McQuiston Scores Twice as Phoenixville Wins 14-9

It appeared, following three consecutive come-from-behind wins by the Vikings, that Perkiomen Valley had the Phantoms right where they wanted them as the Vikings scored a touchdown just as the fourth quarter got underway, narrowing the Phantoms' lead to 14-9.

What the Vikings did not anticipate was the Phantoms offensive line taking over the trenches in the late going, as quarterback Alec McQuiston and company embarked on a 12- play, 70-yard drive that consumed most of the final period, preserving a 14-9 Phoenixville win on the night that the new playing surface at Washington Field was officially dedicated in a pre-game ceremony. The turf proved lucky for the Phantoms, as the team is undefeated at home this season.

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 Viking offense 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 them and ourselves that we could close out a game like this. The offensive line played incredibly 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 out ran 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 Harrigan.

The Phantoms blitz packages and defensive scheme throttled the Perkiomen Valley passing attack in the first half, as it seemed like sophomore signal caller Rasaan Stewart was draped in pink jerseys every time he dropped back to pass. The Phantoms which were the first team to host a Pioneer Athletic Conference (PAC-10)-initiated “play for the cure” breast cancer awareness event, which five more schools will participate in during the month of October.

“We set it up that way,” said junior linebacker Ryan Pannella. “We used Dennis [Kelly]’s speed and lined him up on the opposite side of where we were blitzing so he [Stewart] had nowhere to go and our line guys really got to him quickly. We really wanted this game tonight. They are a great team and we needed to bounce back from last week.”

For the Phantoms and their coaching staff, Thursday night’s game could not come quick enough as the intensity and mood in practice all week was bordering on danger level.

“We had a tough week of practice,” added Pannella. “The energy and intensity was on a whole new level this week. We know what we are capable of and felt like we did not play well last week, which is what bothered us more than losing the game.”

“Yeah, people were cranked up this week in practice,” added McQuiston. “We had some rough games last year and I think we have really grown from that and gained a lot of experience, which is why I think this week we were so focused on erasing last week from our memory and making sure we came out blazing tonight.”

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 uprights, cutting the lead to 7-3 at the break.

Following an inexplicable failed fake punt attempt on the first Perk Valley possession of the second half from the Vikings 35-yard line, the Phantoms smash mouth brand of football helped place Phoenixville in a second and goal situation from the 10, from which McQuiston scored on a 10-yard quarterback keeper to increase the lead to 14-3 in favor of the home squad.

“This was awesome tonight,” said McQuiston. “We got to be the first team to wear the pink jerseys, our crowd was fired up all night and we are very proud to be the first to help a great cause and set the tone for other teams.”

The Vikings had one more chance to mount a comeback as they took over control of the ball with 2:01 left in the game, but on the first snap of the drive Stewart was picked off at the PV 41-yard line, giving the ball back to the Phantoms with the Vikings having only one timeout left to stop the clock, and following Vinny Nattle’s eight-yard plunge on third-and-four, the only thing the Vikings could do was watch the final seconds tick off the clock.

Perkiomen Valley           0            3            0            6            -9

Phoenixville                  7            0            7            0            -14