Family ties rule as West beats East in annual Valor Bowl

WESTTOWN >> When Joe Carroll and Scott Allison teamed up to start the Valor Bowl in the late 1990s, they envisioned a local high school all-star football game with a family atmosphere to raise funds for a charitable benefactor. And for the 18th edition of the Valor Bowl on Wednesday at West Chester Rustin, there were all kinds of examples that that noble goal is still very much alive.

The family aspect actually started before the game got underway, which ended with the West All-Stars edging the East, 34-25. During the always emotional pregame tradition — where the game participants are introduced with their Special Olympics “buddies” — West Chester Henderson wideout Cris Greim walked hand-in-hand with his sister, Meg.

“It’s been a great run of 18 years,” said Allison, who was an assistant coach for Carroll at West Chester East when it all began in 1999. “It’s a lot of work and a few headaches, but when you see the end result, it’s all worth it.”

It’s important to note that the Valor Bowl has raised nearly a half million dollars for Special Olympics over the last dozen years. Owen J. Roberts’ coach Jeff Dinnocenti has been involved in this event for years in large part due to the association.

“I went to Spring-Ford High School back when Pennhurst Hospital was still open,” said Dinnocenti, an East assistant. “I was in the Honor Society and we would go over and help with Special Olympics.

“I think the kids are great, so I am honored to finish coaching this way.”

Following more than two decades coaching football (also at Lehigh, Malvern Prep and Great Valley), Wednesday marked the final high school game for Dinnocenti — just like it was for 72 Chester County athlete participants. And one was Dinnocenti’s son, Matt, a kicker from Owen J. Roberts.

“I’ve been coming to this game for years because my dad has been a coach,” said Matt Dinnocenti, who is headed to Division III Misericordia in the fall. “It’s nice to throw on the helmet and actually play in this game. I remember being the water boy, running up and down the sideline, and dreaming of playing in it.”

And there were even more family storylines at Rustin, even if it didn’t involve blood relatives. For instance, Pat Clark and Harry O’Neill have a close relationship fostered during nine seasons together as coaches at Unionville: Clark as the head coach, and O’Neill as his defensive coordinator.

O’Neill is now the head coach at Avon Grove, and the two squared off again on Wednesday, with Clark serving as the head coach of the East squad, and O’Neill as head coach of the West.

“This group of Unionville seniors playing in this game (on the opposing side) was one of the last groups of guys I coached at Unionville, so this is pretty special to me,” O’Neill said.

“I was fortunate to have Harry on my staff for nine years and I was happy to see him get the Avon Grove job,” Clark added. “He’s got a very good plan in place and they are going to be a good football team.

“The Valor Bowl is totally different than in the fall. It’s pretty low-key. Harry and I talked frequently about how practices went leading up to the game. Now, during the season, we are both pretty competitive. But this is a great game for a great cause.”

In addition, kickers are also frequently a close fraternity, and the Valor Bowl specialists were, indeed, a family thanks to Jeff Dinnocenti. His kicking and punting camp, Kicking Connection, has instructed numerous Valor Bowl players, including his son Matt along with West kicker Drew Brennan of Downingtown East.

Brennan was one of the stars on Wednesday by going 2-for-2 on field goals (including a 42-yarder), was perfect on all four PATs and notched six touchbacks for the West. A year ago, another Kicking Connection student, Bishop Shanahan’s Jake Geiger, won the Valor Bowl with a last second, 31-yard field goal to win it for the West squad.

“It was tough because as Geiger was setting up for the kick, everyone asked me how I felt,” recalled Dinnocenti, who was a coach on the East side. “I said, ‘I’ll be happy for him if he makes it, but I didn’t want to lose this.’”

According to Matt Dinnocenti, he used to work on kicking fundamentals on weekends a year ago along with Brennan (a Penn signee) and Geiger, who is at Temple.

“Matt and I were just at Drew (Brennan’s) graduation party last week,” Jeff Dinnocenti said.

“I texted Drew before the game all week to see what the (West) team was up to, and we actually warmed up together before the rest of the teams came out,” added Matt Dinnocenti, who booted a 20-yarder for the East.

In addition to Brennan, the winning West team was led by Coatesville’s Kevin Kirk, who did it all on Wednesday. A defensive back, Kirk scored touchdowns on a blocked punt and an interception return, and added another interception.

The West squad led all the way despite competing without Division I prospects like Downingtown East’s Cary Angeline (Southern Cal) and Michael Clark (Syracuse), and Unionville’s Ethan Nash (Navy).

“I knew a lot of the D-I kids were not going to play and that hurts,” O’Neill said. “But we still had a bunch of excellent players.”

The West side also got TDs from Braden Harper (Downingtown West) and Shanahan’s Dan Neuhaus, who is headed to West Chester. It was the West’s second straight victory in the Valor Bowl.

Rustin quarterback Evan Wlocke completed a short touchdown pass to teammate Jake Rice for the East All-Stars late in the first half, but he reportedly suffered a broken ankle on the ensuing unsuccessful two-point conversion.

West Chester East and Navy-bound QB Jon Jon Roberts connected with Unionville’s Tyler Marmo and Rustin’s Ryan Loucks for two more East scores, but he was picked off three times, including a 32-yard pick-six by Kirk that broke open a 13-11 halftime battle.