Kennett’s historic season ends with loss to Radnor in state final
West Goshen >> Minutes after Kennett lost to Radnor, 10-2, in the PIAA 3A boys lacrosse state championship final Saturday at West Chester East, the three Blue Demon senior captains were disappointed but expressed pride in their remarkable 2021 campaign.
Blue Demon midfielder and tri-captain Sam Forte, the Ches-Mont League’s Most Valuable Player, said, “This is the greatest group of guys I’ve ever played with. We didn’t come out today with the state championship like we wanted, but that’s just part of this season’s story. I’ll remember this Class of 2021 as starting a lot of new [good] trends at Kennett High School.”
Prior to the 2021 season, the Kennett boys’ lacrosse program had never tasted the fruits of even one post-season victory.
“We’re starting a lot of up trends in Kennett sports, and I don’t think this will be the last time we’ll be in the state finals,” said Forte. “Next time, we’ll win it.”
Kennett midfielder and tri-captain Richie Hughson said, “I’ll always remember the guys on this team. We’ve been together for a while, we’ve been pretty low and we came to a pretty high place today. I just remember how we stuck through [adversity].”
Saturday, the Blue Demon fans packed the stands on the east side of Harold I. Zimmerman Stadium, and it looked like a sea of blue – Kennett blue.
“The community really came through with their support for us,” said Kennett senior defender and tri-captain Vincent Cresci. “This season was history, no matter whether we won or lost today, we have a lot to be proud of. We really made a run this season – I’m proud of our effort. I think we showed everybody how good Kennett can be – proof that a small town can get big wins.
“I’ve been with this team through thick and thin, when I was a freshman, when we weren’t good, when we weren’t making the playoffs. I’ve gone through multiple coaching staffs and this is the best one I’ve ever played for.”
Kennett boys’ lacrosse head coach Bob Allvord, who took over the Blue Demon program last February, said, “I told our boys that they brought an entire community together. They gave this program so much life. They’ve done so many special things this year, and it just shows that, being from a small town like Kennett, that [our community] responded and it was just awesome to see.
“These kids stayed together, stayed with our program and made it what it is. We have a saying, ‘Small town, big wins,’ and I couldn’t be prouder of these kids.”
Kennett, coming off an exciting double-overtime win against Garnet Valley in the PIAA 3A state semifinals Tuesday, struggled early in Saturday’s state final, falling behind 4-0 in the first eight minutes of play.
Kennett called a timeout following the fourth goal, won the ensuing faceoff, and one minute later, Blue Demon sophomore Zach Hulme fired a shot between the pipes to but Radnor’s lead to 4-1. It was Hulme’s 89th goal of the season.
Hughson won the faceoff to start the second quarter, and after a couple of Kennett shots on goal were stopped, Blue Demon senior defensive midfielder Buzzy Hertz scored to trim Radnor’s advantage to 4-2 with 9:43 left before halftime.
Unfortunately, that was the last goal Kennett scored for the remainder of the game.
Hughson said, “It was tough today – Radnor pressed out, and we didn’t handle it like we should have.”
Radnor increased its lead to 5-2 when senior attack Jack Murphy scored with 6:36 left in the second quarter. Hughson won the ensuing faceoff but eventually Kennett turned the ball over, and 30 seconds later Radnor senior attack Darien Ramondo scored after collecting a pinpoint pass from behind the net by junior attack Ryan Goldstein, who chalked up his fourth assist of the first half.
With 1:44 to play in the second quarter, Goldstein scored on an assist from Ramondo to give Radnor a 7-2 lead going into halftime.
Radnor played strong defense Saturday, led by All-American senior defender Grant Pierce (who shadowed Forte) and senior midfielder Mark McKeon.
“Grant and Mark are the leaders of our team, and our goalie, [senior] Robert Hobbs, is so steady,” said Radnor boys’ lacrosse head coach John Begier. “Our whole defense played well today. Kennett can get separation, they’ve got good shooters, they play really well off ball, and for us to stop that, it’s got to be a seven-man unit [on defense] playing well.
“Forte is really athletic, he’s one of the most athletic players I’ve seen, he’s a threat every time he touches the ball, so for us, we wanted to get Grant on him, with two great athletes and competitors going at it there.”
Allvord said, “Radnor is an outstanding team, a quality program, and we just could not get some things going against them [today] – they’re very well-coached.”
Radnor’s roster included 36 players, while Kennett listed 24.
“We don’t have the depth that Radnor has, so we tried to possess the ball, and sort of take a little bit of air out of the game, to not let them get on their runs,” said Allvord. “With their depth, if they get on their runs, and they get the lead, it’s very, very difficult to come back against them.”
Radnor took an 8-2 lead toward the end of the third quarter on another goal by Murphy; then eight seconds into the final period Goldstein tallied again. Ramondo’s third goal of the game with 8:34 to play ended the scoring at 10-2.
Begier said, “Kennett’s had an unbelievable season, they’ve been on a great run in the playoffs, so we knew they’d be a tough test today. It was a total team effort for us today against a first-class program.”
Although the Blue Demons (undefeated during the regular season) were ranked No. 1 in District 1 3A, Radnor, who went undefeated in the tough Central League, was rated No. 2 at the end of the regular season. Radnor finished the season with a 23-2 record, while Kennett posted a 22-3 mark.
Begier said, “Our offense played really well together today, our faceoff unit grinded for 48 minutes. To win this [title], it starts with wanting to do it all together, everybody playing for each other, and they did. Our coaches’ effort, their 24/7 commitment to the program, all season long, I just appreciate what they’ve done.
“Our team was like a big passionate family this season, and they’re very resilient, going through this season with all that was happening over the last few months. I told the players let’s just focus on what we can control and try to enjoy this season as much as we can, because there’s a lot of stuff out there that we can’t control – we can’t control COVID, but let’s just work as hard as we can and see what we can do.”
For Kennett, the loss in the state final marked the end of a remarkable journey.
Allvord said, “Right now, it’s hard, especially for our coaching staff, and the kids, but when we can all sit back and absorb what happened the last three months, we’ll probably just smile a lot. It was quite the journey.”
Forte said, “You live and learn; you don’t always win, the ball doesn’t always bounce your way. We’ll all learn from this, we’ll be fine.”
A number of Kennett seniors will be playing lacrosse in college, including Forte (Saint Joseph’s University), Hughson (Providence), Cresci (Harvard), goalie Jason Astle (Wooster College) and Broc Fantazzi (Arcadia).
Allvord said, “The support from our community has been building and building and it’s been fantastic. We’re very appreciative of the Kennett community’s support, and from the whole school, and the administration, and Sean [athletic director Sean Harvey] has been off-the-charts great for us. I’m very thankful for this season that I’ve been able to share with everybody, it’s been great.”
Radnor 10, Kennett 2
Kennett 2 0 0 0 – 2
Radnor 4 3 1 2 – 10
Kennett goals: Z. Hulme, Hertz.
Radnor goals: D. Ramondo 3, French 2, Cox, Murphy 2, Goldstein 2.
Goalie saves: KEN – Astle 8; RAD – Hobbs 7.
