madden on a clean but vicious hit that could be heard on the opposite sideline.

Perk Valley quickly cashed in on its deepest penetration of the game as Stewart called his own number, leaping into the end zone on a nine-yard jaunt, setting the stage again for late game dramatics for the Vikings.

The Viking had one more chance to mount a comeback as they took control of the ball with 2:01 left in the game. On the first snap, Stewart was picked off at the PV 41-yard line by Travis Andrews giving the ball back to the Phantoms with the Vikings having only one time out left to stop the clock. Following Vinny Nattle’s eight-yard plunge on third-and-four, the only thing that Perk Valley could do was watch the final seconds tick off the clock.

Perkiomen Valley        0            3            0            6            -9

Phoenixville                7            0            7            0            -14

 first quarter

2:27 PX McQuiston 66 yard run (Harrigan kick)

second quarter

:04  PV  Chudoba  27 yrad FG

third quarter

5:32 PX McQuiston 10 yard run (Harrigan kick)

fourth quarter

8:50 PV Stewart 9 yard run (Point after failed)

TEAM STATISTICS

Perk Valley                       Phoenixville

13           First Downs                17

118         Rushing Yards            285

155         Passing Yards               0

273         Total Yards               285

11-19-2    Passes C-A-I           0-2-0

0-0          Fumbles-lost             3-2

7-45        Penalties-yards         4-30

1-24        Punts-avg.               1-35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

PV: Stewart 16-44, TD; Giampa 10-38; Golson-Goodman 8-32; Ranco 2-4; Boyd 1-3; Chudoba 1-(-3). Phoenixville: Nattle 19-136; Andrews 11-68; McQuiston 11-62, 2 TDs; Yenchick 4-19.

Passing

PV: Stewart 11-19-2, 155. Phoenixville: McQuiston 0-2-0, 0.

Receiving

PV: Boyd 7-68; Giampa 2-48; Domine 2-39. Phoenixville: None.

Sacks

PV: Ugwu 3. Phoenixville: Kelly 2.

Interceptions

Phoenixville: Yenchick, Andrews.