Vikings’ bar remains high under newcoach Heist
A10-2 overall season yielded Perkiomen Valley its first District 1-AAAA home playoff game since 2007.
Stephen Sturm shattered the single-season Pioneer Athletic Conference passing record while Justin Jaworski did the same to the area receiving record. What’s next for the Vikings? Well, apparently more. First-year head coach Rob Heist, taking over for longtime head coach Scott Reed, has set the bar high for the group that returns eight starters from the league’s most potent offense in 2015 (42.7 ppg).
“Since we’re retuning so many people, Coach Heist has definitely set the bar high for us,” Sturm said. “I feel like our team is really special, we’ve been together for so long. We’re returning 14 or so kids on offense and defense and I think we have the ingredients of what a District 1 contender is, we just have to put it all together.”
Sturm returns after destroying the single-season passing record previously set by former PV quarterback Zach Zulli in 2008. His 3,087 yards went along nicely with his 31 touchdown passes (also PAC-10 record) as the Vikings advanced to the second round of the District 1-AAAA playoffs before falling to Pennsbury.
He’s joined by a familiar cast of Jaworski, Sean Owens and David Williams, who will each look to pick up where they left off last season. Jaworski will be the primary target after finishing with 1,195 yards receiv-
ing the record of 1,020 previously set by Upper Perkiomen’s Ronnie Gillespie in 2010. Owens returns after becoming a reliable target after his coming out party against Pottsgrove, where his 92 yards receiving on four receptions was a major component to the team’s momentous early-season victory. Williams will get a heavy workload with the departure of the team’s leading rusher Ronnie Arch (856 yards, 15 touchdowns).
“That’s the good thing about our offense is that everyone can contribute at any time,” Owens said, “We have a great quarterback in Steve and we have four or five guys that can always make plays. As long as each group does their job, we’ll be fine.
“We just have to go in and play hard,” added Williams. “Even though we have a target on our back week in and week out, we just have to push through that.”
Fitting Right In
The Vikings lost one wide receiver to graduation in deep-threat Aaron Morton. Filling in for him will be Kyle Beaudoin, a senior who participated in zero snaps on the offensive side of the ball last season. No worries, though as Sturm and Beaudoin are confident he’ll fit right in.
“Coach (Rob) Heist wanted me and a bunch of players to step up so I’ve been learning the plays and preparing for this year,” Beaudoin said. “It’s been hard but it’s been fun.”
Hold the Line
Last year’s offensive line was the primary concern for the Vikings entering the season after the departures of All-Area first teamers Seth Jonassen and Dan Roh, and second teamer Darrell Philpot. Needless to say, the four newcomers along the line performed in fantastic fashion. The O-line consisting of Vaughn Stolzer, Jahir Holmes, Chris Jimenez, John Tittle and Anthony Rohrbach allowed only 12 sacks in Sturm’s 327 dropbacks (3.6 percent) as the Vikings led the league in total offense (442.8 ypg). Stolzer, Holmes and Jimenez all return in 2016.
All-American
Jimenez will be joining the American Athletic Conference next fall after giving a verbal commitment to Temple University. The 6-5 tackle will join former PV standout Taiyir Wilson, who is listed on the 2016 roster after playing a year of postgrad football at Fork Union Military Academy.
Strength in Schedule
Perk Valley will be tested each of the first four weeks of its non-league schedule as it opens with Downingtown West (9-2 in 2015) before taking on Frankford (7-5), Pennridge (8-4) and The Haverford School (10-0).
Why the Vikings will compete
Offensive firepower. This is the year that Viking faithful have been waiting for since Sturm, Jaworski and company took the field two years ago as sophomores. The past two years have brought increased success and this year should be no different.
What will keep the Vikings back
Notmuch. The skill positions are as solid as ever. The majority of the offensive line is back and ready to go and there was no change with the arrival of Heist, who had been an assistant under Reed and kept the same staff. Only question that remains with the Vikings is how they will fare with facing stiff competition week-after-week. Should be fun to see.