Ricci touts the line after Garnet Valley’s latest win

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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