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Perk Valley on a playoff roll

Perkiomen Valley's offense was hitting on all cylinders last Friday against Central Bucks West, ringing up points in pinball-like fashion.

Perkiomen Valley's Taiyir Wilson on the move. (Steven M. Falk/Staff Photographer)
Perkiomen Valley's Taiyir Wilson on the move. (Steven M. Falk/Staff Photographer)Read more

Perkiomen Valley's offense was hitting on all cylinders last Friday against Central Bucks West, ringing up points in pinball-like fashion.

In a PIAA District 1 Class AAAA quarterfinal, quarterback Rasaan Stewart and company registered eight first-half touchdowns in what turned out to be a 60-20 triumph over the Bucks.

"I said to somebody afterward, 'That's a rare thing. We could go out the next 100 games and not duplicate that even if we tried,' " Perkiomen Valley coach Scott Reed said. "Everything was going our way."

The 10-2 Vikings, putting aside their No. 15 seeding, are two wins away from the program's first district title. They will visit No. 11 North Penn (9-3) in a semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Crawford Stadium.

Perkiomen Valley, which went 7-2 in the Pioneer Athletic Conference, opened the tourney with a 26-6 victory over No. 2 seed and previously undefeated West Chester Rustin.

"Sometimes, it's just about the matchups," Reed said. "If there's not a common opponent involved, it's hard to gauge things. Against a certain team, you might have an advantage in certain areas."

The Vikings last reached a district final in 1998, when they fell to Strath Haven in Class AAA. The win over Rustin was the program's first in the Class AAAA playoffs.

In two playoff outings, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Stewart has completed 33 of 54 passes (61.1 percent) for 493 yards and seven touchdowns.

"He never ceases to amaze," Reed said. "It's almost like he's found another gear in the playoffs. He's really elevated his game."

Does Stewart, who is being recruited by Division I-A programs as a defensive back, garner deserved respect as a QB?

"I think he gets it from most people," Reed said. "He's a dynamic athlete. He could help out a college team on offense, but most schools see him as a defensive player."

The other key contributors in a spread attack averaging 37.5 points are running back Mark Bonomo (130 yards and two touchdowns vs. C.B. West) and speedy receivers Dakota Clanagan and Clay Domine.

"He's a really good route runner," Reed said of Clanagan. And Domine? "He's another guy who's really picked it up in the last few weeks."

Up front, the charge is led by center Dan Keller (6-0, 200), guards Sean Coyle (5-8, 225) and Dan Roh (6-3, 265), and tackles Seth Jonassen (6-3, 250) and Andrew Narducci (6-0, 205).

Perkiomen Valley's 3-5-3 defense, which has yielded just 7.5 points per game and notched four shutouts, is headed by linemen Anthony Pachella and Luke DiElsi, linebackers Danny Light and Anthony Rotonda, and backs Stewart and Kurran Holland.

"We're not big at all," Reed said, "but I think we run to the ball well. All of the guys are very competitive."

The Vikings had to adjust their lineup on both sides when Austin Gansz, a senior offensive tackle and linebacker, went down with a broken leg in a Week 9 loss to Pottsgrove.

Extra points. Donte Simmons became Bristol's all-time leading rusher in last Saturday's 19-6 playoff win over Delco Christian. For his career, the junior has carried 632 times for 4,484 yards and 57 TDs. He eclipsed the yardage mark of 4,330 set by Woodrow Vorters in 2010. . . . St. Joseph's Prep (9-2) will play District 11's Easton (10-2) or Parkland (11-1) in a Class AAAA state quarterfinal the weekend of Nov. 29. . . . Next for Imhotep Charter, in a Class AA quarterfinal, is District 2's Lake-Lehman (11-1) or District 11's Catasauqua (11-1). . . . Division I-AA Wagner was at Imhotep this week to recruit several Panthers, including senior linebackers Steve Denby and Randell Hunter. . . . Garnet Valley's Teddy Field, a 6-6, 315-pound sophomore offensive lineman, is scheduled to take his second unofficial visit to Penn State this weekend.