Jaguars

Garnet Valley coach Jerry Doemling realizes his Jaguars had better get their act together. After a hard-fought 50-47 loss to Bishop Shanahan in a Southern Chester County League game Tuesday night, the Jaguars fell to 1-2 in the conference and 4-8 overall. Doemling said the loss was the result of his players making the same mistakes that have been costing them all season. "We seem to be somewhat consistent about the mistakes we have been making," Doemling said. The Jaguars stayed closely behind the Eagles (6-6, 3-1)

Ceil Forte twisted and turned in her seat on Garnet Valley's bench, imploring shots to fall. The Jaguars' coach did not get too much time to enjoy her team's first playoff victory ever last week. She spent Thursday night hoping long bombs would make it through the nets, and her team would somehow get by Lower Moreland, the top-seeded team in District 1 Class AA. At times, the Jaguars looked brilliant, staying with the quicker, bigger Lower Moreland team. Most times, however, Garnet Valley struggled with turnovers and missed shots, eventually falling, 56-40, to Lower Moreland (23-2 overall)

The Christian Academy's Craig Killinen gave Garnet Valley a rude reminder that sometimes games do last the entire 32 minutes. The Keystone Conference champion Crusaders trailed the Jaguars until the closing minutes of Tuesday night's nonleague contest. But they came back to beat the Jaguars 51-48 when Killinen hit a 25-foot shot at the final buzzer. The Christian Academy got its chance to win the game when, with 12 seconds remaining, Mark Forbes grabbed the rebound of a missed Jaguar foul shot.

Garnet Valley coach Jerry Doemling has said on more than one occasion that his go-to player when a game is on the line is senior point guard Bob Cox. And on more than one occasion, Cox has come through, hitting late baskets to win games. Tuesday was not one of those occasions. Cox was stripped of the ball while trying to drive for the winning basket in regulation time and the Jaguars went on to lose, 52-50, to Kennett in overtime. "There was no way he was going to pass the ball after winning our game Friday (52-51 over Octorara)

Garnet Valley stopped a two-point conversion attempt with 2 minutes and 25 seconds left to play, then hung on for a 14-12 win over visiting Pennsbury last night in the quarterfinals of the District 1 Class AAAA football playoffs. The win puts the unbeaten and No. 2-seeded Jaguars into a semifinal matchup with Neshaminy, a 31-3 winner over Ridley last night. In winning their 12th straight game of the season, the Jaguars survived a pair of second-half turnovers that allowed Pennsbury (9-3)

Garnet Valley pitcher Kristin Denenno had battled the flu all week, so she didn't complain when coach Bud Pruitt replaced her with the Jaguars trailing in the third inning of Thursday's softball game against Kennett. But she was also determined to give her team a lift in another way if she could - with her bat. And she did. Remaining in the game to play the outfield after Leah Wilkerson took over the pitching, Denenno belted a leadoff homer - her third of the year - in the sixth inning.

Garnet Valley coach Bill Geating said he wasn't sure what to expect from his 1989 Jaguars after losing most of his key runners from last year's 15-0 Southern Chester County League championship squad. But so far, Geating has liked what he's seen as the Jaguars have beaten six of their first eight opponents - including Sun Valley and The Christian Academy in a tri-meet Friday at Sun Valley. "I'm really thrilled that we are 6-2 right now," Geating said. "I think our guys are giving great efforts, and we're really excited right now. " On Friday, a great effort by senior Scott Palmer gave the Jaguars the double victory.

Timely hitting can cure quite a few ills for a baseball team - ills such as two wild pitches, a passed ball and a balk. Garnet Valley committed all those mistakes but still managed to rally past Kennett, 8-6, Thursday in the Southern Chester County League. Garnet Valley starter Josh Steward pitched only one hitless inning in the five innings he worked, and he gave up 10 hits overall. So the Jaguars didn't have an outstanding pitching performance going for them, either. But the Jaguars hit the ball well when it counted.

Mike Ricci knew his inexperienced Garnet Valley football team would suffer initial growing pains. What he expected is exactly what he saw Friday night when Garnet Valley visited Perkiomen Valley. The Jaguars stumbled in the first half en route to a 27-7 loss in the opening game for both teams. Ricci stressed to his team afterward that things were not as bad as they had appeared, and that the score was no indication of how good the team could be. In some respects, he was right.

Inconsistency. That word was on the mind of Garnet Valley basketball coach Jerry Doemling after his Jaguars were eliminated 70-66 by Morrisville in the first round of the PIAA District 1 Class AA boys' basketball tournament Monday night at Interboro High School. "That (game) was our season right there," said Doemling. "We score when we want to at times, then we can't make a basket for the life of us. Our defense gets hot, and then a couple minutes later we give up a follow-up basket, and it's all over.

Now that the NFL has uncovered a big-money bounty program for players in New Orleans, it likely will zero in on other teams Gregg Williams worked for. That means the Titans, Redskins, Jaguars, and Bills probably should all expect to hear from the league soon. Williams has admitted and apologized for running a bounty pool of up to $50,000 over the last three seasons that rewarded players with thousand-dollar payoffs for knocking targeted opponents out of games while he was the Saints' defensive coordinator.

IT'S NOT EVERY Philly kid, we'd imagine, who routinely can be found in prime seats at Big East basketball games. And we're not even talking Villanova's. Aside from serving as a combination guard for University City High, Diante Lunsford, a 5-10, 165-pound senior, often makes his way to Georgetown's games. (Imagine Dick Vitale's voice.) It helps to have connections, baby!! Lunsford's cousin, Jabril Trawick, a product of Abington Friends, is a freshman guard for the Hoyas.

IT'S NOT every Philly kid, we'd imagine, who routinely can be found in prime seats at Big East basketball games. And we're not even talking Villanova's. Aside from serving as a combination guard for University City High, Diante Lunsford, a 5-10, 165-pound senior, often makes his way to Georgetown's games. (Imagine Dick Vitale's voice.) It helps to have connections, baby!! Lunsford's cousin, Jabril Trawick, a product of Abington Friends, is a freshman guard for the Hoyas.

With New Orleans poised to score on its opening possession Saturday afternoon, San Francisco's Donte Whitner delivered a crushing blow that knocked out running back Pierre Thomas and forced the first of five Saints turnovers. An army of fans (and bettors) rose up and screamed for a penalty. But the helmet-to-helmet hit by the 49ers safety was legal. Whitner was not penalized because the tackle was not against a defenseless player. Helmet-to-helmet hits are banned against defenseless players in eight categories, and a runner is not one of those categories.

ATLANTA - Matt Ryan threw three touchdown passes and the Atlanta Falcons clinched a fourth straight winning season with a 41-14 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night. At halftime the Falcons (9-5) were up by 27-0 and the Jaguars (4-10) had a net passing total of minus-1 yard. Falcons 41, Jaguars 14 Jacksonville 0 0 7 7 – 14 Atlanta 10 17 14 0 – 41 First quarter   Atl–Jones 29 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick), 10:51.

Chargers at Jaguars 8:30 p.m., ESPN Line: Chargers by 3 Skinny: The Jaguars changed the landscape of their team last week, firing coach Jack Del Rio and announcing the team is being sold to Illinois businessman Shahid Khan. Interim coach Mel Tucker stepped in and fired WRs coach Johnny Cox, moved QBs coach Mike Sheppard to WRs, and waived starting WR Jason Hill. . . . San Diego has lost six in row, the franchise's longest losing streak since dropping nine straight spanning the 2002 and 2003 seasons.

THE JACKSONVILLE Jaguars are headed in a completely new direction. And Los Angeles doesn't appear to be the destination. Team owner Wayne Weaver fired longtime coach Jack Del Rio yesterday after a 3-8 start and agreed to sell the Jaguars to Illinois businessman Shahid Khan. Weaver named defensive coordinator Mel Tucker the interim coach and gave general manager Gene Smith a 3-year contract extension, putting him in charge of the coaching search. The moves marked the most significant changes for the small-market franchise since its inception in 1993.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Matt Leinart and Matt Schaub stood next to each other for the final few snaps, Leinart in a sling and Schaub in a walking boot. The scene spoke volumes about Houston's quarterback situation and playoff chances. If the Texans are going to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, they probably will have to do it with a third-string quarterback. Leinart injured his throwing shoulder Sunday at Jacksonville, overshadowing Houston's 20-13 victory against the inept Jaguars.

In a battle between a pair of run-happy offenses, Council Rock South's wishbone scheme packed considerably more punch than Garnet Valley's triple-option attack. Netting 325 yards on the ground, the top-seeded Golden Hawks stormed past the fifth-seeded Jaguars, 38-24, Friday night in a District 1 Class AAAA semifinal at Walt Snyder Stadium in Newtown. C.R. South scored on its first six possessions to secure a berth in the final for the first time in its 10-year history. "Every week, we see a different defense," senior right tackle Tom Trampe said.