Pope John Paul II proves no match for Perkiomen Valley

GRATERFORD >> Before its first play from scrimmage Friday night, Pope John Paul II was called for delay of game.

Perkiomen Valley didn’t wait around.

The explosive Vikings detonated early and often en route to a 56-8 blowout before their homecoming crowd at Thomas J. Keenan Stadium.

It was about what you would expect when an undefeated powerhouse – Perkiomen Valley is now 5-0 in the PAC-10 and 6-0 overall – and a winless team meet in midseason. The Vikings are rounding into down-the-stretch, playoff-priming form, and they didn’t mess around on a messy field.

Perk Valley put up 49 first-half points and a ridiculous 434 yards of total offense the first two quarters. Junior southpaw quarterback Stephen Sturm remained interception-free for the season, and with four touchdown passes in only one half of work he now has 19 TD throws. Sturm completed 12-of-16 for 235 yards.

PV’s balanced, no-huddle, no-mercy-but-the-mercy clock attack was on full display, its numerous playmakers showcasing their skills through the first two quarters.

“We try to do that pretty much every game,” junior receiver Sean Owens said. “Get everyone the ball, and we’ve had success with everyone contributing. It’s going well for us.

“Every week we’re trying to get better. Every week in practice we try to speed things up and go as fast as we can, get the pass game going, the run game going. The line gives Steve a ton of time to throw and run. Everyone contributes. The defense had another great game. It’s a team effort.”

Justin Jaworski (four receptions, 110 yards) motored for two TDs after taking short receptions, and added a third via rushing. Speedster David Williams had a TD rushing and one receiving.

Williams caught four passes for 81 yards and added 51 rushing. Ronnie Arch roared for a 62-yard TD run as the Vikings rushed for 199 in the first half alone.

The defense was outstanding, led by the two sacks from T.J. Foley.

“Coach told us to go out there and play smart and have a perfect game,” Williams said. “We’re getting ready for the second half (of the season). I think everything is right and tight.

“It all opened up the way the play-calling went. The offensive line did a great job.”

PJP (0-5 PAC-10, 0-6 overall) couldn’t get anything going from the outset. The Golden Panthers kept competing but they found themselves in a situation similar to other Perk Valley opponents:

Once the train gets rolling, there’s no stopping it. And it started early this night.

Less than four minutes into the game, Sturm hit the versatile Jaworski on the left sideline and the shifty junior made people miss and bounce off him as he tore down the field to paydirt. After a

PJP three-and-out, Sturm hit Williams for 24 yards on first down and for a 23-yard score four plays later.

It was 21-zip with 3:09 left in the first quarter when Jaworski struck again, this time from 28 yards out in the flat. Aaron Morton ran a nice crossing route and collected a perfect pass from Sturm to make it 28-0 early in the second quarter.

A 13-yard Williams run, Arch’s blast through bodies and Jaworski’s 38-yard burst made it 49-0 with 1:20 left in the first half. A highlight-tape run by Williams in which he reversed field and got a 26-yard gain out of little initial daylight preceded the Jaworski score.

Senior quarterback Matt Duff, senior running back Andrew Salvo and sophomore receiver Dan Cirino did the bulk of the work for PJP in the first half against the staunch PV defense, each of them showing grit going into the teeth of a deep defense. In the second half, PJP sophomore quarterback Matt DeLaurentis showed potential while getting some opportunities to pass. He found Cirino for a nice throw and TD catch, and the pair followed with a two-pointer with 8:09 left in the fourth quarter.