Sportsmanship Brings Friars, Lions Together

Both Penncrest's Jef Hewlings and Malvern Prep head boys' lacrosse coach John Rohde played their college lacrosse at West Chester State in the 1970s.

Both coaches learned the game and respect everyone involved with it.

Malvern has shown it can compete with the best teams in the Inter-Ac League, and the Friars also are making a positive impression on the officials.

Malvern shared the George A. Kruse Memorial Sportsmanship Award with Penncrest this season.

``I think it's wonderful,'' Malvern coach John Rohde said. ``It speaks volumes about the type of kids we have at Malvern Prep and the school itself. In our mission statement, one of the most important things is respect. We respect the game of lacrosse, we respect our opponents, and we respect the officials.

``It's certainly an honor to receive the award and share it with Penncrest.''

Rohde and his staff of Jamie Wasson, Dale Biegel and Kevin Ryan guided the Friars to an 11-8 record this year. They beat state finalist Ridley and topped Inter-Ac champion Haverford School twice this year.

Monsters of the midfield. There's no doubt which Suburban League team had the top midfield. That would be league champion Downingtown, which featured Jon Feeley, Ryan Maloney, Ryan Beible and Brian Kelly.

All four players earned first-team all-league honors, and all four players are set to continue their careers in college. Feeley (Towson State), Kelly (Whittier), Beible (Dartmouth) and Maloney (Hartwick) formed a group that will be difficult for coach Jim Schorn to replace.

Super competition. Lower Merion and Ridley were the two best teams at season's end, but the regular season was so competitive that both West Chester Henderson and Springfield beat the two state finalists this year.

Expect all four programs to be in the title hunt next year.

Fond farewell. The Philadelphia-area lacrosse scene's loss will be a gain for Oneonta, N.Y.

Hewlings, Penncrest's lacrosse coach since 1989 and the most recent president of the Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association, coached his last game for the Lions in the PSLA semifinals on June 1.

Hewlings has accepted a managerial promotion from his employer in the health systems industry, and will be moving to Oneonta with his wife, Barb, and four children.

``It was the right thing to do for my family,'' Hewlings said.