Kitchin, Strath Haven ground game prevail at Chester
November 26, 2023
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By Matt Smith
Strath Haven quarterback Jake Kitchin never envisioned himself scoring three touchdowns in one game.
It wasn’t just any old game, either. It was the District 1 Class 5A championship in front of a crowd of thousands packed inside the Chester Athletic Complex.
Playing behind the best offensive line in the county, Kitchin was more than happy to get the opportunity to score points for his team. Strath Haven’s version of the Brotherly Shove worked to perfection each time.
“I definitely have to give props to my offensive line,” Kitchin said. “Three quarterback sneaks there, wow. It was like Jalen Hurts and Jason Kelce, a little tush-push action. A lot of credit to the line for getting me in there “
Kitchin’s final QB sneak from a yard out helped put the second-seeded Panthers ahead eight points late in the fourth quarter. Haven held on to capture its 13th District 1 title — all under the guidance of coach Kevin Clancy — with a 28-20 victory over No. 1 Chester Saturday. It marked the Panthers ‘ second district championship in three seasons.
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In district final run, Chester is writing new history
November 26, 2023
© Havenfootball.net, Inc.
By Matthew DeGeorge
Dominic Toy had tears in his eyes as he walked off the field at Ninth and Lamokin for the final time as a Chester Clipper Saturday. But the 6-5 tight end bound for the University of Connecticut held his head high, literally and figuratively.
The Clippers didn’t want to be the team counting moral victories after the District 1 Class 5A final, a fate forced on them by Strath Haven’s suffocating offense in a 28-20 Panthers victory. But the atmosphere at the Chester Athletic Complex made the progress overseen by Toy and his classmates inescapable.
“I’m shocked to see everyone out here,” Toy said. “Look what we’ve done, what I did, what everybody has done. We changed the program. We made a way for everyone else. And I hope everyone can follow my blueprint on the way up.”
Games like Saturday haven’t happened in Chester in a long, long time. But then there hasn’t been a football team quite like the current group in Pennsylvania’s self-styled basketball capital in a very long while if ever.
You wouldn’t know it from the raucous environment, one that rivaled Delco’s best Thanksgiving Day gridiron gatherings in the last decade. A few thousand fans packed both sides of the stadium from the neighboring school districts, with the sound system, DJ and cowbells (and at least one makeshift coins-in-a-milk-jug noisemaker) creating the ambience. It’s a testament to the excitement the program has generated in the city, first under Ladontay Bell, who remains Chester’s athletic director, and now first-year head coach Dennis Shaw.
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