Unbreakable: Garnet Valley hockey wins first Pennsylvania state hockey championship

Josh Rizzo | Mar 22, 2025

Garnet Valley forward Kevin Walton raises the Pennsylvania state hockey champion toward the Jaguars' faithful that made the 300-mile trip to see the Jaguars play Saturday at the RMU Island Sports Center. Walton scored twice in the 7-2 win. / Josh Rizzo

NEVILLE ISLAND -- Nolan Stott’s trip from center ice to the boards, yelling toward the crowd and lifting the Class 1A Pennsylvania State Finals trophy above his shoulders wasn’t long enough. The Garnet Valley senior forward was around the program for lean years. After the Jaguars beat Avonworth, 7-2, Saturday at the RMU Island Sports Center, he wasn’t eager to look toward the future.

“This is the experience of a lifetime,” Stott said. “I’m never going to forget this. This is one of those moments you want to live in a little bit longer, but I can’t do that right now.”

The Jaguars reached a number of historical markers with their win over the Antelopes. Garnet Valley won its first state title and in the process, extended the Flyers Cup champions streak of beating the Penguins Cup champion in Class 1A to 13 years.

Garnet Valley is the first Delaware County team to win a state title in 15 years and the first public school from the county to win a championship since Penncrest did in 2005.

Jaguars coach Stephane Charbonneau said this group will majorly impact the groups below them who watched them play.

“This is huge,” Charbonneau said. “We have some young elementary and middle school kids who came to our games during the playoffs. That is our future, you know?”

Garnet Valley captain Nolan Stott raises the trophy following the Jaguars' win in the Class 1A Pennsylvania State Finals Saturday at the RMU Island Sports Center. Stott scored twice to help the Jaguars win their first state title. / Josh Rizzo

Reflecting on the past

Stott, who scored twice against Avonworth, remembers what it was like for the Jaguars his freshman year. Garnet Valley was on the wrong end of a few double-digit losses.

“We were brutal,” Stott said.

But the Jaguars continued working and steadily improved. Stott was worried Garnet Valley may take some time to come together after losing a few key seniors from last year’s team. But the Jaguars didn’t need much time.

Garnet Valley finished the regular season with a 19-2 record and won the Inter County Scholastic Hockey League division title.The Jaguars outscored their opponents 143-34 and earned the top seed in the Flyers’ Cup playoffs.

Garnet Valley won all three games to win their first Flyers Cup since 1998.

Charbonneau said this is a tough group of kids.

“I had these guys three years ago and we were getting beat 12-0,” Charbonneau said. “They stick together and my captain, Nolan Stott, keeps these guys together. I told them if you have an individual with a little popsicle stick, you can break it very easily. When we have 20 of them, try to break them. It’s very tough to break.”

How do you tackle an Antelope?

Avonworth was making its first appearance in the state final after flattening perennial contender Mars in the Penguins Cup. The Antelopes’ school is only around 7 miles from the arena, while Garnet Valley had a 307-mile trip to Neville Island. The Jaguars didn’t let the long trip slow them down.

Jake Morrow opened the scoring with a power-play goal around seven minutes in. Cooper Powell tied the game for Avonworth two minutes later.

However, the Antelopes couldn’t sustain the momentum.

Kaden Longo added a goal late in the first period to put the Jaguars up 1-1. Kevin Walton, who scored twice, and Stott would add goals in the second period to stretch the lead to 5-1.

“Them tying it up just made us play harder,” Walton said. “I thought we came out harder in the first five minutes.”

The Antelopes scored their only other goal late in the third on a strong effort from Austin Dzadovsky.

Avonworth coach Chris Chiusano said Garnet Valley was tough to slow down.

“They had a lot of speed,” Chiusano said. “They have guys on the puck constantly and don't give us a lot of room to work from an offensive standpoint. They were committed to the backcheck.”

Garnet Valley ready to soak in the victory

The Jaguars’ offensive attack allowed them to put their battle with Avonworth out of reach early. Aiden Delfin also scored goals for the Jaguars. Garnet Valley netminder Garrett Stoops stopped 24 of the shots.

Stott, who tied for a team-high three points with Walton, is happy to go out as a winner. Having the moment where he raised a trophy wasn’t something he thought much about during his first year.

“Our freshmen year, we were so bad during our high school season we didn’t even look to the future,” Stott said. “We didn’t even do anything like that. To be here right now, it’s a blessing.”

--Josh Rizzo | rizzo42789@gmail.com | @J_oshrizzo