Garnet Valley cruises past Upper Darby, is ‘stoked’ for playoffs

CONCORD — As an old saying goes, it’s not how you start, but how you finish.

For Garnet Valley, a strong ending to the regular season in the form of a dominant 35-8 win over Upper Darby has the Jaguars feeling good about where they are heading into the District 1 Class 6A playoffs.

“They’re a resilient group,” said Garnet Valley coach Erik VanWyk, whose team improved to 8-2. “We’ve had our highs and lows this year, but they really stayed in the middle and I think you need that if you want to succeed in the next chapter.”

Garnet Valley used a tricky mix of its patented ground attack and some timely passing from quarterback Tyler Lassik to keep the Royals guessing.

“It’s important to be able to show that (offensive) balance to go deep into the playoffs,” VanWyk said. “I thought we executed pretty well.”

Lassik hit Luke O’Donoghue with a 21-yard touchdown pass just three minutes into the game before Luke Vaughn added two more scores to give the Jaguars a 21-0 lead by the end of the first half.

“I was excited. The holes opened up and I think we have some of the best lineman that we have ever had here. It’s not me, it’s those huge holes they open up for me,” said Vaughn, who finished with 73 rushing yards. “I know that we let up eight (points), but they didn’t get that on the defense, so it meant a lot to not let them score on our defense, too.”

Defensively, the Jaguars were all over the Royals, as Massimo Iavarone and Chase Britton each tallied a sack. For lineman Aidan Bendo, the squad’s defensive effort was top notch.

“The defense was phenomenal,” Bendo said. “Every play was relentless. The coaches had a great scheme, the scout team gave us great looks at practice. Everything worked out perfect.

“We’re stoked (for the postseason). We have a couple of injuries and they hurt, but every guy here can be replaced. We install the system and everything else will take care of itself.”

The Royals were game, but mental and physical mistakes plagued them. In all, the Royals were whistled for 12 penalties in the first half alone, and 15 for the game. Those mistakes would prove costly against the Jaguars.

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Garnet Valley quarterback Tyler Lassik, seen celebrating during a victory over Marple Newtown the previous week, led the Jaguars to a 35-8 win over Upper Darby to close the regular season Friday night. (Pete Bannan - MediaNews Group)