Central Bucks East 6, Ridley 5
The Patriots found themselves on the short end of a 2-1 halftime score, and it was hard to blame them if they were having a hard time getting their game untracked in Tuesday’s PIAA Tournament opening round game. After all, they had just endured a two-hour and 15-minute bus trip to West Chester Henderson in the sweltering heat.“You’re dealing with a bus that has to be 90 degrees, plus it was stop and go traffic,” coach Bruce Garcia said. “We got there late and warmed up with 25 minutes to start. We never got into a rhythm until the third quarter.
“Knowing it was hot, we ran our bench very early. Starting in the second quarter, we went through three midfield lines, two defensive lines and one-and-a-half attack lines, and in doing that, we saved our legs for the third and fourth quarter.”
And that was the difference in the game.
The Patriots, who trailed 4-2 at the end of three quarters, opened the fourth quarter with a four-goal tear to go on top 6-4. During that span, the Patriots received a pair of goals from Chris Vetter as well as single goals from Parker Self and Ryan Whitney. Self led the Patriots with three goals while Vetter had two and Whitney added one goal. Blake Ament had a pair of assists, and Matt Heim had one assist.
“In the fourth quarter, we just opened it up,” Garcia said. “We were still running and had plenty of fuel left, and I think that was the difference for us because we left our guys breath in the first half.”The story of East’s big win was the standout play of its defense. Harrison Holak had 11 saves in a clutch performance in goal.
“We played extremely well defensively,” Garcia said. “Our goalie, Harrison Holak, stood up real well.
“Zac Bitzer and Weston French were outstanding. They controlled the defense. We ran short stick middie lines with Ian Gill and Brandon Ament, and both of them played fantastic. It allowed for a lot of transition. We transitioned and finally got into a rhythm at the end of the third quarter. We never looked back.”
While the game didn’t quite follow Garcia’s script for a victory, it came mighty close.
“We only scored one goal in the first half, but we only allowed two goals,” the Patriots’ coach said. “At the end of the game, we gave up five goals to a very good offensive team.
“The defense is allowed to give up six goals, and they only gave up five. Our offense has to score more than seven goals – they scored six, so I guess it all worked out real well for us. Somebody has to win and somebody has to lose, but we came out on top this time. Ridley is well coached, and they have a good bunch of athletes. Ridley definitely came to play.”
So did the Patriots, and as a result, they live to see another day.
“I’m not ready to give up seeing these seniors play – I think that was probably the biggest thing that ran through my mind,” Garcia said. “I didn’t want this to be it. It just wasn’t time yet.”
East’s win sets up a rematch with Allentown Central Catholic in Saturday’s second round game. The Vikings handed the Patriots a 10-8 loss in the season opener for both teams on March 26. The Patriots have played 22 games since then and have won 21 of them. On Saturday, they have a chance to avenge one of their only two losses when they take on the Vikings.
*Photo of East junior defender Ryan Connors provided courtesy of CB East lacrosse.
St. Joseph’s Prep 10, Pennsbury 7
The Falcons jumped out to an early 3-0 advantage, and while they couldn’t hold that lead against the state’s fourth-ranked squad, they walked away from their final game with their heads held high.
“To go out like this against a really quality team – in the last five games, we played some of the best teams in the state,” coach Jamie Huber said. “The fact that we won two of those games and held our own in the other three with the only game that was a blowout against Conestoga. Take away the first quarter, and it was a 6-3 game.
“We didn’t really have expectations this year. We closed out the year with a 15-9 record. We ended our season with three straight losses in the playoffs, but the fact that we’re there and competing says a lot about Pennsbury and where we’ve come as a program. To represent the Suburban One – for a long time, CB East, Abington and Hatboro have carried the flag for us. This really shows the tremendous depth of the Suburban One and that we are a great league. Being a state qualifier this year, Pennsbury is happy to pick up the flag for the Suburban One.”
Even though his squad led early, Huber knew the Prep would come roaring back. He was right. By halftime, the two teams were deadlocked 5-5.
“We jumped on them early,” the Falcons’ coach said. “I have to be honest - I was surprised when that happened.
“They came out a little flat, and we took advantage. They called a timeout when it was 3-0, and I said, ‘If you think for one second, they will let down, you’re crazy because they won’t.’ We watched film yesterday of the Episcopal game (against Prep), and Episcopal was up 2-0 in the first quarter, and they came back and won (11-8).”
The same was true in Tuesday’s state opener. The Prep led 7-6 after three quarters and then outscored the Falcons 3-1 in the fourth quarter for the 10-7 final.
“A lot of guys played well,” Huber said. “Calvin Hopkins had two goals and an assist, and he had a back shot that really sparked us.
“Ricky Jutkiewicz had two goals and one assist and played really well. Dan Marr played phenomenal and really held their top guy down. He’s probably the most overlooked player in the state. He’s under the radar because he plays for Pennsbury.
“Drew Sweetland had 15 saves – that’s huge right there. We couldn’t limit their shots which we would have liked to. Josh Caven did a really good job. Our entire team played really well. It was really a testament of what we’re capable of doing.”
Jutkiewicz and Hopkins led the Falcons with two goals and one assist each. Luke Matthews added a pair of goals while Andrew Probst had a single goal. Ryan McDonald contributed an assist.
“I’m really pleased,” Huber said. “We had a really great group of seniors. I can’t say enough about them.”
Marr, Jutkiewicz and Sean Rinko are all four-year varsity players.
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