COLLEGEVILLE — Governor Mifflin coach Mick Vecchio put it succinctly after Friday night’s loss to Perkiomen Valley.
“I thought they were pretty good, but they’re really good,” Vecchio said of the Vikings.
Vecchio’s Mustangs had some moments but PV asserted itself on both sides of the ball in a 31-14 victory over Mifflin.
Juniors Colin Sturges and Carter McCabe ran for two scores apiece as the Vikings rushed for nearly 200 yards behind Jacob Reedy, Eddie Smith, Cole Euker, Gavin
Fisher and Andrew Keenan in a bounce back from last week’s 19-14 loss to Chester.
“There was like a hole every play,” Sturges said. “Always guys blocking downfield. It was really nice.”
Senior Dimitri Toman set the tone for the Vikings (1-1) when he picked off a pass on Governor Mifflin’s (1-1) first drive, taking it all the way back to the 6-yard line.
McCabe scored from six yards out on PV’s first offensive play to spot the Vikings a 7-0 lead with 9:12 left in the first. He ran nine times for 90 yards and added four catches for 26 yards, refusing to go down each time he touched the ball.
“I just try to run hard and get through there and don’t let them tackle me,” McCabe said. “I don’t like getting tackled.
The Vikings fumbled on the one-yard line late in the second quarter but still managed to add to their lead with a Sturges 19-yard touchdown run with 1:15 left in the period. Juliun Corropolese booted a 22-yard field goal in the final seconds of the half to put PV up 17-0.
Things got interesting after the break when Governor Mifflin senior running back Grady Garner (147 total yards, 2 TDs) ran in a nine-yard touchdown two and a half minutes into the third quarter for the Mustangs’ first points of the game following a PV fumble.
Mifflin recovered an onside kick on the ensuing play, but the Vikings’ defense forced a three-and-out to halt Mifflin’s brewing momentum.
A terrific interception by Mifflin senior Reese Hohl halted PV’s next drive at the two-yard line, but another three-and-out by the defense gave the Vikings the ball right back.
“We got some things going, but not enough. I’m disappointed the score shows what it shows because I thought we played them pretty tough,” Vecchio said. “But that’s all it is, any given Friday night.”
Sturges, who ran seven times for 39 yards, punched in a score from two yards out to put the Vikings up 24-7 with 6.8 seconds left in the third.
“I think we’re good at responding when we need to,” Sturges said. “We respond well when we’re faced with adversity.
Mifflin senior quarterback Javien Pletz tossed to Garner for a 48-yard touchdown to answer the PV score and put the deficit back to 10 with 11:14 left in the first.
The Mustangs got the ball back looking to make it a one-possession game.
PV’s defense had an answer and swarmed once again, coming up big each time the team needed them. The Vikings allowed just five first downs in the second half, holding them to 1-for-5 on third-down conversions.
“The way they play their defense and the way we run our offense, with the kids they have, they pretty much overpowered us, which that’s not gonna happen too much,” Vecchio said. “I don’t expect that to happen the rest of the regular season.”
Some of the stalwarts in the defensive front for PV were seniors Wyatt Kolb and Cole Euker and juniors Mike Conley, Jr., and Brady Supplee
Senior linebackers Carter Euker and Nathan Reedy and junior Richie Strano swarmed behind them.
“We had to (bounce back) after that loss (to Chester),” Carter Euker said. “We had to come out firing. They were hyping themselves … we had to play, physical, aggressive.”
“All three of our linebackers, our whole D-line did well, our corners kept contain, so the whole defense contributed,” Euker said.
McCabe capped the game’s scoring with a one-yard touchdown run with 4:17 to play. PV senior quarterback Patrick MacDonald was 15-for-21 for 129 yards and added 61 yards on the ground. Junior Jon Boyd caught six passes for 72 yards.
The Vikings travel to Downingtown West next week as they continue a daunting non-conference stretch that finishes with Coatesville a week later. Mifflin will look to respond to the loss on the road against Hempfield next week.
Euker and his brother Cole have been part of the PV program since they were six years old watching their brother Grant (Kutztown) suit up for the Vikings. The second oldest Gavin (IUP) continued the line with Cole and Carter (the “runt” and only Euker not to play on the PV offensive line) hoping Friday’s win can help them build toward a special senior season.
“This is my last year, so I hope to break a couple of records, I hope our team goes far, and I hope to do the best we can,” Carter Euker said.
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Governor Mifflin 0 0 7 7-14
Perkiomern Valley 7 10 7 7-31
Individual Scoring
First Quarter
PV: Carter McCabe 6 run (Juliun Corropolese kick) 9:12
Second Quarter
PV: Colin Sturges 9 run (Juliun Corropolese kick) 1:33
Juliun Corropolese 22 FG :06
Third Quarter
GM: Grady Garner 9 run (Lance Koenig kick) 9:27
PV: Colin Sturges 2 run (Juliun Corropolese kick) :06
Fourth Quarter
GM: Grady Garner 48 pass from Javien Pletz (Lance Koenig kick) 11:14
PV: Carter Mccabe 1 run (Juliun Corropolese kick) 4:17
Team Statistics
………………………..GM………………PV
1st downs………..12…………………24
rush-yds……….40-157……….37-195
comp-att-int….4-14-1…………..15-22-1
pass yds……….71………………129
total yds…………228……………….324
fumb-lost……..0-0………………3-2
pen-yds…………9-68…………..6-48
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Gov. Mifflin: Grady Garner 21-85, TD; Lebron Leaf 2-25, Reese Hohl 7-18; Travis Jenkins 5-12; No. 89 1-10; Javien Pletz 4-7.
Perk Valley: Carter McCabe 9-90, 2 TDs; Patrick MacDonald 18-61; Colin Sturges 7-39, 2 TDs; Nathan Reedy 3-5.
Passing: Gov. Mifflin: Javien Pletz 4-14-1, 71 yards, TD.
Perk Valley: Patrick MacDonald 15-21-1, 129 yards; Carter McCabe 0-1-0, 0 yards.
Receiving: Gov Mifflin: Grady Garner 2-62, TD; Lebron Leaf 1-13; Travis Jenkins 1-(-4).
Perk Valley: Job Boyd 6-72; Carter McCabe 4-26; Will Stein 3-21; Colin Hollingsworth 2-10.
