Garnet Valley line enables Reynolds and Co. to rap Quakertown

CONCORD — One of Garnet Valley’s defining traits as a program over the past decade or so is the Jaguars’ ability to wear down even the most fit of opponents.

Friday night at Moe DeFrank Stadium, Garnet Valley looked a very competitive Quakertown squad right in the eye and proceeded to impose its will. Behind a mauling offensive line and persistent rushing attack, the Jaguars bashed the Panthers 49-14.

“We knew Quakertown was going to come out and play with a lot of confidence,” Jaguars coach Mike Ricci said. “They’re disciplined; I really liked their offense, their quarterback, and what they do. We had a couple of things that we needed to get cleaned up on defense, but we have really been executing our offense at a high level. Of course, that starts up front, but the quarterbacks have to make their reads and Cole (Palis) does such a good job of that.

“The kids play with such a passion and such a togetherness. That first half was as well as we have executed all year.”

Garnet Valley’s offensive precision was, indeed, near flawless on the night. Aside from one punt and one lost fumble, the Jaguars were sensational. The teams traded scores early to make it 14-14 as Dan Bradley (149 yards) and Greg Reynolds (110 yards) each had scoring runs for the Jaguars, while the Panthers were paced by a scoring pass from quarterback Brad Bryan to Tim Garlick and also an 11-yard scoring run by Bryan.

“Our mentality was just sticking together, being one and being a family,” Reynolds said. “When they scored, we got right back on the field and did our job and put points on the board.”

At that point, Garnet Valley’s defense began to buckle down a bit, while the Jaguars’ offense was just hitting its stride.

“We noticed that a lot of their players were going both ways, so we knew there would be a point where they would get tired and where we would be able to physically dominate them,” Garnet Valley offensive lineman George Wiesendanger said. “When it was 14-14, we were also able to dominate them because we stuck together. We knew our defense struggled a little at the beginning, but we stuck by their side and they stuck by our side.”

After his 55-yard scoring run earlier in the half, Reynolds added a 17-yard touchdown jaunt, while Colin Robinson (75 yards) and Bradley each had additional scoring runs. The Jaguars’ backfield was electric.

“Greg is a really fast back and he’s a really hard worker,” Ricci said. “We’ve been rotating four backs with Robinson, Bradley, Reynolds, and (Dominic) LaBriccioso all year, and with our offense you never know who’s going to get the ball. It really just depends on what the defense gives us. Greg just works really hard. He’s only a junior who is going to be a really good back and you could see his speed tonight.”

Mixed in-between those touchdowns were a plethora of big plays. Cole Palis hooked up with Adam Oldrati for a 64-yard pass, while Bradley had a 60-yard run. LaBriccioso also played a part in the victory with 70 yards rushing. It was a thoroughly dominant offensive performance from the Jaguars.

“When you have linemen like Jake Colelli and Kyle McCullough and they’re making great holes for us, we can put any back in there and they’ll get yardage every single play just because we have such a good line,” Reynolds said. “(Quakertown) had a very explosive and strong d-line, but the only things we were focused on were Cole making the right reads and our line blocking the right guys, so our backs could get yardage.”

Despite the lopsided final score, Quakertown (9-3) was no slouch. The Panthers had quality athletes at the skill positions and across the offensive line, led by Bryan, running back Christian Patrick and wideouts Tim Garlick and Tyler Merwarth. Bryan threw for 110 yards and ran for another 32 yards, while Patrick accumulated 92 yards on 19 carries to pace the Quakertown attack.

“Defensively, we were making a couple of mistakes; we were over-pursuing, we were getting too far upfield a little bit, we weren’t making clean reads in a couple spots,” said Ricci, whose team improved to 12-0. “As I told the kids after the game in the huddle, I was really impressed with the guys who the coaches got on; they responded, they competed, and they didn’t sulk. The other kids picked them up and I was really proud of the way they responded.”

The Panthers, like so many others, tried to trade haymakers with the deep, talented, and speedy Jaguars. Like so many other teams, ultimately they could not keep up.

“We knew they were an all-around great team and we kind of stuck to our own game plan and pounded them with the run,” Bryan said. “We were going to throw a couple and it was working good for the first quarter. They have a lot a lot of depth, so they kind of wore us down.”