Down 14 points and a quarterback, Busenkell and Garnet Valley rally for Central League title

CONCORD — The gadget play by Marple Newtown to begin Wednesday night’s Central League championship game startled Garnet Valley.

Later in the first quarter, when senior quarter Kevin McGarrey was injured in the end zone, tackled at the completion of a 60-yard scoring run, the Jags were fired up. McGarrey suffered a serious upper-body injury and did not return.

The quick strike by the Tigers and loss of McGarrey fueled Garnet Valley’s furious offensive explosion. Down by as many as 14 points, the Jags rallied to score the next four touchdowns. What appeared to be a competitive game turned into a laugher by the fourth quarter, with coach Mike Ricci’s team cruising to a 52-30 victory.

Winners of 25 consecutive league games, the Jaguars completed the shortened season with a perfect 6-0 record.

Junior running backs Shane Reynolds and Sean Gallagher powered the offense after its slow start. Reynolds exploded for 142 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries, while Gallagher amassed 214 yards of total offense.

“Kev’s going to put his body on the line, no matter what, and he’s a big team guy,” Reynolds said. “It really lit a fire under us because I know whenever I’m back there on offense I can look to Kevin. I knew we were going to get this done for him. Seeing him upset after he got hurt, I think we really kicked it into another gear.”

Gallagher finished with 90 yards on the ground and five catches for 124 yards. He caught a pair of touchdown passes, including a 75-yarder on a quick slant in the third quarter. And for good measure, he threw a halfback pass to Matt Marowski for a five-yard TD in the final stanza.

“I knew after they scored their second touchdown (in the first quarter), I looked around and I saw a bunch of warriors on our team,” Gallagher said. “We weren’t fazed at all.”

After Shane Mulholland played a series as the back-up quarterback, Ricci called on junior Max Busenkell, one of the team’s standouts in the defensive secondary. Busenkell hadn’t played the position in a live setting since his freshman year, yet flourished when the Jaguars were desperate for someone to take control of the offense. He completed 8 of 9 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns.

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