Garnet Valley quarterback Kevin McGarrey, right, is tackled as he crosses the goal line by Marple Newtown’s John Capello in the first half. McGarrey was injured on the play and didn’t return. PETE BANNAN – MEDIANEWS GROUP
By Terry Toohey
There are naysayers out there that will insist any championship won during this pandemic-shortened fall sports season should be accompanied by an asterisk.
Don’t tell that to the Garnet Valley football team or the Jaguars volleyball squads, the boys soccer and field hockey teams from Conestoga, the girls soccer and boys cross country teams at Lower Merion and the girls cross country crew at Strath Haven.
There are no asterisks required for the Central League titles those teams won this fall season. The Jaguars, Pioneers, Aces and Panthers won those seven crowns fair and square, under the rules set up by the league’s athletic directors in order to have some semblance of a season during a worldwide health crisis that has claimed more than 258,000 lives in the United States and 1.4 million around the globe.
Garnet Valley ran roughshod over the Central League in football, beating Marple Newtown in the final, 52-30, to claim its third straight title and seventh since joining the league in 2008.
The volleyball squad avenged a five-set loss in the regular season to an up-and-coming Lower Merion program with a 3-1 victory over the Aces in the league final to finish at 11-1.
