Deadlines: Monday-Friday 8: 30am-4: 00pm, Call 610-915-2226 (Proofs will be provided for accuracy only, they will not be styled/formatted like the finished product) Obituaries submitted on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays are accepted from 8: 30 a. m. to 3: 00 p. m. by email only Obit@delcotimes is that the Thanksgiving traditions are still rolling. Ridley and Interboro, Sun Valley and Chichester, and Haverford and Upper Darby will all square off as usual next Thursday. Before winter sports take over, it’s time to dig into some of the best numbers of the year. It’s By the Numbers, our annual look at the Delco season in statistical form. 0 >> Combined losses for Springfield and Chester, the two heavyweights in Delco who square off Friday night for the District 1 Class 5A championship. Each teams is vying for its first district crown. It’s the biggest game of the year in Delco, no question, and the biggest since Chester and Strath Haven met for the title in 2023. 2 >> Number of Springfield players who hit 1, 000 rushing yards this season. Luke Valerio and Tanner Coll have been superstars for the undefeated Cougars, two backs who run tough, move well in space and do not go down easy. Having one 1, 000-yard rusher is tough enough. Having two says everything about the strength and consistency of Springfield’s offensive line, and Valerio and Coll would be the first to say it. Valerio is up to 1, 487 yards and 19 touchdowns, while Coll has churned out 1, 010 yards and 13 scores. 3 >> Teams that ended up sharing the Inter-Ac League title this fall. Episcopal Academy, Malvern Prep and Springside Chestnut Hill all finished 4-1, creating a three-way logjam at the top. It all came together on the final weekend when Episcopal took down Haverford School and Springside Chestnut Hill stunned Malvern in what many people thought was an upset in OT. The twist? Springside Chestnut Hill can make a real case as the lone champ since the Blue Devils beat both Episcopal and Malvern head-to-head. 4 >> Wins for Delco Christian in its first season back in 11-man football since 2017. All things considered, coach Lloyd Hill’s crew handled the jump from the 8-man game very well, finishing 4-5 after beginning the year with three consecutive losses. The Knights were even flirting with a District 1 Class A berth. Junior quarterback Daniel Bartkow threw for 950 yards and eight touchdowns and also led the team in rushing with 514 yards. Christian O’Donnell matched him with five rushing scores, and Ian Pruessner topped the receivers with 300 yards and four TDs. 7 >> Sacks for Cardinal O’Hara senior Tristan Laing, who has been wrecking pockets all season. The 6-4, 240-pound lineman earned First Team All-Catholic League Red Division honors and has played like a Jalen Carter clone for a Lions squad three wins from a state title. Along with his seven sacks, he’s posted 26 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and two fumble recoveries, one of which he returned for six points. 8 >> Number of wins for Penncrest, its best season since 2013. The Lions went 8-4 and pushed Springfield in the District 1 Class 5A quarterfinals before falling, 21-14. As the No. 8 seed, they took down No. 9 West Chester East in the first round, giving the program its first district playoff win since 2009. The program will miss a talented senior class. Quarterback Paul Graham was a dynamic dual threat, rushing for 1, 342 yards and 21 touchdowns while adding 673 yards through the air. Linebacker Orion Kolleh posted three sacks and four picks, fellow linebacker Jackson McNamara stacked up 121 tackles, and lineman DeJon Fitzgerald chipped in 58 stops, including eight behind the line. 79 >> Yards Haverford senior Liam Taylor needs to become Delco’s all-time leading rusher. One year after smashing the county’s single-season record, Taylor is closing in on Kevin Jones’ career mark of 5, 790 yards, set 25 years ago by the former NFL running back at Cardinal O’Hara. He’ll have his shot when the Fords play at Upper Darby on Thanksgiving. 108 >> Total tackles for Chester senior linebacker Jerrell Palmer. The All-Delco has been a menace on defense this fall, flying around and wrecking plays every week. But don’t sleep on what he’s meant to the offense. He and fellow senior Shadrach George have become a lethal one-two punch in the backfield, with George at 703 rushing yards and Palmer right behind him at 681. Palmer piled up 116 yards in the Clippers’ district semifinal win over West Chester Rustin 1, 905 >> Rushing total for Cardinal O’Hara senior Amahj Gowans, who has been the heartbeat of a Lions team that has reached the state quarterfinals for the first time. Gowans went off for 195 yards in O’Hara’s 34-6 shellacking of West Philadelphia in the District 12 Class 4A final, four shy of his season best. His 1, 905 yards are second in Delco, trailing only Taylor. He has found the end zone 22 times this season. Gowans and the Lions head to Whitehall Friday night to take on District 2 champ North Pocono in the PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals. 2, 002 >> All-purpose yards for Marple Newtown senior Brett Wolski, who wrapped up a fantastic career in orange and black. Wolski was the guy every defense circled all year, and most of the time he still got his. He ran for 1, 310 yards and scored 22 touchdowns for a Tigers team that finished 5-6. A standout on Marple’s PIAA Class 2A champion lacrosse squad, Wolski leaves as one of the most productive players in program history, ranking second all-time in career touchdowns, rushing yards and all-purpose yards. He also excelled on defense at safety, finishing with 65 tackles and picking off two passes. Email Matt Smith at msmith@delcotimes. com.
https://www.delcotimes.com/2025/11/18/smith-by-the-numbers-its-been-another-fine-season-of-delco-football/