PA – Central Athletic League | Archive | November, 2019

NEWTOWN SQUARE — Tyler Lynch can say he gave everything he had to the Marple Newtown football program.

The senior wide receiver and defensive back will not be in full uniform Wednesday night when the Tigers travel to Central League rival Penncrest for an inaugural Thanksgiving eve game.

Lynch will be pacing the visitor’s sideline on crutches, cheering his teammates and hoping for victory. His football season had ended in October in a game against Ridley.

“I tore my ACL, meniscus and sprained my MCL. I also had some complications during surgery,” Lynch said. “I’ve been non-weight bearing for 4½ weeks now.”

On Tuesday, Lynch was cleared “about 50 percent,” meaning he could begin to use crutches and ditch the wheelchair he’d been glued to since the injury.

Unfortunately, season-ending injuries are all too common for Lynch.

“In my first lacrosse game last season, I broke my hand and missed the whole year,” he said. “Now I’ll miss my entire lacrosse season again.”

The last eight or ninth months have been a physical and mental challenge for Lynch, but he has come to grips with his situation and is excited to watch his teammates play one final game to cap the 2019 campaign.

Lynch expects to join fellow co-captains Ryan Lain (junior lineman), Robbie Reilly (senior linebacker) and Jelani Estes (senior wide receiver/defensive back) at the 50-yard line of Louis Scott Field for the pre-game coin toss.

“It *****, it’s really tough to swallow, but all the tears that I have for football have already been shed,” Lynch said. “I just really want to be there for the seniors (Wednesday) night, and definitely to be there for our young guys and encouraging them. I’ve gotten used to it and I’ve been making the best of a tough situation.”

Prior to being sidelined for the season, Lynch was one of the Tigers’ top performers on offense and defense. He posted 16 receptions for 131 yards and three touchdowns.

“It’s going to be surreal, knowing it’s our last time, especially for myself and some others who have no intent to play college football,” he said. “It’s definitely going to be emotional. … But I just want to go out there and have as much fun as possible, one last time.”

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Marple Newtown senior Tyler Lynch, pictured here catching a touchdown pass against Conestoga earlier this season, suffered a season-ending knee injury in a game against Ridley in October

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UPPER DARBY — Desean Anderson is thankful for the chance to play one final high school football game Thursday morning.

He’s also thankful for the love and support of his family, teammates and coaches. Most of all, the Upper Darby senior is thankful to be alive.

The date was July 17, 2017. While walking the streets in North Philadelphia after a  spending the day at a cookout with friends in the Germantown section of the city, Anderson was all alone at night, wanting to get home as quickly as possible.

Anderson had a weird feeling as he hopped off the bus and made the trek to his grandmother’s house. Something had told him to get off at the previous stop and take the long way home.

“There’s a back way I can take which will lead me right to her street. I didn’t get off at the back way stop and I should have,” he said. “I took the way I usually take and I got off and started walking up to my grandmom’s house. That’s when it all happened…”

Two men confronted Anderson, who a month prior had completed his freshman year at Samuel Fels High School. His dream was to play high school football, an opportunity he would earn his senior year at Upper Darby.

But football was the last thing on his mind on this night.

“I had put my phone in my pocket, which is what I do every time, just in case something happens. I know my surroundings,” he said. “As they were walking up, we switched sides. We turned positions. They stopped me. I looked back and they asked me if … I was in a gang from the area. I’m not in it. I said ‘No’ and they said ‘You’re lying.’ And then they said, ‘Give me everything in your pockets.’ I wasn’t going to do that.”

The perpetrators reached for their weapons and Anderson quickly made a run for it. He found a hiding spot between two parked vehicles.

“As I ran, I felt like I was shot,” he said. “I stumbled a bit … and as I’m running, I see they’re on the corner of my grandmom’s house. Mind you, my grandmom’s house is close, like right here, but I’m running the opposite way. They’re just there near my grandmom’s house.”

More shots were fired in Anderson’s direction. He couldn’t hide out any longer; he had to run fast.

“So, I was running on the opposite side, down the street, and they are standing there shooting at me,” he said. “I stumbled, just trying to duck my head. I think they hit me in my back first, and I didn’t feel the other shots because my adrenaline was up at this point. I didn’t realize I was shot more than that one time.

“As I’m running, my vision is blurred but I see them take off. They … are gone. I get around the corner to the next block. As I get there, I tried to knock up on somebody’s door. The people were scared to answer the door because they heard the shots, they didn’t know who I was.”

Anderson’s state of consciousness was waning. He had to remind himself to stay awake.

“About 10 seconds later, it clicked in my mind that I was not dead and I had to get up and get help,” he said.

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Upper Darby football player DeSean Anderson recovered from being shot multiple times two summers ago and returned to the gridiron, becoming one of the Royals’ best players in his senior year. (PETE BANNAN – MEDIANEWS GROUP)

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The junior center back, a first team All-Central League boys’ soccer selection, was a rock-solid performer for the Aces this fall, according to Lower Merion head coach Nico Severini. Pitonyak and the Aces finished third in the District 1 4A tournament and advanced to the PIAA 4A state tournament quarterfinals. Severini said, “Will had a great playoff run, helping the defense maintain a few shutouts and be also being a threat offensively. He has worked hard, and has a very positive attitude.” Off the pitch, Pitonyak participates in the Investment Club and Meditation Club at Lower Merion.

Fun facts – Will Pitonyak

Favorite book: The Blind Side.

Favorite TV show: The Office.

Favorite movie: Inglourious ********.

Favorite team: Chelsea.

Favorite pre-game meal: Manhattan Bagel bacon, egg and cheese.

Person I most admire: “Tom Brady because of his dedication, passion and mental and physical toughness.”

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The Conestoga High School junior had a standout golf season this fall, finishing first at the PIAA Class AAA East Regional Boys Golf Tournament with a 5-under-par 67 at Golden Oaks Golf Club, then finished ninth at the PIAA Class AAA state championships at Heritage Hills Golf Resort, earning a medal. He is also a standout wrestler for the Pioneers, posting a 32-6 record as a freshman and a 30-12 mark as a sophomore, finishing sixth at Regionals last winter.

Fun facts – Morgan Lofland

Favorite book: Seven Days In Eutopia.

Favorite TV show: The Flash.

Favorite movie: Tin Cup.

Favorite athlete: Jordan Spieth.

Favorite pre-round pump-up song: Gods Country.

Favorite team: Philadelphia Eagles.

Favorite place to visit: Beach.

Favorite pre-round meal: Bacon Egg & Cheese.

Person I most admire, and why: “My parents because of how much they sacrifice for my sisters and I.”

Family members: parents Scott and Linda, sisters Lauren and Janie.

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DOWNINGTOWN — As Joe Gallagher peeked into the stands Friday night at Kottmeyer Stadium, he would find them all there, right with him, all these decades later. If there was to be greatness, and it turns out there would be, they would enjoy it together.

Gallagher coaches Haverford High, which fell, 49-42, to Downingtown West in the District 1Class 5A semifinal. But it would not be before a determined fourth-quarter comeback, two postseason victories and after a lifetime around Delaware County football.

The season is not done, not with a Thanksgiving game to play, and an emotional one. But the playoff run was over. Just the same, Gallagher had already saved a spot for his Fords on his personal list of football memories.

“Right at the top,” he said. “Right at the top.”

He smiled as he said it, knowing that he played on the legendary 1972 St. James team, the Philadelphia city champion. He remembered, too, a remarkable Thanksgiving victory over Upper Darby in 2015, one he called the greatest game he’d ever seen. And, yes, he did once play for Tennessee against Bear Bryant and Alabama on national TV.

“This is the first team that ever won a playoff game here,” he said. “It’s the first team, obviously, that ever won two playoff games. So they made history themselves. If we win on Thanksgiving, we will set the school record for victories, with 11. So we still have a lot to play for.”

The Fords do. And they will. And some day, those Haverford players who rallied from a 42-14 deficit to draw within a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the top-seeded team in the district’s largest class will bond the way Gallagher still does with his high school teammates. Gary Barnes was one. He was there Friday. So were Bill Eichinger and Mike Grugan. That’s what happens when excellence happens. It lasts.

It will last that way, too, for Downingtown West. That’s because no great heavyweight battle is waged by just one competitor. And while the final spread was just a touchdown, the Whippets showed as much courage as the Fords late in the game, responding to the fourth-quarter jolt with a classic drive that jabbed to the Haverford 1.

There, vaunted West quarterback Will Howard was able to drop twice to his knee, run out the clock, and leave two teams proud of their willingness to stare each other down.

“In playoff football, we know every team is going to be good,” Howard said. “It’s going to be a battle every Friday night. We were prepared for it. We got out to an early lead. We knew they weren’t going to lie down. Trey Blair is a great player. Their offense is very dynamic. And we were prepared for it.

“We stepped up and made plays. The guys were awesome. And it was a great win.”

For Downingtown West, it was a great win, given everything. And if Haverford was going to have its playoff run stopped, it would have wanted it to happen no other way, against no less a willing opponent, in no different a situation.

“I think everybody is going to remember this Haverford football team,” said Blair, who ran for two touchdowns and passed for three. “I think everybody will.”

In his last game, a victory over Downingtown East, Blair had suffered a hip injury, and a painful one. In another situation, he may have had to take the night off. Instead, he would run for 212 yards, including bolts of 74 and 45 yards, along with a 20-yard touchdown.

“He was hurt,” Gallagher said. “You would never know it.”

Blair would not have allowed that, not with those teammates, not so deep into a special season.

“I have too much respect for my team,” the quarterback said, “to do that to it.”

Click HERE to read the full article.

Haverford quarterback Trey Blair, galloping downfield as usual, tries to avoid Downingtown West’s Tyriq Lewis Friday night during the Whippets’ 49-42 victory over the Fords in a District 1 Class 6A semifinal game. (BILL RUDICK / FOR MEDIANEWS GROUP)

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DOWNINGTOWN — Trey Blair was forced out of bounds after a 24-yard scramble late in the second quarter. The Haverford senior promptly helped Downingtown West defensive back Dylan Jones, who slammed into the chain-linked fence on the sideline at Kottmeyer Stadium, back onto his feet in an act of good sportsmanship.

Blair limped back to the bench, however, and was limited the rest of the way Saturday. Sophomore quarterback Andrew Maginnis stepped in and threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Justin Burgess, the Fords’ fifth touchdown of a dominating first half of football.

Blair suffered a hip pointer, returned for one series in the third quarter, and then sat back and watched the Haverford defense dominant.

The underdog Fords bludgeoned another favorite in the District 1 Class 6A tournament, this time by a 35-12 final, and will return to the same site next week to play No. 1 Downingtown West in the semifinals.

You better believe Blair will be healthy and ready to play.

“He can sit out of practice all week,” senior linebacker Will Higson said, half-jokingly. “We know he’ll be good for next week.”

Higson was a monster at middle linebacker and fellow senior linebackers Brian Klee, Aiden O’Neill and Sean Reynolds attacked the Downingtown East ball carriers all night. The Fords forced quarterback Drew Person to throw three interceptions and fumble three times.

After star running back Stanley Bryant, the second-leading rusher in Chester County, scampered 54 yards to paydirt in the first quarter, the Fords’ defense awakened and played their usual brand of bone-crunching football.

“We just knew we had to come out and play one way, the way we know how to and we had to be tough animals tonight,” said Reynolds, who hauled in a 26-yard touchdown pass from Blair in the first quarter. “We knew we had to stop 21 (Bryant), he’s a real good back. We had to let our linebackers do our thing and make tackles.”

The Cougars (10-2) ran a hurry-up offense throughout the game, which explained the Fords’ shaky start on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive coordinator Dan Milewski quickly got his boys up to speed and the Fords made life miserable for Person, Bryant and the Cougars’ offensive line.

“I think at first we didn’t really expect them to run with that much pace because they were getting on the ball real quick,” Higson said. “Once we made adjustments … we were able to get on the ball quick and able to get set and that’s when we were able to play our best.

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Haverford quarterback Trey Blair, right, in action recently in a win over Marple Newtown, suffered a hip pointer Saturday but had already done enough damage for the Fords to have a big lead on Downingtown East. They went on to a 39-15 victory that puts them in the District 1 Class 6A semifinals next weekend against Downingtown West. (DFM File

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WORCESTER — It had been a while since J.T. Holstein made the walk to the Strath Haven bench while the clock was still running. Certainly it was the first time in the Panthers’ six postseason games that the senior outside back made his way to the pine.

So when Holstein was whistled for a yellow card for an overzealous sliding challenge on Archbishop Wood midfielder Ryan Morgan in the waning minutes of the first half of the PIAA Class 3A boys soccer semifinal Tuesday night, he headed to the bench with his head down and sat apart from his teammates with some trepidation.

“It’s nervous,” he said, “nerve-wracking.”

Holstein found a way to atone, and then some. He headed home a goal in the second half and helped the Panthers keep their second straight clean sheet, on the way to a 2-0 win over Wood at Methacton High and a second consecutive trip to Hershey for the state title.

The win moves Haven (16-7-1) back to the Class 3A state championship game, where they will take on Lower Dauphin, the District 3 champ that upended District 7 champion Franklin Regional, 2-0, Tuesday. Haven lost last year to West Allegheny, 4-0; Lower Dauphin ousted West Allegheny in the quarterfinals this year.

Holstein’s five-minute breather was the first time any of the Panthers’ back four – Holstein, Luigi Malo, Harris Hardy, Simon Bolinger – had sat in quite some time. Given the cohesive unit they form, one that far outstrips that collective sum of their talents, the Panthers had no reason to rotate at the back.

But as a scoreless game was getting stretched, Holstein leaped into Morgan in his own half. And while nervous, the Panthers adjusted seamlessly. Jake Hooper, who started the season on the backline, dropped from holding midfielder to right back, and Peter Boerth slid from striker to the No. 6 spot.

“It wasn’t a smart foul because we were so far from goal,” Malo said. “But when we have other good people to replace him like Jake Hooper and pushing Peter back to the six, we have more replacements. It was hard for us but we also worked it out at the same time.”

As it turned out, both the temporary and permanent right backs would impact the game after the break.

First was Hooper, the 6-foot sophomore who is always a prime target on set pieces. On the Panthers’ fourth corner of the day, Andrew Lowman picked out Hooper at the far stick with an out-swinging, right-footed delivery, and Hooper shed his marker just enough to throw himself at the ball and send it into the net for the opening goal in the 45th minute.

“It was getting us all year,” Wood senior midfielder Matt Murphy said. “We prepared for it, we just didn’t execute. It’s not like we didn’t go over it in practice or anything, we went over exactly what they do, they did exactly what they do and we just didn’t execute.”

Since Wood didn’t stop it, Lowman went right back to it seven minutes later, this time with a more forceful nudge from Holstein.

“Going to hit the second one, JT goes, ‘hit it far post,’ because that’s his run,” Lowman said. “And I hit it there, and he finished it, which was amazing.”

“I told Andrew to put it in one spot the way I wanted it,” Holstein said. “He put it right where I wanted it.”

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Strath Haven’s J.T. Holstein, left, and Archbishop Wood’s Shawn Trodden battle for the ball in the first period in the PIAA Class 3A semifinal game Tuesday night at Methacton. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

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WORCESTER TWP. — By design, Charlie Shankweiler isn’t supposed to have much to do in Strath Haven’s goal.

It’s not because he’s a sophomore. It’s not because he split time for most the season with Rob Gillday before winning the starters’ gloves outright.

It’s just the way Strath Haven tends to play. And in a high school realm where goalie stats are at best illusory and at worse fraudulent, Shankweiler’s saves tallies in the low single-digits can appear underwhelming.

But there are other numbers that supersede them, like the three total goals Strath Haven has allowed in six postseason games, the two straight shutouts in the PIAA Class 3A tournament or the steely nerve to produce two overtime wins. That indicates that while Shankweiler hasn’t had to stand on his head, he’s been as reliable as anyone during the Panthers’ run to a second straight PIAA final.

“He stays focused all game,” midfielder Andrew Lowman said Tuesday, after the Panthers eliminated Archbishop Wood 2-0 in a state semifinal game. “When the defense is playing well like it usually does, he doesn’t get many shots. The ones that come on breakaways, he’s focused and ready to make a big save.”

The save totals have been modest for Shankweiler. He ended up with two Tuesday night. The most difficult was, paradoxically, the easiest of its sequence, with defender J.T. Holstein clearing a header from Wood’s Shane Collier off the line before Shankweiler grabbed an ambitions bicycle-kick attempt by Giuseppe Propato to end the threat. It was a typical Shankweiler save, elementary but authoritatively handled.

When he was called into action, it was mainly to corral attempts that were heading wide of the cage or to rush out and cover speculative through balls on the ground. It’s the end product of a risk/benefit analysis performed by Strath Haven’s sturdy defense: If the ball manages to get to Shankweiler, it’s usually because it’s one he can handle.

Sometimes, that falls apart, and Shankweiler has to step up to bail out the Panthers. One such passage was in Saturday’s quarterfinal against Selinsgrove, when the District 4 champion Seals bounded forward en masse in the final five minutes of the half, trying to answer Tim Wright’s opening goal. Shankweiler made three saves in the final 10 minutes of the half, on the way to five for the game, including a grab of a Jamison Bohner free kick knuckling in the wing at Cedar Crest High School and an assertive charge off his line to snuff an attempt by Kyle Ruhl in the waning seconds.

The Panthers entered the break clutching to a 1-0 lead. Within seven minutes in the second, they led 3-0.

“We can always rely on him,” center back Harris Hardy said. “Whether he makes one save or five saves, he always makes the saves.”

Shankweiler’s role is overshadowed by an assertive backline. That foursome includes three seniors — Hardy and Luigi Malo in the center, J.T. Holstein out wide opposite the lone underclassmen, junior captain Simon Bolinger. Regardless of class, it’s a unit comprised of four leaders.

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Strath Haven’s Charlie Shankweiler makes a save in the first period in a state tourney game against Susquehannock. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

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FAIRVIEW VILLAGE >> The Conestoga girls have played for the state soccer title before. In fact, the Pioneers won it all back in 2006 and again in 2008.

And even though ’Stoga has always been a consistent league and district power, success in the PIAA Playoffs has been elusive over the last decade, especially under current head coach Benjamin Wilson. That all changed big-time this fall, and on Friday the Pioneers earned their way into the state championship game, to be held Friday at Hersheypark Stadium.

“I am so excited, especially to be going to the finals with this team,” said senior co-captain Calista Courtney.

“This is all I’ve ever wanted for my high school career,” added fellow senior co-captain Caitlin Donovan.

Donovan scored the lone goal in the final 10 minutes of regulation to top reigning District 1 champion Pennridge, 1-0, in the state semifinals on a windy and frigid Tuesday evening at Methacton.

“This is my fourth year and our third time in states,” said head coach Benjamin Wilson. “And we hadn’t got past the first round until this year.

“For the girls it’s fun. For me it’s just a big relief. Last season we beat Pennridge and Souderton in the districts and then those two went on to play for the state title.

“We were bound to get here at some point and it’s great to see it all come together.”

Now 21-3 overall, ’Stoga will battle Boyertown for the crown. The two met during the regular season and the Bears prevailed in penalty kicks. Pennridge’s season ends with a 22-2-1 mark.

“Pennridge was by far the best team we’ve played this season,” Wilson said.

The No. 3 seed from District 1, the Pioneers have blossomed in PIAA Tournament action, beating the District 12, 7 and now 1 champions by a combined 10-0. It was Conestoga’s 12^th shutout of the season.

“At the beginning of the season, we had basically a brand new back line and a lot of very good returning attacking players,” Wilson explained. “I thought unlike other seasons we would be an all-out offensive team, but as we got into the playoffs our back line really came alive. And in the last few games, we’ve given up nothing.”

In the 81^st minute of a scoreless and very physical battle, the Pioneers finally got a prime scoring chance, and Donovan made it count. A shot by teammate McKenzie Coleman was blocked by a defender, but it bounced her way. She corralled it, dribbled right and unleashed a blast that Rams’ keeper Meghan Kriney got a piece of, but not enough to keep it from spinning into the net.

“I’ve scored a couple goals in the playoffs but I think that was the most important one,” Donovan said.

“It was a ricochet, and Caitlin is always moving and she is able to explode into spaces so quickly,” Wilson added. “She gets that momentum going forward and then just carries it through on the ball. We’ve seen goals like that all the time from her.”

For the final 8:36, ’Stoga held on. Or as Wilson termed it: “we managed the game from there.

“I said to the girls at halftime that we had to give up the all-out attack like we normally do. We needed to know when to defend as a team and just kind of choose our moments.

“We saw that getting the ball to Caitlin (Donovan) and McKenzie (Coleman) on top was working really well. We thought if we got the ball to them four or five times, eventually one of those chances was going to work, and sure enough it did.”

The Pioneers limited explosive Pennridge to just two corner kicks. Junior goaltender Caroline Klaiber turned aside all six Rams’ shots on goal.

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PHILADELPHIA — Your eyes aren’t deceiving you when trying to track Calista Courtney on the field.

Yes, that’s really the Conestoga senior lined up at center back to start. And that red-haired streak bombing up the left flank, that’s her, too. Also the girl in the box turning a defender inside out.

One of coach Ben Wilson’s best weapons is deploying the captain in a variety of roles, as situations and matchups dictate.

“My moving around just helps all the girls get into the position they want to be in,” Courtney said. “I’m fine moving around if everyone else is comfortable where they are. Even on my club team, I’ve been moving around. So there’s never been a locked position I’ve been in.”

Wherever she is, Courtney can impact a game, as she showed in the Pioneers’ 7-0 win over Cardinal O’Hara in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A tournament Tuesday night at Ramp Playground.

Courtney scored Conestoga’s second goal, a marauding run down the wing in which she put a shot past O’Hara goalie Julia Mirarchi on the short side. She set up the fourth goal, scored by Caitlin Donovan, with a delicate slip pass. And she assisted on No. 6, a corner kick that Kristi DiRico redirected home.

That’s a lot of involvement for Courtney, who can play in central defense or as a free-range wingback around a back 3. Tuesday, with the District 1 third-place Pioneers not needing reinforcement at the back while controlling the ball, Courtney got free rein to dash forward.

Despite hosting honors for District 12 champion O’Hara, the game was lopsided from the start, pitting the Central League champion against a team that finished ninth in the Catholic League and made states by virtue of the helter-skelter seeding of teams in District 12 and a gutsy win over Franklin Towne Charter in the district final. It’s the Lions’ first appearance in states.

Only Mirarchi, who made nine saves, kept the game from getting out of control early. It took Conestoga 19 minutes to get on the board via a howitzer from McKenzie Coleman.

“I was nervous, but Jules is such a good goalie,” O’Hara midfielder Marisa Lobb said. “I think she should’ve gotten PCL (All-Catholic first team) if you ask me. Those goals weren’t her fault. It’s just miscommunication.”

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The Conestoga trio of, from left, Calista Courtney, Kristi DiRico and Caitlin Donovan accounted for five of the goals in a 7-0 win over Cardinal O’Hara in the PIAA Class 4A first round Tuesday. (DFM File)

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