UPPER PROVIDENCE >> Danny Koehler knew he’d have his second. He, like many others, simply figured it’d arrive in a distinct vogue.
After ready within the ranks behind Ethan Kohler for 3 years, Koehler debuted as Perkiomen Valley’s beginning quarterback this previous season. In a Week 2 sport towards Downingtown West, Koehler was introduced down on a play and heard the clicking in his left knee.
An ACL tear meant the senior’s season got here to an finish and with it, his time on the varsity area for Perkiomen Valley.
“It’s been onerous. It stinks. I used to be wanting ahead to the season, however on the finish of the day, it’s only a sport,” Koehler mentioned. “It was enjoyable whereas it lasted and life goes on.”
Koehler discovered himself a brand new function on the crew, being a degree of steering and management from the sideline and within the locker room. On Sunday, he was named the David L. Freed award recipient on the thirty fifth annual Pioneer Athletic Convention coaches affiliation banquet on the RiverCrest Golf Membership in Phoenixville.
The David L. Freed award is called after the Spring-Ford lineman who died throughout a apply in 1975 after colliding with a spring-loaded blocking machine, which has been out of use since. The award is given to a senior who embodies dedication, self enchancment and unquestioning religion of the award’s namesake.
Given the character of the award, in addition to the previous few months of his life, Koehler took a second to replicate on each his varsity profession and what the harm did to broaden his lens.
“It made me understand there are larger issues on the market than sports activities,” Koehler mentioned. “It’s actually about who you might be as an individual that issues in life and that’s what persons are going to recollect you for.”
The particular award winners pose for a photograph on the PAC Soccer Banquet on Jan. 8 at RiverCrest Golf Membership. (Evan Wheaton – MediaNews Group)
Mercury All-Space Participant of the Yr and All-State linebacker Carson Pascoe was named Liberty defensive participant of the yr after a stellar marketing campaign for Perkiomen Valley. Phoenixville’s Ahmid Spivey was named the Frontier defensive participant of the yr.
Pope John Paul II’s Nyzir Lake and Perkiomen Valley’s Cole Euker had been named the two-way gamers of the yr for the Frontier and Liberty divisions, respectively. Pope John Paul II operating again Boyd Skarbek and Spring-Ford vast receiver Zach Zollers had been named Frontier and Liberty MVPs.
Spring-Ford quarterback Matt Zollers and Perkiomen Valley operating again Ryan Klimek had been named co-Liberty offensive gamers of the yr whereas Higher Merion’s Nolan Clayton was given the distinction on the Frontier facet.
The Invoice Rodgers Lineman of the Yr award’s recipients had been Pottsgrove’s Mark White for the Frontier and Spring-Ford’s Luke Pajovich for the Liberty.
“It’s nice, all of the work in the summertime particularly,” Pajovich mentioned on ending his profession with Spring-Ford, which made a run within the District 1 bracket. “Final yr, it didn’t finish how we needed it with districts. This yr, profitable towards Ridley was a extremely huge deal for us and I feel we left all of it out on the sphere.”
Higher Merion’s TJ Hanley was named this yr’s Joseph Edwards Scholarship recipient.
Sophomore Pat MacDonald took Koehler’s place at quarterback and went on to finish 95 of his 149 passes for 1,187 yards, 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions for a 144.30 QBR this previous fall. The younger sign caller led Perkiomen Valley to an 11-2 file with a PAC title over Pope John Paul II and got here inside one level of advancing to what would have been this system’s first ever District 1 championship sport.
Following Perkiomen Valley’s district semifinal loss to Central Bucks West, MacDonald credited Koehler for serving to him put together every week and involvement he saved throughout apply. On Sunday, Koehler reciprocated that mutual respect.
“It was superior to see. He didn’t have a single JV sport below his belt and he acquired thrown in with in all probability our two hardest video games towards Cheltenham and Roman Catholic for his first varsity experiences,” Koehler mentioned.
In tune with Koehler’s evaluation and the way the David L. Freed award got here to be, Perkiomen Valley coach Rob Heist gave the closing remarks on the banquet, focusing his time on the podium to remind these in attendance of life being larger than soccer.
Heist referenced the latest harm to Buffalo Payments security Damar Hamlin, who suffered cardiac arrest and was administered CPR on the sphere throughout a sport towards the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2.
The ordeal polarized the NFL and far of the skilled sports activities world, and given Hamlin’s near-death expertise, Heist took the time to reiterate that these in attendance ought to keep in mind to take inventory of what’s most vital.
“I feel we had been reminded a bit, I hope anyway, final Monday evening of the place sports activities and video games must be ranked in our collective precedence listing after we watched the harm to Damar Hamlin for the Buffalo Payments final Monday evening in a soccer sport,” Heist addressed. “Soccer is simply that, it’s a sport. Sure, it’s vital and typically it feels extra vital than perhaps it’s.”
Heist admitted he can get caught up within the sport as a lot as anybody, jokingly noting his lack of sleep through the buildup to video games towards PAC rival Spring-Ford every year.
“I in all probability put a bit of an excessive amount of emphasis on it. I don’t know if (Spring-Ford) coach (Chad) Brubaker would agree with me on it or not, but it surely appears to eat my every-waking second. And it in all probability shouldn’t,” Heist mentioned. “It’s a sport, it’s meant to be enjoyable. Sure, we take it severely, we’re all aggressive, that’s why we’re all on this room proper now. However I do suppose we have to perceive the precedence.”
The banquet was closed out with Heist calling for everybody to be conscious of these of their communities, for higher remedy of officers and for these in attendance to proceed to assist the sport that introduced all of them collectively on Sunday.
