Second chance is all Logan Nawrocki needs to lift Panthers to last-minute win
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor
With his team trailing in the final minutes and needing a touchdown to pull out a win, Schuylkill Valley’s Logan Nawrocki fired deep down the field . . . and saw the ball get intercepted.
“I thought I lost us the game,” said Nawrocki. “I was completely down on myself.”
The junior quarterback needed help to find redemption; he got it from his teammates.
First the Panthers defense forced a three-and-out to give Nawrocki another chance; then wide receiver Kowen Gerner made a great move off the line and got two steps behind the Upper Perkiomen secondary.
Gerner made a leaping catch inside the 5 to pull in the go-ahead score and the Panthers defense held one last time to secure a thrilling 22-19 non-league victory in their home opener Thursday night.
“We practice those plays all week,” said Gerner, a junior who pulled in a long scoring pass in the season-opener against Twin Valley. “We always look for the deep ball; that’s always there for us, especially when we have a running back like Dom (Giuffre) and they don’t know what to expect. It worked out great for us.”
The Indians took away the Panthers’ running game, limiting Giuffre to 52 rushing yards, but they couldn’t stop Nawrocki and his receivers when it counted most. He threw for 217 yards and a pair of scores, the last the 33-yarder to Gerner with 1:11 remaining.
“I knew, with our defense, we would get another chance,” Nawrocki said. “I just didn’t know how much time we’d have. We had a decent amount of time, it worked out.”
The Panthers took over at the Indians’ 45 with 1:55 left, more than enough time. Still, their chance at late heroics seemed to fade when Nawrocki, on third-and-13 from his own 48, was rushed hard and fired hurriedly, the ball glancing off Kowen’s fingertips deep down field.
Upper Perkiomen was assessed a 15-yard personal foul for roughing the quarterback; Schuylkill Valley took the lead for good on the next snap.
“Years ago, these kids would’ve hung their heads (after falling behind),” said Schuylkill Valley coach Bruce Harbach. “This is a different group of kids. This team battles.
“They’re learning how to win and how to establish a program. I’m proud of ‘em.”
The Indians took a 19-14 lead with 3:51 left in the third quarter on Logan O’Donnell’s third touchdown pass.
Other than a couple drives late in the first half the Panthers struggled to move the ball. They turned it over on their first and third drives of the second half and punted on their second.
Nawrocki and Gerner were able to make the game-winning play because of the Panthers’ defense. One week after allowing over 600 yards in a 44-13 loss to Twin Valley, Schuylkill Valley came up with several key stops.
With their team down 7-0, Jayden Gulley and Nathan Searfoss led a fourth-down charge that stopped the Indians at the 4 midway through the second quarter.
Earlier, Cooper Hohenadel made a leaping interception at the goal line to keep the game scoreless.
The Panthers were especially good on defense in the fourth quarter. They allowed just 42 total yards and came up with two key sacks. The first, by senior Sebastian Cruz, came on third-and-long and forced a punt. The second, by Searfoss, came in the final minute. A couple plays later Nawrocki was kneeling to kill the final seconds.
A year ago Schuylkill Valley lost to Upper Perkiomen, falling to 0-2. It worked hard to dig out of that hole, putting together a six-game winning streak. Still, the Panthers didn’t want to work their way out of that kind of fix again.
“I think it crossed all of our minds,” Gerner said of another 0-2 start, “but as soon as we got that stop on defense, we had the energy to push down the field and win the game.”
The game-winner came on a hitch-and-go. Gerner got open with a great move and Nawrocki helped sell the play with a pump fake.
“As soon as I ran that double move, he bit on it right away,” Gerner said of the Upper Perkiomen cornerback on his side, “and I knew that was going to be a touchdown.”
“We saw we had a great match-up,” Nawrocki said. “I threw the ball up to Kowen; he’s an amazing wide receiver, and he made a great catch. (I’m confident in) all my receivers. I believe I can throw to any of them and all of them will catch it.”
| 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 | 25-64 |
| Passing yards | 115 | 217 |
| Total yards | 282 | 281 |
| 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 2-(-19).
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.
