Quaker Valley Holds on for Second Win Behind Senior Vescio

The wind whipped and the rain fell, but when the fog cleared walked away with their second victory of the season.

After a winless season in 2009 and a in 2010, the Quakers this year may be onto something.  The Quaker's defense kept the South Allegheny Gladiators out of the end zone four times with goal line stands and turnovers.

The Quakers got off to a quick start when quarterback Burke Moser connected with Jordan Vescio on a 73-yard catch and run that put the Quakers up 7-0 on the third play from scrimmage. 

Vescio got loose in the secondary on third and 14 when Moser rolled right and threw on the run, hitting him in stride. Vescio did the rest.

Moser wasn't surprised it worked.

"We put that package in this week because we thought that we could isolate Jordan and get him the ball in space," Moser said. "I got great protection and he ran a great route.  When he caught that, I knew he was taking it to the house."  

Nelson Westwood added the extra point for the early seven-point advantage.

Both offenses moved the ball consistently in the first half, but stalled in the red zone and couldn't punch it in the end zone.  Quaker Valley moved the ball on the ground with Wilson Perez, who had his best game as a Quaker with 86 yards.  Perez was able to get around the end with ease on multiple occasions and took pressure off the QV passing game in the rainy weather. 

South Allegheny used different looks to get 6-foot-7, 250-pound Penn State recruit Jesse James involved in the offense. That strategy nearly worked when James lined up as a tight end on second down from the Quaker Valley 11. He slid into the secondary uncovered, but was overthrown by SA quarterback Dylan Fox. 

Two plays later on fourth down, Fox tried James again on a fade into the corner, but Moser, who also plays basketball for the Quakers, jumped up and swatted the ball away.

Quaker Valley got it going in the second half when Senior Alex Jeffe picked off a Fox pass and returned it to inside the South Allegheny 30-yard line.  After two good runs by Perez, the offense stalled inside the 10 and were forced to settle for a 19-yard Westwood field goal that stretched the lead to 10-0. 

SA answered the score with a sustained drive inside the QV 10-yard line.  Quaker Valley's defense then held SA once again in the red zone when Jake Trovato cut in front of a pass intended for James and ran it out to the QV 12. 

After penalties pushed QV back to their own five, Moser overthrew Vescio on third and fourteen for his only interception of the night, which was returned to the Quaker Valley six-yard line.  One play later, the Gladiators made QV pay for the mistake and scored on a Delvin Coleman six-yard run.  

SA then tried to capitalize on its momentum by trying an onside kick which was recovered near mid-field by QV sophomore Marcus Coury.  Vescio made the Gladiators pay on the next play when he turned a sweep left into a 53-yard TD run. 

"South Allegheny had seen that play to the other side with Wilson, but I ran it to the weak side and I got a few great blocks," Vescio said. "Once I hit the seam it was just a foot race with the safety to the end zone."

Vescio finished with 73 yards rushing to go along with 110 yards receiving and two touchdowns. 

Vescio leads QV in rushing, receiving and scoring, but won't take all of the credit. 

"This is a team game," Vescio said. "Every play everyone has a job to do to be successful.  It feels great when it all comes together."

Quaker Valley had the extra-point try blocked and led 16-7 going into the final quarter. 

South Allegheny wasn't done scoring and drove the length of the field to close the gap to 16-13 on a one-yard keeper from Fox. 

On the next drive, the Quakers had momentum against them and the game on the line, but the offense came up big. 

Moser kept the ball on a quarterback option for 12 yards on a third and 10 to keep the drive alive. The Gladiators then tightened their defense and forced Quaker Valley to punt with four minutes left.  That is when made a fake punt call, and Moser connected with Vescio for a 17-yard completion down to the Gladiators' 30. 

Quaker Valley then drove inside of South Allegheny's 10-yard line before stalling out and turning the ball over on downs.  

South Allegheny's final drive ended when Moser picked off a Dylan Fox pass with 1:30 left to seal the Quaker Valley victory. 

Moser finished with 135 yards passing and Quaker Valley out gained the Gladiators 304 to 272. 

Quaker Valley travels to Burgettstown next week for a rare Saturday game at 1:30 p.m.  The Quakers go into that game hoping to pull their section and overall record to .500. 

"We had a physical week of practice and despite all of our injuries figured out a way to win," Vescio said, summing up Friday night's victory. "Most of all we had fun out there tonight, which felt good." 

As the leaves change in , so are things in the Quaker Valley football program.  

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Chuck Moser provided this summary of Friday's game. Patch thanks Chuck for a wonderful write up!