Garnet Valley

HERSHEY, Pa. - Their preseason goals were modest: Just win a pair of district playoff games and advance to the quarterfinals. After failing to win a district playoff game last season, their sights seemed fair, junior midfielder Halley Barnes said. The Garnet Valley Jaguars far surpassed their modest expectations, and instead of ending their season exactly three weeks ago, they played on and on. They captured the PIAA state girls' lacrosse title Saturday, holding off a late rally by Downingtown East for a 17-14 victory at HersheyPark Stadium.

Despite having a 5-11 regular season in the Southern Chester County League, Garnet Valley will play in the state PIAA class AA volleyball tournament at Robert Morris College outside Pittsburgh beginning Thursday. Yes, it's true. After finishing seventh out of eight teams in their league, the Jaguars surprised everyone by winning the District 1 Class AA tournament last Monday with a three-set win over arch-rival Octorara. Not a bad accomplishment for a squad that had only two returning players from a year ago - not to mention a new coach who is still in school herself.

Bishop Shanahan coach Vic Bruno felt his team played its "best game of the year" Thursday in defeating visiting Garnet Valley, 5-4, in a Southern Chester County League game. "They felt like playing today," he said, "and were all fired up. " That hasn't been the case all year. In fact, his team played very poorly in losing, 15-3, to visiting Phoenixville on Wednesday in a nonleague contest. Against Garnet Valley, Shanahan scored a run in the first on a Laura Sullivan single, a groundout and an error on a ground ball to second baseman Angela Billups off the bat of Monica Corum.

Garnet Valley baseball coach Scott Armstrong said he didn't think his club was a Southern Chester County League favorite this spring. Yes, the defending champions had some experienced players back, and had some pitching depth. But the Jaguars also had lost six starters from the team that had won the league and District 1 Class AA titles. Armstrong was forced to shake up his infield, the big move being the switch of Matt Miller from third base to shortstop. Miller's adjustment has been nothing short of fabulous.

Garnet Valley played its best football game of the season Friday night against Academy Park but still lost. The Jaguars had plenty of opportunities to score, only to wind up on the wrong end of the 17-0 final score in the Del-Val League game. "I don't really believe in moral victories," Jaguars coach Mike Ricci said afterward. "I believe in taking positive things out of games. " Garnet Valley (0-4, 0-2) failed to capitalize on four interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Penncrest raised eyebrows last week when it defeated Strath Haven for the first time in 21 seasons. Last night, the Lions looked to serve notice again that they are not to be taken lightly. For the second consecutive week, Penncrest was out to knock off an area power. But this time, things didn't go as planned. Garnet Valley took a 37-21 Central League victory at Louis W. Scott Field. Just as they did last week against Harriton, the Jaguars (2-0, 2-0 league) racked up a lot of rushing yards in the victory.

For multiple reasons, Garnet Valley has payback in mind going into its Central League showdown against Conestoga at Teamer Field. First, Conestoga won last year's meeting in Glen Mills, 14-7, marking Garnet Valley's first loss in 12 league contests. Second, the defeated Jaguars believed the Pioneers poured salt on the wound with an excessive postgame celebration at Moe DeFrank Stadium. Conestoga, believed to be the top challenger to preseason league favorite Ridley, opened this season with a come-from-behind 36-29 triumph over Owen J. Roberts and followed that with a 35-14 romp over Upper Darby.

The Garnet Valley High football team could very well get a good look at what it's like to face itself tonight, when it meets District 3 champion Lampeter-Strasburg, in the PIAA Class AAA Eastern Finals at Hersheypark Stadium (7 p.m). The Jaguars (12-1), two-time defending District 1 champions, have come back in successive weeks to reach this point. They've done it with defense, especially in the red zone, and a four-back, multifaceted offense that attacks in many directions. The Pioneers (12-2)

Highlights of Tuesday's contests can be found at: www.philly.com/rally The Lacrosse Media Rankings are chosen by Phillylacrosse.com and writers from eight newspapers, including The Inquirer. BOYS, PIAA SCHOOLS 1. Conestoga. . . 17-3 2. Downingtown West. . . 20-0 3. La Salle. . . 14-4 4. Garnet Valley. . . 16-5 5. Great Valley. . . 14-7 6. Central Bucks East. . . 18-2 7. Radnor. . . 14-7 8. Abington. . . 15-5 9. Hatboro-Horsham.

West Chester is headed to the World Series. Righthander Dylan Porter fired a four-hitter to lead the Golden Rams past Kutztown, 6-0, on Sunday, for the championship of the NCAA Division II Atlantic baseball regional. West Chester (42-10) earned a trip to the D-II College World Series in Cary, N.C. this weekend. The Golden Rams will open against Chico State of California (40-17) at 1 p.m. Saturday in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament. Porter (5-1) was masterful right from the first pitch at Owls Field in West Lawn, Pa. The senior from Chesapeake High in Pasadena, Md., scattered four hits over nine innings, walking one and striking out seven.

North Penn freshman pitcher Jackie Bilotti had no trouble with playoff pressure Monday as the Maidens opened the PIAA District 1 Class AAAA softball tournament with a 5-0 no-hitter against visiting Ridley. Bilotti had no strikeouts, walked one, and was backed by solid defense from her North Penn teammates. Melissa Fasick went 3 for 3 and scored twice, and Jess Mower and Erin Maher added two hits each as part of the Maidens' 10-hit offense. In other first-round action, Upper Darby scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game and three more in the eighth to pull out a 7-6 thriller over visiting Owen J. Roberts.

North Penn freshman pitcher Jackie Bilotti had no trouble with playoff pressure on Monday as the Maidens opened the District 1 Class AAAA softball tournament with a 5-0 no-hitter against visiting Ridley. Bilotti had no strikeouts, walked one and was backed by solid defense from her North Penn teammates. Melissa Fasick went 3 for 3 and scored twice, and Jess Mower and Erin Maher added two hits each as part of the Maidens' 10-hit offense. In other first-round action, Upper Darby scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game and three more in the eighth to pull out a 7-6 thriller over visiting Owen J. Roberts.

Garnet Valley's Robert Raucci scored with 5 seconds left in overtime as the Jaguars upset host Pennsbury, 6-5, on Thursday in the second round of the District 1 lacrosse playoffs. Ryan Guittare found Raucci for the game-winner. It was the junior attack's fourth goal of the game. His brother, Jule, scored with 51 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 5. Mitch Rose played solid in goal en route to seven saves. Garnet Valley is the tournament's 11th seed and Pennsbury is No. 6. Also in the second round, Tyler Haines scored five times as No. 20 Great Valley upset host No. 4 Ridley, 8-7. Ryan Ambler assisted three goals and recovered eight ground balls to pace host Abington over West Chester Henderson, 13-6.

Garnet Valley and Conestoga wrapped up their Central League baseball schedules with victories on Monday and shared the league championship with identical 13-3 records. Garnet Valley used a 7-3 win over visiting Lower Merion to earn its part of the title as Ryan Dorosh pitched five innings with eight strikeouts for the win. Joe DeCarlo doubled and hit a bases-empty home run. Conestoga is sharing the title with another team for the third straight year after topping visiting Ridley, 4-1. Alan Wang pitched a complete game, and Jake Carr went 2 for 2 at the plate with two runs batted in. Also in the Central League, Penncrest claimed an 11-8 thriller at Strath Haven with three runs in the top of the ninth inning.