Owen J. Roberts boys start Districts with win over Wissahickon

BUCKTOWN >> Last season, the Owen J. Roberts boys’ lacrosse team was the final school to qualify for the 24-team District 1-6A tournament.

And that outcome was just fine. Following a slew of graduations and a third consecutive year of coaching turnover, playing in the postseason qualified as overachievement.

But the internal expectations are different this season, and the No. 14 seed Wildcats validated them on Tuesday night with a comprehensive, playoff-opening 13-1 victory over No. 19 Wissahickon.

Seven different Wildcats found the net, while the OJR defense held Wissahickon without a goal for the final 46 minutes of the contest.

Led by senior Colton Loughin, OJR forced turnovers and failed clears all night by a Wissahickon team who struggled to maintain possession or get into an offensive flow in less-than-favorable conditions.

“I think we did need this win to validate the progress we’ve made as a team,” Loughin said after the victory. “We knew what was on the line tonight. You either play or you’re done. So tonight, we played the best defense we possibly could.”

Wissahickon struck first on a long-pole goal from Dan Hussa, but on a wet night where ball possession was paramount, that was all the Trojans would get.

OJR junior Justin Daubert (13/18 faceoffs) got hot at the faceoff stripe, allowing the Wildcats to play offense for the better part of the first half.

Brody Calle and Blake Walther scored to give OJR a 2-1 lead before leading scorer Gabe DellaPenna got in on the act to make it 3-1 early in the second quarter.

Dan Sbei’s quick stick made it a three-goal margin three minutes before halftime, but meanwhile the Trojans found themselves stifled by an OJR defense featuring Loughin, Declan Harrington, Max Dreisbach, and Torin Whitten.

The ‘Cats poured it on after halftime, hitting pay dirt seven times in the fourth quarter to pull away.

It’s Kevin Mo’s first District playoff victory as a head coach, and Loughin said the continuity of having a returning head coach for the first time in his high school career helps push the Wildcats.

“We’ve really taken a step forward from where we were last year,” he added. “I’ve never had the same coaches for more than a year, and I’d definitely say having this staff in place for the past two years has given us a boost.”

Goalie Chad Young was required to make only one first half save — a dandy that stopped Wissahickon from taking an early 2-0 lead – and four for the game. The defense kept Young clean for the vast majority of the contest.

Sophomore Danny Walker’s career-high six points (three goals, three assists) led OJR, while Gabe DellaPenna had two goals and two assists. Sbei and Blake Walther also struck twice for the victorious Wildcats.

“”All year, we’ve been leaning on our upperclassmen,” said Walker, “but to advance through the playoffs, we’re going to need everybody doing their part. So it feels good to give this contribution and add some depth to our offense.”

For Wissahickon, a transitional season of their own ends at a mark of 12-7.

Wissahickon found themselves in the same spot OJR was a year ago — replacing a massive class of seniors from the best team in school history, chief among them Kyle Lehman, one of the nation’s top high school players in 2023 who’s already assumed a prominent role on Penn State’s Big Ten runner-up and nationally ranked squad.

With only three returning players, the Trojans outperformed expectations this season but couldn’t keep pace with OJR on Tuesday.

“Our goalie (Kyle Crump) has been fantastic for us all year,” said Wissahickon assistant coach Sean Ruhren. “Strong in the cage, but really serves as a leader for us defensively. We got ourselves 12 wins, and that’s thanks to the work coach (Dave) Sowers did with this group.

“But tonight, the better team won the game and hats off to them.”

For the Wildcats, business picks up on Tuesday when they travel to perennial powerhouse and No. 3 seed Garnet Valley of the Central League. The Jaguars will present the strongest challenge of the season thus far, but Loughin was adamant the Wildcats are ready after Tuesday’s performance.

“We’re not scared of them,” he said. “It’s another game where we need to go out there and be our best. Because when we are (at our best), our mentality is that we can beat anybody.”