This Garnet Valley senior receiver had just three career catches. His fourth was a clutch, epic one-handed grab.

More often than not, Dante DeVuono is a receiver in name only.

Within Garnet Valley’s run-centric offense, head coach Eric Van Wyk says DeVuono is lucky if one pass gets thrown his way per game.

Instead, DeVuono is called upon as a blocker in the Jaguars’ old-school, ground-and-pound, split-back veer offense. Effectively, he does all the grueling grunt work of an offensive lineman without the machismo often associated with battling in the trenches.

That role could be a hard sell for most 17-year-olds, says Van Wyk, who says his offense runs about 70 plays per game.

Fortunately for Garnet Valley — winners of the last two 6A District 1 titles and 4-1 this year — DeVuono turned his one opportunity last week into a game-changing, one-handed catch in the Jags’ thrilling 28-24 come-from-behind victory against visiting Haverford School.

“I think that says a lot about him and how selfless he is,” Van Wyk said in a phone interview. “To be completely honest, 95% of the time his job is to block. That’s the reason why he’s been out there because he does a tremendous job blocking.

“He took full advantage of the opportunities he’s had when we do throw the ball. It really speaks volumes to his character and his selflessness,” Van Wyk said.

Haverford School (1-3) had leapt to a 10-point lead and controlled much of the early action.

Trailing, 23-14, with less than 30 seconds left in the third quarter, the Jags faced fourth-and-7 near midfield.

Van Wyk, who starred at quarterback for the Jags in 2007 before pitching at La Salle University, said offensive coordinator Rich Boyd dialed a deep pass.

At first, DeVuono struggled to hear the play call barked by junior quarterback Luke O’Donoghue.

When he finally realized that he’d get an opportunity, though, DeVuono says he wasn’t nervous. It was a play they’d run in practice “a million times.”

“I knew what to do,” DeVuono said via phone. “I ran for a little bit, felt the defender tugging on me, looked up for the ball, and I just kind of tracked it and made the catch, I guess. It was also a great throw by Luke.”

The Jags scored a few plays later.

“You could easily say it was the play of the game just because of how impressive Haverford School was offensively,” Van Wyk said. “I think if we gave them the ball back around the 50-yard line, it’s probably a different outcome.”

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The catch was just DeVuono’s fourth … ever. COVID-19 scuttled his freshman year, and he played on junior varsity as both a sophomore and junior.

Garnet Valley’s program, Van Wyk said, is typically led by a new senior class each season.

So for DeVuono, whose dad, Bill, played receiver at Springfield High (Delco) and later at La Salle, it didn’t feel abnormal to wait patiently and not complain about how many times he touched the ball.

But, come on! He can’t really be OK with seeing the rock only once every 70 plays, can he?

“I don’t really mind it that much if the spotlight isn’t on me,” DeVuono said. “If I’m blocking for somebody and they score a touchdown, I know I was part of that play and I helped make it happen, and as long as I’m helping the team, that’s all that really matters to me.”

“Garnet Valley has prepared me for that,” he added. “Being in the program, that’s kind of like the job description. When you’re called upon, you have to be ready to go.”

For example, O’Donoghue stepped in when senior quarterback Tyler Lassik was injured in the season opener.

In the fourth quarter against Haverford School last week, O’Donoghue also hit senior Kai Lopez for another fourth-down conversion with less than 30 seconds left in the game. Junior running back Luke Vaughn eventually scored the game-winning rushing touchdown with 24 seconds left.

Next up, the Jags will host Lower Merion at 7 p.m. Friday.

DeVuono said Garnet Valley is off to a good start, but it still has work to do after losing about 16 seniors from last year’s team that lost, 48-7, to St. Joseph’s Prep in the state 6A semifinals.

“Obviously. we have big shoes to fill this year,” DeVuono said. “It feels like it’s our team now. We’re excited. We’re doing well and getting a lot better, but we still have a lot to work on.”