Palis’ leap allows Garnet Valley to beat Radnor in overtime thriller

RADNOR – When Garnet Valley quarterback Cole Palis got the go-ahead to attempt a two-point conversion in overtime Friday night, he didn’t question the decision. He was willing to do whatever was necessary to get across the goal line and send the Jaguars home undefeated and still alone in first place in the Central League.

Palis lined up under center, received the snap and ran to his right. It was an option play. Palis decided to keep the ball himself, then leaped over the pile and across the goal line.

Garnet Valley was victorious, 29-28, surviving a spirited effort from an excellent Radnor team. GV and Radnor entered the night ranked first and fifth, respectively, in Delaware County.

Garnet Valley goes for 2! Cole Palis dives across the goal line. @GarnetValleyFB wins 29-28! Wow what a game …
GV remains undefeated 8-0.
Radnor goes to 6-2#delcofootball pic.twitter.com/kD7BOgKgo3

— Matt Smith (@DTMattSmith) October 13, 2018

“We’re designed to read the ends,” Palis said. “If the end goes out, I’m just going to keep it and look to pitch to our running back. But I saw the hole and my linemen did the rest. I just jumped over. There was a little pile, so I knew I had to jump.”

Garnet Valley senior tackle Kyle McCullough had the utmost confidence that Palis would reach paydirt.

“We had no doubt,” McCullough said. “Cole is a great quarterback and I knew he was going to make a great decision. It seems like he’s never wrong, honestly.”

And the loss was about as disappointing for Radnor as one might imagine. Senior quarterback Sean Mullarkey tried to look on the bright side.

“Nobody thought we could hang with these guys, just like nobody thought we could beat Marple, just like nobody thought we could beat Springfield, just like nobody thought we could beat Ridley,” said Mullarkey, who completed 7 of 13 passing attempts for 126 yards and a touchdown. “We’d obviously love to win but… we still have a goal in our mind and that’s to win a district championship. This doesn’t stop us.

“It was gutsy by them (to go for the two-point conversion), but that’s why they’re a really good program. I wouldn’t say it’s fun right now, but we played really well. It was cool to see the community have Radnor football’s back.”

GV coach Mike Ricci wanted to end the game in the first OT. Radnor had scored first when Taylor Margolis rumbled across the goal line for his third touchdown of the night. Margolis, who also excelled at linebacker, received most of the carries in place of Matt Cohen, the third-leading rusher in the county who did not play due to injury.

Ricci’s thought process was simple: Don’t give Radnor another chance.

“At the end, we were having a hard time stopping Radnor so we didn’t want to continue the overtime. We just tried to end it,” he said. “We felt like we had a good play call. Cole made a great play to get in the end zone.”

GV had a chance to win it in regulation. After Danny Brady’s scoring scamper tied the game at 21, Radnor (6-2, 5-2) fumbled the ball away on its next offensive play. Garnet Valley (8-0, 7-0) drove the ball to the 1 with eight seconds to go. Colin Robinson (153 yards, two touchdowns) was stopped a half-yard short of the end zone. Ricci could’ve called upon kicker Bryce Stansfield for a field goal, but he felt strongly that his offense deserved to win this game.

“When we run the ball we feel like we can get one yard anytime. Radnor made a great play. Radnor made a lot of great plays tonight. I was really

impressed,” Ricci said. “They were playing without their best running back, they’re playing without one of their best D-linemen. To come out here and play the way they did, my hat’s off to them. They played a phenomenal game.”

Robinson was clearly upset with the call, but it didn’t deter him or Jags. They quickly moved on and knew they had a chance to win in the extra session.

“I knew I had to get it out of my head and regroup, and make sure we come out on top in overtime,” Robinson said. “We hurt ourselves in the first half. If we played like we did in the second half, we couldn’t be stopped. We just have to improve in practice and fix some things.”

Radnor was the dominant team in the first half. The Raiders outgained the Jags on offense by 87 yards. The lone score came on a Margolis one-yard run. GV moved the ball in the first quarter, but turned the ball over in the red zone.

The Jags responded with a strong drive to begin the opening half. Robinson’s 10-yard run tied the score at seven apiece, but Radnor quickly answered and went ahead 14-7 when Mullarkey found Jahmair Rider (three catches, 63 yards) on a one-yard connection. On its ensuing possession Garnet needed just four plays to tie it up again, this time a Robinson one-yard run. The Raiders took advantage of a GV turnover and a short field at the start of the fourth quarter, and Margolis scored to put them back in front, 21-14.

Despite the heartbreaking defeat, Radnor showed – again – that it is one of the top programs in the county and in District 1 Class 5A. The Raiders came off a win over perennial Central League favorite and 2017 district finalist, Springfield, and came oh-so-close to dispatching the mighty Jaguars. They proved they can hang around with any team.

“All we do here is preach the word team and that’s what we got tonight, we had a team effort. Unfortunately, we came up a little short,” Radnor coach Tom Ryan said. “That’s a very good Garnet Valley team and I couldn’t be more proud of my team, win or lose. Just the character they play with, they play as a group. Coach Ricci runs a class act; you know, that’s a 6A playoff team we went to overtime with.”