Luke Whary heard a teammate say "ball" and turned his head towards the line of scrimmage. After securing the errant pass, the junior linebacker wasn't

expecting to convert his turnover into points. However, Whary ended up on the bottom of a pile in the end zone too exhausted to celebrate.  "I was definitely tired," he said.

            Whary's 77-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the second quarter sparked the Indians to a 41-14 victory over Pope John Paul II in the Pioneer Athletic Conference on Saturday. The play allowed Upper Perkiomen (3-1 PAC, 5-3 overall) to extend a seven-point lead with 2 minutes, 45 seconds remaining in the quarter and sparked a convincing victory over the previously undefeated Panthers (3-1, 7-1).

            "The pick six was huge," Head coach Tom Hontz said. "I don't exactly know how Luke got all the way to the end zone."

            Whary's big play staked the Indians to a 28-14 advantage. Locked in single coverage, he shadowed Pope John Paul II's slot receiver along the left sideline. After stepping in front of an underthrown pass from Matt DeLaurentis intended for Justin Mitalato, Whary headed towards the opposite sideline. Along the way he dropped a shoulder and ran over Panthers running back Jake Bildstein.  "I figured one of their linemen would get me," Whary said.

            But they couldn't, so Upper Perkiomen went into halftime with a 14-point lead and a boost of confidence.

            In the second half, the team relied on a punishing running game to score two additional touchdowns. Its defense, which pitched a shutout in the second half, forced four turnovers and sacked DeLaurentis twice in the fourth quarter. Head coach Tom Hontz called it a signature win for the Indians.

            "After losing big a few times, and beating the teams we were supposed to, we needed to make a statement," the coach said.

            Tyler Whary ran for a team-high 132 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries for the Tribe, which overcame a 14-13 second quarter deficit to move into second place in the conference's Frontier Division standings. He grounded out 80 of those yards on eight second-half carries. 

            Austin Tutolo contributed 90 rushing yards and one score on 11 carries. Tyrese Reid contributed 62 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Tyler Keyser completed 9-of-16 passes for 156 yards. Ryan Kenrda caught a team-high three passes for 19 yards.

            The Indians took an early 13-0 lead by reaching the end zone twice in the initial two minutes. Trevor Stephen caught a 60-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage to set up a one-yard TD run by Tutolo.

            "When I woke up [Saturday] morning, I decided to throw the ball deep on the first play," Hontz said. "I knew Pope John Paul II's defense would be loaded for the run."

            A fumble by Bildstein on the Panthers initial play from scrimmage set up Upper Perkiomen's next touchdown. Luke Whary's recovery led to a 19-yard run by Tyler Whary.

However, the Panthers responded with consecutive touchdowns. A.J. Natale reached the end zone on a 10-yard run midway through the first quarter. DeLaurentis' one-yard run with 8:03 left in the second quarter put them ahead 14-13.

            Hontz then challenged the Indians' defense to not allow another point. He said the Whary linebacker duo performed especially well, and described safeties Bo Duka and Reid as ball hawks.

            The win could give Upper Perkiomen a home-game in a potential District One Class 4A playoff rematch. Pope John Paul, which takes on Pottsgrove on Friday, II remains in second place in the District One Class 4A standings ahead of the Indians, who host Pottstown on Friday.

             Hontz declined to discuss any post-season scenarios. "It's too early for that," he said. 

            However, Luke Whary said he and his teammates understand the implications and are paying attention to the standings.  "We're very aware," he said.