By Brian Carroll
For longtime fans of the Strath Haven football program, a familiarity with winning streaks has been common, yet not one to take for granted. The 94-game winning streak in District 1 from 1996 into early 2004 is a state record that still stands, and the Panthers have enjoyed several significant, albeit shorter, streaks in the two decades since. More recently, Haven started the 2021 season winning 13 in a row, and followed it up with a 12-game winning streak last season. And through the first seven games of the 2023 season, the Panthers are well into another hot stretch winning seven straight and simultaneously ending Garnet Valley’s 46-game Central League win streak that dated back to October 2017 with an exciting, 28-17 triumph last Friday. Yet even with all the momentum that these streaks can bring, Strath Haven will have to clear a significant hurdle this week if they want back-to-back Central League titles, as the 6-1 Marple-Newtown Tigers arrive hungry for a share of the league title, as well.
The Tigers head to Wallingford on Friday with some momentum, riding a three-game winning streak during which they averaged nearly 40 points per game. Head Coach Chris Gicking has a multitude of experienced starters on offense, led by third-year starting quarterback #10 Dave Bertoline. Bertoline is an efficient passer who also has the ability to scramble and pick up yardage on the ground, which complements two talented running backs, junior #22 Brian Box (a Cornell lacrosse recruit) and sophomore #5 Brett Wolski. #1 Joey Yukenavitch and #26 Paul DeFruscio are both talented, multi-sport athletes and haul in a number of targets in the passing attack. Defensively, the Tigers count on linebackers #50 Jason Bennett and #34 Louie DiLuzio for a number of tackles, while DiFruscio, Box, and #20 Trey Saviour anchor the secondary. Additionally, opponents have to account for a dangerous Tiger special teams unit, as Marple Newtown has returned multiple punts and kickoffs for touchdowns via the legs of Box and Wolski.
For Strath Haven, Head Coach Kevin Clancy will need to keep the wave of emotion high for the Panthers after their biggest regular season win in years. Overcoming a handful of key mistakes, the Panthers’ Wing-T attack pounded Garnet Valley for most of the evening, with fullback #32 Shane Green topping 100 yards and scoring twice. Green was again complemented by both halfbacks, #5 James Fisher and #20 Marco Kauffman, who each found the end zone and were effective runners on the edges. The offensive line of #68 Carter Law, #55 Gavin Pilson, #57 Jackson Geremia, #76 Will Leuthold, and #77 Bill Brown were the stars of the night, along with terrific blocking from tight ends #40 Cole Miller and #89 Alexei Gustafson. And defensively, the silver and black played terrific assignment football and neutralized Garnet Valley’s blockers, with Kauffman (18 tackles) and #44 Sean Henry (17 tackles) able to move freely and finish off several Jaguar ballcarriers. The Panthers will face a different kind of test this week with Marple-Newtown’s more balanced run/pass ratio, but have yet to allow more than 20 points in a game this season.
As the regular season enters the home stretch, both teams are in a position for an excellent seed in the District 1 5A playoffs. Strath Haven controls its own destiny as the only remaining team in the 5A field without a loss. But Marple-Newtown, with wins over the Panthers and Garnet Valley next week, could put themselves in position for a #1 overall seed, as well. Strath Haven would do well to look closely at the game film of Marple-Newtown’s only loss on the season, a 22-0 shutout by Springfield, while Marple-Newtown certainly has the firepower and creativity on offense to give the Panther defense fits.
For what is one of the biggest games in all of District 1 this weekend, plan to arrive early at George L. King Field for a 7pm kickoff this Friday evening, or catch all the action on the livestream on www.havenfootball.net, which will begin coverage at 6:45pm. With both teams fighting for may be a least a share of the Central League title, it promises to be a fun night. Go Panthers!
