PA – Central Athletic League | Archive | January, 2016

ASTON >> Ridley’s Michael Giampapa heard Nick Catona shout. In any other setting, this would be a rare occurrence. Catona, and Giampapa for that matter, speaks only when they have to. And when they do, it’s only slightly audible. But during a game…

“Even though we’re quiet outside of hockey, in the rink it’s totally different,” Giampapa said. “He lets me know when he wants the puck. When he lets me know, I give it to him. And he usually finishes for us.”

On this occasion, with a one-goal lead over Springfield, Giampapa was tripped. As he lay prone on the ice, he saw Catona out of the corner of his eye. And he heard him. Giampapa chopped a pass in his linemate’s direction and Catona buried the breakaway. The two would connect again late in the third period to give the Green Raiders an impressive 4-2 win over the Cougars, avenging their lone loss of the season in the process. The duo has been at the forefront of Ridley’s success in 2015-16. Giampapa and Catona have combined for 44 goals and 103 points in 15 games.

“We played in middle school when I was in fifth grade and he was in seventh,” Giampapa said. “Ever since then we’ve been playing together. We’ve just clicked. It’s turned out to be a great thing.”

If Catona’s first goal demoralized the Cougars, his second defeated them. Springfield, down 3-1, went on the power play with 1:59 left in the game. Desperately needing a goal, the visitors instead misplayed a puck at the Raiders’ blue line. Giampapa and Catona raced the other way. The former crossed at the top of the circles, the latter picked up the puck behind him and beat Calin Losacco glove side.

The play cemented another superb offensive outing for Giampapa. He tallied three assists, including one on Steve Rubillo’s opener in the first period. The output comes in contrast to the role he played as a freshman a season ago.

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Ridley’s Nick Catona celebrates after scoring the final goal in a 4-2 win over Springfield Tuesday night. (Digital First Media/Robert J. Gurecki)

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HAVERFORD >> When Ashley Murphy finds her groove from beyond the arc, it’s difficult to cool off Haverford’s senior shooting guard.

While she wasn’t the only player responsible for the Fords’ tremendous second-half effort, which resulted in a 37-28 Central League win over Ridley, Murphy’s clutch shooting played a pivotal role.

Murphy’s third trey of the game and two free throws helped the Fords pull away late in regulation. She finished with a team-high 14 points.

Murphy’s been one of the top 3-pointer shooters in Delaware County all season and she put her skills on display Friday.

“I like setting up around the arc. If I can make one 3, that gets me pretty fired up,” said Murphy, who was 4-for-9 from the floor. “I just go from there. I guess I like shooting the most from the wing, but once I make one I feel a lot better and it makes it a easier.”

Haverford trailed at halftime by six points and went into the final stanza trailing by a point after Izzy Hamlin hit a layup as time expired to put Ridley back in front, 28-27.  But it was an 8-0 run out of the locker room that gave the Fords hope. Senior guard Mollie Reynolds had four of her eight points in that stretch, with two steals and one assist. In the low post Brianna Blair stepped up her game and Haverford relied heavily on youngsters Annalena O’Reilly and Arden Guilfoil, who played stellar defense off the bench. O’Reilly also scored all six of her points after halftime.

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Haverford’s Amanda Battista, right, has her shot knocked away by Conestoga’s Liz Scott in a game played last week. Battista and the Fords claimed a 37-28 win over Ridley Friday night. (ROBERT J. GURECKI – DAILY TIMES)

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As the clock ticked under four minutes and Lower Merion trailing Springfield by four points, Lower Merion girls’ basketball head coach Lauren Pellicane was hoping her team learned from tough losses earlier in the season to find a way to pull out a victory. With solid offensive execution, some key shot making combined with defensive stops the Aces fought back to earn the 37-35 win Jan. 16 and in the process help Pellicane earn the 200^th win of her coaching career at Lower Merion.

“It wasn’t even on my mind”, said Pellicane referring to the milestone following her team’s 62-53 win over Bodine Jan. 17 at the 10^th Annual Hoops or Hope Classic benefitting the Make-A-Wish Foundation held at University of Sciences to pull LM’s record even at 8-8 for the year. “We have lost a couple of close games earlier in the season so to execute down the stretch and pull this one out was the exclamation point today. It shows the growth of our program”.

Pellicane added, “With regard to the milestone, it speaks to the efforts and dedication of our players who have left their mark on our program as well as the hard work of my coaching staff over the years.”

“It means a lot,” said senior Margo Urheim, referring to the victory over Springfield. “I have been through many season, many tough seasons and getting a win like that is huge. For Coach Pellicane to reach a milestone is just a bonus. I have incredible respect for her and this a great win and her accomplishment is well deserved.”

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Lower Merion head coach Lauren Pellicane earned her 200th career win Jan. 16 against Springfield.

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The senior 160-pounder and captain has a 20-0 record as of Jan. 18 and is 87-19 for his high school career. Last season, he finished first at both Districts and Sectionals. This winter, he has finished first at the St. Mary’s Kickoff Tournament, Governor Mifflin Holiday Tournament and Battle at the Bridge Tournament.

Fun facts – Dan Iredale

Favorite book: The Cider House Rules.

Favorite author: John Irving.

Favorite TV show: It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

Favorite movie: Atonement.

Favorite athlete: Walter Payton.

Favorite team: Philadelphia Eagles.

Favorite place to visit: Vieques, Puerto Rico.

Favorite pre-meet meal: Fruit.

Favorite color: Blue.

Person I most admire: “My mother, because she works hard and is adventurous. She is my biggest fan and does everything she can for me, both on and off the mat.”

Birth date: Nov. 13, 1997 in Paoli.

Family members: Thomas Iredale (dad), Kim Stevens (mom), Rachel Iredale (sister).

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Conestoga’s Dan Iredale.

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ASTON >> When Matthew Luccidi went out with an injury, Penncrest was left without a senior in its lineup. But you wouldn’t have known that Friday night. The Lions played a composed, disciplined game to dispatch Garnet Valley, 5-4, in a key Central League boys hockey clash at IceWorks. Sophomore Matthew Dougherty scored twice and added two assists, while junior goaltender Mark Dumont made 36 saves.

“It was a gutsy effort,” said longtime Penncrest coach Steve Mescanti. “We lost two defensemen last week. We lost Ryan Dumont tonight (to a first-period hit). We were down to seven forwards. We just kind of gutted it out at the end.”

The Lions fell behind early. Gannon Stuart opened the scoring for the Jags 2:01 into the game off a feed from Thomas Schenk. With the 1-0 lead, Garnet continued to press. The visitors were outshooting Penncrest 8-2 at the 10-minute mark of the first-period. Mark Dumont, though, stood strong. He also got help from a defensive group that limited the Jags’ odd-man opportunities.

“That was something we talked about,” said Mescanti. “We really needed to combat their speed. We tried to be strong to force them wide and not let them wheel.” The formula worked to keep the Lions in the game. And with just over two minutes on the clock, they took control of play. Jack Fletcher scored a power-play goal to even things up. Then Dougherty gave Penncrest the lead before the buzzer.

“Austin (Mazzulo) and me work really well together,” said Dougherty of the goal. “He had me in the slot. He found me. It was a great pass by him.” Dougherty beat Greg Schenk to the blocker side. The Lions wouldn’t trail again.

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Penncrest’s Matthew Dougherty, left, scored twice and set up a pair of goals in Friday’s 5-4 win over Garnet Valley. (Times Staff/Robert J. Gurecki)

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RADNOR >> All eyes in the Radnor High School gym were trained on Garnet Valley’s Andrew Louden as he lifted off beyond the 3-point arc with 1:47 left in the third quarter Saturday night.

A more select section of the sparse crowd knew that basket, which sent Louden over 1,000 career points, was a mere formality. The more poignant moment passed without fanfare on the first possession of the second quarter, when Louden picked a Radnor pocket and swooped in for two, points eight and nine on the night. That took his career total to 989, earning Louden a more exclusive crown as the top-scoring Louden in Delco history.

All of those accolades shined through Louden’s smile as he posed for pictures with his parents after Garnet Valley’s 64-48 win over Radnor in Central League action. In a pivotal game for both teams’ playoff aspirations, the personal subplot of Louden’s chase of history took center stage. The most obvious benchmark on the horizon was 1,000, for which he needed 20 points. He tallied 27, becoming just the third player to eclipse 1,000 in a Jags’ jersey. (Dave Bitting, who scored 1,346 points, split his career between Garnet Valley and Ridley.) Louden’s next point will take him past Joe Nosko (1,008), with Nate Daltry’s program record of 1,186 is within his grasp.

Even Louden’s isn’t a pure addition to that fraternity, having spent two seasons and scored 397 points at Cardinal O’Hara. The fact that Louden, a noted 3-point marksmen who has added dimensions to his game as he’s matured, stuck a triple to send him over 1,000 was spot on.

“That’s exactly how I wanted it to happen,” Louden said. “My freshman and sophomore years, I was more of just a 3-point shooter, and then I kind of developed more of a game at the basket. But I thought it was more fitting to get the 3 to do it.”

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Garnet Valley’s Andrew Louden, left, is shown putting up a shot against Ridley Thursday. Louden exceeded 1,000 career points — and passed his father in the Delco scoring annals — by dropping in 27 in the Jaguars’ 64-48 win Saturday night at Radnor. (Special to the Times/Rob Dudley)

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HAVERFORD >> Ellie Mack’s return to Conestoga this season has inspired her teammates and made them better players. The Pioneers are arguably the best team in the Central League. One player coming into her own and still developing at an exciting pace is sophomore guard Maria Koblish, who had 19 points and three steals to lead the Pioneers to a 59-39 victory over Haverford Thursday night.

“Ellie brings the team together,” Koblish said. “She came back from injury and came back as a leader, along with (junior guard/forward) Liz Scott. It brings us all together and we’re playing well together.”

Koblish is in between AAU programs, but one organization will be lucky to have her. She is a first-year starting varsity player after doubling up on JV and varsity a season ago.

“Maria is a dedicated basketball player,” Conestoga coach Chris Jeffries said. “She came in last year, started JV off the bat and led an undefeated JV team. They went 21-0. Whatever that ‘it’ factor is, she’s got it. She’s a heady player, she plays a really nice complement on our team, she gives us an inside-out presence that we haven’t had in a while. She’s come a long way and she’s going to be a very good player in this league.”

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Haverford’s Mollie Reynolds, left, tries to make a shot around Conestoga’s Ellie Mack in Tuesday’s Central League game.
(ROBERT J. GURECKI – DAILY TIMES)

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Berwyn – Conestoga senior guard Darryl Caldwell, who wears jersey No. 1, became the No. 1 man of the night during the Pioneers’ 67-56 win Tuesday evening against visiting Marple Newtown when he scored his 1,000th career point.
With 2:01 left in the first quarter, Caldwell scored on a transition layup, and when the ball dropped through the net, the home crowd stood and gave the Conestoga senior an ovation that lasted several minutes. The game was stopped, and Caldwell posed for a photo with his mother, Christy, and Conestoga head coach Mike Troy.
Just after the game, Caldwell reflected on his magic moment: “I remember bringing down my man, getting the layup, and then feeling a sense of relef that it was all over.” Troy said, “Darryl has a nautral feel for the game and understands space really well. He has terrific vision on court, and [excellent] decision-making.”

Caldwell, who finished the night with a game-high 22 points, needed only two to reach the 1,000-point milestone before the game. The Pioneers got off to a slow start, but Caldwell’s record-breaker seemed to unlock the floodgates, as the home team outscored Marple 25-5 in the second quarter to pull away.

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Conestoga senior guard Darryl Caldwell celebrates scoring his 1,000th point Tuesday with his mother Christy and Conestoga head coach Mike Troy. (Jim Martin photo)

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Berwyn – At the midway point in the Central League dual meet swimming and diving season, Conestoga’s boys and girls teams have used their depth to continue undefeated. Against the Harriton girls, Stoga ladies Nia Goddard, Bharathi Kolluru, and Tara Hughes swept the 200 yard freestyle, and Emily Booz, Julie McFadden, and Caroline Pawlow placed 1-2-3 in the 200 IM.

Female divers Julia Semmer, Leah Bernstein, and Eliza Bailey made a clean sweep off the boards, then were followed by Carolin Riggs, Janashree Jonnalagadda, and Bharathi Kolluru sweeping the 100 butterfly and a sweep of the 100 free by Madison Ledwith, Olivia Mason, and Nikki Sepahi. Courtney Sellig, Isadore Fan, and Molly Todd took the top three spots in the 100 Backstoke, while Booz got her second individual win of the night in the 100 breaststroke. 1-2 finishes by Caroline Apathy and Linda Ashmead in the 50 freestyle, and Sophia Poeta and McFadden in the 500 free help solidify the Stoga girls lead.

The girls team also showed their depth in the relays with the quad of Janashree, Booz, Ledwith, and Asmead touching first closely followed by Poeta, Pawlow, Apathy, and McFadden in the 200 Medley Relay. In the 200 Free Relay, the second place team of Apathy, Sepahi, Emily Newhall, and Lauren Diehl, was touched out by winners Jonnalagadda, Mason, Ashmead, and Ledwith. Mason, Newhall, Goddard, and Sepahi worked together to win the 400 Free Relay, while Diehl , Katherine Abele, Mia Borger, and Brooksey Perrin-Hee touched second, with the sweep completed by Hughes, Rachael Winfield, Jane Frascella, and Emma Scudder.

For the Conestoga boys squad, Kevin Ryle and Arjun Rao went 1-2 in the 200 free, while later Ryle teamed up with Ethan Sampson to take the top two spots in the 100 backstroke. 1-2 finishes were also swum by Kevin Jay and Oliver Brown in the 50 free, Leon Hagenlocher and Griffin Hamilton in the 100 butterfly, Brendan Burns and Louis Conroy in the 100 free, and Aidan McKenrick and Connor Kanto in the 500 free. Ryan Look and Aidan Hunter touched 1-2 in the 100 breaststroke, and Hunter won the 200 Individual Medley, while Devin Gaul earned top points in diving. Brown, Jay, and Hamilton joined with Bohan Song to win the 200 medley relay, with Ryle, Aidan McKenrick, Burns, and Conroy touching second. Song, Conroy, Burns, and Jay won the 200 free relay, while Stoga went 1-2 in the 400 free relay with the quads of Brown, Aidan McKenrick, Rao, and Hagenlocher winning, followed to the wall by the relay of Hamilton, Davin Nice, Owen Neuman, and David Yu.

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Conestoga swimmer Griffin Hamilton swimming to third place in the 100 butterfly against Marple Newtown. Griffin also swam a critical leg in the meet winning 400 Free Relay against Radnor earlier in the week.

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RIDLEY TWP. >> When you ask Ridley’s Mike Patterson how tall he is, the senior forward will offer a 6-foot-4, before sheepishly covering with, “or, maybe 6-5.” In contrast to Patterson’s unassuming height, there was no doubting the vertical credentials of his opponents Friday, Lower Merion’s tandem of 6-9 Jeremy Horn and 6-6 Dion Harris, with his outsized leaping ability. Yet by the time Patterson marched to the bench to a grateful ovation with 3:21 remaining, making way for the subs to play out a 61-40 demolition by the Green Raiders, there was no doubting that Patterson stood tallest. The senior collected a career-high eight points — heck, he’d scored 12 combined in 10 appearances this season — but saved his best efforts for the defensive end, completely muzzling Horn and Harris.

“When you go up against a guy that big, you want to make sure you’re lower than him,” Patterson said. “It’s hard to defend against him, but you have to go hard and give 110 percent. That’s what coach always preaches.”

Paradoxical as it may sound, Patterson’s approach withstood a hearty test to keep the Green Raiders (11-0, 7-0) unbeaten and with a stranglehold on first place in the Central League. Horn, coming off a 23-point performance against Radnor, was nonexistent on the offensive end, scoring three points and not attempting a shot after the first quarter thanks to Patterson’s persistent hounding. Horn grabbed four rebounds, same as Patterson, as the Aces (9-3, 5-2) were throttled on the boards, 34-18. The center spent the fourth quarter as a spectator as Lower Merion heaved up 3-pointers in a futile attempt to get back in touch.

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Ridley’s Brett Foster, right, dribbles past Lower Merion’s Zack Magill Friday night. Foster scored 22 points in a 61-40 Ridley win. (Times Staff/Robert J. Gurecki)

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