Strath Haven’s Kevin Clancy, left, and Garnet Valley’s Mike Ricci, right, shake hands after the Jaguars victory over the Panthers earlier this year. Both teams are carrying the Central League banner into this weekends PIAA Class 5A and 6A semifinals, respectively. (PETE BANNAN/MEDIANEWS GROUP)
By Jack McCaffery
The rules are firm, the situation intense, the opponents respected and the challenge at hand.
For two nights this weekend in Folsom, with an entire state of high school football fans at attention, in a system not built to their benefit, two Delaware County football programs from one traditional league of essentially neighborhood schools will confront a couple of magnet programs from Philadelphia.
Friday at 7, on Phil Marion Field at Ridley High, Strath Haven will play Imhotep for a spot in the PIAA Class 5A championship game. Saturday night – same time, same venue – Garnet Valley will play St. Joseph’s Prep in the Class 6A Final Four.
Two big-school tournaments … and two chances to demonstrate what Kevin Clancy long has understood.
“To me, the Central League has always been a good league,” the Strath Haven coach said. “I’ll tell you, getting ready to play in this league is tough. There have always been good teams. Every week, when we do our scouting reports, I tell the kids, ‘This team is really well coached.’ And every team is, week in and week out.”
