Council Rock South will face North Penn in its first ever trip to the District One AAAA final next week. To view game action photos, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By RICK FORTENBAUGH
NEWTOWN, Pa. - Smash ’em up. Smash ’em up.
The one common theme in this year’s PIAA District 1 Class AAAA football playoffs has been the ability of the Suburban One teams to dominate up front. Sure enough, it was all again on display Friday night in Council Rock South’s 38-24 win over visiting Garnet Valley.
Storming to its first district final in program history, top-seeded Rock South (12-1) will now play North Penn for the title next week at a neutral site.
“We wanted to come out strong; we wanted to take it to them from the start,’’ said Rock South’s outstanding 
Division 1 tight end/linebacker P.J. Gallo. “Our coaches called some great plays, and we were able to execute.’’
Although the final score was not that lopsided and the game was still competitive at the half, there was never much doubt it was Rock South that would come out on top.
Every possession by the Hawks resulted in points until the fourth quarter. And when Rock South eventually did not score, it was only because by then coach Vince Bedesem had begun clearing the bench.
It all started with a game-opening 11-play, 59-yard drive capped off by a 10-yard run by speedster Anthony Alimenti. The next time the Hawks got the ball they needed just three plays to score as quarterback Brian Donnelly raced into the end zone on a 36-yard run.
Garnet Valley cut the lead to 14-6 with a long drive that culminated with a 6-yard burst by Justin Pyle, but the Hawks stormed right back down the field on just five plays.
The touchdown honors this time belonged to Christian Crane, who plowed in from 6 yards out. Crane’s TD was set up by a 32-yard pass from Donnelly.
Garnet Valley came to the Walt Snyder Stadium averaging 35 points a game, and it did display a nice passing game. Particularly at the end of the second quarter when it was able to drive 76 yards in a little over a minute and score with 11 seconds remaining on a 2-yard pass by Ryan Corkery to Rockne O’Leary.
The fact Garnet Valley got the ball to start the second half also fueled hope for the Delaware County team.
Unfortunately, for the Jaguars, disaster ensued as Corkery went down with what appeared to be a serious knee injury when his foot got stuck in the turf on a play that was blown dead by a procedure call.
Without Corkery, Garnet Valley was reduced to running the ball and had little success against a swarming Rock South defense led by end P.J. Steinmetz. The Hawks also got a nice running interception by Cory Wilkenson in the first half and a pick by Crane at the start of the third quarter
For good measure, Crane also threw a pretty 35-yard halfback option pass to Nick Cocco to complete the Rock South scoring. Earlier in the third quarter, Alamenti scored his second TD on a 1-yard run.
Garnet Valley was able to score two late TDs to cut the lead to the final score of 38-24. This prompted Bedesem to reinsert the first team offense, which responded by driving the ball and running out the clock.
Alamenti led the charge with 137 yards on 18 carries. Donnelly ran for 89 yards on 13 attempts and upped his touchdown total to 23. Crane had 50 yards on seven carries to help his team finish with 295 rushing yards in all.
The Hawks completed just two of three passes, but they were both big as Donnelly hooked up with Gallo on the third TD drive, and Crane threw his third-quarter touchdown strike to Cocco.
“I liked the way our offensive line fired off the ball right from the start,’’ said Bedesem. “The kids came out ready to play and take care of business. I’m really proud of this group.’’
And why not? Other than a three-point loss to Pennsbury that ended in a driving rainstorm, the Hawks have done nothing but deliver the goods all season.
“I haven’t even thought about that,’’ replied Bedesem when asked about next week’s game against North Penn. “We want to enjoy this first because making it to the (district) final was a goal all along. We wanted to take it one step further this year.’’
North Penn beat Rock South, 28-14, in the semifinals last year in a competitive contest that was the Knights’ toughest game in their district title march.
Get ready for more of the same next week.
“North Penn played a great game against us last year,’’ said Gallo. “They are a real good team, but we’re looking forward to it. This is a great opportunity for us.’’
It’s only fitting it has come down to two Suburban One teams because there is no doubt where the power in the district was this year.
Garnet Valley (11-2) 6 6 0 12 — 24
Council Rock South (12-1) 14 10 14 0 — 38
CRS-Alimenti 10 run (Solis kick)
CRS-Donnelly 36 run (Solis kick)
GV-Pyle 6 run (kick failed)
CRS-Crane 6 run (Solis kick)
CRS-Solis 27 field goal
GV-O’Leary 2 pass from Corkery (kick blocked)
CRS-Alimenti 1 run (Solis kick)
CRS-Cocco 35 pass from Crane (Solis kick)
GV-Bennett 13 run (pass failed)
GV-Pyle 26 run (run failed)
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