Delcohoops.com

By Sean McBryan

Emma Rowland and the Haverford Fords’ stingy defense threw everything it had at Cedar Cliff and its freshman sensation Olivia Jones; it was nearly enough to top the Colts on their home court.

As they’ve done in a season where they pushed District 1 champion Plymouth Whitemarsh to the brink and soundly defeated Central League champ Garnet Valley to make it to states, the defensive effort never dwindled for Haverford even while pressing for the majority of the game.

Cedar Cliff, with only one scratch on an otherwise perfect record which came on a halfcourt heave in the district semifinals, were able to match that intensity and keep that single mark in the loss column by outlasting a tough Fords squad 36-27 Tuesday night in Camp Hill in a PIAA Class 6A first-round tilt.

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By Terry Toohey

Although she had a couple of good looks, Maggie Grant did not attempt a shot in the first quarter of Archbishop Carroll’s 53-25 victory over Neshaminy in the opening round of the PIAA Class 6A tournament Tuesday night.

The Villanova-bound senior did not hesitate when the opportunity came her way in the second period.

Grant scored 11 of her 13 points in the period to send the District 12 champions into Friday’s second round against Cedar Cliff, the third-place team out of District 3, at a site and time to be determined. The Colts knocked off Haverford, the No. 7 team from District 1, 36-27, to advance to the second round.

“My teammates were finding me and I was relocating into the gaps in the zone,” Grant said. “We were doing a good job of moving the ball and my teammates did a nice job finding me when (Neshaminy) collapsed on the post.”

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Chichester’s first matchup in the state tournament did them no favors, but the Eagles battled against one of the top programs in the states.

Akhir Keys led the way with 12 points, but the sixth seed from District 1 couldn’t slow down Imhotep Charter, which ran out to a 78-51 win in the PIAA Class 5A tournament.

Isaiah Diggs added 11 points, but the Eagles struggled with the Panthers incessant pressure, which led to 21 steals. The Eagles (11-15) trailed by 33 points after three quarters.

Justin Edwards led the way with 20 points for the Imhotep. Ahmad Nowell connected on five 3-pointers for 19 points. The Panthers (24-4), the District 12 champions, advance to take on District 1 runner-up Radnor in Friday’s Round of 16.

By Matt Smith

Marple Newtown was in the midst of preparing for its first PIAA tournament game in program history against reigning Class 5A champion Cardinal O’Hara. It was supposed to be a clash of neighboring Delaware County schools.

Then news broke Sunday afternoon that O’Hara was forced to cede its No.1 place in District 12 due to a paperwork gaffe affecting the athletic eligibility of one of its transfer players. Marple coach Ryan Wolski found out like most people did – scrolling through Twitter.

“I already have enough time consumed with kids and family and basketball, I don’t really try to jump on the social media stuff, but there’s always rumors going around. It’s Delaware County, there’s always something new,”  Wolski said. “I told my girls to keep focused and keep plugging along. I said we’ll play somewhere Wednesday. Don’t know where we’ll be, but we’ll be somewhere. Then I found out who we would be playing. It’s unfortunate that it’s a little bit of a further ride. Instead of a ride up the road, a seven-minute drive to O’Hara, we get to go in 45-minute-plus traffic to Archbishop Ryan.”

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By Terry Toohey

A paperwork miscue affecting athletic eligibility of transfer students has caused tournament trouble for two Delaware County Catholic League basketball teams scheduled to participate in PIAA Class 5A girls and boys basketball tournaments, which begin this week.

Cardinal O’Hara, the defending girls PIAA 5A state champions, is still in the state tournament but as the No. 3 seed out of District 12, not the No. 1 seed after the Lions had to forfeit a number of games for the use of an ineligible player.

The exact amount of games the Lions had to forfeit isn’t clear, and school officials have clearly been instructed not to comment on the issue.

O’Hara’s 2021-22 win-loss record, according to MaxPreps and the Daily Times, is 20-5. Yet the PIAA website lists O’Hara as 11-15. The status of the Lions’ 2022 Catholic League championship, which O’Hara had apparently won with a 55-30 victory over Archbishop Carroll last Monday, will instead be decided upon by the league’s Board of Governors at a later date.

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By Jack McCaffery

Both philosophically and geographically, the Catholic League long ago lost its way.

Once a neat athletic conference of area-based high school teams with relatively equal access to talent and facilities, its members were forced by financial and demographic realities to either adapt or perish. Complicated story short, it became its own survivor series, the schools racing to find ways to remain relevant enough to avoid disappearing. Among the the most effective escape route would be higher visibility through athletics.

Trouble was, the messaging was so scrambled that it would invite skepticism. It wasn’t so much that talented athletes would cross traditional boundaries to play for a particular coach or program, but that there was rarely a reasonable explanation for the trend.

In basketball and football in particular, players would bob onto Catholic League rosters not only from inconvenient destinations but occasionally from across state lines. Questions about it all were basically deemed tasteless. Coaches, as if on script, would insist that players just sought their programs out, were not awarded scholarships, and arrived on campus for educational and athletic opportunities. Meanwhile, players choosing not to reject Catholic League lures would tell stories about being recruited by them, sometimes even after they had begun their high school careers elsewhere.

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