PA – Central Athletic League | Archive | December, 2015

HAVERFORD >> Haverford High quarterback Jack Donaghy kicked extra points and field goals this season when his good buddy and regular Fords kicker Evan Boyce missed several games due to injury. Kicking was Donaghy’s hidden talent. Since he was a little boy, Donaghy has been a member of the Delco Gaels, one of the premier Irish football clubs in the country. The Gaels are based in Haverford.

“The sport is like rugby, soccer and handball rolled into one,” Donaghy said. “We won five (national championships) in a row and lost the sixth one this year in San Francisco. I’ve become best friends with kids all over Delaware County, and even some Bucks County and Montgomery County kids. Those friends will last forever just because we’ve been playing the sport together since we were 6 years old. “In fact, the Bradley twins (Haverford School’s Conor and Shane) that were (Daily Times) Players of the Year in soccer (in 2013 and 2014), their dad runs the whole program and they’re two of the best gaelic football players on the whole continent. It’s a pretty crazy sport, but it’s a whole lot of fun to play.”

So, when the Fords needed someone to serve as kicker and punter, Donaghy gladly volunteered his services. Those gaelic football skills came in handy.

“I would be clueless out there otherwise,” Donaghy said, laughing. “Just having that little bit of foot skill makes a difference.”

Donaghy is pretty good at his day job, too, which entails throwing the ball, not kicking it. In a senior year to cherish, Donaghy guided Haverford to its first Central League title in 20 years with an epic, 49-42 victory over Upper Darby on Thanksgiving. He threw for 307 yards and scored seven touchdowns that day, including five through the air. The greatest Turkey Day game in county history ended with Donaghy running 19 yards to the end zone with 18 seconds to go in the fourth quarter to give Haverford the lead. With that touchdown scamper, Donaghy locked up 2015 Daily Times Player of the Year honors.

Donaghy headlines the 2015 All-Delco football team selected after consultation with county coaches.

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The 2015 Daily Times Football Player of the Year is Jack Donaghy of Haverford. (Times Staff/Tom Kelly IV)

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NETHER PROVIDENCE >> As the fourth quarter of a tie game opened Tuesday night, Strath Haven’s Alex Ischiropoulos wasn’t thinking about the past. The senior guard didn’t concern himself with the five wins his teams had collected over the last two seasons combined, about the lingering placement in or near the Central League basement the Panthers had often been consigned to. Instead, he pondered how to write a new narrative.

“We knew that we are a fourth-quarter team,” Ischiropoulos said. “We knew that we could win this game and there was no reason why we shouldn’t.”

Ischiropoulos translated his confidence into a pair of fourth-quarter 3-pointers, complementing nine final-stanza points by John Harrar as the Panthers pulled away for a 55-49 win over rival Penncrest. Harrar, Haven’s 6-8 center, banished three frustrating quarters by hitting all four of his field goal attempts in the final frame to finish with a team-high 13 points, leading a quartet into double-figures. Harrar’s second-chance, three-point play in the first minute of the fourth put Strath Haven up for good at 33-30. Ischiropoulos stung the Lions with two fourth-quarter triples to compile 12 points. He landed the first dagger at 5:36 to put Haven up 38-32, then capped a 5-0 spurt at 3:04, responding to Penncrest’s nearest entreaty to tie the game at 40-39.

By the time the ball spun through the net, the lead stood at six, and the Panthers were on their way to equaling their combined total of Central League wins (two) from the last two years combined in the first three outings under first-year coach Dave McFadden.

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Strath Haven’s Josh Singleton gets off a shot in a game against Interboro earlier this season. Singleton came off the bench to score 10 points and helped the Panthers claim a 59-54 victory over Penncrest in a Central League game Tuesday night. (Times Staff/Robert J. Gurecki)

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The following players from the Central League were named to the All Main Line Teams.

FIRST TEAM

Will Smith, Conestoga – Senior goalkeeper, a first team All-Central League selection, had a sterling 0.295 goals-against average and was the team’s Pioneer Award winner.

Matthew Marcelli, Conestoga – Senior midfielder was a fine all-around player, receiving first team All-Central League honors while providing offensive punch (five goals, two assists).

Gabe Harms, Conestoga – Junior defender, a first team All-Central League selection, was a key reason the Pioneers had such a stingy defense in 2015. Was the Pioneers’ Coaches Award winner.

Felix Serlin, Harriton – Senior center midfielder and captain, a first team All-Central League selection, provided leadership and all-around fine play, scoring eight goals and dishing out four assists.

Quinn Vagnoni, Lower Merion – Senior defender and captain, a first team All-Central League selection, secured the Aces’ strong defense and chipped in with some game-winning offense as well.

Alex Eggs-Krings, Radnor – Senior center mid and captain was a first team All-Central League selection, and was the Red Raiders’ MVP, scoring a team-leading 10 goals.

 
SECOND TEAM
Conestoga – Mason Sellig, senior defender; Blaise Milanek, junior midfielder; Mason Miller, junior striker; Chris Donovan, sophomore striker.
Harriton – Ethan Rodgers, sophomore defensive midfielder.
Haverford High – Cole Mays, senior midfielder/forward.
Lower Merion – Anthony Haines, senior midfielder.
Radnor – Alex Bojorquez, senior forward.

HONORABLE MENTION
Conestoga – Nick Jennings, sophomore midfielder; Danny Leiser, senior defender; Zach Brink, senior defender.
Harriton – Lucas Serlin, senior goalie; Alex Kades, freshman striker; Anthony Calligaro, senior defender.
Haverford High – Sean Lacey, senior midfielder; Josh Cunningham, junior midfielder.
Lower Merion – Ryan Tillman, junior forward; Sebastian Jenkins, junior goalie; Thomas Podrasky, sophomore midfielder.
Radnor – Max Barish, senior forward; Jack Miller, junior forward; Auguste Dardel, junior center back; Joe Dardel, senior left back.

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Mack, a 6-1 senior forward, returned to action after missing her entire junior year with an ACL injury with a 24-point, 12-rebound effort in the Pioneers’ 47-34 opening-game win against Springfield, going 14-for-14 from the free throw line. She was a two-time All-Central League player as an underclassman. 

Conestoga’s Ellie Mack is Main Line Athlete of the Week.

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MIDDLETOWN >> Penncrest guards Corinne Mulhearn and Katie Russo always have shared a special connection. “She’s like a sister to me,” the junior Russo said. “She’s from Russia and I’m from Ukraine.”

Mulhearn was 2-years-old and Russo was eight months old when they came to the United States.

“We were young, but we have that in common,” Russo said. It would explain why they speak perfect English …

“It was kind of meant to be,” added Mulhearn, a senior.

Mulhearn and Russo are having fun helping a young Penncrest team to some impressive victories early in the season. After Friday night’s 40-26 Central League decision over Marple Newtown, the Lions improved to 3-1 at the one-week mark of the new campaign. That’s a positive start for program that has struggled to compete in recent years .. With an interesting collection of underclassmen, including freshman wing Kylie Chelo (six points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals) and sophomore forward Grace Harding (seven points, six rebounds, one steal), the Lions are moving in the right direction

“We have more team chemistry this year because we’ve been working for over a year now and have been practicing a lot in the offseason,” said Russo, who scored a game-high 15 points.

Mulhearn came close to triple-double territory Friday night. She was excellent on offense and defense, with eight points, 11 rebounds and eight steals. She and Russo connected on a handful of scoring plays as Penncrest (3-1, 1-1) shot 48.5 percent (15-of-37) from the field and forced Marple Newtown into 27 turnovers.

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Penncrest’s Katherine Russo, right, scored a game-high 15 points in a 40-26 win over Marple Newtown Friday night. (TOM KELLY IV – DAILY TIMES)

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RIDLEY TWP.

As Julian Wing trudged to the Ridley bench with four fouls, one second short of three minutes into the second half with Upper Darby uncomfortably close, no one needed to tell Brett Foster what came next. As much as he was sure what his Green Raiders needed without the second scoring threat on the court, the senior point guard Foster also understood what his team didn’t need. And he delivered. Foster compiled a game-high 26 points and his usual composed play running the point to lead the Green Raiders to a 53-40 Central League win. In the kind of ragged, physical affair that each Central League seems destined to encounter 10 or 12 times a season, the most glaring difference between the teams was Foster’s deft orchestration.

“It’s picking your spots and making the right team play,” Foster said. “Especially when we have a big lead, we didn’t want to force shots and not make them work on defense the way they were making us work on defense.”

The journey to that big lead wasn’t always smooth sailing for the Green Raiders (3-0, 2-0), who led by just eight points when Wing hit the bench in the fourth. He was saddled with three fouls early in the second quarter, rendering him an offensive non-factor. His only four points came from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

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Ridley’s Brett Foster, left, goes up for a layup over Upper Darby’s Jalun Trent during a Central League game Friday night. Foster poured in 26 points to lead the Green Raiders to a 53-40 victory. (Times Staff/Tom Kelly IV)

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The following players from the Central League were named to the All Delco teams.

First Team

Diana Balta, Penncrest: Balta, a junior outside hitter and defensive specialist, teamed with senior outside hitter/defensive specialist Emily Hopkins to form a formidable 1-2 punch at the net that helped the Lions go 19-7 and qualify for the PIAA Class AAA Tournament for the first time in 20 years. A first-team All-Central League and second-team All-District One Class AAA pick, Balta led the Lions in kills (375), was second in digs (292) and assists (94), third in service reception (350) and fourth in service aces (45). For her career, Balta has 859 kills, 919 digs, 162 aces, 106 assists, 123 blocks and 993 service receptions.

Casey Blum, Strath Haven: The Panthers should have quite a potent front line with Blum, Brianna Fisher and Rachel Kent expected to return next season. All three are juniors. She was a first-team All-Central League selection and guided the Panthers to the league title. Blum led the team in service aces (57), was second in kills (208) and service receptions (276) and fourth in digs (190). Only setter Maura Gibbs played more sets than Blum (73).

Brianna Fisher, Strath Haven: The junior outside hitter earned All-Delco honors for the second straight year. She was the only Delco player on the Class AAA all-state team that was selected by the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association. He also was a first team All-Central and All-District One Class AAA pick. Fisher led the Panthers in kills (265), was second in digs (223), third in aces (27) and fourth in service receptions (122). She also saw action in 73 of the 74 sets Strath Haven played this season.

Melanie Malseed, Ridley: Malseed was one of four seniors who played every set for the Green Raiders and it paid off as Ridley finished third in the regular season and fell to Strath Haven in the Central League championship match. She is the first player in Ridley history to record 1,000 career digs (1,086). Malseed led the Green Raiders in kills (326) and digs (417), and was a first-team All-Central and second-team All-District One Class AAA selection.

Ridley’s Melanie Malseed, right, seen against Marple Newtown, finished her career with 1,086 digs, the first player in school history to finish with more than 1,000 career digs. (Times Staff/Robert J. Gurecki)

Second Team
Nikki Garguile, Penncrest Jr. S/RS
Ellie Marshall, Haverford Sr. OH
Molly Murtha, Ridley Sr. OH
Rachel Vresilovic, Strath Haven Jr. MB

Honorable Mention
Garnet Valley: Cassidy Gallagher, Sekai Kaminski, Sydney Portale.
Haverford High: Erin Gerard.
Marple Newtown: Liz Conca.
Penncrest: Gianna Gargiule, Emily Hopkins, Taylor Sharkey.
Radnor: Brianna Ellis, Carleigh Goldstein.
Ridley: Carlee Herrin, Amber Stabler.
Springfield: Amber Dath.
Strath Haven: Rachel Kent.
Upper Darby: April Hinkle, Evie Shanefield.

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A comfortable win gave Ridley’s freshmen a little time to shine Wednesday.

Marisela Rechner won the 200-yard individual medley, and diver Shannon Glacken took top honors to represent the rookies as Ridley ran out as a 105-73 winner over Upper Darby in a Central League girls swimming meet.

Jordan Mea won the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke as the Green Raiders spread out the wins. The A relay team of Kiera Wadsworth (50 free), All-Delco Gab Rudy (100 free) and Heather Bogardus (100 butterfly) joined Rechner in winning one individual event each in addition to claiming the 200 medley and 200 free relays.

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Ridley’s Jordan Mea cruises to victory in the 200 freestyle during the Green Raiders’ 105-73 victory over Upper Darby in a Central League dual meet Wednesday. Mea also had a victory in the 100 backstroke for Ridley. (Times Staff/Tom Kelly IV)

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HAVERFORD >> For much of Wednesday night’s match against Haverford High, Upper Darby’s Colin Cronin appeared more like a coach than a wrestler. He paced matside, clapping his hands and shouting words of encouragement to his teammates. Cronin was often the most visible of the Royals’ contingent even as head coach Bob Martin yelled himself hoarse once again.

It’s not that the junior was subdued before. But he certainly wasn’t this animated. “Now I’m a captain,” Cronin said. “I have to get these guys motivated.”

Of course, the 2015 PIAA Class AAA Southeastern Regional champ at 132 pounds wrestled, too. Cronin, now at 138, earned an 18-2, technical fall over the Fords’ Andrew Lee as Upper Darby cruised to a 42-26 victory. Cronin’s win represented the Royals as whole. He controlled the bout from start to finish and focused on his technique along the way.

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The following players from the Central League were named to the All Delco teams.

Haverford’s Tess Horan, left, runs with the ball during he Fords’ game against Conestoga. Horan, a senior midfielder, scored 24 goals and had 14 assists in leading the Fords to the second round of the District One playoffs. (Times Staff/Tom Kelly IV)

First Team
Tess Horan, Haverford: A senior midfielder who has committed to Drexel University, she earned All-Central League honors for three consecutive seasons. She scored 24 goals and added 14 assists as the Fords advanced to the second round of the district tournament and finished with 54 career goals and 36 career assists. A leader on and off the field, she displayed great stick skills and an eye for the goal cage.

Second Team
Emily Johnson, Ridley Jr. F
Katie Quinn, Radnor Sr. F
Lea VanLuvender, Haverford Jr. D
Honorable Mention
Garnet Valley: Colleen Bradley, Jackie Daniels.
Haverford: Hannah Breslin, Megan Phillips, Laura Winters.
Marple Newtown: Gia DeAngelis.
Penncrest: Allison D’Ignazio, Marina Parson.
Radnor: Katie Wakiyama.
Ridley: Caitlyn Johnson, Brooke Nasella.
Springfield: Hannah Sweeney.
Strath Haven: Katie Capalbo, Mizuki Davis, Gillian Gunn, Maddie Stabinski.
Upper Darby: Kerrianne McGee.

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