FOOTBALL: Perk Valley’s perseverance rewarded with signature win over Coatesville

by rob senior

GRATERFORD — When you play football at Perkiomen Valley, there are two things you know for sure.

One is that the goal — the only goal — is to go 1-0 every week.

The other is that the first task will never be easy.

But the challenge is what makes events like Friday night’s game at Thomas J. Keenan Stadium extra special. The Vikings evened their 2024 record at 2-2 with a hard-fought 14-7 win over traditional District 1 powerhouse Coatesville.

PV weathered Coatesville’s domination of time of possession after halftime to come up with a defensive stop in the final minute to preserve their second win of the season.

“We felt good at the end,” insisted James Smith, a senior linebacker who led PV’s defensive effort with two sacks of Coatesville’s outstanding quarterback, Matt (Buggy) Ortega Jr. “Our offense gave us a lead and kept us in it all the way.”

Year in and year out, PV plays one of District One’s toughest schedules, and 2024 is no different. Two district finalists from a year ago in Chester and Downingtown West, Governor Mifflin of District 3, plus another of District One’s most storied programs in Coatesville comprise the formidable quartet that greeted Perkiomen Valley in the early part of 2024 season.

“Coatesville’s a perennial district contender,” said Juliun Corropolese, one of PV’s stars Friday night. “Downingtown West is one of the best teams in the state. Chester… they almost beat Imhotep Charter. And now we get (undefeated) Owen J. Roberts next week.”

A balanced Vikings offense was led by Colin Sturges’ 72 yards rushing and the decisive touchdown, but it was multi-dimensional Corropolese who kept PV a step ahead most of the evening.

Perkiomen Valley moved the ball well early, but Elias Hanson’s end-zone interception thwarted an early threat. Neither team was able to break the ice until PV’s do-it-all junior went into orbit motion on a 4th-and-2 at Coatesville’s 38-yard line early in the second quarter.

Taking a swing lateral from starting QB Patrick MacDonald — the teammate whom he replaced at quarterback for several games last season after MacDonald’s season-ending injury — Corropolese went downfield to a wide-open Rowan Dalton for a 38-yard scoring connection that gave PV the first points of the evening and a 7-0 lead after Corropolese’s own extra point.

“We practice that every day, and we have a lot of confidence in that play,” said Corropolese. “Great job by everyone involved to execute.”

Corropolese was far from done, as he converted two extra points and averaged 38 yards per punt on the evening. He also averaged 14 yards on two punt returns, took a kickoff inside the Coatesville 40 and registered a couple tackles on defense.

Is there anything the junior feels he can’t do? “I think I can play any position on the field,” he said.

Any more tricks planned for PAC season? “Maybe,” answered Corropolese.

Following a quick Coatesville three-and-out, the Vikings embarked on an impressive nine-play, 56-yard drive — all on the ground — culminating in Sturges’ two-yard plunge to double the lead with four minutes until halftime.

Meanwhile, Coatesville got some indication of the type of night this might be when their first play yielded a wide-open receiver down the middle of the field, but the Red Raiders couldn’t convert.

Things didn’t improve from there, at least in the early going, despite a 50-yard run from Zaden Green on the next drive. Coatesville missed a 34-yard field goal, then proceeded to punt on their next three drives with only one first down to show for their troubles. Penalties didn’t help either, as the Red Raiders were flagged nine times in the opening half.

After halftime, the teams exchanged punts before Coatesville embarked on a marathon 20-play, 96-yard drive that featured an eventual fourth-down conversion on a drive that, at one point, saw the Red Raiders faced with a second down and 49 yards to go.

Terry Wiggins and Tristan Jackson had big first-down receptions on the drive, which finally ended with Green’s two-yard scoring run to cut PV’s lead in half, 14-7, with 7:36 to play.

The drive ignited something in the Red Raiders, who ran 38 second half plays to only 17 for Perk Valley. Ortega (19-for-32, 207 yards) found a connection with Tristan Jackson (seven catches, 74 yards) and the Red Raiders appeared to be poised to tie the game when a long TD pass was called back for offensive holding.

Penalties were a big part of Coatesville’s undoing, unofficially flagged 19 times for 140 yards.

“It is what it is. There were a lot of penalties,” said Coatesville head coach Matt Ortega. “We’ll move forward. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”

MacDonald threw for 82 yards, finding a half-dozen different receivers in the Perk Valley win.

PV is anything but finished, emerging from their challenging nonleague schedule, in a way, right where they started with a dead-even 2-2 record.

But in a more important way, as the Vikings prepare to travel to unbeaten Owen J. Roberts for the PAC opener next Friday, they’re a vastly different squad than they were at the start of the 2024 campaign.

“We worked for these first four games all summer,” said Smith, “but now the hard work has only started.”

Meanwhile, Coatesville, also 2-2, returns home to host West Chester East. Aside from Ortega Jr. and Jackson’s attempts to provide late heroics, Josh VanOrden stood out on both sides of the ball, catching three passes and unofficially leading the team in tackles.

“We’ve been in this scenario before,” said coach Ortega. “We’re not gonna make excuses, we’re not gonna say anything, we’re gonna focusing on winning out and winning the Ches-Mont.”

Perkiomen Valley 14, Coatesville 7

Coatesville — 0 0 0 7 — 7

Perkiomen Valley — 0 14 0 0 — 14

SCORING PLAYS

PV — Dalton 38 pass from Corropolese (Corropolese kick)
PV — Sturges 2 run (Corropolese kick)
CV — Green 2 run (Schaeffer kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

CV PV
First Downs 18 15

Rushing Yards 89 125

Passing Yards 207 120

Total Yards 296 245

Passes C-A-I 19-32-0 10-16-1

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0