It was no big secret who Upper Perkiomen wanted to get the ball to once the Indians were on offense.

        If it was a run play, it was a safe bet to say that senior running back Aidan Schaffer would get the carry. And if the play was through the air, count on the fact that sophomore quarterback Jacob Breyer would be looking the way of senior standout receiver Travis Kline.

        And that strategy worked. The above-mentioned quartet played a big hand in last Friday night’s Homecoming tilt against Pottstown, figuring in on all but one yard of the Tribe’s offensive output. But in the end, it was the Trojans who jumped out to an early lead and then held on from there to post a 28-14 victory.

        Schaffer, who is currently the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s third leading rusher with 931 yards on 178 carries and 14 touchdowns, was held in check by a tough Pottstown defense. He finished with 62 yards on 28 carries and one score, most of which came under his direction of the Indians’ (1-6, 1-7) wildcat offense.

        With Upper Perk’s ground game stymied, the Indians went to the air. Breyer finished 9 of 30 for 128 yards with one score and Schaffer completed one pass for 9 yards. Kline was the recipient of all of those receiving yards as he pulled in 10 catches for 137 yards and one touchdown. He is currently the league’s top receiver with 671 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 37 receptions.

        Upper Perk, which trailed by two scores in the first quarter, cut the lead in half as Kline pulled in a 32-yard scoring pass. The Trojans (1-5, 1-7) answered with two unanswered scores before Upper Perk started to mount a comeback. It all started as Schaffer bulled his way into the end zone from 1-yard out in the third quarter. The Tribe went back to work on its next offensive touch, driving the ball deep into Pottstown territory. But an interception in the end zone prevented Upper Perk from making it a one-score game and the Trojans were able to keep the ball on the ground to run out the clock and spoil Upper Perk’s Homecoming for its first victory of the season.

        Defensively, Upper Perk saw Randy Godshall and Justin Crossley split a sack, and Kline helped out the effort with an interception from his safety position.

        Upper Perk will look to make the necessary adjustments as it will travel to Phoenixville tomorrow night. The Phantoms got off the season to a promising start with a 3-0 league mark with victories over Owen J. Roberts, Pottstown and Pope John Paul, which combined have three wins. Phoenixville, though, has been humbled the past three weeks as it has run into the PAC-10 buzz saw of Perkiomen Valley, Boyertown and Pottsgrove.

        Last week, the Phantoms fell 52-14 to Pottsgrove as the Phantoms were held to seven first downs and 191 total yards, most of which came late in the contest with the game out of hand. In that game, quarterback Donnie Jackson filled in for injured starter Kyle Karkosa.

        Phoenixville’s defense, meanwhile, is very similar statistically to Upper Perk’s, as the Phantoms give up an average of 373 yards a game compared to the Tribe’s 372-yard average. That parity also carries over to the offensive side of the ball, as Upper Perk’s offense (ranked sixth in the league) averages 246 yards, compared to Phoenixville’s 204-yard-per game average.