By Brian Carroll
To the casual, unbiased observer, one look at last week’s 23-20 final score between Marple Newtown and Strath Haven and could assume correctly, “Good football game!” Oh, but if it were only that simple… A statement that short downplays the enormous displays of talent, the stunning swings in momentum, and ultimately the incredible pendulum of emotion that played out in the Tigers’ last-second victory that handed Strath Haven their first loss of the season. That the Panthers had a comfortable lead for three quarters of the game thanks to a well-executed offense and timely stops on defense made it all the more uncomfortable for Haven players, coaches, and fans as the Tigers scored 17 unanswered points in the final twelve minutes to steal a victory. The Tigers win creates a four-way logjam atop the Central League with one-loss Garnet Valley, Marple Newtown, Springfield, and Strath Haven, and sets up tons of drama over the next fourteen days to see who could share the 2023 Central League title. Standing in the Panthers’ path this week: The Haverford Fords.
Haverford, led by third-year Head Coach Luke Dougherty, arrives in Week 8 well out of the league title and 6A playoff picture, but has a young and hungry team that has been extremely competitive in most of their games this season. Running an always difficult to defend triple option offense, the Fords have piled up yardage on the ground with sophomore quarterback #7 Liam Taylor, as well as #3 Adam Kilpatrick, who was under center in the second half of last week’s game. Several multisport athletes that litter the Fords backfield as solid running and pass-catching options, including fullback #6 Nate Shoemaker, #15 Matt McAndrews, #25 Will Hulea, and #14 Keith Heinrichs. Shoemaker is also a three-year starter at linebacker, and is joined defensively by #1 Buddy Coacher, along with Hulea and #20 Jake Knapp. Kilpatrick, Taylor, and Heinrichs all see time in the secondary, as does senior #12 Owen Rose.
While the Panthers certainly were not pleased with the final result on the scoreboard, they certainly had reasons to feel good about several moments of last week’s loss to Marple Newtown. Building a two-touchdown lead that held until late in the third quarter, the three-headed monster of #5 James Fisher (113 yards), #32 Shane Green (52 rushing, 17 receiving yards), and #20 Marco Kauffman (38 yards) each ran for first half touchdowns, and #6 Jake Kitchen had multiple scrambles to keep drives alive. Defensively, Kauffman and #44 Sean Henry had double-digit tackles, #4 Mekhi Clark knocked away two passes, while #81 Jahi Curtis and #34 Vince Hales had several nice plays containing the Tigers’ elusive backs. Some costly mistakes drastically changed the game in the fourth quarter, resulting in the Panthers first regular season loss since early October 2021. Still, Strath Haven has an opportunity to clinch a share of back-to-back Central League titles for the first time since 2003 with a win this week.
A local commentator recently called Haverford “maybe the best 1-6 team you’ll ever see.” Given the Fords’ close losses to undefeated 6A Souderton (21-17), perennial Central League power Garnet Valley (14-13), and 6A playoff contender Lower Merion (28-26 in Overtime), Strath Haven cannot afford to take this week’s opponent lightly. The Fords remain young and hungry for an upset, and the Panthers need to clean up some mistakes to secure two more wins to guarantee a top 4 seed in the upcoming 5A playoffs, along with the aforementioned league championship.
We expect a big crowd for the final regular season home game (Senior Night) at George L. King Field this week, so arrive early to help honor our graduating seniors, as well as our phenomenal cheerleaders and marching band who get better every week! If you cannot attend in person, we have you covered with a livestream on www.havenfootball.net beginning at 6:45pm.
