[tps_title]Garnet Valley Jaguars [/tps_title]
For Digital First Media — Matt Chandik
Garnet Valley quarterback Ryan Hamby rushes with the ball during a recent practice.
Jaguars’ taste of November success has them primed for future feast
CONCORD >> There wasn’t a better story in Delaware County football during the month of November last year than Garnet Valley’s run to the District 1 Class 6A title game. The No. 10 Jaguars scored road upsets of Central Bucks South, Neshaminy and Perkiomen Valley before finally bowing to powerhouse North Penn in the championship.
Don’t expect the Jaguars to keep thinking back to that run, though. It’s obvious they’ve already moved on from it, but if you read between the lines, there’s a ton of optimism for this year’s successors. 
“I really like the way this team has improved already, from our first mini-camp we had in June through the heat acclimation camp through the first day of (last week),” coach Mike Ricci said. “I’ve seen significant improvement in this team already and we’re just hoping that we can build on it each day.”
The Jaguars have been a mainstay in the Central League’s upper echelon since they joined, and it doesn’t look like 2017 is going to be the year that that changes.
“No one expected us to get that far, but we believed in ourselves and we believe in what we can do,” senior halfback and outside linebacker Matt Lassik said. “It just proves that anybody with enough heart and grit can get there. I think this year’s team is a lot further ahead at this point than last year’s team was in executing on offense and defense, especially on offense. All the guys know what they’re doing, they’re going where they’re supposed to go and the plays are working.”
That’s never a good thing for opponents, considering that the Jaguars have carved out a reputation as an offensive juggernaut on a perennial basis. Lassik barreled his way to 881 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago as second fiddle to All-Delco Jacob Buttermore. Fellow halfback and outside linebacker Danny Guy added 439 yards and five scores, and both figure to see their numbers balloon as they become the top two ball carriers in a run-run-re-run and run some more offense. The 2016 team broke the school record for most rushing yards with an insane 3,886 rushing yards — those extra playoff games help — but there shouldn’t be an enormous dropoff.
“We have (three) returning linemen and two returning backs, so we have experience,” Guy said. “That’s why I feel like we’re a couple steps ahead. Everyone’s coming together and everyone’s picking up on things, and you normally wouldn’t see that now.”
Senior Ryan Hamby takes over under center for the Jaguars, and when he drops back, he’ll have targets like Kevin Doherty, Nick Westburg and the 6-3 duo of Jason Rose and Jon Ricci to throw to. The Jaguars always boast a strong offensive line, and this year, they return the middle of the line with center Tommy Mahoney (6-3, 250) and guards Jake Erley (6-3, 250) and Ryan Shomo (6-2, 290). The tackle spots aren’t locked in yet, but Ricci mentioned Cade Brennan (6-4, 235) and Kyle McCullough (5-10, 240) as potential contenders. Bottom line? Garnet Valley still has some big boys up front to control the line of scrimmage.
You’ll find some fresh faces on the other side of the ball, and that’s where there’s a little more uncertainty. Josh Ciarrocchi started on the defensive line a bit as a sophomore, then emerged as a full-time starter a year ago. He leads what figures to be a deep line.
“We’ve got a lot of new faces, but we’ve been working so hard in the offseason. We worked more this offseason as a unit than we did the year before,” Ciarrocchi said. “I think we might be even deeper this year with more rotation and fresh legs.”
Mark Moriarty, Shane Van Horn, Colin Robinson and Drew Maiers will see time at linebacker, while Kevin Doherty, Westburg and Rose are some who will make an impact in the secondary. There’s not much experience on defense, but there is athleticism and talent.
If it all comes together, there’s a good chance that Garnet Valley will be playing into November again.
“We tasted it last year,” Ciarrocchi said. “When you taste it, you want more.”
By Matt Chandik; For Pa Prep Live
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