PA – Central Athletic League | Archive | February, 2016

NEWTOWN SQUARE >> Most times, practice makes perfect on the basketball court for Brett Foster. But on the instance that the Ridley guard got closest to the rim Monday night at Marple Newtown, he was uncharacteristically off-balance.

“I was too close under the net, so I was kind of falling back,” Foster said, the product of his trip up the ladder neatly snipped and strung around his neck. “So I had to grab the rim to and lean back to cut it.”

Just about every other voyage to the hoop that Foster endeavored in Ridley’s 62-38 demolition of Conestoga in the Central League Championship Game went more smoothly in a tour de force showing to cap a perfect regular season in the league with a second straight championship. Foster scored 23 points, and Julian Wing added 17, but the ease and comfort with which they glided by the Pioneers was something to behold, backing up a 16-0 regular-season blitz of the field to improve to 22-1 before Friday’s District One Class AAAA opener. The Raiders are the fourth seed and host No. 29 North Penn.

Foster was the architect Monday. He needed just 16 shot attempts to tally his points, puzzlingly without the benefit of a trip to the line despite absorbing plenty of contact around the rim. He hit 10 of his shots, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range on a night that Ridley knocked down five of 12 attempts from deep. The East Stroudsburg commit also corralled eight rebounds, many long boards from Conestoga’s ghastly 1-for-17 shooting from 3-point land. He equaled Wing’s three steals to lead the team and dished six assists, his pinpoint dimes the oil in Ridley’s unstoppable offensive machine. Ryan Bollinger hit a pair of third-quarter 3-pointers en route to 12 points, helping Ridley methodically pull away.

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Ridley’s Brett Foster, left, celebrates with teammates after the Green Raiders won the Central League championship, 62-38 over Conestoga, Monday night. (Digital First Media/Robert J. Gurecki)

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Berwyn – When you are a close-knit family like the Conestoga boys’ basketball team, the hardest lessons are often learned following a difficult loss. With family being the most important thing for head coach Mike Troy having his two daughters Maggie and Ashley give him a heartfelt hug prior to him entering the locker room following his squad’s loss to Ridley in the Central League championship game at Marple Newtown High School on Monday night made a difficult task slightly easier.

“Family is the most important thing to me,” said Troy. “Anything I can do to help anyone of these guys I will do. Unfortunately Ridley outplayed us tonight and the result did not go our way.   Right now my biggest concern is making sure these 15 guys are ok and getting ready to play Friday night.”

With a team that has seen its share of peaks and valleys throughout the year the five seniors – Andrew Larkin, Darryl Caldwell, MJ Lezanic, Jack Baker and Lucas Yonda – have played roles the coaching staff hoped had been instilled throughout their career.

“If there is one word that describes Conestoga basketball it’s family,” said Lezanic, who finished with five points against Ridley. “The previous senior classes have been such a pleasure and I feel like our class has picked up different things from each class that we have tried to pass on to the younger guys.”

Larkin echoed Lezanic’s sentiments: “We played with the previous senior classes for so many years that they treated me like a brother and I treated them the same way. Seeing them lead the past few years, we just wanted to mirror their leadership and I believe we have done that.”

“Our seniors have been tremendous leaders,” Troy said. “Darryl (Caldwell) is a terrific basketball player and leader and Andrew (Larkin), MJ (Lezanic) Lucas (Yonda) and Jack (Baker) have stepped up this year and we would not be where we are without them.”

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

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The seedings for the District One girls basketball tournaments came out Sunday. Well, not the official version. Sure, the power rankings and brackets were posted on the district’s new website, but the pairings are not official until noon Monday.

Hey, with all the problems the district has had with its power-ranking systems in the past, guess district officials probably just want to play it safe. If everything stays the same, though, nine Delco teams will take part in the District One tournament in three classifications. Garnet Valley (20-3) earned the No. 3 seed and will take on Central League rival Penncrest (11-11), the No. 30 seed, at home Friday night.

“It’s a nice reward for all the hard work the girls have put in,” Garnet Valley coach Joe Woods said. Springfield (18-4), which faces Garnet Valley Monday night at Maple Newtown for the Central League crown, is the ninth seed and hosts No. 24 Central Bucks East (12-10) Saturday afternoon.

“We’re thrilled with our seed,” Springfield coach Ky McNichol said. “You want to do well in the regular season so you can get a good seed in the district playoffs.” While Woods and McNichol are happy with their seeds, both are a little more preoccupied with Monday’s championship showdown. Springfield was the only team to beat Garnet Valley in the Central League this season, snapping the Jaguars’ 38-game league winning streak with a 49-37 victory at home Dec. 22, 2015.

“They did a great job that night,” Woods said. “They were well prepared and the played very well.”

“We’re excited about being in the championship game,” McNichol said. “The girls have improved throughout the season. They’ve stuck together and supported each other. We know we’re going against a great team in Garnet Valley, but we’re excited about the opportunity.”

Three-time defending Del Val champ Penn Wood (16-6), Haverford (12-10) and Radnor (11-11) are part of the 32-team field in Class AAAA.

Garnet Valley’s Maddie Ireland drives through the lane en route to her 16 points to eclipse 1,000 career in a 45-27 win over Henderson. (Times Staff/Robert J. Gurecki)

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HAVERFORD >> One year ago the Springfield Cougars were miles away from the Central League championship. On Saturday, they secured their spot in it. Jordan D’Ambrosio scored 17 points and the Cougars shut down Conestoga standout Ellie Mack in a 38-35 victory in the league semifinals held at Haverford High. They will face defending champion Garnet Valley, which took the other semifinal, in Monday night’s title game.

“It’s a really big step in our history for basketball,” said D’Ambrosio, a freshman. “It’s a huge improvement.”

Springfield was actually down 17-15 at the half, but dominated the third quarter and departed that period with a six-point lead. D’Ambrosio had a key three-point play midway through the period, a possession after missing two free throws, to put her team up for good. In the fourth quarter, Springfield hit eight free throws — mostly from D’Ambrosio — to hold off Conestoga. The Pioneers never even had the ball with a chance to tie the game in the final period. Springfield’s defense, and especially its foul shooting, kept Conestoga at bay.

“We’ve done that very well all year,” Springfield coach Ky McNichol said of her team’s performance at the foul line. “We hold our composure.”

Springfield also did that on Mack, who only had 10 points — they all came late in the fourth quarter when the Pioneers were trying to play catch up. The Bucknell recruit could not get anything going. This was by design. The first time these teams played, the Cougars controlled Mack, but not her teammates. They made up for that Saturday.

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Kylynn McNichol directs Springfield during her first year as the head coach.

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Seeing the District One boys basketball tournament on the horizon wasn’t a new sensation for Garnet Valley coach Mike Brown. Two years ago, his team was 8-8 before stumbling to a 2-4 finish. Last season, six losses in the last seven torpedoed playoff hopes. This season, no such letdown materialized, perhaps because of the Jaguars’ forthright approach to the past. And the payoff came Sunday. The Jaguars, with a 14-8 record that was better than 11 other qualifying teams, snuck in with the 30th seed in the District One Class AAAA field.

It is Garnet Valley’s first playoff appearance since 2007-08, its final season before joining the Central League. As for confronting past missteps, Brown advocated a proactive approach.

“We talked a lot about it because if you don’t, you’re fooling yourself,” Brown said Sunday. “They can go on the computer at home and keep up with it as much as we can now. So to fake it and pretend like it doesn’t exist would be silly. We focused on each opponent and prepared, but we also talked more than several times about the point system and how each game can change our position.”

Garnet Valley will take on No. 3 Downingtown West (20-2) in Friday’s opener. All seedings are tentative until noon Monday. The Jags are among eight Delco teams in the AAAA field and 10 total.

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Garnet Valley’s Andrew Louden, left, is shown putting up a shot against Ridley. 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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UPPER DUBLIN >> Upper Darby moved one step closer to the PIAA AAA State Wrestling Tournament Friday night. The Royals, seeded fourth in District One Duals, went 1-1 at Upper Dublin High School, defeating No. 12 West Chester Rustin 35-30 before falling to No. 1 Boyertown 68-9. As anticlimactic as the match-up with the Bears proved to be, the battle against the Knights produced theater of the highest drama. Like last week against West Chester East, the Royals started slowly. Rustin won four of the first five matches to take a 18-6 lead. The lone early contribution for Upper Darby came from a reliable source. Brian Kennerly, at 195 pounds, got the Royals on the board with a pin of Nick Harris in 37 seconds.

“When things start breaking down, guys start disbelieving. You just have to stay in the match,” said Kennerly, who pushed his season record to 28-3 by later beating Boyertown’s Brody O’Connell, 9-5. “You can’t just tell everyone to go out there and score points. You have to lead out there and show that you’ll score points so they can follow you.”

His method worked. By the time the match reached the 138-pound weight class, Upper Darby had narrowed the gap to 30-21. At that point, with three bouts to go, Royals head coach Bob Martin needed to make a decision. He knew he had stalwarts Colin Cronin, who typically wrestles at 138, and Max Livingston, a 152-pounder, in tow. What he didn’t know was how Simranjeet Singh would handle Daniel Labus at 145. A loss of any kind would have sent the Royals to the consolation bracket. So Martin gambled. Singh and Cronin switched weight classes.

“That was real tough for (Singh). He knew he had to go out there and win,” Livingston said. “Sim really showed himself tonight.”

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Upper Darby’s Max Livingston celebrates after his pin of Collin Hurley at 152 pounds to seal a 35-30 win over Rustin in District One Duals Friday. (Digital First Media/Nate Heckenberger)

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UPPER DUBLIN >> Saturday was an historic night for Upper Darby, even if it was a slightly scary one for head coach Bob Martin. Martin, who was taken to the hospital during the consolation semifinal after not feeling well, was not there to watch his team qualify for the PIAA Duals for the first time in school history. The No. 4 Royals first beat No. 6 Pennridge, 35-30, in the consolation semifinal, before dropping a 46-24 decision to No. 3 Downingtown East in the consolation final. The result was enough to reach Monday’s next round, where Upper Darby will travel to face District 3 runner-up Central Dauphin. The winner will advance to the double-elimination tournament in Hershey.

“Being the first team means a lot to us,” Upper Darby assistant coach Phil Carbonetta of the qualification said. “The kids have been working hard. We had this as a goal and we achieved it, so it feels good.”

Carbonetta was in charge after Martin was taken from the gym in what was believed to be a precautionary move. Downingtown East’s Wade Cummings (132 pounds) also made some history, becoming the first Ches-Mont League wrestler to pick up his 100th career pin. He did so with the fastest fall of his career, a six-second decking to close out the dual against Upper Darby.

“One hundred pins is an incredible feat,” Horvath said. “What I like most about the accomplishment is that he goes for the pins for his team and it has nothing to do with records or self-fulfillment. He’s doing what the team asks him and that’s what Wade is. He’s selfless.”

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Upper Darby’s Peter Augustin looks to attack against Brendan McGinley of Downingtown East in the 285-pound match Saturday at District One Class AA Duals. Augustin scored a pin in 3:22, and though Upper Darby fell to Downingtown East, the Royals beat Pennridge, 35-30, to book passage to the PIAA Tournament. (For Digital First Media/Nate Heckenberger

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NETHER PROVIDENCE >> The real bummer about Strath Haven’s season is how good the Panthers could have been had senior forward Rachel Vresilovic played every game.

Vresilovic, a two-sport All-Delco in volleyball and track and field, suffered a thumb injury in a preseason basketball practice.  The Panthers were an 18-win team a season ago with senior stalwarts Vresilovic, Katie Fisher and Kaylyn Crowley all playing vital roles, but they didn’t hit their stride until Vresilovic returned Jan. 8.  On senior night, Vresilovic went out in impressive style with 12 points and 15 rebounds to help Strath Haven down playoff-bound Radnor, 49-30.

“I don’t think that we’re made of one person. It’s not just because of me that we didn’t do as well in the beginning of the season, because we’re a team,” said Vresilovic, who will attend Swarthmore College for volleyball and track and field. “With me coming back, we all gelled really well. Obviously the result tonight was what we wanted.”

The Panthers (9-13) fed off the energy of the crowd. Katie Fisher,  who eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau in December, finished her remarkable scholastic career with 14 points. Crowley enjoyed one of her strongest games with 10 points and team highs in assists (four) and steals (three).  Senior Morgan Waters hit a big 3-pointer late in the third quarter at a time when Radnor was mounting a comeback from a 10-point deficit. Waters’ trey pushed Haven’s lead to five and the Panthers never looked back, going on a 19-5 run to put away the Raiders (11-11).

“We just fed off the fact that it was our last game and (the home crowd) made that apparent to us,” Crowley said. “We’ll never get the chance to play together or play basketball again, for those of us not going to college for basketball. It was fun.”

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Strath Haven’s Morgan Waters, left, grabs a rebound in the first half of Thursday’s Central League game with Radnor. Waters and the Haven seniors ended their season with an impressive 49-30 win over district playoff-bound Radnor.
(ROBERT GURECKI – DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA)

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