Rose, Garnet Valley apply knockout blow to Perk Valley

NEWTOWN SQUARE >> Sometimes, the classics don’t end happily.

Perkiomen Valley’s lacrosse team enjoyed a history-making campaign in 2018, but it came to an end Tuesday night at the hands of District 1 champion Garnet Valley, 10-6.

It was the second meeting in as many weeks for the two squads, with Garnet Valley also claiming the first encounter, 8-7, in the district quarterfinals.

The Jaguars enjoyed another strong performance from goalie Jason Rose (seven saves), the unofficial MVP of the District 1 tournament, but the highlight was the balanced Jaguars offense, which got seven goals from seven different players in the first half.

“Jason played excellent throughout the playoffs,” said Jake Morin, who scored twice and assisted on two other goals. “So when we were able to get out there tonight and take over offensively, it felt like we established control early and made things easier on our defense.”

That Jags’ defense held PV to only one goal after halftime and held the Vikings scoreless for an 18-minute stretch of the second half as they pulled away late.

“We are never worried on defense,” Morin stressed. “If we give up a goal, we get together, talk it over and get it fixed. Going against them in practice is so hard for that reason — they always fix their mistakes.”

Rich Marshall got PV off to a hot start, beating Rose a minute into the contest, but the Jaguars responded with three straight, including middie Danny Bradley cashing in on an extra-man opportunity just seconds before the penalty expired. Marshall would strike again with about two minutes left in the quarter to bring the Vikings within a goal.

Garnet Valley dominated the second stanza, getting tallies from Bishop Barnes, Nate Ominsky, and Mitch Lachman to give the Jags a 6-2 lead. Marshall completed the hat trick at 5:35 to bring Perk Valley within 6-3, but Jake Morin made it seven different scorers for Garnet Valley when he finished a four-minute possession with a bounce shot.
Connor Donovan beat the buzzer to send Perkiomen Valley to the locker room down only three goals.

Nick Steele started the Vikings on the comeback trail with a quick goal after halftime to make it 7-5, but as the Jaguars began locking off high-scoring Perk Valley attackmen Brian Fehr and Marshall, more and more of the offensive scoring load fell to the midfielders.

That, combined with Rose heating up in the cage, kept PV scoreless for the balance of the quarter.

Meanwhile, Morin caused a PV turnover at midfield and found Bradley, who became the Jags’ first repeat goal scorer on GV’s first goal of the half with 1:44 remaining in the third.

The score thwarted a PV opportunity and gave the momentum back to the Jags after PV controlled possession and outplayed Garnet Valley for much of the third period.

“We work on that ride every day in practice,” said Morin, “and to get a goal out of it feels great.”

Ninety seconds later, Bradley returned the favor and fed Morin for his second to send GV to the fourth quarter with a four-goal advantage.

The Jags advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals, where they’ll meet on Cumberland Valley, the second seed from District 3 and a winner over Peters Township (District 7) Tuesday. Time and location are to be determined.

Marshall led the way with three goals for Perkiomen Valley, whose campaign comes to an end a little sooner than the Vikings would’ve hoped. The loss, however, is just one game in a season that saw the Vikings qualify for states for the first time in program history.

With a roster littered with multi-sport athletes, the lacrosse team’s run to the state tournament provided the cherry on top of a school year that featured numerous history-making Vikings athletic teams. Both lacrosse programs—girls and boys—made their program debuts in states Tuesday, while the football team claimed the PAC title and the soccer team also made states for the first time.

Perkiomen Valley coach Bryan Churchey, a PV graduate, said the impact of the class of 2018—and those juniors and underclassmen who played alongside them—will be felt for a long time.

“What’s great about Perkiomen Valley is we do more with less,” said Churchey. “We don’t have the facilities, we know we’re not going to be given everything.

“And that’s OK. We’re gonna work in the weight room, beat expectations and do what we need to do. This group of kids has embraced that mentality. We have passionate, dedicated students, coaches, administrators, and parents. It’s a community effort, and that’s what separates us.”