By Brian Carroll
Since Head Coach Kevin Clancy arrived in 1991, one of the most impressive aspects of the Strath Haven football program has been its consistency. Whether it is the Wing-T style offense, the aggressive but disciplined defense, or the fact that they have won Central League and District 1 titles in four different decades, fans have come to expect a similar product on the field year after year. Drilling down to a much more recent time, the Panthers have shown a different kind of consistency in 2023: a penchant for hold-onto-your-seat, nail-biting victories. After a convincing win over Interboro on opening weekend, Strath Haven has now rattled off three straight one-score wins after holding off a hard-charging Penncrest squad last Thursday, 20-14. Up next for the “Cardiac Kids”: a road trip to clash with the young and hungry Upper Darby Royals.
First-year Head Coach Darrell Dulaney has the Royals ready to pick up their first win, as the fast Upper Darby defense has kept them competitive in three of their four losses to open the season. A pair of 14-6 losses to West Chester Henderson and Lower Merion opened the season, and the purple and gold bounced back from a one-sided defeat to Marple Newtown in Week 3 to keep Conestoga on edge last Thursday. Senior QB #6 Joseph Sarjoo calls the signals in their shotgun spread attack and has a variety of speedy playmakers on the outside who will test the Strath Haven secondary. And when the Royals run, #2 Jaylen Johnson has shown himself to be more than capable, rushing for 91 yards and a touchdown against Henderson, and returning a kickoff for touchdown against Marple Newtown. Defensively, the Royals return experienced senior linemen #52 Kaleel McLaughlin and #55 JT Senkow, with #7 Zahir Burch very active at linebacker.
The 4-0 Panthers survived a test with Penncrest to keep the Media Bowl trophy on the south side of Rout 252 for another year. After jumping out to what seemed to be a comfortable 20-7 halftime lead with #5 James Fisher visiting the end zone three times, the Panthers offense was held without a first down in the second half. Penncrest’s adjustments on defense gave their offense some opportunities and confidence after halftime, running 57 plays on the evening to Haven’s 36. But the Panthers defense held the Lions to just three yards per play, with #20 Marco Kauffman, #44 Sean Henry, #32 Shane Green, #34 Vince Hales, and #40 Cole Miller all registering double-digit tackles. And after a clutch punt from #6 Jake Kitchin pinned the Lions inside their own 20 with under two minutes to go, #81 Jahi Curtis took over and notched two sacks to seal the victory.
Looking ahead to this week, the Panthers will need to limit the Royals big-play potential with sound fundamentals in the kickoff and punt coverage game, as well as the in the linebacking and secondary on defense. Not unlike Ridley, who found some holes in the Haven defense two weeks ago, Upper Darby has multiple players who are a threat to score from anywhere on the field. But if the Panthers can limit those opportunities for the Royals, and re-establish their running game between the tackles, Strath Haven has a chance to maintain their status near the top of the Central League and in District 1 5A.
Hopefully some offices close a little early this Friday, as the Panthers have a 5pm kickoff time at Upper Darby High School. Plan to beat the mid-afternoon traffic and come out to support all the student athletes and musicians—everyone loves a good in-person crowd at the game! If that cannot happen, live video streaming will be available as always on www.havenfootball.net. Go Panthers!
