Football: Rams turn back Stewart, Vikings
SPRING-FORD 14, PERKIOMEN VALLEY 7
While Spring-Ford sorts out its offensive woes, including the continuing search for a full-time quarterback, it looks as if it can hang its hat on a rock-solid defensive unit.
In Friday night's Pioneer Athletic Conference game against Perkiomen Valley, which came in averaging 38 points, the host Rams limited the previously potent Vikings to a second-quarter tally and triumphed, 14-7, at packed Coach McNelly Stadium.
"We know the pressure is on the defense," senior nose guard Alec Vagnozzi said. "We have to come up big a lot of times. Tonight, we were pretty much in the zone. Things mostly worked out the way we wanted."
Perkiomen Valley's lone score was Rasaan Stewart's 47-yard keeper early in the second stanza. From there, with two interceptions and a late fumble recovery, the Rams continually frustrated the visitors.
"We're still struggling, obviously, on defense," Spring-Ford coach Chad Brubaker said. "We have to win ugly right now."
The difference, following a pick by cornerback Joe Bush at the Perkiomen Valley 44, was Jarred Jones' 9-yard run around the right corner midway through the third quarter. The score capped an 11-play drive.
The winning series included a 10-yard jump-pass by Jones. Also, on 4th and 2 from the 14, the senior tailback, who carried 29 times for 126 yards, sliced up the middle for a 5-yard gain. He found paydirt two plays later.
"He's hurting right now," Brubaker said of Jones. "They put some pretty good hits on him."
The Rams (2-1 overall, 1-0 PAC-10) clinched the win over the Vikings (2-1, 1-1) when Matt Daywalt recovered a fumble at the Spring-Ford 37 with just under three minutes to play.
Stewart, a dual-threat quarterback, netted 114 yards on 23 carries. The 6-foot-1, 188-pound senior completed 13 of 26 throws for 108 yards.
Said Brubaker: "We would have liked to have done a better job of keeping him off the field, but we did enough."
Spring-Ford's other defensive standouts were linemen Mason Romano and Robby Varner, linebacker Andy Lovre-Smith, and backs Cody Davis (second-quarter pick) and Jared Shoemaker.
Jones, seeing spot duty at linebacker, dumped Stewart for a 6-yard loss in the fourth quarter. "He was spying [Stewart] on third-down situations," Brubaker said.
The Rams, who used three players at QB, forged a 7-7 tie in the second quarter on Stone Scarcelle's 44-yard touchdown pass to wideout Gary Hopkins.
Spring's Ford's Tate Carter, a multipurpose standout, was lost to a left-knee injury late in the first quarter.
Perkiomen Valley 0 7 0 0-7
Spring-Ford 0 7 7 0-14
PV: Rasaan Stewart 47 run (Matt Genuardi kick)
SF: Gary Hopkins 44 pass from Stone Scarcelle (David Gulati kick)
SF: Jarred Jones 9 run (Gulati kick)