Linebacker Joey Lutz makes his voice heard on North Hills defense

By: Josh Rowntree
Saturday, October 26, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Previous Next

Like most kids his age, Joey Lutz enjoys playing video games in his free time. But one game has captured his attention the most of late.

Lutz, a junior linebacker at North Hills, frequently plays the new EA Sports NCAA Football video game. Thanks to some creativity and a downloadable team feature, Lutz can play as North Hills in the game and gets to control himself as he takes on other WPIAL teams.

“I think I’m like an 80 (rating) in the game,” Lutz said. “I like playing with all of our guys and stat padding everybody.”

On the actual field, Lutz has been padding his own stats. He’s the leader of a physical and highly productive Indians defense that, through Week 8, had helped North Hills to a 7-2 record — equaling the program’s highest win total since 2010.

“We’ve really been good on defense and he’s been one of the guys who has stood out,” said North Hills coach Pat Carey. “He’s just been really significant as a junior for us.

“He’s a really smart player. He’s a 4.0 GPA student in the classroom. He’s a leader on the field. He gets us organized as the quarterback of the defense. He has an intensity that is unmatched. He has a really great knack for beating blocks, one that I haven’t seen in a while. He has an ability to rip through and get through and put himself in position to make plays. He’s an old-school North Hills guy.”

The turnaround for North Hills — which went 4-6 last season and 3-8 the year prior — has been fueled by a camaraderie within the locker room, according to Lutz. It’s one that has spilled onto the field and has allowed each guy to be their own player while thriving in a unique scheme developed by Carey and his coaches.

“Everybody has all bought in,” Lutz said. “The guys up front keep the blocks off me. Our other linebackers let me take shots since they have my back on the backside. And our defensive backs can get to the quarterback or get to the running back.

“I said it back in March, I just feel like this group is a lot tighter than the last two groups we had. Everyone gets along and we all play for each other.”

Carey has seen progress with his defense, which allowed just 13 points per game through its first nine games and had held four opponents to single-digit scoring outputs.

“We have 11 guys who are playing tremendous defense right now,” he said. “Individually, we’re pretty good. But collectively, we’re really good. And Joey is one of the guys who benefits from the play of all of those kids. It’s a great group of kids who have bought into the scheme and the work ethic. It’s been a great year for us on defense.”

But, beyond the tackles and sacks, what Carey really enjoys about Lutz is, as he describes it, his “big personality.”

“He talks way too much when he’s off the field,” Carey said with a laugh. “We have to almost muzzle him at times because he’s talking so much. But the thing that I like about him is that, with that big personality, when he steps between the lines, he’s all business. You can count on that. He’s just a great kid.”

Lutz, however, does use that talkative personality to aid the team.

“All I do is talk. Everybody says it,” he said. “But it helps a lot, communicating with my teammates and echoing the calls on the field. Communication is very big for our team. It helps us a lot.”

Lutz worked hard in the offseason, training with the help of his father and bettering his size and speed while participating in 7-on-7 competitions.

“I feel faster and I think my tackling is way better,” Lutz said. “I just have more of a nose for the football.”

He leads the Indians with 85 tackles and has pitched in five sacks and 10 tackles for loss while primarily getting to focus on defense, playing just reserve roles on the other side of the ball. And he’s totally fine with the defense-only assignment.

“That’s what I like to do,” he said. “I like to hit people.”

But there is a softer side to the 6-foot-1, 197-pounder. He helps Carey teach a class of special education students at North Hills High School.

“I really like it,” Lutz said. “It’s something I want to pursue when I’m older, to work with those people. They always have a smile on their face and they’re always happy. It makes me happy to be able to help them.”

Lutz has collegiate visits scheduled for Cornell and Miami (Ohio), and the likelihood of playing Division I football is strong for the junior.

But, before that happens, he has some unfinished business at North Hills, and hopes to continue the good times for the Indians and their fans, who have been reenergized thanks to the strong season.

“It’s been great,” he said. “It’s great seeing everybody come out. Everybody is starting to buy into us a little bit. It’s definitely something special.”

Tags: North Hills