Easy win over Penncrest helps ease Radnor’s pained memory

LOWER MERION — Late in the first half, an errant Penncrest pass was trapped near the sidelines by Radnor defensive back Brendan Surbeck. The ball hit the ground. It was called an interception. A Radnor coach shook his head and laughed. Five plays later, the Raiders scored again.

That’s pretty much how it went Friday, as Radnor enjoyed a 62-24 cruise past Penncrest to move to 7-2 overall and 6-2 in the Central League. The Raiders scored on all seven of their first half possessions and led 49-0 at the break. The offensive starters were pulled after the sixth touchdown. The second half was played with a running clock.

“I think our offense is firing on all cylinders and we played pretty good defense,” Radnor coach Tom Ryan said. “I didn’t expect that, but my kids came to play. It’s a good Central League win; any win’s a good win.”

Taylor Margolis, spelling injured tailback Matt Cohen, had two first-quarter touchdown runs and 94 rushing yards. Sean Mullarkey threw one (a pretty 15-yard lob to Matt Rosato) and ran two in. He totaled 141 yards. Wide out Teddy Girton and freshman back Damian Falcone added late first half scores.

By the end of those 24 minutes, the Raiders had more first downs (19) than the Lions had yards (16). It was what they needed. After last week’s difficult overtime defeat against mighty Garnet Valley, order needed to be restored.

“Offensive line just dominated up front, let nobody in,” Mullarkey said. “Taylor Margolis ran really well, our receivers caught everything. Everything just clicked.”

Radnor did not get past its defeat until Monday. The weekend was arduous. Once they arrived at school, the page was turned. As much as it could be.

“The Monday coming into school, the people coming up to you and just being like ‘You guys were so close,'” linebacker Jack Connolly explained. “It’s like, we know. We know. We felt it all weekend.”

Thus, getting off to a fast start and taking care of Penncrest was needed. That was accomplished with relative ease. Ryan credited his veteran team with being able to withstand a difficult setback and not let it linger.

“Twenty-four seniors, mature group,” Ryan said. “I think, sure, including the coaching staff, we were bummed out playing Garnet (Valley) that tough and just coming up a little short. I think this team knows we have a chance to be pretty good.”

Radnor will get a chance to continue that next week, where, for the 122nd time, it will face arch-rival Lower Merion. The Raiders are ranked fourth in the District 1 Class 5A power poll and are set up for a significant playoff run.

Ryan was confident Cohen would return next week. It’s all there for the Raiders. They know it.

“We’re excited about playoffs and what we can do,” Connolly said.

Penncrest (1-8, 1-7) put together three long touchdowns in the second half. David Cage (44 yards) and Gee Antonelli (49 yards) caught scoring passes from Nick Benecke. And Vinny Brown added a 52-yard run.

Backup quarterback Sam DiLella finished a one-yard touchdown run for Radnor. Jahmair Rider, seemingly by accident, had an 82-yard kick return late.