Central Bucks West saw its season end in the second round of the District One AAAA playoffs. To view game action photos, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Ben Reese
DOYLESTOWN – This wasn't the way anyone on the Central Bucks West side of the football envisioned the 2013 season ending.
After all, the Bucks had rolled over Plymouth Whitemarsh 50-26 in their first District One playoff game. And their second opponent, Perkiomen Valley, was coming from the Pioneer Athletic Conference and was seeded 15th in the district.
Well, the Vikings proved to be more than advertised. They were an offensive juggernaut, blasting past West 60-20 to advance to the next round of the playoffs against North Penn, a winner over Pennsbury.
“We doubted we would ever get to this point,” West senior wide receiver and cornerback Joe Ramos said. “We lost 22 seniors (from the 2012 team) but another group of seniors stepped up this year.
“I'm upset about the score and that we lost but us seniors can leave West knowing that we put West back on the map in football.”
Ramos' coach, Brian Hensel, while not happy with the final score, couldn't help but praise his team.
“I'm just so proud of them, the way they've carried themselves over the course of the last three and a half months that we've worked with them,” Hensel said. “This is a team that has bonded together. Football has forged them forever as friends.”
That bond held together through one of the tougher losses of the Bucks' 9-3 season. This one was even more difficult to swallow than the 50-14 loss to North Penn earlier in the year.
What made it difficult, aside from the final score, was the loss of a senior teammate, Corey Schott. Schott was injured while returning a kickoff in the second quarter.
He was knocked down by a Perk Valley player and collapsed on the field while trying to get up off the ground. He was treated on the field and taken off on a stretcher, finally ending up at Abington Hospital because of a neck injury. No further details were available.
“Corey is like a brother to me,” Ramos said. “I've known him since the seventh grade.
“When we saw him go down, my heart just dropped. I think him going down changed us.”
Hensel saw something after Schott was injured, something that warmed him on a cold night.
“I talked to some of the guys after the game and the first question they asked me was 'How's Corey?’” Hensel said. “They were concerned about their teammate.”
When Schott was hurt, the Vikings held a 35-7 lead with 4:45 left in the first half. They would go on to score three more touchdowns for a 54-14 halftime lead.
Perk Valley quarterback Rasaan Stewart, a Division I recruit as a defensive back, did a lot of the damage. Based on his performance against West, maybe those D-I schools should consider him as a quarterback.
Stewart passed for 263 yards and rushed for another 120. He scored three touchdowns and passed for four more.
“Rasaan Stewart is just a heck of an athlete,” Hensel said. “And he has weapons around him that he was able to take advantage of.
“He throws the ball well. They put us in tough situations tonight that we just weren't able to handle.
“It wasn't through any lack of effort on our players' part. It was their team was the better team.”
As evidenced by the score and the Vikings' performance on the field, it was hard to think of them as a No. 15 seed in the district.
“I feel people underestimated Perk Valley,” said Ramos. “I feel they should be ranked higher.
“They played like a No. 1 seed. They came out strong.
“I felt they would come out strong especially after last week when they beat (West Chester) Rustin. They capitalized on some things and we couldn't come back.”
Hensel knew what he was facing.
“We had a feeling that there would be 100 points scored tonight,” he said, “and we came close but unfortunately, it was too lopsided for our liking.
“We knew they were going to be a good team. We thought we could play a little better with them, but they were everything we saw on film and more.”
But Hensel went beyond praising the Perkiomen Valley offense. He had another side of the ball on his mind.
“The conversation is going to be about Rasaan Stewart and it should be,” he said, “but a lot of the credit has to be given to how their defense played. They play with a chip on their shoulder.
“They're not the biggest team you're going to see; they're not the fastest team you're going to see, but they play with grit and were able to give us fits.”
West got the ball to open the game but went three-and-out. Perk Valley took over on its own 25.
The Vikings proceeded to march 75 yards on 15 plays with Stewart going the final eight yards for the first score of the game. The drive consumed 4:07 of the first quarter.
The Bucks came right back and scored on their next possession. Marvin Todd burst through a hole and went 22 yards to tie the game at 7-7.
Perkiomen Valley then demonstrated its quick-strike offense. The Vikings took over on their 31, got a five-yard offside penalty on West and then Stewart hit Dakota Clanagan with a 64-yard touchdown pass.
The next time PV had the ball, it again went for distance. Stewart again hit Clanagan for 47 yards and a score, putting the Vikes up 21-7 after one quarter.
It got even uglier for the Bucks in the second period. Mark Bonomo broke free down the sideline on Perk Valley's first possession of the second quarter, going 73 yards to the end zone.
The next time the Vikings had the ball, Bonomo pushed in from the one and it was 35-7. Then Schott was injured and things slowed down for a very short time.
But it picked up again once the Vikings got the ball back. Stewart added a 73-yard touchdown run of his own and then later in the period again hit Clanagan, this time from the 32 for another score.
West finally put together a drive in the waning moments of the first half. The Bucks drove from their own 32 for a score with John Fitz passing to Mark Ciaudelli from the four.
Perkiomen Valley wasn't finished, however. Stewart received the ensuing kickoff and raced down the sideline for 85 yards and a TD as time ran out on the half, Perk Valley had a 54-14 lead.
The second half opened with a running clock. The 40-point lead meant the second half would be played under the mercy rule.
West got one back to open the second half. Fitz passed 14 yards to Ciaudelli for the touchdown.
The Vikings came right back. Stewart passed to Clay Domine, who went 67 yards to make it 60-20.
Hensel was sure of one thing after the game.
“This is a game that will not be forgotten,” he said.
Perkiomen Valley 21 33 6 0—60
CB West 7 7 6 0—20
PV – Rasaan Stewart 8 run (Matt Genuardi kick)
CBW – Marvin Todd 12 run (Mike Miller kick)
PV – Dakota Clanagan 64 pass from Stewart (Genuardi kick)
PV – Clanagan 47 pass from Stewart (Genuardi kick)
PV – Mark Bonomo 73 run (Genuardi kick)
PV – Bonomo 1 run (Genuardi kick)
PV – Stewart 73 run (kick failed)
PV – Clanagan 32 pass from Stewart (Genuardi kick)
CBW – Mark Ciaudelli 4 pass from John Fitz (Miller kick)
PV – Stewart 85 kickoff return (kick blocked)
CBW – Ciaudelli 14 pass from Fitz (pass failed)
PV – Clay Domine 67 pass from Stewart (kick failed)
Perkiomen Valley CB West
First downs 16 13
Rushing yards 290 127
Passing yards 263 153
Total yards 553 280
Passing 9-19-1 15-26-1
Fumbles – lost 1-1 2-1
Penalties – yards 6-46 14-150
Punts-Avg. 0-0 4-21.5
Individual statistics
Rushing
Perkiomen Valley: Mark Bonomo 17-150, 2 TD; Rasaan Stewart 9-120, 2 TD; Ryan O'Donnell 3-17; Team 4-(-) 2.
CB West: Marvin Todd 13-60, 1 TD; John Fitz 15-47; Brent Hudicka 5-12; Thalen Sayres 5-8.
Passing
Perkiomen Valley: Stewart 9-19-1, 263 yards, 4 TD.
CB West: Fitz 15-26-1, 152 yards, 2 TD,
Receiving
Perkiomen Valley: Dakota Clanagan 4-150, 3 TD; Clay Domine 4-100, 1 TD; Bonomo 1-13.
CB West: Mark Ciaudelli 5-83, 2 TD; Matt Kilkenny 4-27; Joe Ramos 2-33; Brent Hudicka 2-3; Brandon McCauley 1-9; Thalen Sayres 1-(-)2.
Interceptions
Perkiomen Valley: Clanagan.
CB West: Ramos.
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