Girard College's Aquil Stewart is small but contributes big
HERSHEY - It's not often that a 5-foot-3, 97-pound underclassman earns considerable playing time and contributes for a squad, even one that is a member of the PIAA's smallest enrollment classification, that makes a deep state playoff run.
HERSHEY - It's not often that a 5-foot-3, 97-pound underclassman earns considerable playing time and contributes for a squad, even one that is a member of the PIAA's smallest enrollment classification, that makes a deep state playoff run.
But that's exactly what Aquil Stewart did for Girard College.
"He started for us most of the season," Cavaliers first-year coach Clyde Jones said. "He worked his tail off all year."
Stewart nailed 40-plus three-pointers as the Cavaliers went 24-9 and advanced to Thursday afternoon's Class A final before losing to Kennedy Catholic, 73-56, at the Giant Center.
"You can't say enough about his heart and toughness," Jones said. "He shows no fear on the court. He always takes on the challenge of going up against bigger players."
Against District 10's Kennedy Catholic, located about 70 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, Stewart played 17 minutes and hit a fourth-quarter trey.
"It's good that we made it to the championship game, but you have to win it when you get here," the wise 15-year-old said.
Stewart, who lives near Broad and Vine Streets, played for Roman Catholic's freshman squad last school year. He transferred to Girard and reclassified to the class of 2020.
"Things didn't go like I expected at Roman, so I decided to leave," he said. "The switch has been a positive thing."
Stewart's father, Johnathan, is a resident advisor and assistant basketball coach at Girard.
The elder Stewart, who graduated from Girard in 1987, coaches his son's 15-and-under AAU squad, Team Final. "We go near and far to find the best competition possible," he said.
Aquil Stewart pitched in four points off the bench as the Cavaliers topped Faith Christian, 67-58, in Monday's state semifinal at Spring-Ford.
"I'm very proud of Aquil," Johnathan Stewart said. "His biggest asset is his heart. He's not afraid of anything."
Girard, which fell just short of claiming its first state crown since 2009, took top honors in the Penn-Jersey League and easily beat Faith Christian, 72-40, for the District 1 championship.
"We accomplished a lot," Aquil Stewart said. "At the beginning of the season, nobody expected us to come this far."
In addition to Aquil, Johnathan Stewart works on developing his other son's hoops skills. Taji, 9, plays for St. Malachy School at 11th and Thompson Streets in North Philly.
Leaving the PIAA?
Jones said Thursday that Girard could decide to leave the PIAA following this school year.
"I don't know what the plan is for certain yet," said Jones, who previously coached at Penn Wood and Harriton. "We're going to talk it over the next couple of weeks."
Sellout
The second half of Saturday's championship doubleheader is sold out.
Archbishop Wood will take on District 7's Trinity in the Class 5A girls' final at 6 p.m. That will be followed, at about 8 p.m., by the 6A boys' title game between District 3's Reading and District 7's Pine-Richland.
Three referees from District 1 - Ed Corliss, Jim McMahon and Jim Miller - will officiate the 6A boys' final.
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