Boys Lacrosse Preview: Radnor hopes to reload after state title run

RADNOR >> Clayton Proctor mentally turned the page during the first formal gathering of the boys lacrosse preseason. Dario Falcone’s moment occurred somewhere on the bus ride from Hershey to Radnor last June.

The last on-the-field memory for Radnor’s boys lacrosse team was the ultimate triumph, gloves, sticks and gear flying skyward in anticipation of an epic dogpile on the HersheyPark Stadium carpet after beating St. Joseph’s Prep in overtime of the PIAA final.

Their jubilation shapes the challenge of this year’s follow-up campaign, of how to replace a bevy of key contributors at every level of the squad and build on last year’s triumph, all while shouldering the hefty target as defending champs.

“Coming off a state championship, we know that everyone’s going to be gunning for us,” said Proctor, a junior attackman, last week. “We know that we still need to bring it every game, even though we lost some guys. We just need to know we’re still hungry and we still need to work just as hard every game.”

“Some” feels inadequate in describing the senior dominance of John Begier’s team that finished fourth in District One and won 21 games last year. The Raiders lose their top two scorers, All-Delcos Jack Norton and Drew Ryan, who combined for 130 goals and 187 points. Despite the relative strength of midfield, faceoff man Tommy Meyers graduated, while defensive anchors Hal Marshall and Mike Farnish and starting goaltender Alex Andersen are gone.

Read one way, Begier’s replacement to-do list illustrates the outstanding credentials of last year’s group. More practically, though, it underscores the enormous process of forging the remaining pieces into a unique whole this season.

“It’s just trying to find our new identity and create our new legacy instead of last year’s,” said midfielder Jack Wilson, the OT hero against Prep in the final. “We’re a completely new team.”

Melding those pieces into a new unit is an arduous task. But it’s one that many members of the Delco contingent are grappling with, and Radnor’s consolation is that its challenge as defending state champs is one of the most desirable of the bunch.

Springfield is in a similar boat after last year’s District One title. Penncrest and Garnet Valley shared the league title only to experience the letdown of failing to qualify for states, while the Lions are gunning for a third straight crown. And then there’s Haverford School, which only finished undefeated on the way to titles in the Inter-Ac regular season and Inter-Ac Challenge as well as the consensus No. 1 ranking in the nation.

Radnor possesses the talent to restock the shelves. Proctor and Westy McLaughlin, both juniors, saw plenty of action in the attacking rotation last season. Dario Falcone, a football All-Delco in the fall, will captain the defense alongside Phil Regan and Alex Hino, both of whom contributed last year.

Junior Tucker Ballbach fills in for Andersen in net, while the midfield, headed by Wilson, is a particular area of strength. Defensive middie Adam Neiberg will hold down that end of the field. Kyler Albany and Chris Austen contributed in the attacking third last year, while seniors Luke Jones and Cole Scheuerle are veteran cogs.

An experience like a state title can galvanize a group, imbuing everyone with extra toughness to surmount the challenge that invariably comes next.

“I think it comes from the top,” Falcone said. “Good leadership starts with the leaders and comes down from them. And there are guys that aren’t captains, that aren’t wearing the ‘C’ on their shirt, stepping up, commanding the huddle, letting everyone know what’s what and that we’re going to work hard this season, all that.”

The trip to the mountain’s summit also brings the wisdom that last year’s success means nothing to opponents. It may count for something internally for the Raiders — in how they approach solving problems or fueling their desire to repeat last season’s feat.

But on the scoreboard this season, it won’t count for anything. And recognizing that represented an early step in the Raiders’ quest to pen a winning second act.

“Coach Begier is just hammering that down,” Proctor said. “He said we need to turn the page. It’s a new season. That’s totally over and it’s in the past, and we need to look toward this season and start building toward this season.”