Telegraph photo by TOM KING Bishop Guertin's Joey Lupo just keeps coming at you, but that wrap on his right hand for a broken finger means he'll be on the sidelnes for the next week or two.

NASHUA – Joey Lupo is a mathematician; numbers are his thing.

Then he must know the formula for speed and velocity, because he’s all flash and dash when it comes to his play on the football field for Bishop Guertin High School.

“I don’t know, I guess I have good genes,” Lupo said. “All during my sports seasons I try to use my speed as much as I can. So I’m always working on it.”

Lupo has been a sparkplug for the Cardinals all season, and was hoping to take things a step further tonight vs. rival Nashua North in their key West Conference battle at Stellos Stadium.

But a broken finger suffered in last week’s loss to Merrimack will keep him out for tonight and who knows how many more games.

For the Cards, it’s a huge loss. Lupo has always been a good return man the last couple of years, but this year, due to injuries, he’s been a quarterback, running back, and receiver on offense and a defensive back. He already has three interceptions, plus multiple rushing and receiving TDs. Oh, and he has two punt returns for scores.

“He’s done it all,” Guertin coach John Trisciani, who also has used Lupo as an outside linebacker, said. “I actually told the kids the last couple of weeks, what I love most about Joey Lupo is he’s 100 percent effort in every game, and 100 percent effort in every practice. He’s definitely someone the younger kids can look to as a role model. He’s everything you want in a football player. … Whatever the coach needs or the team needs he’s willing to do, which is helpful.”

“My coaches have always been really enthusiastic about helping me, pushing me all the way to be the best I can,” Lupo said. “They’ve been really good to me.”

What’s Lupo’s favorite position on either side of the ball?

“That’s a tough question,” Lupo said. “Quarterback (mainly as a Wildcat), I love it, you’re a leader out there, it’s your offense. But wide receiver’s a blast, too, the quarterback’s putting it out there for you, see what you can do with the ball.

“And defense is fun, too, because you don’t know what could happen. You could have an interception that could change the whole game.”

Lupo returns kicks on instincts.

“When I look back, I say, ‘How did I do that?'” he said. “But it’s all in the moment. Just look for the green grass, and you’ve just got to take it.”

The ball just seems to find Lupo.

“Before this year, I didn’t have a single pick,” he said. “I’d just try to swat it down. But now, when the ball’s in the air, I think it’s my ball.”

He loves the variety he’s enjoyed this year.

“I just love seeing what all the different positions have to offer,” Lupo said. “I’ve always only been playing one thing on offense, one thing on defense. But being exposed to those different things is an eye-opener.”

Lupo is also an attackman in lacrosse, just another time when he can use that speed. He started playing football in the second grade, but this may be the end of football, for a couple of reasons.

One, he’s applying to the U.S. Naval Academy, where his sister,Katie, a BG alum, currently is. “It’s an opportunity you won’t see anywhere else,” he said. And two, he doesn’t want to undergo the physical pounding at that higher level.

“From what I’ve seen, people come out of college (football) like cripples,” he said. “It’s a lot of work, and I don’t think it’s too healthy for you.”

Lupo will have even more time to work on that speed when for the first time he’ll run indoor track this winter. It’s his senior year, he figures, why not try something new?

But what’s new for him this week, stranded on the sidelines, isn’t fun. Lupo is upset he can’t play Friday for another reason: the challenge of going against North standout Curtis Harris, who certainly knows a thing or two about speed.

“That’s why I’m bummed about it, because I want to play against him,” Lupo said. “He is a fast guy. Last year he was running all over us, and I just wanted to take a stab at it. I have all the respect in the world for him. He’s a good player.”

Harris has been quarterbacking the Titans now since the latter part of last year; like Lupo, he’s been an all-purpose player on both sides of the ball.

Lupo, when he first got inserted at QB in the win over South, he wasn’t exactly sure what to do – a clear case of baptism by fire. He threw four passes, two were completions.

“I’ll be honest, it was kind of tough,” he said, “because in 10 or so years of football I had never taken a snap. I knew the plays, we’d been practicing them the week before, but I had never done anything in game situations. I just gave it my all and it turned out well for us.

“When you’re looking at quarterback, you’re like, ‘It can’t be too hard.’ But then you’re in there and it’s ‘Oh man, there’s a lot going on, a lot you have to think about.'”

What has made this year a breakout year for Lupo? He says it’s his teammates and the leadership of his fellow seniors.

“We have a bunch of guys who really, really want to play,” Lupo said. “And we’re all having a blast. We’re in it. We love it.”

“He’s been the big play guy for sure,” Trisciani said.

Lupo is also on the school’s math team. See, the numbers always seem to work out in his favor.

“Growing up I’ve always loved it,” he said. “It just clicks for me.”

“He’s a smart kid,” Trisciani said. “I keep telling him that I don’t know how much those school smarts translate onto the football field. … But I knew he was going to be really, really important for us.”

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