Perkiomen Valley throttles PW in opener

If Perkiomen Valley's Rasaan Stewart continues to dazzle with the ball in his hands, his projected position in college could switch from defensive back to quarterback.

In Friday night's season opener against Plymouth Whitemarsh, the 6-foot-1, 188-pound senior, directing four first-half scoring drives with his arm and quick feet, sparked the visiting Vikings to a surprising 33-0 romp.

"I do like playing quarterback, but I know schools want me as a D-back," said Stewart, who has 12 scholarship offers, including from Pittsburgh, Rutgers, and Syracuse.

PV did all of its scoring before intermission. Stewart completed 7 of 10 passes for 94 yards and three touchdowns as the visitors, who reversed last year's 20-14 loss to the Colonials, built a for-keeps advantage.

"We came out fired up and focused," Stewart said. "Jumping on them early was the most important thing."

The Vikings defense did its part as well. After allowing PW to total more than 300 yards on the ground last year, the unit repeatedly stymied PW's option attack and caused four turnovers (three interceptions).

"Offensively, we had a lot of mental mistakes," Colonials coach Dan Chang said. "And we just got beat up, physically. It looked like they were moving twice as fast as we were."

Among the leaders on defense for PV were linebackers Anthony Rotonda, Danny Light and Pat Delaney, linemen Luke DiElsi, Anthony Pachella and Seth Jonassen, and backs Liam Grande and Kurran Holland.

"I think we were aggressive right from the start, didn't give them any shot at momentum," said Pachella, who registered a third-quarter sack.

The Vikings' first score came when Taiyir Wilson blocked a punt attempt, scooped up the ball at the 27, and rumbled into the end zone.

Then, two plays after Light pounced on a fumble, Stewart connected with wideout Dakota Clanagan for a 15-yard touchdown. Clanagan's 16-yard run preceded the score.

Late in the first quarter, Stewart went back to Clanagan for a 35-yard strike that upped the advantage to 19-0. "There's a chemistry between me and the receivers," Stewart said. "We took what we had last year, and upped it up a notch."

In the second frame, Stewart hit Clay Domine, his top target last year, for a 12-yard TD that capped an eight-play, 49-yard series. Mark Bonomo's 1-yard plunge before the break closed the scoring.

Perkiomen Valley 19 14 0 0 - 33

Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 0 0 0 - 0

PV: Taiyir Wilson 27 with blocked punt (Clay Domine kick)

PV: Dakota Clanagan 15 pass from Rasaan Stewart (kick failed)

PV: Clanagan 35 pass from Stewart (kick failed)

PV: Domine 12 pass from Stewart (Anthony Rotonda pass from Stewart)

PV: Mark Bonomo 1 run (run failed)