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Upper Perkiomen Scores 28 Unanswered to Pull Away from West Chester East

 
Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| September 11, 2026

It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. The start was a bit rough for the Indians of Upper Perkiomen, but the finish was more than strong enough to propel the Indians past the Vikings. Zach Adams’ 51-yard run down the far sideline on the third play of the second half capped a 28-0 run and Upper Perkiomen went on to win 45-27.

The Indians entered Thursday night’s week 3 contest having not allowed a point yet on the season. West Chester East put an end to that streak very quickly. After returning the opening kickoff back to midfield, Cooper Verbos shook off tacklers and raced down to the Upper Perk 18. Two plays later, Logan Cummings hit Shane Dougherty in the back of the end zone for the quick 7-0 lead and the Indians’ first deficit of the season.

 

Upper Perk kept serve. Grayson Sabo connected with Liam Weiss for a 30-yard gainer, flipping field position and putting the Indians in business. On a screen pass, Zach Adam accelerated and kept his feet, going 30 yards for the tying touchdown with 5:39 left in the first.

It’d be a theme of quick scores and big plays as the pair of 2-0 teams looked to remain unbeaten. WC East countered just one play later on a little toss in the backfield to Verbos, who zipped over the right side 52 yards for a 14-7 lead.

With great field position and starting in West Chester East territory after a long kickoff return, Upper Perkiomen had another response in them. Sabo, scrambling to his right, threw back to the middle of the end zone to a wide open Aaron Maiden. However, the play was called back for a hold. The Indians settled for a 35-yard Brody Lash field goal and trailed 14-10 after a quarter.

West Chester’s offense stalled out first, with a block in the back leading to a 4th & 18 and a punt. It took only one play for the Indians to take a 17-14 lead. Sabo threw back across the field to Maiden. His defender had position but couldn’t break the pass up. Maiden snagged it and ran the ball in the last 20 yards for the Indians’ first lead of the night.

Cummings got a pass out in the flat to Dougherty, who took off down the sideline, ready to help the Vikings get the lead back. However, the ball was punched out after a 30 yard gain and Zach Adam recovered. And while that turnover didn’t turn into points for the Indians, the next one did. After crossing into Upper Perk territory, Cummings fired high over his receiver and into the waiting arms of Ben Sands.

On yet another bog play for Upper Perk, the field was flipped when Zach Adam took over one more time. First, it was a 52-yard deep bomb down the right side behind the defense. And then he carried it 18 more yards to set up Sabo for the eventual 7-yard touchdown. With 2:12 to go in the half, Upper Perk was back in front 24-14. And they weren’t done yet.

Head coach Dan Heinrichs called for the pooch kick onside try. The ball went over the first wave of blockers and the Indians pounced on the ball. Liam Weiss made an incredible leaping grab on the next playu for 30 yards, setting up a 1st & Goal at the 10. Sabo tossed a rainbow over coverage and into the hands of his TE Nate Schramm in the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown. When the clock finally hit 0:00 in the half, Upper Perkiomen had scored 21 straight and led 31-14.

At the break, Sabo was 9/10 for 228 yards, three touchdowns and had run for a score. Zach Adam was already at 150 offensive yards.

The Indians also received the kickoff to open the third. It was either going to be a momentum flip in favor of West Chester East, or a commanding lead for Perk.

Zach Adam made it the latter. Three plays into the third quarter, he blasted through the middle of the trenches and jetted his way to pay dirt for the score. With 10:16 remaining in the third, Upper Perk had a stranglehold on the game at 38-14.

West Chester clung to life, converting a 4th & 6 pass on a 12-yard throw to Matt Kendro near the sideline. A short throw to Verbos was extended by his escapability and he found his way 20 yards to the end zone, cutting the deficit to 38-20 with 8:03 to go in the third.

But mistakes compounded for the Vikings all night. Three turnovers and ten penalties were a major part of their undoing. On the other side, steady running by Zach Adam and a 32-yard touchdown jaunt by Corbin Engle kept things moving for the Indians and wore down the East defensive line.  Aaron Maiden flexed his defensive muscle, coming up with a big breakup on a desperation heave that forced a fourth down. Another incompletion was the final chance for East.

Upper Perkiomen(3-0) will next travel to Kennett, while West Chester East(2-1) heads home to take on Methacton.

 

Upper Perkiomen 45, West Chester East 27

Score by Quarters

West Chester East – 14 0 6 7 – 27

Upper Perkiomen – 10 21 7 7 – 45

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

WCE – Shane Dougherty 5-yd pass from Logan Cummings(Essaf kick), 10:33 3-50

UP – Zach Adam 30-yd pass from Grayson Sabo(Lash kick), 5:39 8-69

WCE – Cooper Verbos 52-yd run(Essaf kick), 1-52, 5:23

UP – Brody Lash 35-yd FG, 5-24 2:12

Second Quarter

UP – Aaron Maiden 44-yd pass from Grayson Sabo(Lash kick), 11:31 1-44

UP – Grayson Sabo 7-yd run(Lash kick), 1:30 4-78

UP – Nathan Schramm 5-yd pass from Grayson Sabo(Lash kick), :28 4-40

Third Quarter

UP – Zach Adam 51-yd run(Lash kick), 10:16 3-72

WCE – Cooper Verbos 22-yd run(2-pt play failed), 8:04 6-62

Fourth Quarter

UP – Corbin Engle 32-yd run(Lash kick), 11:04 7-68

WCE – Logan Cummings 4-yd run(Essaf kick), 9:39 6-67

Passing: UP – Sabo 12-15-239-3-0; WCE – Cummings 14-21-212-2-2

Rushing: UP – Adam 20-153-2, Engle 4-37-1, Sabo 5-38-1, Pedrick 2-14, Maiden 1-7;  WCE – Verbos 6-106-1, Muniz 3-6, Kendro 1(-3), McCloskey 1-6, Cummings 6-35-1, Golden 1-12

Receiving: UP – Maiden 3-62-1, Weiss 3-67, Adam 3-86-1, Sands 1-8, Schramm 1-5-1, O’Donnell 1-11 WCE – Golden 5-67, Kendro 4-57, Dougherty 2-41-1, Verbos 1-22-1, McCloskey 1-15,

INT: UP – Sands, Jones

 
 
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