High School Lacrosse: Vikings bounce back with 18-7 win over Pope John Paul II

Heading into this season, Perkiomen Valley freshman Shaun Dickey was looking just to make the squad, any squad.

Dickey has far exceeded his own or the coaching staff’s expectations. He's not only made the team, he has become an integral part of the Vikings' varsity offense.

On Monday afternoon, as the Vikings traveled to the den of the Golden Panthers of Pope John Paul II, it was Dickey who helped propel Perk Valley to an 18-7 win with five points overall and a hat trick.    

“When I came into the first week of practice I was almost overwhelmed,” said Dickey. “I knew that if I wanted to play that I would have to work to get there. I pick up my stick every day and work on drills all the time.”

All of the hard work is paying off for Dickey and his Vikings, as following a very tough week in the Pac-10 where they dropped back-to-back games against Spring-Ford and Methacton, it was important to bounce back, as the Pioneeer Athletic Conference playoffs loom in the near future.

Perkiomen Valley (5-6 league, 7-5 overall) ran out to a 7-0 first period lead on the strength of three goals by Pete Sciafani (four goals), a tally each by Ryan Boyd (three goals, two assists), Dickey (three goals, two assists), Dennis Flynn and Wes Johnson.

Pope John Paul II (1-10), after a slow start, seized the momentum in the second period and actually outscored the Vikings in the quarter as seniors Reid Gill (two goals, one assist), James Salvo (one assist) and Nick Pollick (two goals, one assist) got a jump on Tuesday night’s senior night celebration by controlling the ball in the Perk Valley for most of the period, heading into the break of a high note.

“We knew this season would be tough,” said Gill. “We have been working so hard all year and refuse to get down on each other, even though we don’t have as many wins as we had hoped at this point. We will continue as seniors to try to set the tone for the younger guys to establish a program here for years to come.”

The Vikings regained the momentum. Led by junior Ryan Boyd, Perk Valley posted the first four goals after the intermission to snag a 13-3 lead before PJP2 broke the string with a laser by Nick Pollick. Goaltender Mike Filopanti, who replaced Bryce Womack following halftime, had no chance of seeing it until it hit twine.

The Golden Panthers' defense regrouped and—thanks to a great effort by Tommy Reeves, Ryan Mitchell and a couple fantastic saves by Josh Bildstein—helped transition the offense to the attack, which enabled them to claw out four of the next five goals of the tilt. Matt Bildstein posted two goals, and Tyler Eads and Pollick each added another.

“Hey, we love to play,” said Reeves. “We want to keep up the physicality and give ourselves chances to score. As a senior, I always try to set the example. We need to show that we will keep working for 48 minutes and let (the other) team know that they may win the game, but it will never be because we quit.”

“I want these guys to be ready, always,” said PJP2 head coach Brian Kilpatrick. “What I mean is ... I want them to be ready that when that one moment presents itself to win the game, we need to be ready for that situation and pounce on our chance. I have been very proud of the way my seniors have set the tone for what we are trying to establish here. I am looking forward to them being honored tomorrow night. It is a very big night for them.”

“I am having a lot of fun,” said Dickey. “Getting a chance to play with great players like Ryan (Boyd) and Pete (Sciafani) makes me better as a player. I hope someday there is a full middle school team so kids, when they come into high school, don’t have get that shock when they first play at this level. It’s a different game than club.”

Next up for the Golden Panthers is a match-up with Pottsgrove on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., preceded by the senior night activities at which seniors Pollick, Gill, Salvo, Reeves, Jimmy Kelly, Mike Sexton, Joe Dedrick and Tom Rodgers will be honored as the first graduating class of seniors in the Pope John Paul II lacrosse program.

Perkiomen Valley   7            2            5            4            -18

Pope John Paul II          0            3            2            2            - 7

Vikings Scoring

Sciafani            4 goals

Boyd                3 goals, 2 assists

Dickey             3 goals, 2 assists

Tornetta            goal

Lynn                 goal, 4 assists

Flynn                goal

Klementisz            goal, assist

Johnson            2 goals, assist

Duryea             assist

Bartowski            goal

Himsworth            goal

Golden Panthers scoring

Gill                   2 goals, assist

Salvo                assist

Pollick              2 goals, assist

Bildstien            2 goals, assist

Eads, M            assist

Eads, T            goal

Goaltenders                (PV) Womack-9 saves

                        (PV) Filopanti- 6 saves

                        (PJP) Bildstein  8 saves

Statistics                       PV                   PJP

Shots                            26                    21

Ground Balls                48                    20

Man Up                       1 of 2               1 of 2

Face Offs won              16                    11