Talk about going down to the wire.

            Upper Perkiomen's football team needed 47 minutes and 28 seconds of regulation before it was able to seal the victory in its home opener against Fleetwood, 28-21, last Friday night.

            The Tribe (2-0), which never trailed during the contest, did see the Tigers (1-1)

Tribe runningback Zach Schwartz runs the ball up the middle on the team's first possession of the game Friday night against  Fleetwood.  Schwartz ran for 64 yards and a score on four  touches.

even the score twice: once with 22 seconds before half to make it 14-14, and then again in the third quarter after Upper Perk took the opening possession of the second half for a score, only to have Fleetwood repay the favor on its next offensive drive.

            The Indians went three-and-out on its next offensive drive and was forced to punt at its own 50. But they regained possession a clutch third-and-long interception by Benjamin Sands on their own 30-yard line.

            With the momentum, the Tribe orchestrated a seven-play, 70-yard scoring drive that culminated with a four-yard keeper on a counter by junior quarterback Logan O'Donnell to give the home team a 28-21 edge with 9:31 left.

            But Fleetwood wasn't done yet, as the Tigers' Brody Nowartowski picked off O'Donnell on the Indians' 18. Four plays later, Upper Perk was facing second-and-goal from the five.

            Fleetwood's next play went to the end zone, but a holding call brought the ball back, and Indians' sophomore defensive end Nate Schramm tallied a sack on third-and-six from the eight for an 11-yard loss. The fourth down pass was tipped and fell incomplete to the turf with 32 ticks left.

            "Fleetwood always gives us a good battle since last year and we expect it to be a dog fight," said Indians head coach Dan Heinrichs. "I had faith in our defense at that point. We had trouble stopping them but our conditioning and preparation paid off."
            Upper Perkiomen's 2-0 start is the first since the 2017 season when it defeated Boyertown and Kutztown in the first two contests en route to a 7-5 mark.

            "Sitting at 2-0 is a great feeling," Heinrichs said. "It's a major improvement from last year's start but we have to keep working on climbing the mountain and not getting overtaken by the view."

            Upper Perk was able to control both sides of the line, piling up more than 200 rushing yards for the second straight week. Center Jonathan Strohl, guards Dylan Marshall and Jeddidiah Ianuari, tackles Tice Hallman and Maddux Diaz and tight end Matt Delzingaro paved the way up front for the Indians' three-headed running back attack.

            Brody Weiss led the ground game with 12 carries for 81 yards and a score as he ran mostly between the tackles. He was paced with 64 yards and a score on 14 touches from senior speedster back Zach Schwartz, as sophomore Zach Adam also played a hand with his 44 yards on seven carries.

            O'Donnell finished three of seven for 50 yards with a TD and two INTs. Aiden Void (16 yards), Schwartz (15 yards) and Delzingaro (19 yards, TD) all pulled in one reception apiece.

            Defensively, Upper Perk had to contend with Fleetwood's two-quarterback, run-heavy offense. The Indians held Fleetwood to 152 rushing yards and 233 overall. Weiss led the team with 13 tackles and one for a loss and was paced by a 7-tackle outing from Diaz at defensive tackle. Sophomore Braeden O'Donnell and Jose Montero (tackle for a loss) each had three tackles, and Kane Krier had a pair of solo tackles and broke up a pass.

            "We strive ourselves in great run play and offensive and defensive line physicality," Heinrichs said. "We still have things to clean up and need to keep working on special teams and our throwing game."
            Upper Perk's special teams gave the team a boost on the first play of the game as kicker Brody Lash pooched the opening kickoff and Schwartz raced to pounce on it at the Tigers' 25.

            But the offense went three-and-out and the 38-yard field goal attempt on fourth down was no good. Upper Perk got on the board early in the second quarter as Void's reception set Upper Perk up at the 16. Three plays later, Schwartz raced off left tackle for an 11-yard score. Fleetwood answered on its next drive, but Ianuari blocked the extra point to make it 7-6.

            Weiss put Upper Perk ahead on its next drive as he took a counter off the right side and churned his legs through contact to the end zone from 24 yards out. But Fleetwood answered right before the half with a score on a 2-yard run and converted the 2-point conversion pass to tie it up, 14-14.

            Delzingaro's 19-yard touchdown reception on a bootleg pass from O'Donnell opened the scoring in the second half, and O'Donnell capped the scoring early in the fourth quarter with his 4-yard romp. Upper Perk faced third-and-13 on that drive at the 23, but a facemask to Zach Adam on a 5-yard run sustained the drive and moved the ball to the Tigers' 7-yard-line.

            Upper Perk will host Sun Valley tomorrow night at 7 p.m. The Vanguards, of the             Ches-Mont League, are 1-1 after a 37-7 victory over Great Valley last week, and a season-opening 33-20 setback to Penncrest. Sun Valley features a formidable passing game, as it has thrown for over 200 yards in the first two games and has amassed more than 340 yards of total offense.

            "We are going to keep doing what we have been doing and make practices harder than what Friday night should be," Heinrichs said. "Need to be ready to cover as they bring a talented receiver group up here this week. Our defensive backs must be disciplined."