Photo courtesy of Rick Martin
DOWNINGTOWN, PA — It would have taken sturdy construction gear to wipe the smile from Chase Patalano’s face on Wednesday night. It had been seven months since the Kennett High School senior wore pads and a helmet on a football field. Regrettably, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound quarterback’s season had been gutted by a torn right hamstring five games into his senior year.
The 24th Valor Bowl, Chester County’s All-Star game, was Patalano’s last call for football redemption for a lost season. His 58-yard touchdown run in the last minute of play sealed Team Carroll’s 29-20 victory over Team Allison, comprised of players from Malvern Prep, Conestoga, West Chester Rustin, Great Valley, Unionville, West Chester Henderson, and West Chester East.
Patalano, bound for Division I Stonehill College as a safety, was chosen as the Team Carroll offensive MVP for his efforts, while Coatesville’s Nykar Butler was named the Carroll defensive MVP. Oxford’s CJ Boyer was named game MVP, while Team Allison’s Tommy Costigan, of Conestoga, who scored two touchdowns, was named Allison defensive MVP, and Malvern’s Achilles Tucker-Turner was named Allison offensive MVP.
For Patalano, the only Kennett player for Carroll, just playing was a victory.
“I love football, at the end of the day, anytime I can put on pads is a win for me,” said Patalano, who was injured in Kennett’s game against Rustin, and then came back and played against Unionville on Oct. 6 re-injuring the hamstring. “When I originally tore my hamstring, I thought it was over. I didn’t think I would play football again. I got blessed with an opportunity from Stonehill and they gave me an opportunity to play again. It was amazing to run again. I was rehabbing my butt off to get back. My whole team was amazing. This is it for me. This is sad, but at least I got to play another game. That is why I am a little emotional.
“It is the best thing that has happened to me in a little while.”
Boyer clutched his Valor game MVP award like he was holding a rare jewel.
For many players in the game, this was their last high school game. For Boyer, it was his last game. Boyer has an internship set up as an electrician.
“I am feeling something, I have to feel strong and I go out with a bang,” Boyer said. “This game meant a lot to me. Being a part of playing with this team and in this stadium meant a lot. It is really tough to give up football. Honestly, I see myself coming back to the game as maybe a coach. I’ll be honest, too, there is a little fight going on (internally) about not playing again.”
Costigan, who scored twice, also stood out defensively, making several tackles from his linebacker position for losses. He will be joining his older brothers Michael and Peter, the Team Carroll offensive MVP in the 2023 Valor Bowl, at Sacred Heart, where he is projected to be a linebacker.
“This is my last high school game and this was great,” Tommy Costigan said. “It hits a little bit, and it’s bad that this ends with a loss. We had three days of practice last week. Both my brothers played in this game, and they are both at Sacred Heart, so it is something I am really looking forward to. This is it for me playing offense, and at least I go out scoring two touchdowns.”
Team Allison head coach Dave Gueriera said goodbye to seven of his Malvern Prep players who were on the Team Allison squad, including his son, Alex, who will be going to Penn State in the fall.
“It was fun,” Dave Gueriera said. “I wanted to have one more opportunity to coach my son and my Malvern kids. But all these kids from these West Chester schools are great, they really are. A lot of these kids will not play anymore. I realize that. But to get one more chance to play means everything. We wanted to make sure everyone got playing time, and it was definitely competitive. I got to coach my son one last time.”
Team Carroll, made up of players from Coatesville, Bishop Shanahan, Downingtown East and West, Avon Grove, Oxford and Kennett, led from start to finish, charging out to a 23-6 lead at one point.
But Team Allison came firing back in the fourth quarter, thanks to Tommy Costigan’s second TD, and with 2:04 to play, Great Valley’s Braeden Melia’s 39-yard touchdown pass to his Great Valley teammate Gavin Maslowski made it 23-20 in the game’s closing minutes. That’s when Patalano took a quarterback draw and third-and-15 from the Team Carroll 42 for the game-clinching touchdown.
“There is no better to go out,” Patalano said.
Scoring Summary
Allison 0 6 0 14-20
Carroll 7 7 9 6-29
1st Quarter
Carroll – Kam Alex 2 run (Adam Okonowicz kick), 5:47
2nd Quarter
Allison – Tommy Costigan 1 run (kick failed), 11:08
Carroll – Semaj Turner 9 run (Adam Okonowicz kick), 1:40
3rd Quarter
Carroll – Adam Okonowicz 35 FG, 5:54
Carroll – John Rivera 2 run (run failed), :07
4th Quarter
Allison – Costigan 2 run (Jack Ploszay kick), 9:24
Allison – Gavin Maslowski 39 pass from Braeden Melia (Ploszay kick), 2:04
Carroll – Patalano 58 run (kick failed), :53
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito.
