Strath Haven’s Shane Green is pulled down by Imhotep’s Raheim Reed in the first half of the PIAA Class 5A semifinals Friday night at Coatesville. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group)
By Matthew DeGeorge
Strath Haven’s hopes of an upset in the PIAA Class 5A semifinals Friday night realistically lasted all of about seven minutes.
The Panthers had a 59-yard touchdown pass wiped out by a flag on a promising opening drive, then didn’t find the end zone until Imhotep Charter was four scores ahead in what became a 42-14 romp at Coatesville Area High School.
Haven would need all the luck it could get against 14-0 Imhotep, headed to its eighth state final and third in a row. Against the offensive juggernaut overseen by Army commit Mikal Davis and Georgia-bound junior Jabree Wallace-Coleman, even Haven’s best might not have been enough.
Any score against Imhotep is precious. The Panthers entered averaging just 7.4 points allowed per game with seven shutouts, while scoring at a clip of 43.9 points per game.
So when AJ Glavicic beat Penn State-bound cornerback Kenny Woseley Jr. and outjumped him to haul in a 59-yard score midway through the first quarter, the deflation of it being waved off was palpable. Even more perplexing was the actual call, for an illegal block downfield on the kind of passing play where that is rarely called.
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