Jaworski, Perkiomen Valley boys on a roll
After a hard-earned victory at Cheltenham in the first round of last year's PIAA District 1 Class 4A basketball playoffs, Perkiomen Valley coach Mike Poysden scheduled an 8 a.m. Saturday practice.
After a hard-earned victory at Cheltenham in the first round of last year's PIAA District 1 Class 4A basketball playoffs, Perkiomen Valley coach Mike Poysden scheduled an 8 a.m. Saturday practice.
Justin Jaworski, who had netted 29 points against the Panthers despite being regularly double-teamed, showed up much earlier, at 6:45, to work on his shooting and dribbling.
"It's that type of passion and desire to improve that propels him to excel in two sports," Poysden said.
With Jaworski averaging 19.8 points, the Vikings are 15-2 overall and 6-1 in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division. They have won 13 straight games and share the division lead with Spring-Ford.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior starred on the gridiron the last three seasons as a wide receiver, cornerback and kick returner.
Last fall, Jaworski made 78 receptions for 1,415 yards and 14 touchdowns as PV went 12-1, claimed the conference title and advanced to the District 1 Class 6A semifinals.
The 17-year-old aided the squad's late-season run by returning sooner than anticipated from a partially torn medial collateral ligament. He missed only two games.
"I did physical therapy four or five times a week to get back as soon as possible," he said. "I wanted to be there with my teammates."
Jaworski, who earned Inquirer first-team all-Southeastern Pennsylvania honors, and senior quarterback Stephen Sturm were one of the area's top pass-catch duos.
Jaworski shot 7 for 9 from the free-throw line en route to 17 points as the visiting Vikings easily downed Boyertown, 59-36, in Tuesday night's division matchup.
A combination guard who has drilled 41 three-pointers, Jaworski is leaning toward playing hoops in college. He said Kutztown and West Chester are open to the possibility of him being a two-sport athlete.
In addition to Kutztown and West Chester, Jaworski has scholarship offers in basketball from Millersville, St. Anselm and University of the Sciences.
PV's starting lineup also includes senior point guard Sean Owens, 6-1 senior forward Hogan Millheim, 6-1 sophomore forward Tyler Stretchay and junior wing guard Andrew Light.
"I definitely look to get my teammates involved," Jaworski said. "That opens up scoring opportunities for me. Other teams have to play me honestly."
Junior forwards Joe Gorla and Dante Graves, senior guard Axel Lopez, and junior guard Kevin Berbabe are key contributors off the bench.
The Vikings have no player taller than 6-1. "We take a lot of pride in our defense," Poysden said. "Our goal is to keep opponents to single digits in each quarter."
Recognition
Members of Father Judge's 1977 Catholic League championship squad will be honored at halftime of Friday night's game against Bonner-Prendergast.
The Crusaders beat Archbishop Carroll, 56-53, in the league final at the Palestra. Bill Fox's group was led by Tom "Mo" Greenfield, Frank Ciurlino and Bob Convey.
Judge fell short of a city crown when it lost to Gene Banks and West Philadelphia, 72-52. Banks went on star at Duke and play six seasons in the NBA.
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