West Chester East head football coach Joe Carroll and assistant Scott Allison had a dream. They pursued this dream aggressively, and in 1999, their dream materialized at Coatesville's Multi-Purpose Stadium: a football game. Not just any old football game, though. This contest gave the best senior high school football players in Chester County a final opportunity to display their gridiron talents locally. While the game was the focal point for Carroll's and Allison's efforts, the beneficiary would be Special Olympics of Chester County. Why not a Chester County game? Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties each had similar contests, the time had come, and Carroll and Allison were the driving forces. Hence, the birth of the Valor Bowl. In just its ninth year, the game has already reached and surpasses a level of success enjoyed by the other all-star games. Fan support has been enthusiastic, and donations to Special Olympics of Chester County have exceeded the founders' expectations. The commitment exhibited by coaches and players on the field has been matched by many community sponsors, who have donated their time, financial support, or services generously in promoting the contests. Chester County has some of the best high school talent in Pennsylvania, with many players annually drawing the attention of college football recruiters. On June 2nd, the young men assembled at Conestoga will perform one final time in a high school game. They and the game sponsors thank you for attending. And for the twelfth time, Carroll and Allison will watch happily as their dream unfolds before them.  

The inaugural contest, in 1999 at Coatesville, came down to a last-minute North goal-line stand. With fourth-and-goal at the North eight yard line, Coatesville's Steve Hill stopped Henderson's Mike Kamon for an seven-yard loss on a screen pass. Coatesville running back Stephan Lewis paced the North squad with 117 yards rushing and a game record three touchdowns. His high school teammates, Sean Schellenger and Derrick Green, also excelled. Schellenger completed 11 of 25 passes for 168 yards, while Green caught seven balls for 132 yards. For the South, West Chester East quarterback Matt Schaub was 9-22 for 132 yards and two touchdowns. East's Rich Boyd caught four passes, including both Schaub TD tosses, for 86 yards and Henderson's Varday Jacobs led his team's rushers with 72 yards on nine carries. Lewis and Schaub were their teams' respective Offensive Most Valuable Players. Boyd was the South Defensive MVP, while Downingtown defensive lineman Jon Campenni was the North Defensive MVP. 

Conestoga running back Marquis Weeks made his final appearance at Conestoga's Teamer Field memorable, rushing for a Valor Bowl record 122 yards and scoring two touchdowns, en route to the South Offensive MVP award. Malvern Prep's Chris Muntz led the South defensive effort, which held the North to 196 total yards. Muntz was the South Defensive MVP and also scored the game-winning touchdown. Muntz' Malvern Prep teammate, quarterback Mike Ryan, was razor-sharp, completing 10 of 16 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown pass. Great Valley's Ed Hill was outstanding on both offense and defense. He deflected several passes, rushed for 45 yards on eight carries, and scored a TD. He was the North's Defensive MVP. Ty Gaffney, of Coatesville, who led the North rushers with 90 on 19 carries and a touchdown. He was also the North Offensive MVP. 

The North squad, behind a strong contingent of players from District 1 runner-up Downingtown and Coatesville, was totally dominant in the 2001 contest at West Chester East. Coatesville quarterback Bob Findora set Valor Bowl records with 217 passing yards and four touchdown passes, while completing 11 of his 15 pass attempts. His performance earned him North Offensive MVP honors. Downingtown's Dave Gracia and Coatesville's Corey Mayo led a North defensive effort that held the South to just 40 yards rushing. Gracia, who returned a fumble 32 yards for a touchdown, was named the North Defensive MVP. Despite being constantly harassed by the North defense, South quarterback Chad Chamness, of West Chester East, was named South Offensive MVP. His East teammate, Adam Mavrelos garnered South Defensive MVP honors. 

For the second year in a row, the North squad, this time behind the efforts of Downingtown's Brandon Darlington (North Defensive MVP) and Coatesville's Jonathan Williams, pitched a shutout in the 2002 edition of the game, at Coatesville. Darlington (three receptions for 32 yards) caught a 16-yard touchdown pass and also caused a fumble by sacking South quarterback Dan Wray (Oxford), which Williams picked up and ran 42 yards for a touchdown. The South quarterbacks completed only 4 of 10 passes for 56 yards, and the South totaled only 120 yards of offense. It was Coatesville quarterback Jamar McBall, though, who stole the show, and he also continued a Valor Bowl tradition. He completed 10 of his 14 passes (three of the incompletions were dropped), including 10-11 in the first half, for 120 yards and a touchdown pass. He also ran for a touchdown. While earning North MVP honors, he continued the streak of a Red Raider winning the North's offensive MVP award in each Valor Bowl. Malvern Prep's Mike Treston ended his high school career with 46 yards on 10 carries, and carting off the South Offensive MVP award. Conestoga's Chase Bower, the South Defensive MVP, also caught two passes for 35 yards. 

The Downingtown High School football program faded into history in a blaze of glory. For the last time together, the Whippets led the way as the North won for the third straight year at Owen J. Roberts' Wildcat Stadium. Downingtown quarterback Matt Helm set several records, including total offense (285) and rushing yards by a quarterback (104). He threw two touchdown passes to high school teammate Geoff Paugam (North Offensive MVP). The teams set records for most combined yards, most points in a half, and most combined points. After being shut out in two consecutive games, the South offense exploded for three touchdowns in the first half, including two Chris Greene (West Chester Henderson) rushing touchdowns, but the North still held a 24-20 halftime lead. The North defense, led by Defensive MVP Joe D'Andrea (Great Valley), took over in the second half, forcing three turnovers, and Helm's second touchdown pass to Paugam late in the third quarter provided the North with some insurance. Malvern Prep's Mike Melvin was the South's offensive MVP, racking up 161 yards on his four receptions, while Malvern Prep teammate Mike Meehan was named defensive MVP. 

The South broke the North's three-game winning streak with a 15-9 win at West Chester University's Farrell Stadium, marking the first time that the game was not played at a Chester County high school. The South gained a 9-0 first-half lead behind a two-yard touchdown run from Henderson's Maurice Adams and a safety on a blocked punt by Conestoga's Kevin Johns that went out of the endzone. This was the first time the South held a halftime lead since the 2000 contest. But the North showed its resilience by taking a 10-9 lead at the 4:49 mark of the third quarter. First, Owen J. Roberts' Andy Worthington capped a 70-yard march by sneaking in from the three. Then, Downingtown East's Joe Hughes drilled a 29-yard field goal. The South responded immediately to take the lead for good, going 77 yards in four plays. The big play was a 50-yard touchdown pass from Henderson's Matt McGreevy to West Chester' East Jim Oakes. McGreevy, who was the South's offensive MVP, carried 11 times for 80 yards and completed three of his four passes for another 120 yards. Oakes caught two passes for 110 yards, including a 60-yard pass, the longest in Valor Bowl history. Johns was chosen as the South's defensive MVP. Great Valley's Kellen Hill, who rushed 12 times for 70 yards, was the North offensive MVP, while Coatesville's Briton Ben, who recorded a pair of sacks, was the North's defensive MVP.

2005 South 21, North 0

For the first time in the Valor Bowl's seven-year history, the South won back to back games, capturing a 21-0 win at West Chester East's Zimmerman Field. The North holds a 4-3 lead in the series. The South did it in grand style, pitching a shutout and limiting the North to just 128 yards of total offense. This was the third time that the winning team recorded a shutout. The winning touchdown was scored just one minute and 13 seconds into the game, when Conestoga quarterback Josh Cohen completed a 32-yard touchdown pass to his high school teammate P T Ricci. The South needed only three plays to cover 67 yards.The South rang up its second touchdown with 5:03 remaining in the first quarter as Greg Chamness, who set a Valor Bowl record with two interceptions, accepted a pitchout from Cohen and scored from the eight, closing out a 56-yard march.Chamness' second interception set up Cohen's second TD pass of the night, this time to Avon Grove's Chris McAffrey, a 53-yard catch. Cohen, who completed nine of his 15 passes for 209 yards, was the South's Offensive MVP, while Chamness garnered the South Defensive MVP. Chamness' older brother, Chad, was the South Offensive MVP in 2001. Downingtown West's Brett Owens was the North's Offensive MVP, Downingtown East's, Evan Byrd earned the North's Defensive trophy.

2006 North 17, South 10

The North halted the South's two-game winning streak by scoring a pair of second-half touchdowns to capture a 17 - 10 win at Conestoga. The North employed a terrific defense and a ground chewing offense to offset a more balanced South team. The North set game records for most rushing yards (223) and the longest drive in Valor Bowl history, which took 11 minutes and 15 seconds, in taking a  5 - 3 lead in the series. After an exchnge of field goals for a 3 - 3 halftime score, the North drove 80 yards in 16 plays, with Phoenixville's Travis Ford-Bey scoring from the five. The South immediately countered with it's own 80 yard drive behind Malvern Prep quarterback Ian Mtchell. Avon Grove's Javan Sanders tied the score at 10 with 8:54 to play in the game. A five-yard South punt put the ball on the South 27, and Coatesville's CJ Gray, the North's Offensive MVP (15 carries, 101 yards), went the distance on the first play for the winning touchdown with 3:29 to play. Mitchell claimed the South's Offensive MVP, rushing for 46 yards on six carries and completing two of his four passes for 58 yards. Defensive linemen Antoine Jones (Coatesville) and Chris Medina (Kennett) were the North and South Defensive MVPs respectively.                                

2007 North 24, South 10

The North ran its record to 6-3 in this series with a convincing 24-10 win at Great Valley. It combined a powerful inside running game along with the speed to get to the outside and a solid defense to win its second game in a row. The Northerners utilized the big-play capabilities of Downingtown East's Richie Walls and Downingtown West's Roshaan McCain (North Offensive MVP) to score on runs of 51 and 48 yards, respectively. Coatesville's Scott A'Hara also tossed a 55-yard scoring pass to a streaking Todd Eagles (Downingtown East), on a double reverse. Malvern Prep's Joe Buckley gave the South an early 3-0 lead with his 37-yard field goal. That was matched by Bobby Eppleman's (Great Valley) 47 yard field goal with 4:51 to play in the first half. Then came Walls' touchdown to give the North a 10-3 halftime lead. The South lost its starting quarterback, Kennett's Justin Clark, to a previous injury, and Unionville's Joe Mulvihill, who was a running back during his high school career, guided his team the remainder of the game, driving them 80 yards for a score. Shawn DeHaven (Downingtown West) was the North's Defensive MVP, while Fred Maldonado (W.C. East) earned the Offensive MVP honors for the South, and Conestoga linebacker Jon Susko garnered the South Defensive MVP award.

2008 North 27, South 7

The Valor Bowl concluded its first decade with a somewhat surprising, and easy, North 27-7 win. It was the second time the North has won three consecutive games in this all-star classic, and ran its record to 7-3.

            The result was a surprise because of the offensive firepower the South possessed, with Unionville quarterback Matt Carroll (South Offensive MVP) and the Conestoga pitch-and-catch combo of quarterback Steve Richter and wide receiver Nihja White. Then, there was also the running prowess of Henderson’s Jabair Khan. But, it was the pass rush provided by Phoenixville’s Eric Newcomb (two sacks, North Defensive MVP) and the outstanding coverage by the North secondary, which picked off four passes, that were key ingredients in the North win.

            The North had all the points it would need by halftime, as it took a 10-0 lead into the locker room. Phoenixville’s Mark Ferko opened the scoring in the second quarter, when he threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Downingtown West’s Eric Ludwig. The winning points came from the foot of Derek McKinley, who booted a 21-yard field goal.

            North Offensive MVP Pete O’Connor took his teammates down the field smartly to open the second half, resulting in another McKinley field goal for a 13-0 lead. The South quickly cut into that lead as Rustin’s Steve Hess punched it in from the six, capping a nine-play, 59-yard drive. Whatever momentum the South might have had was squashed as O’Connor tossed a 62-yard touchdown pass to Spring-Ford’s Matt Santiago. The South defense was caught flat footed as Bill Pommerer completed the scoring by throwing a 40-yard TD pass to McKinley on what looked like a reverse.

            Oxford’s Marty Reinhardt was the South Defensive MVP.

2009 North 20, South 14 (OT)

For the first time in the 11-year history of the Valor Bowl, overtime was needed to determine the winner. The North, after stopping the South’s attempt to put points on the board in the extra session, wasted no time as Downingtown West’s Jared Heller scored on the North’s first play of OT to record a 20-14 win. The “W” set a record for the classic, as the North has now won four games in a row, and holds an 8-3 overall edge.

            The North, which earlier in the evening had set another record with an 99-yard touchdown drive (Heller’s first touchdown, a one-yard run), needed to go 78 yards late in the game to force overtime. The 14-play march was closed out by Kenny Wylie’s (Coatesville) one-yard run with just two minutes, 30 seconds remaining in regulation time.

            Although the North defense was able to virtually eliminate any South offensive threat, limiting the South to a record low 49 yards, the North didn’t have a clue for Conestoga’s Bryan Barley (South Offensive MVP). His 80-yard punt return gave the South possession at the North one yard line, only to have the North recover a fumble on a bad exchange on a center snap, leading to the North 99-yard drive. He later scored on a 15-yard reverse, courtesy of an Anthony Verderame (Rustin, South Defensive MVP) interception, and his 71-yard interception return set up the go-ahead touchdown by Unionville’s Jon Gill.

            Phoenixville’s Khalil Ervin, who caught a key 32-yard third-down pass to keep the 99-yard drive going, was the North’s Offensive MVP. Downingtown East’s Phil Nicholaides was named North Defensive MVP.

John DiCandilo 

Valor Bowl Records

Team

Overall Series Record: North 8 wins - 3 losses  

Longest Win Streak: 4 North, 2006-2009

Most Points Scored: 47, North, 2001

Fewest Points Allowed: 0, North, 2001; North, 2002; South, 2005

Most Combined Points: 52, 2003

Most Combined First Downs: 37, 2003

Most Combined Total Yards: 784, 2003

Most Rushing Yards: 223, North, 2006

Fewest Rushing Yards Allowed:38, North, 2009

Fewest Passing Yards Allowed : 11, North, 2009

Fewest Total Yards Allowed: 49, North, 2009

Most Passes Intercepted By: 4, North, 2008

Fewest Combined Turnovers: 0, 2006, 2007

Fastest Touchdown: 1 minute 13 seconds, South, 2005

Longest Scoring Drive (time): 11 minutes, 15 seconds, North, 2006

Longest Drive: 99 Yards, North,2009

Individual

Most Rushing Yards: 122, Marquis Weeks, Conestoga (South) 2000

Most Rushing Attempts: 23, Stephan Lewis, Coatesville (North) 1999

Most Rushing Touchdowns: 3, Stephan Lewis, Coatesville (North) 1999

Best Average Per Carry (min. 5 att.): 13.8 Yards, Richie Walls, Downingtown East (North) 2007

Most Passing Yards: 217, Bob Findora, Coatesville (North) 2001

Most Passing Attempts: 25, Sean Schellenger, Coatesville (North) 1999

Most Passes Completed: 11, Sean Schellenger, Coatesville (North) 1999; Bob Findora, Coatesville (North) 2001; Matt Helm, Downingtown (North) 2003

Most Touchdown Passes: 4, Bob Findora, Coatesville (North) 2001

Most Combined Passing Yards: 364, Matt Helm, Downingtown (North, 181) and Bill Birks W.C.East (South,183) 2003

Highest Average Per Pass Attempt: 30.0 Yards, Matt McGreevy, W.C. Henderson (South) 2004

Highest Average Per Pass Completion: 40.0 Yards, Matt McGreevy, W.C. Henderson (South) 2004

Best Completion Percentage (min.10 att.): 73.3% (11-15), Bob Findora, Coatesville (North) 2001

Most Receptions: 7 Derrick Green, Coatesville (North) 1999; Geoff Paugam, Downingtown (North) 2003

Most Touchdown Receptions: 2, Rich Boyd, W.C. East (South) 1999, Geoff Paugam, Downingtown (North) 2003

Most Receiving Yards: 161, Mike Melvin, Malvern Prep (South) 2003

Best Average Per Reception (min 3 rec.): 41.3 Yards/ Rec., Mike Melvin, Malvern Prep (South) 2003

Most Total Yards: 285, Matt Helm, Downingtown (North) 2003

Most Rushing Yards By A QB: 104, Matt Helm, Downingtown (North) 2003

Most Rushing Attempts By A QB: 13, Matt Helm, Downingtown (North) 2003

Longest Rushing Attempt By A QB: 56 Yards, Joe Nicholson, Downingtown West (North) 2004

Most Passes Intercepted By A Player: 2, Greg Chamness, W.C. East (South) 2005

Longest Fumble Recovery For A Touchdown: 42 Yards, Jonathan Williams, Coatesville (North) 2002

Longest Punt Return: 80 Yards, Bryan Barley, Conestoga (South) 2009

Longest Field Goal: 47 Yards, Bobby Eppleman, Great Valley (North) 2007

Longest Punt: 68 yards, Rob Long, Downingtown West (North) 2007

Game Most Valuable Players

1999
North Offensive MVP: Stephan Lewis, Coatesville
South Offensive MVP: Matt Schaub, West Chester East
North Defensive MVP: Jon Campenni, Downingtown
South Defensive MVP: Rich Boyd, West Chester East

2000
North Offensive MVP: Ty Gaffney, Coatesville
South Offensive MVP: Marquis Weeks, Conestoga
North Defensive MVP: Ed Hill, Great Valley
South Defensive MVP: Chris Muntz, Malvern Prep

2001
North Offensive MVP: Bob Findora, Coatesville
South Offensive MVP: Chad Chamness, West Chester East
North Defensive MVP: Dave Gracia, Downingtown
South Defensive MVP: Adam Mavrelos, West Chester East

2002                                                                                               
North Offensive MVP: Jamar McBall, Coatesville                
South Offensive MVP: Mike Treston, Malvern Prep
North Defensive MVP: Brandon Darlington, Downingtown
South Defensive MVP: Chase Bower, Conestoga

2003
North Offensive MVP: Geoff Paugam, Downingtown
South Offensive MVP: Mike Melvin, Malvern Prep
North Defensive MVP: Joe D'Andrea, Great Valley
South Defensive MVP: Mike Meehan, Malvern Prep

2004
North Offensive MVP: Kellen Hill, Great Valley
South Offensive MVP: Matt McGreevy, Henderson
North Defensive MVP: Briton Ben, Coatesville
South Defensive MVP: Kevin Johns, Conestoga

2005
North Offensive MVP: Brett Owens, Downingtown West                                                                          South Offensive MVP: Josh Cohen, Conestoga                                                                                          North Defensive MVP: Evan Byrd, Downingtown East                                                                              South Defensive MVP: Greg Chamness, West Chester East

2006
North Offensive MVP: C.J. Gray, Coatesville 
South Offensive MVP: Ian Mitchell, Malvern Prep 
North Defensive MVP: Antoine Jones, Coatesville                                                                                     South Defensive MVP: Chris Medina, Kennett

2007                                                                                                                                                         North Offensive MVP: Roshaan McCain, Downingtown West
South Offensive MVP: Fred Maldonado, West Chester East
North Defensive MVP: Shawn DeHaven, Downingtown West
South Defensive MVP: Jon Susko, Conestoga

2008                                                                                                                                                         North Offensive MVP: Pete O'Connor, Downingtown East                                                                         South Offensive MVP: Matt Carroll, Unionville                                                                                             North Defensive MVP: Eric Newcomb, Phoenixville                                                                                     South Defensive MVP: Marty Reinhardt, Oxford

2009                                                                                                                                                         North Offensive MVP:Khalil Ervin, Phoenixville                                                                        South Offensive MVP: Bryan Barley, Conestoga                                                                                            North Defensive  MVP: Phil  Nicholaides,Downingtown East                                                                      South Defensive MVP: Anthony Verderame, Bayard Rustin