Rosenblum, Thornton have Radnor right where they thought it would be

LOWER MERION — Danny Rosenblum and Charlie Thornton walked off the court at Unionville three years ago, not needing the reminder that better days lay ahead.

It was Feb. 26, 2020, and Radnor had just lost a District 1 Class 5A playback game to end its season. For a group that played two freshmen heavily, a 15-win season felt ahead of schedule. They fell in the quarterfinals as heavy underdogs to eventual champ West Chester East, then were summarily dismissed in their bid to get back into states.

But had you told either Rosenblum or Thornton then what would be in the program’s future, you would’ve been met with confident affirmation.

“Honestly, I would’ve believed it,” Rosenblum said Monday, after the 24-0 Raptors wrapped up the program’s Central League title over Lower Merion. “I trust these guys so much and we’ve been through so much together. This has been our goal the entire time.”

“I would’ve believed you 100 percent,” added Thornton, the MVP of the Central League final.

That game was a global pandemic and a nickname change ago, yet the Raptors have continued to build through those changes and more. A nine-strong senior class embarks on the next of their string of goals next week, hoping to rectify last year’s loss in the District 1 Class 5A final in overtime to Chester.

This year, the Raptors are clear favorites. Delaware County has the top two seeds in the field, with Del Val League champion Chichester (19-3) also getting a first round bye until Wednesday.

Radnor will await the winner of Friday’s all-Delco matchup between No. 9 Marple Newtown (11-11) and No. 8 Sun Valley (15-7). The Raptors thrashed a much younger Vanguards team, 53-28, in the same round last year. Radnor bested Marple Newtown twice this year by an average of 22.5 points per, though the Tigers did hand Radnor one of its regular-season setbacks last year.

Both teams have plenty of play for Friday, the winner guaranteed a playbacks place to vie for the six states berths in District 1. Like Radnor and Chichester, Marple Newtown made states last year, but Matt Gardler is the only healthy returnee from that team. The Tigers enter having lost four straight.

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