PA – Central Athletic League | Archive | January, 2020

Ardmore >> With Conestoga’s star, Morgan Lofland, a little dinged up, the Pioneers had the luxury of waiting until the final bout to see if they needed him.

Conestoga won six in a row from 182 pounds to 113, to remove any doubt against the host, Lower Merion.

With a roster of 13 wrestlers with double-digit wins, the Pioneers had plenty of help as they raced past the Aces, 48-27, in the Central League title, Wednesday.

“I think the whole lineup is strong,” Conestoga senior Ezra Toll said. “We’re not weak anywhere and we’re strong everywhere. We take pride in that.”

Toll is one of four seniors in the starting lineup, and while many of the starting 14 are underclassmen, they’re far from inexperienced.

The result is a 13-3 record, with five wins in six league meets. With two league meets remaining, it’s about tightening things up with the individual postseason starting to peek over the horizon.

“I think we’re working really hard,” Conestoga coach Tom Elicker said. “Individually we have some kids who are looking to do big things and we’re hoping to help them achieve their goals.”

Toll, Matt Hamilton (220 pounds) and Matt Palomo have combined for 48 wins from 160, up, and Liam Kirk has been a nice addition at 195, as a senior.

After rushing for over 1,000 yards on the gridiron, Kirk made his debut on the mat as he prepares for his career at the University of Delaware.

“I decided to pick it up this year,” said Kirk, who’s 8-5 on the season. “I heard it translates well, and since I’m playing football next year, I wanted to give it a shot to cross train and see if it helps me get better on the football field.”

Lower Merion (4-3 league, 8-12 overall) got off to a hot start behind Christian Hodges (145), who just became the school’s winningest wrestler last week, and notched his 124th career victory with a first-period pin. Jakob Segal (152) and James Lledo added falls to bump the Aces’ lead to 12, after four bouts.

But Nick Arbes (182), Kirk, Hamilton, Palomo, Alec Calvitti (106) and Matt Boye (113) combined for 31 points the next six bouts to give Conestoga some cushion.

“It’s been nice to know we have those guys,” Elicker said of his big boys. “Hamilton is having a nice season and Palomo is doing a good job bumping up and giving up weight, often. Kirk, in his first year of wrestling is picking it up quickly. He’s a really good athlete, and still a little green, but he’s putting it together.”

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Conestoga’s Liam Kirk nears a pin against Lower Merion’s Quinn Black at 195 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

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CONCORD — Kylie McNicholas comes from a famous Ridley family.

Her grandfather is legendary Ridley High football coach, Joe McNicholas, a 226-game winner.

“He’s a big talker,” McNicholas said, laughing. “He’ll give me advice on some things.”

Kylie McNicholas, a junior, is a sharp-shooting guard for the Ridley girls basketball team. She made the game-winning shot in the fourth quarter to propel the Green Raiders to a thrilling, 47-45 victory Tuesday night at Garnet Valley.

The last name is synonymous with success at Ridley, and Kylie McNicholas surely made her grandfather proud with her effort Tuesday.

McNicholas stood at the corner along the Green Raiders bench and calmly swished her third 3-pointer of the night with a minute to go. She finished with 11 points and a game-high four assists.

McNicholas recently missed a few games due to a banged-up shoulder suffered in the Green Raiders’ loss to first-place Springfield earlier this month. She said it had taken a little time to find her shot again.

“I know my teammates are always going to be there to have my back,” she said. “I’ve been in a shooting slump recently, but in this game I finally started to feel more confident in myself. The first game back after my injury, I felt like I couldn’t even shoot, really. I felt a lot better tonight.”

Meanwhile for Ridley, Dakota McCaughan was popping 3-pointers like TicTacs. The sensational senior guard drained nine treys en route to scoring a game-high 28 points. She shot 9 of 15 from long distance. As a team, Ridley made 16 field goals, including 13 from beyond the arc.

McCaughan’s biggest play of the night wasn’t one of her bombs-away 3-balls or ****** crossover moves; rather, it was the charge she took in the waning seconds of regulation, sealing the win for the Green Raiders. McCaughan doesn’t often hang inside the paint to take an offensive charge, but with the game on the line, she sacrificed as GV’s Ava Possenti drove the lane with eight seconds left.

She took the impact and fell to the floor as Possenti was whistled for the offensive foul with three seconds to go. McCaughan was helped off the hardwood and congratulated by her teammates.

“I watched her earlier in the game and I could see that she wasn’t too shifty, so I knew that with the time constraint that she was going to go right up,” McCaughan said. “I just stepped up and I knew my teammates were going to let me take it and I got real excited.”

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Ridley’s Kylie McNicholas had 11 points in the Green Raiders’ 47-45 victory over Garnet Valley Tuesday evening.

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CONCORD — If you could look beyond the shoddy end-of-game execution, Wednesday night’s Central League meeting between Penncrest and Garnet Valley was just about perfect.

Two coaching staffs that had scouted each other within an inch of their lives. Two squads getting contributions from up and down the roster. Thirty-two minutes of clean, defensive basketball, with an extra 12 tacked on just because everyone was having so much fun.

And a final irony that the only one of the five end-of-game chances to be converted — Aidan Carroll’s second-chance 3-pointer at the buzzer of the third overtime — mattered none to the final outcome.Despite Garnet Valley spurning chances to win at the end of regulation, the first overtime and twice in the second OT, the Jaguars managed to hold on, 64-62, in a loony three-overtime contest between two of the top teams in District 1’s Class 6A and 5A rankings.

Even before tipoff, there was intrigue. Wednesday was the first game back for Neel Beniwal, the Jags’ second-leading scorer last year, who had missed seven games with tendinitis in his knee while dealing with a torn ligament in his left pinkie. Perhaps the basketball gods just wanted to give Beniwal more time on the court, and he obliged with a game-best 20 points, despite just 2-for-7 shooting from 3-point range.

“It was good,” Beniwal said. “They did really good without me the last seven games, but it feels good to be back and scoring 20. And playing with my teammates is really fun.”

Penncrest had a late lineup change to complicate matters, with Justin Potts unable to go, replaced by Ben Stanton. The sophomore scored eight points, including a late 3-pointer in the first overtime.

Garnet Valley (15-1, 10-1) had the final say thanks to not having to script a play for said final say. The Jags led by five with two minutes left, but a 3-pointer from Marquis Tomlin and two missed free throws from Carl Schaller left the door open for Penncrest (13-4, 7-4). Carroll obliged with 53 seconds left, coming off a screen and hoisting Stanton’s feed for a 3-pointer at the top of the key to even the game at 47.

Enter the Garnet Valley late-game adventure. Off a timeout with 18.6 seconds left, the Jags drew up a play that ended with Gannon McKee airballing an unplanned 3-pointer. The teams traded blows in the first extra session, but a Penncrest turnover gave the Jags the final look, which turned into a harried Max Jackowsky air ball from range.

“I was expecting the ball, but I had to rush because there was a little bit of time left,” Jackowsky said. “I wasn’t ready to shoot, I’d say.”

In the second OT, Garnet Valley doubled down, and not in a good way. Denzel Atkinson-Boyer, who had tied the game at 55, blocked a Jackowsky effort with 2.1 seconds left, and Stanton collected the rebound. But after a timeout, the Lions threw the ball the length of the court clear of everyone (one of only 18 total turnovers in a hard-nosed but clean game), giving the Garnet an in-bounds play at the hashmark in its half of the court.

Even still, they couldn’t cash in, Carroll blocking a Beniwal 3-pointer.

“We’re hyped at that point,” Tomlin said. “We knew at the end of regulation, we had to stop them. We had to lock it in and get the last stop regardless of what happened.”

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Garnet Valley’s Max Jackowsky hits a 3-pointer in the third overtime against Penncrest Wednesday. Jackowsky’s 3-pointer put Garnet Valley up for good in a 64-62 win. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

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NETHER PROVIDENCE — Caroline Dotsey fit in immediately at Haverford High.

The freshman forward has been a bright spot on a young and rebuilding Fords club that continues to show people they are not pushovers in the Central League.

While the team lost nine seniors, including all five starters, to graduation last spring, coach Lauren Pellicane is one of the best at molding young talent and making sure they are playing above expectations.

Here the Fords sit after a 43-39 victory at Strath Haven, in the thick of the Central League race. A first-place regular season finish is out of the question, but don’t be surprised if the Fords make a run in the conference playoffs. For the first time, as many as six teams (instead of four) qualify for the tournament, which begins in early February in the week leading up to the start of the District 1 playoffs.

Dotsey powered the Fords to the win Wednesday night, pairing 19 points with 10 rebounds (both game highs) and two blocked shots.

Dotsey has the potential to be a special player. With a some polishing, she can be a dynamic threat on the offensive side and a dominating presence on defense. The 6-foot Dotsey displayed an ability to post up and score, shoot from the wing and drive to the basket. And anybody who tries to drive the lane on her is asking for trouble.

“I feel the team has been really welcoming of me,” she said. “It’s great because we all try to work with each other , and it’s good to know that if they look for me that I can always look back at them.

“I feel I am constantly developing. Hopefully I’ll get there soon, but it’s good to know that I can rely on other people to pick up where I kind of leave off.”

Senior guard Katie Redding, the only fourth-year player on the Fords, is happy to have a player of Dotsey’s size and skill to throw to inside the lane.

“It’s nice to know that she has that confidence for us. As a point guard, throwing the ball in to her, I am confident that she’s going to finish nine times out of 10,” Redding said. “That’s a great feeling.”

Redding played a critical role in helping the Fords seal the win and bounce back from a heartbreaking, 26-23 defeat to Central League-leading Springfield Monday night. While she didn’t light up the scoreboard, Redding made a key steal in the final minute to preserve the victory. She finished with three points, seven rebounds, two steals and a game-high five assists.

The new-look Fords improved to 9-7 overall and 7-4 in the league.

“Last year, so many of us were all on JV together and we did extremely well together, so I knew that coming into this year we had a good base and a strong bond,” Redding said. “We knew that this title is up for grabs this year and that anybody could get it. It’s shown in our last couple of games, how close the Springfield and Garnet Valley games were, and they were the top-two contenders for the last three or four years.”

Perhaps the Fords can be title contenders this winter. Their losses to Garnet Valley and Springfield were by a combined three points. Ridley, which occupies second place in the conference, dealt the Fords one of the worst losses of the season, 45-21. Haverford also suffered a close defeat to Harriton last week.

“With a young team there are inconsistencies,” Pellicane said. “At the end of the day, we’re coming out and we’re competing.

“I don’t think a lot of people would’ve said, ‘Oh, when you play Radnor and Springfield this year after losing nine seniors that you’re going to compete. But I think we’ve surprised some people. It’s a credit to our kids. We have one senior in Katie Redding and we have a couple of juniors who are great leaders, such as Chaira MacGillivray, Addison Brodnik and Hannah Clancy, who really played well tonight.

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Freshman Caroline Dotsey posted 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead Haverford to a 43-39 win at Strath Haven Wednesday (PETE BANNAN/MEDIANEWS GROUP)

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RIDLEY TWP. — There was a buzz inside the Ridley High gymnasium Saturday afternoon.

A regular season game between the Central League’s best squads received the appropriate attention from the schools’ fan bases. Even players from other teams in the conference showed up for this one.

There was an atmosphere in the building that was unlike most high school girls basketball games you’ll see in Delaware County. But when it’s Ridley and Springfield, and both teams are undefeated in the Central League, people are going to come out and watch.

“We knew there was going to be a lot of people here. I guess that got us really going,” said Springfield junior guard Alexa Abbonizio, who poured in a game-high 26 points to lead the Cougars to a 64-51 triumph.

“When the crowd is getting loud, that gets us fired up and I think we had a big section on our side, which is what really helped us put it together,” she said. “That helped with the bench energy as well, and everyone really stepped up today.”

Springfield is the veteran team that has been there and done that before. The Cougars are perennial Central League contenders and PIAA tournament participants, so this type of big-game feeling was nothing new.

Ridley, meanwhile, has taken the league by storm. Winners of 10 in a row entering the day, the Green Raiders are enjoying their best start to a season in 13 years.

All Springfield did was remind everyone that it is still a team to be reckoned with in the Central League and District 1.

“A Springfield-Ridley game on its own is a big deal, then you add the fact that they have (transfer) Dakota (McCaughan) now and they’re winning games and are in first place in the Central League. It just makes this game so much more special,” said senior guard Alyssa Long, who knows a thing or three about performing in big games (she helped the lacrosse team win a PIAA championship last spring). “To go through this with the team is pretty awesome. You look around the gym and you see Penncrest, Marple and Garnet Valley players here. Everyone was here to watch and it’s a fun way to spend a little Saturday afternoon.

“That’s the enjoyment of high school sports. It doesn’t get much better than this.”

Two days after beating reigning Central League champion Garnet Valley in blowout fashion, the Cougars (7-4, 7-0) handled Saturday’s test with the confidence and intelligence of a group that has years of experience. The Cougars withstood the pressure and played their brand of basketball. They excelled on defense, receiving contributions from just about everyone who saw action, and their shooters came out firing. A perimeter-shooting club, the Cougars connected on six 3-point baskets and shot a cool 58.3 percent (21-for-36) from the floor.

“We came into the week seeing that we had Garnet Valley on Thursday and Ridley today,” Long said. “I think we showed that we can handle it, and it’s only going to take us up from here. We might have lost two starters and two 1,000-point scorers (Jordan D’Ambrosio and Belle Mastropietro), but I think this week showed that we are back and we’re ready to play.”

Abbonizio was feeling it from the get-go. Springfield’s best offensive weapon was money throughout the game. She scored no fewer than six points in each quarter and connected on 10 of 16 field goals.

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Alexa Abbonizio, seen in a game last month against Radnor, scored 26 points Saturday in a 64-51 win over Ridley

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The senior 145-pounder has posted a 21-1 record with 17 pins (as of Jan. 11), and finished first at the Jim Thorpe Christmas Tournament, going 5-0 for the day. He was 20-8 as a sophomore, and last year went 18-9 with a second-place finish at Sectionals. Off the mat, he maintains a 4.4 grade-point average and is a teaching assistant at the Main Line Reform Temple in Wynnewood.

Fun facts – Luke Fink

Favorite book: Game of Thrones

Favorite author: George R. R. Martin

Favorite TV show: The Office

Favorite movie: Finding Nemo

Favorite athlete: Alan Iverson

Favorite pre-meet pump-up song: Good Kid, M.A.A.d City

Favorite team: Philadelphia Eagles

Favorite place to visit: France

Favorite pre-meet meal: Wawa Hoagie and Reese’s Candy Bar

Person I most admire, and why: “Coach [Jeff] Rhodes inspires and has taught me everything I truly know about wrestling and is always able to help me stretch to learn and grow.”

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RIDLEY TWP. — Dakota McCaughan never wanted to leave Bonner-Prendergast, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t happy to be playing basketball for Ridley High School.

The senior guard and former All-Catholic League selection was excited to join her hometown high school. But it took McCaughan a little time to adjust to the new environment.

And it was emotional at times.

“To be honest, the first week of volleyball preseason was really bad,” McCaughan said. “I would go home and have anxiety attacks about coming back. It’s not that I didn’t want to see people I grew up with; it was just so different. I just wasn’t used to it at first.”

McCaughan was a three-year starting point guard at Bonner-Prendergast, where she developed into one of the top talents in Delco. She helped the Pandas advance all the way to the semifinal round of the PIAA Class 4A tournament last March.

McCaughan and her family decided she wouldn’t return to Bonner-Prendergast for her senior year.

“The volleyball preseason was so awkward for me. I was new here,” she said. “I didn’t want to leave Prendie, but I had no other option. … So, it was awkward, but the basketball team made it so much better for me. They welcomed me like family, and we’re all genuinely good friends outside of school.”

After Tuesday’s 64-24 rout of Penncrest, the Green Raiders have won nine in a row are tied for first place in the Central League.

McCaughan takes a lot of pride in making her teammates better players.

“They needed glue and I feel like I’ve been able to come in and help with that,” said McCaughan, who shot 4-for-5 from beyond the arc and finished with a game-high 14 points. “They had the talent, but now we’re putting all the pieces together.

“I just wanted to make an impact on the team … and I knew I had the ability to.”

One player who has benefited from McCaughan’s addition is Shannen Hinchey, an athletic junior forward who has the ability to drive, post up and defend. Hinchey tallied six points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal Tuesday.

“With Dakota coming in, it’s really great to have an actual point guard, that really does help us a lot,” Hinchey said. “Also, coach (Roe) Falcone is  amazing and she is always making sure we are doing the right thing.”

Falcone is having a blast coaching the upstart Green Raiders in her first season as a head coach. The Ridley product and former softball star is a member of the Delco Athletes Hall of Fame.

“I think we’re really fortunate this year and I feel we are a deep team,” said Falcone, who has guided the Green Raiders to a 10-1 record. “I think we’re a team that is able to run a lot and not worry about kids getting tired and we can play a lot of people. We focus on a transition game.”

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Ridley’s Dakota McCaughan drives on the basket in the first quarter Tuesday evening. McCaughan, an All-Catholic point guard at Bonner-Prendergast who is spending her senior year at Ridley, led the way with 14 points in a 64-24 win over Penncrest. (PETE BANNAN – MEDIANEWS GROUP)

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The senior attacking center midfielder, who led Chester County with 33 goals this fall, supplied the game-winning tally in double-digit matches for the Pioneers, who won their third straight Central League girls soccer title and advanced to the PIAA Class 4A title game. It was the fourth straight year Donovan was the Pioneers’ leading scorer, and she finished with 82 career goals. The United Soccer Coaches Association named her the state’s top player and put her on its All-American team. Donovan was named the Central League co-MVP, and was a repeat selection for All-State, All-Region and All-American honors. Next fall, she will be playing soccer for LaSalle University, where she has been invited to participate in the Business Scholars Co-Op Program. Two years ago, her brother Chris finished his legendary soccer career at Conestoga by scoring all four of the Pioneers’ goals in their 4-0 win against Hempfield in the PIAA 4A state championship final, and scored 56 goals during his senior season, more than doubling the school’s single-season record.

Fun facts – Caitlin Donovan

Favorite athlete: Son Heung-Min, winger for Tottenham Hotspur.

Favorite team: Tottenham Hotspur.

Favorite place to visit: The beach at Avalon, N.J.

Favorite pre game meal: “Peanut butter banana sandwich before the game but I love when our team has pasta parties the night before.”

Person I most admire: “Mr. [Kevin] Pechin, who was my elementary school gym teacher and is now the athletic director at Conestoga. He was so supportive of me throughout my childhood and I was so excited to reconnect with him at Conestoga.”

Family members: parents David and Karen, brother Chris. “Also my grandmother, who drove me to many of my practices when I was younger.”

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Christian Hodges, a senior, became the first Lower Merion wrestler to earn 100 career wins since Marcus Neafsey in 2008. He was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the Radnor Holiday Tournament for the second year in a row. As of Dec. 29, his record for the season is 11-0 with seven pins, and his career record is 108-23 with 48 pins. At the Ralph Wetzel Classic Dec. 27, Hodges finished first at 138 pounds. A straight-A student, Hodges was an Academic All-American wrestler as a junior, and recently was awarded an NROTC scholarship, which was given to only 1,000 students nationally (and only three seniors in the greater Philadelphia area).

Fun facts – Christian Hodges

Favorite book: The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle.

Favorite TV show: The Office.

Favorite movie: Papillon.

Favorite athlete: Spencer Lee (University of Iowa wrestler).

Favorite team: Los Angeles Chargers.

Favorite place to visit: San Diego, Cal.

Favorite pre-meet meal: peanut butter & jelly, Gatorade, Clif Bar, water, fruit.

Person I most admire, and why: “I admire my parents because of their work ethic, complete investment in me, and unwavering support no matter what. I hope to be parents like them when I get older because without their guidance, I wouldn’t have had my achievements on the mat or in the classroom.”

Family members: parents Cody and Karen, sister Mia

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