Late touchdown pass lifts Schuylkill Valley over Upper Perkiomen in home opener (updated)
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story will be updated later tonight with additional details and postgame reaction.)
By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor
Kowen Gerner’s 33-yard touchdown catch with 1:11 remaining lifted Schuylkill Valley to a thrilling 22-19 non-league victory over visiting Upper Perkiomen Thursday night.
Quarterback Logan Nawrocki’s pump-fake froze the secondary, allowing Gerner to get free inside the 5 where he leapt to pull down the go-ahead pass.
Schuylkill Valley’s defense came up with a pair of late stops, the first with two minutes left to force a punt and set up the go-ahead drive. The Panthers also stopped Upper Perk’s last gasp possession, which ended with a sack and three incompletions.
The late heroics helped the Panthers (1-1) avoid an 0-2 start for the third consecutive season.
The Indians took a 19-14 lead with 3:51 left in the third quarter on Logan O’Donnell’s third touchdown pass.
Schuylkill Valley took its first lead in the final seconds of the first half when Nawrocki found Dominic Giuffre alone in the back of the end zone with a 10-yard pass. Freshman Reese Wamsher’s PAT made it 14-13 with 15 seconds left.
The Panthers relied on their defense to stay in the game.
Cooper Hohenadel made a leaping interception at the goal line to keep the Indians scoreless late in the first quarter.
Later, with Perkiomen Valley leading 7-0, Jayden Gulley and Nathan Searfoss led a fourth-down front that stopped the Indians at the Schuylkill Valley 4.
Schuylkill Valley’s defense stepped up early after a high snap on a punt gave the Indians a first down at the Panthers’ 21 to start that possession.
The Panthers, with their running game stuffed to that point, went up top to ignite a 95-yard scoring drive. Nawrocki completed 4-of-5 passes for 93 yards on the drive and Giuffre finished it with a 4-yard run to tie it 7-7.
Schuylkill Valley lost to Upper Perkiomen 31-14 last season, falling to 0-2. It started a six-game winning streak the following week and had a chance to tie for the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 championship in the final week of the season before falling to eventual champ Lancaster Catholic.
The Panthers entered this season with 18 return starters and as a slight favorite to win the Section 5 title.
Schuylkill Valley improved from two wins in Bruce Harbach’s first season as head coach to 6-5 last season, when it qualified for the District 3 Class 3A Tournament.
The Panthers got off to a rough start last week, losing to Twin Valley 44-13. They were locked in a tight game and were within a PAT of tying the game 14-14 in the final minute of the third quarter, but the kick was blocked and the Raiders dominated the rest of the way.
Twin Valley ended the game with 30 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and ran at will against Schuylkill Valley, piling up 479 rushing yards and going for a program-record 619 total yards.
Giuffre was limited to 79 yards on 17 carries. One season after setting a program record with 30 touchdowns, his only score came on a 6-yard reception.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Upper Perkiomen | 0 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 19 |
| Schuylkill Valley | 0 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 22 |
Scoring summary
| 2 | Upper Perkiomen | Ruch, 25 pass from O’Donnell (Watkins kick) | 10:16 |
| 2 | Schuylkill Valley | Giuffre, 4 run (Wamsher kick) | 2:50 |
| 2 | Upper Perkiomen | Void, 16 pass from O’Donnell (run failed) | 1:27 |
| 2 | Schuylkill Valley | Giuffre, 10 pass from Nawrocki (Wamsher kick) | :15 |
| 3 | Upper Perkiomen | Void, 10 pass from O’Donnell (pass failed) | 3:51 |
| 4 | Schuylkill Valley | Gerner, 33 pass from Nawrocki (Giuffre run) | 1:11 |
Team statistics
| Upper Perkiomen | Schuylkill Valley | |
| First downs | 16 | 13 |
| Rushes-yards | 44-167 | 24-65 |
| Passing yards | 115 | 217 |
| Total yards | 282 | 282 |
| Passes | 8-18-1 | 12-25-2 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-0 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 4-32.2 | 3-35.3 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-45 | 4-40 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Upper Perkiomen: Weiss 28-116, White 6-24, O’Donnell 5-17, Schwartz 4-9, Krier 1-1.
Schuylkill Valley: Giuffre 13-52, Nawrocki 9-29, Hohenadel 1-2, Team 1-(-18).
PASSING
Upper Perkiomen: O’Donnell 8-18-1–115.
Schuylkill Valley: Nawrocki 12-25-2–217.
RECEIVING
Upper Perkiomen: Void 4-56, Ruch 2-33, Schmittinger 1-16, Romanowski 1-10.
Schuylkill Valley: Giuffre 6-87, Gerner 2-67, Lackner 2-52, Sports 2-11.
INTERCEPTIONS
Upper Perkiomen: Void, Saeger.
Schuylkill Valley: Hohenadel.
