Pequea Valley falls to Tamaqua in 26-year-old program’s first playoff appearance
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
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Tamaqua 35, Pequea Valley 0
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Jeff Reinhart — LNP/Lancasteronline
TAMAQUA — Pequea Valley’s football team played its 267th varsity game Friday night in picturesque, fall-foliage-hued Schuylkill County.
But this one was different.
It was the Braves’ first postseason game since the inception of the program in 1998. It took 26 years for Pequea Valley to qualify for the playoffs — in this case the Eastern Conference Class 3A championship game — and while it didn’t end the way the Braves were hoping, they made some history for their school and their community.
Tamaqua, a hard-hitting bunch out of the Schuylkill League playing on its home turf, dominated the scoreboard and the stat sheet, rolling to a 35-0 victory.
The Blue Raiders held the Braves to three first downs and 37 total yards for their second Eastern Conference title and first since 1962.
While the loss stung, Pequea Valley enjoyed its first postseason excursion, right down to the extra week of practice, the road trip and the postgame medal ceremony.
“The scoreboard is the scoreboard tonight,” Braves coach Mike Choi said. “We lost to a better team here. But we’ll take so much away from this experience. What these guys did for our program and our school and our community … I’m ecstatic.”
Friday, Pequea Valley didn’t have many answers for Tamaqua quarterback Luke Kane, who had two TD keepers, a TD pass and a TD catch on a trick play, as the Blue Raiders (7-4) triggered the Mercy Rule early in the fourth quarter, snapped a four-game losing streak, and piled up 410 total yards.
Pequea Valley’s players soaked it all in, hanging around on the field a little longer after the game, posing for pictures and heading to the locker room one last time with their teammates.
“As a senior, it was really nice to get another game,” Trevor Vollmer said. “First playoff game in the history of the program. We didn’t get what we wanted, but we made some history. And even if the program goes to the playoffs the next 10 years, we’ll still be the first to do it. That’s a good kind of history.”
“So proud,” senior Alex Wilkinson said. “It took a lot of hard work from the team to get here, so I’m proud of everyone for that. It was a great feeling that we made it here.”
The final score, not so much. Tamaqua wasn’t going to be denied; the Blue Raiders held PV to 37 rushing yards on 28 carries, and didn’t allow a first down until midway through the third quarter.
Still, the Braves (5-6) raised the bar for their program, a program that has struggled with losing streaks and close calls over the years. They finally broke through this fall.
“I told them in the locker room before the game that they’re getting an experience here that they earned,” Choi said. “You’re the first team in Pequea Valley history to go to a playoff game and nobody can take that away from you.
“Hopefully it’s not another 26 years. Now this team has set a standard, and hopefully we can use this as a springboard moving forward.”