DLN All-Area: Sam Forte’s dedication to Kennett pays off in historic season for the Blue Demons
KENNETT SQUARE >> The incredible run from mediocrity to an appearance in the 2021 PIAA 3A Boys’ Lacrosse Final wasn’t just a one year phenomenon at Kennett.
It was, believe it or not, a decade in the making. And senior midfielder Sam Forte is probably the single most impactful person in the entire transformation of the program.
And as a team leader, he is undeniably the key figure among all of the players.
“Sam is a Kennett kid,” said his coach Bob Allvord. “He probably could have gone anywhere for high school, but just like the rest of this group, he chose to stay.”
At some point a long time ago, Forte made up his mind that he wasn’t going to be lured away from his hometown by a fancy prep school. He was vocal about his intentions, a bunch of his peers followed suit, and it all culminated this spring as the Blue Demons cruised to their first-ever Ches-Mont crown, authored District 1’s only undefeated regular season, and advanced all the way to the state title game.
“I remember saying, ‘I want to stay and put Kennett on the map,’” Forte said. “It’s a phrase everyone likes to say, but we really believed it.”
His raw statistics for the season are impressive: 71 goals and 40 assists. But more importantly, Forte was the pied piper for Kennett lacrosse. He stayed, he excelled and he was the one who set the goal of making a deep run in the state tournament even though Kennett had never won a postseason contest heading into 2021.
“They were all together at eight years old playing Kennett Blue Demons Lacrosse,” Allvord said. “And then nine years later, they were at the last possible game of their senior year still playing together. And with Sam being the leader of that group, it says a lot about him.”
Forte was named the Ches-Mont MVP, he garnered All-State and All-American accolades, and he was certainly the no-brainer choice as the Daily Local News Player of the Year.
“I thought (Forte) was the best all-around player in the league,” said Coatesville coach Dan Ellis.
“Sam is the most athletic kid I’ve ever coached,” Allvord added. “He is a true two-way middie that did everything for us.”
He wasn’t the top goal-scorer on the team, and didn’t pile up the most assists. But Forte was the most versatile, and he possessed an innate ability to rally his teammates. It was no coincidence that his last two high school seasons (2019 and 2021) produced 35 combined victories, and the two most successful seasons in Kennett history.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Forte said. “This whole group of guys have wanted to stay at Kennett. We wanted to make Kennett good. Everyone knows that Kennett traditionally wasn’t winning much in any sport if you flash back five years ago. Now it seems like we have a good foundation and we are here to stay.”
The bulk of the ’21 roster first met a decade ago while playing youth lacrosse for the Kennett Blue Demons and head coach Mark Driggs.
“The first day of practice is where I first met guys like Vince Cresci and Richie Hughson, and they are all my best friends now,” Forte said. “Some of the others are Jake and Bo Freebery, Zach and Cole Hulme – we’ve been playing together for so long.”
Most would just assume that the highlight of Forte’s senior year was his remarkable 40-yard game-winning heave that ended an 11-10 double overtime victory over Garnet Valley in the state semifinal. But it may have actually happened back in March, at the end of an early preseason practice.
“We were all sitting down on the bench and I just stood up and I remember saying, ‘we are going to win a state championship,’” Forte recalled. “I think it’s important to set a goal because once you have it in your minds, that’s step one to the whole process.
“From that day we had it in our minds that we could win the state title and we came darn close.”
With absolutely no postseason success to draw on, the Blue Demons went on to win five times in the playoffs to finish fourth in the district and second in the state.
“The goal for this team was to get to where we did, and that was primarily Sam’s vision,” Allvord said. “He’s the one that stepped up in early March and made that declaration to the rest of the team. That’s just pure leadership right there.
“And then he went out and backed it up 100 percent the whole season. He really did.”
The fairytale ending didn’t happen as Kennett fell to Radnor 10-2 in the title match to wrap up a 22-3 campaign. But the Demons made an indelible mark along the way.
“After the game I was upset,” Forte acknowledged. “But I’ve had a chance to really digest what happened this season and all that we accomplished. Once I started to wrap my head around the greatness we achieved, I’m fine with all of it.
“When I got home that night, the first thing I said to my brother Richie was: ‘we didn’t come home with a state championship, but I came home with these boys, and that’s enough for me.’”
Like many of his teammates, Forte also made a mark outside of lacrosse. He was a multiple-sport star: the three-year starting quarterback in football and a valuable starter in basketball. He jokes that his favorite sport is the one that he’s playing right now.
But perhaps is greatest contribution came in areas you just can’t quantify in stats.
“If he walked into a room, or the practice field, the energy-level goes up big-time,” Allvord said.
“Sam is also a gifted athlete. His clearing and defensive skills are as solid as anyone in the area. And his offensive intuition and athleticism make him so dangerous.”
Forte will enroll at St. Joseph’s and play lacrosse on Hawk Hill. He leaves Kennett as an all-time great, not just as a player but as a leader.
“It comes naturally to me, but I’ve had to work on it to get comfortable,” Forte said. “I took a leadership responsibility and felt like I needed to be a voice. But you can ask the guys, I’m one of the biggest knuckleheads on the team at the same time, so there is a balance there.”
