PA – Central Athletic League | Archive | September, 2019

CONCORD — It’s always important to do your homework.

Coming into Thursday’s field hockey game against Conestoga, Garnet Valley was riding a 10-game unbeaten streak and was looking to top the Pioneers for the first time in nearly a decade. The Jaguars, ranked second in District 1 Class 3A, are hoping to end Conestoga’s stranglehold on the Central League.

So they scouted Conestoga, and scouted some more, looking for any edge they could find.

It worked. The Jags played impenetrable defense and made a Kayla Snyder goal stand up as the game winner, 1-0, to improve to 11-0 on the season.

“We really did our homework on Conestoga,” Jags coach Sandy Leitisaid. “We kind of had an idea what to expect — we had an idea of how they would pressure offensively, how they approached their defensive corners, and we practiced those scenarios. The girls really executed and this was a big win for us.”

In the last minute of an even first half, the Jaguars forced a penalty corner. Kiley Gallagher put the ball in play on the insert, sending it to Snyder at the top of the circle. Snyder drifted to her right and unleashed a shot through a crowd, just past the extended leg of goalie Katie Clemson and into the wood on the left hand side of the cage.

“We have been practicing that corner a lot, and I’d been having trouble keeping the shot down,” Snyder said. “But I got the ball, and gave it a shot. It felt great when it went in — it was really important for us to take the lead into halftime. We were nervous coming in, but we’re also confident in ourselves and believed we could get this win.”

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Garnet Valley celebrates a first-half goal by Kayla Snyder, the only marker in a win over Conestoga Thursday. (Bill Rudick/For MediaNews Group)

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MIDDLETOWN — Strath Haven’s boys soccer team isn’t the same one that traveled to the PIAA Class 3A final last year. The Panthers know that, perhaps no one more than Peter Boerth, the striker who is filling the largest shoes left behind from a season ago.

But as this year’s Panthers grow into their journey, they’ve had the luxury of building around a spine that includes Boerth up top and versatile midfielders Andrew Lowman and Emmet Young behind. That nucleus showed its value Tuesday in a 3-0 win over Penncrest, the latest step in that rebuilding process.

Boerth scored twice, and Young added a free-kick goal for the Panthers, who controlled play and would’ve had more if not for hitting the woodwork three times. It’s all predicated on the flexible midfield axis of Lowman and Young, who act as the conduit from a solid and relatively experienced backline to a more youthful attack that they set up in good spots.

“They’ve been so solid in being able to keep the ball, work it, spread it out, either get it to me and I can lay it back, or they spray it wide, they chip it over, they play it long,” Boerth said. “It’s amazing having them there because they’re so solid and you can always depend on them.”

The Panthers (6-4, 4-2 Central) lost plenty from last year’s District 1 Class 3A title and trip to the state final, a 4-0 loss to West Allegheny. Gone is Daily Times Player of the Year Nate Perrins. Also graduating were dangerous wingers Gavin Birch and Nicky Palermo, plus the starting center-back tandem.

It’s fallen to players like Lowman and Young to shoulder the legacy.

“The people returning have a big responsibility to carry,” Boerth said. “All the starters last year left really big shoes. We have some big shoes to fill, but we just try to get our teammates hype every game, go out there and work our hardest.”

Boerth is stepping into the largest shoes of all in Perrins’, scorer of 28 goals and 10 assists. Though Boerth started the season slowly, he’s fitting into the niche left behind.

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Strath Haven’s Peter Boerth, left, controls the ball as Penncrest’s Kevin Fernandes defends in the second half Tuesday. Boerth scored twice in a 3-0 Strath Haven win. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group

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UPPER DARBY — No one can fault the Marple Newtown players for their soft schedule through the first four weeks of the season.

Good teams take care of business against lousy teams and make winning look easy. Marple Newtown is a good football team.

Friday night, the Tigers received their first true test of the 2019 campaign against an average-ish Upper Darby team, carrying a .500 record and looking every bit like one. Marple entered the day as one of five undefeated teams in Delaware County, locked in a tie for first place in the Central League with Garnet Valley and Strath Haven.

Just in case there was any doubt, senior wide receiver/defensive back Shane Benedict had a message for the rest of the Central League …

“I feel like we are the best right now,” he said.

Benedict felt confident to make sure a bold statement and backed it up with a spectacular interception late in the second half of the Tigers’ 17-12 victory at Upper Darby’s Memorial Field.

Marple is 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the Central League. But the Tigers have a long way to go before they can celebrate a perfect season. Strath Haven (4-1) is next and presents a more daunting challenge.

But the Tigers are a fun team that boasts one heck of a dynamic duo in junior quarterback Joe Paoletti and sophomore all-purpose standout Charlie Box.

Paoletti’s ability to evade defenders and throw on the run is reminiscent of his big brother Anthony, a two-time All-Delco and the county’s all-time passing leader. Joey is blazing his own unique path. He entered the weekend with the most touchdown passes (nine) and second-highest quarterback rating (167.91) in Delco.

Paoletti connected on 14 of 25 attempts for 181 yards and a 43-yard scoring pass to Box to give the Tigers a two-possession lead with a minute to play in the third quarter.

“I think there is more pressure on me and I just want to do the best that I can,” Paoletti said. “I want to be better than my brother, so that pressure is on me and I’m OK with that. We have guys who are working hard every day in practice, a great young class, and we’re getting better and better.”

Box ran for 89 yards on 14 carries, caught four passes for 59 yards, and made two interceptions, including the one that sealed the win with two minutes to play.

“We knew this was going to be our toughest test of the season,” MN coach Chris Gicking said. “Upper Darby came out ready to play, we heard they were having a ribbon cutting for the new stadium, so we knew they would be fired up and ready to play.”

Unfortunately, another week on the new turf field resulted in another bad injury for one of Upper Darby’s best players. One week after losing senior running back Kareem McAdams and senior linebacker Dezhan Peterson to potentially season-ending injuries, senior quarterback Kevin Kerwood had to be helped off the field in the first quarter with a knee injury. Corey Robinson, a junior with little quarterback experience, played the rest of the way for the Royals.

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Joe Paoletti threw for 181 yards and a touchdown to lead Marple Newtown past Upper Darby, 17-12

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CONCORD TWP. — If there has been a trademark to Garnet Valley’s season so far, it has been the Jaguars’ ability to wear down their competition with a brutal and grinding rushing attack.

At the heart of the running game has been Garnet Valley’s offensive line, which has been beastly. Friday night against Radnor, the Jaguars’ front wall was once again excellent in helping power Garnet Valley to a 42-7 victory over the Raiders.

“Every year our whole team revolves around our offensive and defensive lines,” said Jaguars coach Mike Ricci, whose team improved to 4-1. “The only returning starter we had on our offensive line was Lance Schwartz and I’m just thrilled with the progress that the guys have made together. We’re a much better team now than we were in Week 1 and we want to be a much better team next week than we are right now.”

The offensive line of Blaze McDaniel, Zac Green, Tyler Sparks, Lance Schwartz, and Alex Olsen, combined with tight ends and receivers like Kevin Craig, Alex Nicolaides, Jack Wootten, and Shane Mulholland put on a dominant blocking performance and help the Jaguars rack up 274 yards on 55 carries.

“It such a great thing to block for (the running backs),” Sparks said. “Our scout team gives us a great look, so it’s just like game-time when we’re at practice.”

The Jaguars’ backfield was assuredly happy to take advantage of the blocks and put on a show. Greg Reynolds had one touchdown run, while quarterback Ryan Gallagher had two. In addition, Gallagher hit all-purpose player Reece Malek for a 58-yard scoring strike.

“I was impressed with the way we played, but it all starts with the scout team at practice,” Malek said. “When we lined up, the one player had two of us to cover, so it was just good play-calling by the coaches. They must have seen it before.”

Malek, though, had another dazzling effort as he also returned a punt — off of a reverse — 56 yards for a score, which put Garnet Valley up 35-0. Malek said that all he could see was “my team in front of me,” which gives you a good indication of how well designed and executed the play was by the Jaguars’ special teams unit.

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HAVERFORD — In terms of volume of plays to scheme against, Strath Haven’s offense doesn’t register as the most complex. Hasn’t for a lot of years. Won’t for as long as Kevin Clancy, Delaware County’s winningest head coach, is on the sidelines.

But the veiled simplicity makes it arguably harder to stop: The same handful of players, the same execution, the same sweeps and counters and dives, death by 1,000 paper cuts that has for years more than held its own as other offensive fads have come and gone.

So when diagramming against it this week, Haverford didn’t have the most ground to cover. But the plan the Fords concocted was the perfect counterpoint, a few simple solutions that worked wonders.

Haverford held Strath Haven to 143 yards of offense in posting a shutout and removing the zero from the Panthers’ loss column in a 24-0 Central League win Friday night.

“We’ve got perfect guys in perfect spots,” Haverford linebacker Will Higson said. “It’s all about guys doing their jobs, and I think everybody did their job, and that’s why they scored zero points.”

Haverford held Strath Haven’s potent running attack to 122 yards on 44 carries, an average of 2.8 yards per carry. (Even if you disregard a botched punt snap that led to a big loss, the resulting gain of 139 on 43 carries is still just 3.2 per tote).

Considering that Strath Haven had four backs averaging seven or more yards per carry entering the game, it’s all the more impressive. So is how Higson and company’s confidence grew in direct relationship to the frustration on Strath Haven’s side of the ball.

Higson was a constant menace for Strath Haven ball-carriers. While that didn’t translate to a ton of negative-yardage plays, it meant that Strath Haven (4-1, 3-1 Central) was often confronted with multiple red shirts at the line of scrimmage. On 42 designed running plays, only seven went for more than six yards.

“All you’ve got to do is read your keys,” Higson said. “You read your key, it takes you directly to the play. It’s all about doing your job.”

“We just got outplayed on that side of the ball,” Strath Haven’s John Prochniak said. “… Usually we’re hitting those, so it’s frustrating.”

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Haverford linebackers Will Higson and Aiden O’Neill stuff Strath Haven’s Evan Blake in the third quarter of their 24-0 victory Friday evening at Cornog field. (Pete Bannan/Digital First Media)

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Mike Donnelly led the way as Haverford swept the top four places to beat Marple Newtown (15-50) and Strath Haven (16-47) in Central League boys cross country action Wednesday.

Donnelly, the 2018 Daily Times Runner of the Year, covered the 5,000-meter course at Coopertown Elementary School in 16 minutes, 11 seconds. He was followed across the finish line by teammates Will Field (16:37), Josh Fingerhut (16:45) and Ryan Murray (16:45). The Fords had seven runners in the top eight.

Paul Faggioli finished fifth overall to pace Strath Haven, which defeated Marple Newtown, 17-44. Samuel Heat and Julian Carmichael placed ninth and 10th, respectively, for the Panthers.

Josh Noble was the top finisher for the Tigers. He was 11th.

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HAVERFORD — It wasn’t long ago that Julia Mullaney was the freshman among veterans.

A hallmark of the Penncrest girls soccer team’s path to three straight states berths has been the integration of freshmen to the fray early, learning the ropes and becoming part of the system. Mullaney was one of those, thrust into the blender of midfield from her earliest days in high school.

“I was always scared because I didn’t want to mess up for the seniors because I knew it was their last year,” the senior said Tuesday. “And now I’m in that position, so it’s kind of crazy. I just want to stay positive for all of them and I try to encourage them and I want them to do their best without feeling scared at all.”

The conveyer belt keeps turning over for Penncrest, with veterans like Mullaney bringing along the next generations. Performances like Tuesday, when Mullaney set up the game-winning goal by Alexis Ranieri to get Penncrest a 2-1 Central League victory over Haverford, show how well it’s working.

As things change around it, the central midfield pairing of Mullaney and Shayna Polsky is ever more vital – particularly on a team starting two freshmen in central defense and one in goal. Polsky had deputized at center back as a freshman due to injuries and was there again last season. She was slated to reprise that role as a junior, but she was slid into midfield by first-year coach Joe Ross to provide attacking punch.

Days like Tuesday showed why: Polsky scored in the third minute, a forceful volley of a bouncing throw-in from Gina Facciolo, Polsky attacking the bounding ball in the box and making no mistake on the finish. She nearly had a second 12 minutes later, but her toe-poked effort after a 1-2 with Kara Mullaney rattled the post.

With the Lions up 2-1 after Ranieri’s goal – a tight control in the box off a Julia Mullaney lofted cross that was volleyed home – Polsky dropped into central defense, augmenting the freshman pairing of Maggie Allison and Taryn Tagtmeir.

Polsky has grown accustomed to being the focal point on both ends for Penncrest (4-2-1, 1-2-1 Central).

“It’s difficult because a lot of pressure is on me to score in the beginning of the game because that’s what our coaches are looking for,” Polsky said. “So when I got that goal, I knew that we needed to keep going and keep attacking as much as I could. And once we do get up in the game, that’s when I know I need to drop back and know that there’s a lot of pressure on me now to keep that lead. And I’m good under pressure and I feel like that suits me well.”

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Penncrest midfielder Julia Mullaney carries the ball in the second half as Haverford’s Nora Burns defends. Mullaney set up the game-winning goal in a 2-1 Penncrest victory Tuesday. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

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BERWYN—When a team is coming off a big, emotional victory, the danger is always that they might come out missing that same intensity in its next game. Conestoga was coming off a big 4-3 non-league win over perennial District 1 powerhouse Mount St Joesph over the weekend, when Strath Haven came to Teamer Field Tuesday afternoon. Strath Haven was riding a three-game winning streak, and had yet to taste defeat in the Central League.

Any concerns of a Pioneers let down were quickly erased, as Conestoga (7-1 overall, 3-1 Central League) dominated possessions from start to finish, and had six different players find the back of the cage in a 7-0 blanking of the Panthers (3-3, 3-1).

“We talked about our win over Mount a bit last night, and tried to keep things as competitive as we could in practice,” said Conestoga coach Regan Marscher. “A lot of times after a big win, you can be flat, and we just did all we could to avoid it. Plus, this is a Central League game, and we always feel like we have to be up for league games.”

After keeping the ball on its offensive side of the field and forcing five corners over the first five minutes, the Pioneers finally got on the board when Chloe Ziegler grabbed a ball, got behind the Panthers goalie, and tapped in the easy score at the 20:30 mark.

Ziegler finished the afternoon with two of the seven Conestoga goals, along with an assist.

“We were really excited to get back on the field and play after getting that win over Mount,” said Ziegler. “And we’ve won the Central League the last seven years, and we all want to do that again.”

Ten minutes later, Carly Hynd scored her eighth-goal of the season to bump her team-leading points total to 26 for the year, to make it 2-0, a score that would hold up going into the break.

The second half was all Conestoga, as the Pioneers piled up five more goals, another from Ziegler, along with goals from Annie Hirshman, Autumn Hill, Lily Jamison and Kate Galica.

“We’ve been working a lot on passing and spreading out the field,” said Ziegler. “We’re a much more cohesive unit this year. Everyone on this team has played together for a long time, and we kind of have the same mentality.”

Jamison’s goal, a bullet from the edge of the circle, was a personal milestone—her first ever varsity score.

“It felt really great,” said Jamison. “I saw it was just me and one girl by the circle, so I decided to just get in the circle and give it a shot.”

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Autumn Hill fires off a shot for the Pioneers (BILL RUDICK for MediaNews Group)

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RADNOR — The second half was three minutes old, each team had a touchdown and Strath Haven was ready to play its specific brand of football.

The Panthers slogged their way through the first half Friday. Adjustments were made. They gave up a score. Enter: Multiple classic Kevin Clancy drives and stingy defense. The result: A 20-14 Strath Haven victory.

“That’s what we wanted to do,” Panthers fullback John Prochniak said. “We realize we’re not going to get that many big plays against them, so we’re just going to wear them down and wear them down. And that’s what we did.”

That was the initial mistake Strath Haven – now 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the Central League – made. It tried to hit the big play too often during the first half, something the Wing-T is not designed for. The second half was different. The Panthers went 67 yards in seven minutes, 27 seconds. They scored on Evan Blake’s 16-yard run. They forced Radnor to punt.

Then, they went 54 yards in 4:13. Ibo Pio finished that drive with a five-yard burst. Three plays later, the Panthers had the ball back after Chase Barlow’s interception. The game, basically, was over.

This was envisioned during halftime.

“It’s really a matter of two things – seeing what they’re in, and learning it and understanding it,” explained Clancy, the legendary Panthers coach. “The second part of it is attitudinal, that they decided that they were just going to bear down and play a little bit better.”

Strath Haven rushed for 259 yards on 66 carries. Prochniak (115 yards), Pio (76), Blake (70 and a shoutout from Clancy) and quarterback Jack Ryder (who scored on a one-yard sneak midway through the second quarter) were the only Panthers to touch the ball offensively. This was the plan. Clancy wanted to trust his veteran leaders, and only them, in a game of this importance.

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Strath Haven’s Ibo Pio, left in this shot from a game against Ridley last weekend, joined fellow Panthers John Prochniak and Evan Blake in rolling up the running game to beat Radnor Friday night. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

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GLENOLDEN >> Haverford’s Trey Blair and Chasen Wint made the most of their opportunities Friday night as the Fords rolled to a 48-7 nonleague victory over Interboro at the South Avenue Athletic Complex.

Blair, a University of Buffalo commit, only carried the ball six times, but scored on four of those attempts and amassed 190 yards to pace the Fords (2-2) to their second straight lop-sided victory.

That’s an average of 31.7 yards per carry. The senior quarterback also threw a five-yard TD pass and did all that in less than one half of work.

Wint, who earned All-Delco honors in track, was just as efficient. The 5-11, 200-pound senior running back rushed nine times for 148 yards and one touchdown. That averages out to 16.4 yards per touch.

The game was over after one quarter when the Fords took a 29-0 lead. The visitors were just too big and too physical for the younger, smaller Bucs.

“Credit them,” Haverford coach Joe Gallagher said. “I talked to the coach (Steve Lennox) before the game, they are a very young team, very inexperienced. We’re more of a veteran team.”

Blair looked like he could do whatever he wanted.

“Blair’s a cut above the rest,” Gallagher said. “No doubt about it. He is very special.”

The 6-foot, 200-pounder plays every down on offense and defense and is listed on the roster as “athlete.” He’s also an outstanding sprinter and javelin thrower in track.

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Haverford running back Chasen Wint is pictured in a game last year. Wint ran for 148 yards and a touchdown in a 48-7 win over Interboro Friday.

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