SPRINGFIELD — When Luke Valerio walked away from the postgame huddle with his Springfield teammates for the final time in late November, it started to hit him.
The Cougars had just suffered their first and only loss of the season to Roman Catholic in the PIAA Class 5A semifinals. The ride was over. And even with the hurt of that loss, Valerio felt something else, too.
Peace. And, yeah, a little exhaustion.
In another version of the story, Valerio would be heading to college to play football. He is that good. But football has always been his secondary sport, the one that keeps him sharp and tough for lacrosse.
Springfield’s Luke Valerio picks up yardage in an Oct. 24 game against Strath Haven. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)
When Valerio heads to Penn State after graduation in June, he will be getting ready for his first season with the Nittany Lions lacrosse team.
His biggest lacrosse moment already came on that same campus. Valerio scored a late goal in the state championship game at Panzer Stadium last June to seal Springfield’s win over Radnor for the Class 3A title.
Still, football made it hard to walk away.
“There definitely was a point when I thought, I really love this,” he said. “I thought about that during the peak of football season. But those last two games, the district final and states, I just knew I couldn’t keep doing it. For being so small, like me, you can get away with it in high school … but then you get hit one time by some of the big Chester kids and you’re like, OK, every kid is going to look like them in college.”
Valerio was ready to close the football chapter, and he could not have scripted a better final season.
He turned in one of the top rushing seasons in program history, piling up 1,690 yards and 24 touchdowns. Alongside fellow senior Tanner Coll, Valerio gave the Cougars a tough and extremely athletic duo in the backfield. As the season rolled on, Valerio became the go-to option, especially in the biggest moments.
He was front and center in Springfield’s run to the District 1 Class 5A championship, scoring three rushing touchdowns in the title game against Chester. And throughout the season, he rarely came off the field, racking up 82 tackles and an interception from the secondary.
“He’s a pure leader, a kid who never complains, does what he’s told, and leads by example,” coach Chris Britton said.
Valerio was the best player on Delco’s best football team in 2025, which makes the ending pretty fitting. He is the Daily Times Player of the Year, the first Springfield player to earn the honor since current assistant coach Adam Krauter in 2014.
Joining Valerio on the All-Delco offense are fellow running backs Amahj Gowans (Cardinal O’Hara) and Liam Taylor (Haverford), quarterback Jalen Harris (Chester) and receivers Daron Harris (Chester) and Jackson Orcutt (Episcopal Academy). The offensive line consists of Shemaj Henry (Chester), Emmett Gillespie (Haverford), James Coskey (Ridley), Dom Stewart (Springfield) and Nick Farabaugh (Strath Haven).
The All-Delco defense includes linemen CJ Amobi (Bonner & Prendergast), Tristan Laing (Cardinal O’Hara) and Walt Frazier (Haverford School); linebackers Jerrell Palmer (Chester), Jamil Abdul-Malik (Episcopal Academy), Paxton Hunt (Garnet Valley) and Kevin Farley (Ridley); and defensive backs Shadrach George (Chester), Jahmir Brown (Episcopal Academy), Brett Wolski (Marple Newtown) and Mikey Enright (Radnor).
Cardinal O’Hara kicker/punter Gavin McLain was selected as the specialist. Coll and TJ Valletti, both of Springfield, were chosen for their production as all-purpose players.
Valerio understood in the summer that he would have a more significant role on offense. That became clear when Brad Barber, the Cougars’ leading rusher in 2024, was sidelined for his senior football campaign after suffering a serious knee injury during the lacrosse season.
“Everyone knew coming into the season we wouldn’t have Brad, and we had to adapt. It’s a credit to our coaches because they had to make the changes and figure out where everyone should play,” Valerio said. “Every position was up for grabs because we lost a huge senior group from last year, and we had new guys filling roles left and right. Our coaches stuck with it, no matter how look it took someone to understand a play. They kept encouraging us and leading us in the right direction.”
Springfield carried itself as an underdog all season. Even while hanging 40, 50, sometimes 60 points on teams, there were still doubters. Valerio noticed it. The Cougars used it as fuel. That helped power them to an outright Central League title.
And yet, one question lingered. Could they finish the job and win a District 1 title for the first time? The memory of 2024 had not gone away. A 34-2 loss to West Chester Rustin at home in the final stuck with them.
This time, the Cougars got another shot on their field, hosting Chester in a showdown between unbeaten Delco heavyweights. And Springfield dominated.
“In the beginning of the season, our mindset was proving people wrong, and we didn’t really care what other people said,” Valerio said. “We knew what guys we had in our locker room and what guys we knew could make plays. Even though we only lost the last game, we faced a ton of adversity, but our guys always stayed together. That gave us win after win every week. When we faced tough times, we always knew we had each other’s backs.”
Winning runs in the Valerio family. Valerio found inspiration watching big sister, Mia, now a junior lacrosse player at Richmond, win championships in both basketball and lacrosse. Now Luke has done the same in football and lacrosse, while older brother Vinnie is playing football at Stevenson.
For Luke, the memories from his senior football season will stay with him, especially that final home game. More than any single play, he will remember the sight of an overflow crowd spilling out of packed bleachers.
“Springfield is such a supportive community, and I am just so grateful that I was able to play here,” he said. “I know we couldn’t have done anything without their support.”