PA – Central Athletic League | Archive | November, 2016

DOWNINGTOWN >> It wasn’t easy — especially giving up the equalizer with less than seven minutes left in regulation. But not once the rest of the way did the Conestoga boys’ soccer team experience any sort of crisis of confidence.
The Central League champions and district finalists have been in similar positions many times before this fall, so it should be no surprise that Conestoga quickly regrouped. And in overtime the Pioneers went on to register a 2-1 victory over a stubborn Parkland squad in the opening round of the PIAA Class 4A Playoffs on Tuesday at DeSerafino Stadium.
“This is the ninth game this season that we’ve won in either the last 10 minutes or in overtime,” said ’Stoga head coach David Zimmerman. “We had been dominating the entire second half, so there was no reason to worry. We were pretty confident,” added forward Chris Donovan.
The game-winner — at the 13:21 mark of the OT — came off the foot of Donovan. It was the biggest goal of the junior’s high school career.
“It’s my first game-winner in overtime, so that goal will be remembered,” Donovan said.
“It was a corner kick that went all the way over to the other side. (Defender) Mike McCarthy crossed it back in, Will Klein flicked it over to me,” he explained. “I honestly wasn’t expecting to get it, especially without any defender on me.”
With the win, Conestoga advances to the state quarterfinals on Saturday, where it will face Hempfield, which beat Neshaminy Tuesday, 1-0. The Pioneers improve to 22-1 overall.
“All I wanted to do this entire game was to get four more days with these guys. Now we have that,” Donovan said.
“We’ve been in a lot of close games, and we tried to schedule a tough regular season to challenge us, so we’ve been in this type of situation before,” Zimmerman added.

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The disturbing physical symptoms cropped up a few weeks before Mike Shelly’s freshman year at Marple Newtown.

“I was experiencing ankle pain, stomach aches, and throwing up,” he said. “And finally, one night, the stomach pain was unbearable and I had to go to the hospital.”

Shelly was first examined at Bryn Mawr Hospital and then steered to Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. The 14-year-old was diagnosed with stage IV Burkitt lymphoma, a high-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The rare and aggressive form of cancer causes the cells in a person’s lymphatic system to abnormally reproduce.

“I was kind of in shock,” said Shelly, a junior offensive lineman for Marple Newtown’s successful football squad. “You hear about other kids getting cancer, but you never think it’s going to happen to you.”

Doctors at duPont performed surgery to remove the tumor that was pushing up against Shelly’s colon. That was followed by 10 grueling rounds of chemotherapy. Strong support, naturally, came from his parents, Mike and Melissa, sister Amanda, 24, and brother Andrew, 20. It also came from Marple Newtown’s tight-knit student body and community. About a month after the surgery, Smith, in a wheelchair, attended a home game and led his teammates onto the field.

“There was a sea of orange-colored “#ShellyStrong” T-shirts,” Mike Shelly, 17, recalled. “It was a pretty emotional night.”

Shelly, of Newtown Square, underwent physical therapy after his final round of chemotherapy. He became stronger each day with light running, cycling, and squats.

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Marple Newtown football player, Mike Shelly, who overcame cancer is shown on Nov. 2, 2016. CHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

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SPRINGFIELD >> The theory that most high-scoring teams adhere to — that the best defense is a good offense — doesn’t seem to apply to top-seeded Springfield. The Cougars’ defense proved to be as good as any offense in a 38-0 win over No. 16 Penncrest in Friday night’s District 1 Class 5A playoff opener. Getting most of their firepower from the defensive side, the hosts returned three interceptions for touchdowns, including a pair of scores over a 52-second span of the first quarter.

“Our defense played well,” said Springfield head coach Chris Britton. “They outscored our offense. It’s a good problem to have.”

The parade to the end zone started early. After the Lions went three-and-out, the Cougars (10-1) opened the scoring through Ja’den Mckenzie. The big back took a screen pass from Johnny Fanelli and raced 33 yards to the end zone. The defense took over from there. On Penncrest’s first snap following the score, Kevin Deal knocked a Chris Mills’ throw off line. Springfield corner Joe Kennedy snatched the wobbly ball and raced 33 yards for six points.

Then it was Vince Puppio’s turn. The Lions kept it on the ground for one play, before challenging the Cougars through the air again. This time Manny Ruffin had his hands on the pass, knocking it in the air and briefly grabbing it, but couldn’t gain full control. Instead, Puppio ripped the ball away and dashed 25 yards for a TD.

“I just thought, ‘Are you kidding me? The whole team is eating. This is awesome,’” said Kennedy. “I can’t say enough. I’m proud of the whole team getting involved, getting the ball, getting out early and getting the job done.”

Up 21-0 with just 5:22 gone, Springfield could afford to cruise. The Cougars defeated Penncrest 42-14 in the regular season three weeks ago, and gave the Lions no hope for redemption.

“If anything, I think it’d be easier to lose the first time and come out (harder) the second time,” Kennedy said. “We just came out with the same mentality that we just had to get it done.”

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RIDLEY TWP. >> Mike Cowan would probably tell you he’s not going to intimidate people with his size. Ridley’s diminutive senior cornerback stands 5-8 and weighs 140 pounds, according to the team’s official roster, but don’t let his look fool you. Cowan can flat-out tackle dudes.

“If the QB has the ball and he’s running to the outside, if it’s a pitch/keeper, pretty much (that’s his responsibility),” Cowan said. “I just want to be there to make a play.”

Cowan had a few key tackles. Senior linebacker Ryan Gricco had, oh, about a dozen or so as Ridley’s excellent defense put the clamps on Plymouth Whitemarsh in a District 1 Class 6A first-round game Friday at Phil Marion Field. Gricco and fellow linebackers Greg Kimmel and Sean Crowley each had an interception as the fifth-seeded Green Raiders crushed the No. 12 Colonials, 35-7. It was Ridley’s first district playoff win since Nov. 9, 2012.

“We just knew coming into this game that they were an I-Z (inside zone) team, a trap team that was going to run up the middle the whole game,” Gricco said.

Yeah, that didn’t work so well for the Colonials (8-3). When the Colonials had success on offense, it came outside the tackles. Dontae Wilson took a jet sweep 34 yards for their lone touchdown. Quarterback Joe Stoberi, when he was lucky enough to scamper out of danger, attempted the majority of his passes on the run. He was 11 of 29 for 139 yards.

“We knew our defense was coming in strong, knowing that we’re going to stuff the gaps,” said Gricco, who will be making an appearance in Stoberi’s nightmares. “We knew coming in that the quarterback had a pretty decent arm. He was a good, mobile quarterback who could get out of the pocket. He showed us that tonight. All credit goes to Plymouth Whitemarsh.”

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NEWTOWN SQUARE >> Mike Miller pumped his fist and let out a loud yell as he approached teammate Cooper Maas in the Upper Moreland backfield. The Marple Newtown defensive linemen had just combined on a quarterback sack to snuff out another Upper Moreland drive.

“Just another night for us,” Miller said.

Marple Newtown’s smothering defense kept Upper Moreland on edge all night, and the Tigers coasted to a 35-7 win Friday in the first round of the District 1 Class 5A playoffs. In all, Marple Newtown’s defense accumulated 14 tackles for loss, including three sacks, and forced three fumbles. And sophomore running back Marlon Weathers had three rushing touchdowns to lead the offense. The third-seeded Tigers (10-1) rode the performance of their defense to match a program-best single-season win total, and they earned their first home playoff victory in school history. They’ll go for two in a row next week when they host 11th-seeded West Chester East (5-6), which is coached by Dave Gueriera.

“I’ve known Dave since we were kids. We played JT together — Junior Tigers,” said Marple Newtown coach Chris Gicking. “They’ll be ready for us. Dave will have them prepared, and we’ll have our hands full.”

Upper Moreland, which eliminated Marple Newtown from the district playoffs a year ago, suffered a brutal loss in the revenge game. The Golden Bears, who got 110 rushing yards from Sterlen Barr, managed only 165 yards of total offense. And 32 of those yards came on their final drive, which produced a touchdown after the Tigers had removed their first-team defense. The strong showing started up front with Marple Newtown’s three-man line of Miller, Maas, and Kyle Tobin. Maas registered five tackles for loss, Miller had three, and Tobin recovered two Upper Moreland fumbles in the third quarter. Miller credited Harry Gicking, the team’s defensive coordinator and the father of head coach Chris Gicking, for having the Tigers prepared.

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By Bill Rudick

EAGLEVILLE—No. 5 Central Bucks West was coming of an emotional semi-final victory over top seeded Unionville, a win coach Courtney Lepping called the most important in her tenure at the helm of the Bucks. They were riding high and feeling confident as they entered the District 1, Class AAA championship game against No. 2 Conestoga, and came out of the game firing. But the Pioneers found a connection the Bucks couldn’t seem to stop, and Conestoga cruised to a 5-2 win and the first district title in program history.

“Yes, this is an amazing feeling,” said Pioneers coach Megan Smyth. “We just came in here tonight with the right energy, and once they start moving the ball the way we did, it’s a tough team to stop.”

West got out to the early lead, when Bryan Boylan scored the game’s first goal off a penalty corner just over three minutes into the contest. Conestoga was visibly motivated by the early deficit, and began to put serious pressure inside the circle, forcing seven corners over a ten minute span. Awarded a corner at the 12:55 mark, Kiley Allen put the ball in play on the insert, sending it in to Charlotte deVries at the top of the circle. deVries moved to her left along the circled, then unleashed a shot towards the cage, sending it in front of a drawn out Laura Kubit in goal. Waiting just beyond Kubit was Emma McGillis, all by herself to make the easy tap in.

Two minutes later, Ryan Murray put the Bucks back on top, slipping a goal in a crowd for a 2-1 Bucks lead. The advantage couldn’t have been much more short-lived, as 16 seconds later, deVries sent another cross to McGillis and another score to tie it at 2-2.

“We all just wanted this game so bad,” said McGillis. “We know we have the talent level to score on corners, we practiced our corners all week, and everyone knew we had to take advantage of them tonight. We’ve gotten a little further each year I’ve been here, so it’s great to finally come out on top.”

The two found each other once again before the end of the first half, this time with McGillis scoring despite tumbling over the goalie, who came out aggressively to make the unsuccessful attempt at a save.

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The reaction on social media was swift and rather harsh.

When District 1 revealed its playoff seedings for all six classifications last Sunday, there was a lot to stew over.

Why, the Twitter universe wondered, are so many teams in the playoffs? More specifically, why are so many teams with losing records in the playoffs?

Good questions.

In 5A, mediocrity is the norm. Of the 16 teams in the tournament, seven are either 5-5, 4-6 or 3-7 overall.

What the … ?

That is crazy, and you would hope that PIAA and District 1 will take a hard look at its playoff structure going forward. One suggestion would be to cut the 5A playoff qualifiers in half.  Sixteen teams minus eight equals a better brand of playoff football.

Plymouth Whitemarsh at Ridley >> The fifth-seeded Green Raiders (9-1) return to the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Check out the Friday feature on Ridley (Page 62) and its date with the No. 12 Colonials (8-2).

Garnet Valley at C.B. South >> The No. 10 Jaguars (8-2) have been led by a potent rushing attack featuring Jacob Buttermore, Austin Patton and Matthew Lassik. They’ll meet the seventh-seeded Titans (8-2), who took second place in the Suburban One League’s Continental Division.

Haverford at North Penn >> The Fords (6-4) have the unenviable task of playing No. 1 North Penn (10-0). Sophomore quarterback Jake Ruane has thrown for 1,826 yards and 14 TDs.

In Class 5A:

Penncrest at Springfield >> The top-seeded Cougars (9-1) won a share of the Central League title paced by wide receiver Joe Kennedy, who has eight TD catches. The 16th-seeded Lions (3-7) make the playoffs for the first time in three years. Springfield downed Penncrest, 42-14, in Week 8.

Radnor at Academy Park >> The second-seeded Knights (9-1) begin their quest for a third district title in four seasons. Senior backs Dazhon Miller and Teddy Wright have combined for 1,973 rushing yards. Isaiah Coates has been a two-way force for the No. 15 Raiders (4-6).

Upper Moreland at Marple Newtown >> The third-seeded Tigers (9-1) hope to avenge last year’s loss to No. 14 UM in the semifinals of the District 1 3A playoffs. Anthony Paoletti has passed for a county-leading 2,248 yards and 21 TDs.

Strath Haven at Upper Dublin >> The 12-time District 1 champion Panthers (4-6) are back in the playoffs as the No. 13 seed. Fourth-seeded Upper Dublin captured the District 1 4A title last fall.

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RIDLEY TWP. >> Zach Wagner pointed to the ‘R’ on his football helmet. The senior offensive lineman was discussing what it means to be a Ridley Green Raider early Wednesday evening. Wagner and fellow senior co-captain Brock Anderson are the sons of Ridley football players. Their dads were teammates under legendary coach Joe McNicholas in the mid-1980s.

“Just to have a parent that wore the helmet, it means a lot,” Wagner said. “When you see the ‘R’ on the side of the helmet, it goes so much deeper. It’s a legacy.”

The Green Raiders are writing their own legacy this year. Friday night they host No. 12 Plymouth Whitemarsh in the opening round of the District One Class 6A playoffs. For senior captains Anderson, Wagner, John Sheldon and Ryan Gricco, this will be their first postseason game. Before now, Ridley hadn’t made the district playoffs since 2012.

“This is obviously the biggest game we have ever played as a senior class. We just want to go out and give the town what they deserve,” Wagner said. “It’s been a long time — too long, in my opinion — and I think all these guys agree with me. It’s time to get the job done and move on.”

The Ridley community was waiting, too. Ask anyone that goes to Ridley about the passionate fanbase and they’ll tell you it’s like nowhere else in Delco. Ridley fans, young and old, live and die with their hometown football team. Anderson heard it a few days ago when he was out and about in nearby Media.

“I’m always wearing a lot of Ridley gear, so I stand out,” Anderson said. “The other day we were out in Media and some guy came up to me and asked me about football. Just by seeing Ridley on my shirt, he knew I was a part of this and he knew this was big. That goes to show what Ridley football is about and how big this was to our town.”

What’s big is the Central League championship the Green Raiders celebrated last week. They earned a share of the title with Springfield and Marple Newtown. And what’s bigger is what awaits — a chance to make noise in the playoffs. It’s been seven years since Ridley won a district championship, with Daily Times Player of the Year Colin Masterson running the show at quarterback. Now it’s two-year starter Cade Stratton’s turn. Actually, it’s everyone’s turn to show the community that this isn’t the same underperforming Ridley program it’s been accustomed to seeing.

“There’s doubters, though, who will be like, well, we only played Central League teams and you’re about to play a Suburban One team,” Sheldon noted. “We still have that chip on our shoulder.”

But the passion (and haters) of the home base is precisely what inspires Ridley to reach heights the likes of which haven’t been seen in a long time.

“We’ve been talking about it. You know, it’s like we’re a small Texas high school. This community is diehard football in that way,” Anderson said. “You know when it’s high school football, you know when there’s a game Friday night. Everyone is here at the game. You got the younger kids standing by the fence and the older men who don’t even have anyone related on the team, they just come out and support us. That’s big for us.”

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Tredyffrin – When Conestoga midfielder Blaise Milanek fired home a goal at the beginning of the second half to break a scoreless tie and put the Pioneers ahead for good in the PIAA District One 4A boys’ soccer championship semifinal Wednesday evening, Conestoga head coach David Zimmerman thought it was fitting that the scoring combination was the senior trio of defender Gabe Harms to forward Mason Miller to Milanek.
“They’re known as the Three Amigos – all three of them played on the varsity as freshmen, they play on the same club team, and they’ve been the core of our team the last three years,” said Zimmerman. “And this win was their last soccer game for Conestoga on Teamer Field.”
In front of packed house at Teamer Field, Milanek scored 45 seconds into the second half, then 14 minutes later Miller tallied give the hosts a 2-0 lead. North Penn rallied for a goal by senior defender Noah Kwortnik with 10:06 left, but the visitors could do no more and the Pioneers (21-0) won, 2-1, to advance to the District One championship final. The championship final, against No. 2 seed West Chester Henderson (19-1-1), will be played Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Great Valley High School. Henderson’s only loss this season was a 2-1 defeat against Conestoga Sept. 6.
For the first 40 minutes of Wednesday’s district semifinal, No. 5 seed North Penn battled undefeated Conestoga to a scoreless draw, and the score was 0-0 at halftime.
North Penn head coach Paul Duddy said, “I thought Conestoga had the advantage for the first 10-12 minutes of the first half, then we played them pretty much even the rest of the half. But in the second half, they dominated us.”
Conestoga put the pressure on North Penn right after halftime, which led to Milanek’s goal 45 seconds into the second half.
Zimmerman said, “For the first five minutes of each half, we try to put the pressure on our opponent, try to keep the ball in their territory. When you start a game, players might be a little nervous, their touch might not be there, and mistakes can be made. Those mistakes are amplified if you make them in your own territory, so we try to particularly push the ball [deep into opposing] territory the first few minutes of a half.”

Miller, who was the middleman in the first score, echoed his coach: “The first five minutes, we try to keep up the pressure, keep the ball up on their end. When Gabe [Harms] brought the ball up, I could see that there were two guys on him, I called for the ball, and he passed it to me. I saw Blaise coming over toward the goal, and passed it to him, and he put it in.”

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MIDDLETOWN >> With a couple of concussions in her past, Penncrest’s Tara Higgins tries to limit how much she heads the ball. A fleet-of-foot winger, she usually does her best work on the turf anyway. But as the clock ticked into the final minute of the second-overtime session Wednesday, the junior wasn’t thinking about that.

“I just saw the ball coming in,” Higgins said. “I got myself in position, I tried to stay onside. I just got my head on it. … You’ve just got to do it. You just have to put the game before anything else, and that’s what I did.”

Higgins hurled herself at a Gia Martyn cross with 51.9 seconds left in double overtime, willing it over the line and sending the third-seeded Lions past No. 10 Gwynedd Mercy in the District 1 Class 3A semifinals. The win earns Penncrest (14-1-3) a berth in Saturday’s district final — against top-seeded Villa Joseph Marie, a 2-0 winner over Villa Maria in the other semi — at Phoenixville High at 4 p.m. It also sends the Lions to their first PIAA tournament in at least 15 years, per athletic director Chip Olinger.

Much of the triumph had to do with Higgins’ one-woman tale of redemption. She had the game on her boot with four minutes to play in the second overtime, sprung down the left channel with just goalkeeper Payton Morrissey to beat. Higgins lashed a rising shot, but Morrissey reached up and hauled it in with two firm hands.

“I thought it was going to go in, actually, and I was really confident about it,” Higgins said. “And when she got it, I was like, OK. … We just needed to keep going and keep fighting. I knew we were going to get one in eventually, because that’s what we do. We keep fighting.”

“I think she got a little hungrier,” Martyn said. “I think at that point, she was like, ‘OK, I missed that one, I need to go get the next one.’ She put her body right into it and she got the goal.”

Martyn was the architect of both of Higgins’ seminal chances. She got Penncrest on the board by herself in the first half, lofting a floating free kick from 25 yards out after fellow midfielder Corryn Gamber ran through a double team to draw a foul. Martyn’s delivery kept carrying, nicking off the flailing mitts of Morrssey and into the side netting to put the Lions ahead in the 32nd minute.

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