By Brian Carroll –
Especially as the Central League season extends into the final weeks, football is often a game of adjustments. Familiarity amongst opponents and their coaching staffs and the reshuffling of lineups to account for injuries is part of what makes the game great. Thus, with Ridley and Strath Haven meeting in Week 9 for a head-to-head clash where Ridley’s fantastic defense would be well-prepared by a former Haven coach, and Haven coming off a huge win over Garnet Valley where they showed an ability to adjust to new lineups and beat a bigger team, had all the marks of being another tightly-contested classic. And thanks to Ridley’s newly-shaped offense that minimized risk in the passing game and played to their strength with a veteran offensive line, the Raiders walked away with an impressive and exciting, 17-14 victory. 
The Green Raiders, minus leading rusher #22 Jamar Savoy and primary receiver #9 Gene D’Amico, showed from the start that their shorthanded status would not limit their effort. A 13-play drive led by new tailback #28 Kevin Farley chewed up 73 yards and, after a huge 4th and four scramble from #2 quarterback Joey Carroll that kept the chains moving by inches, Ridley grabbed a 7-0 lead and chewed nearly seven minutes off the first quarter clock. From there, the Raiders forced Haven to punt after just three snaps, and resumed with another 8-play drive that saw Farley fight for another 4th down conversion to give #97 Tim Calamita his chance to drill a 40-yard field goal. Head Coach Dave Wood and Ridley fans could not have asked for a much better start to the game, with the Raiders having run 21 offensive plays to Haven’s three, a long field goal and two touchbacks from Calamita that buried Haven in their own end, and a 10-0 lead midway through the 2nd quarter.
The Panthers showed some grit on their second drive, mixing productive runs from #5 Kasey Hudson, #4 Yousif Ali, and #8 Jake Plunkett with a Plunkett pass to #80 John Reilly to keep the chains moving. Plunkett then threw on the run and connected with #11 Jalen Starr for a 31-yard gain to the Ridley five yard-line, and #3 Landon Barlow found a small crease three plays later for a one-yard scoring run. The 80-yard scoring drive capped in the final 40 seconds gave the home crowd some energy, and the Panthers some momentum knowing they would receive the 3rd quarter kickoff trailing just 10-7.
That spark was extinguished quickly by the Ridley defense as the third quarter began. With the Raiders’ #92 Mar’Quis Harris and #55 Yuron Villanueva disrupting runs all night, Farley and Cam Cauthorn made big stops to force an immediate three-and-out on Haven’s first possession. Strath Haven’s #55 Logan Knaub seemed to re-light the match when he forced a Ridley fumble recovered by #53 Pat Burke at the Ridley 43-yard line, but another stop from Farley and two Haven incompletions stomped out another Panther opportunity. But after two more nice tackles from Knaub forced a Ridley punt, the Panthers found momentum again. Strath Haven’s first eight plays of the second half had netted only four total yards, but Plunkett and Starr (3 catches for 75 yards) turned the tables with a 38-yard connection on 3rd and 10 to put the Panthers back in the red zone. #32 Connor Kelly’s 11-yard scamper set up Barlow’s second short touchdown run of the evening, and Haven grabbed their first lead, 14-10 at the 2:32 mark of the 3rd quarter.
Ridley responded with a remarkable, “back to basics” approach with their next drive, and were rewarded again. A patient, 13-play drive that featured all runs of 11 yards or fewer, a clutch 4th down conversion from Farley (30 carries, 130 yards), and tough blocking from H-backs #5 Jayden Gibson and #32 Colin Cavalieri landed Farley in the end zone for a second time. The 3-yard score gave the Raiders a 17-14 lead with 8:38 to play, and began a sequence of complementary football that would give the Raiders their first win at George L. King Field since 2016. #5 Jaden Gibson hustled to undercut a crossing route for a Ridley interception near midfield with 5:54 remaining. Five more more straight-ahead runs from Farley milked another 3:32 off the clock, yet the Panthers still had hope in forcing Ridley to punt with 2:22 remaining. But the Ridley special teams came up big again, as Joey Carroll lined his kick away from the Panthers’ dangerous return man, Jalen Starr. A fantastic roll toward the opposite pylon was tracked down by #7 Brody Bair, and the 42-yard punt pinning the Panthers at their own 1-yard line essentially ended the evening. While not flashy or piling up eye-popping statistics for the evening, Ridley’s overall execution in all three phases—offense, defense, and special teams—gave them the win over an excellent league rival, keeps them in the race for the Central League title, and perhaps a chance for multiple home games in the 6a playoffs.
In all, Strath Haven fans have reasons for optimism, as well. Despite having their running game held to under 100 yards for the first time all year and being overpowered by a bigger team for large chunks of the game, the Panthers were still very much in position to win the game late in the 4th quarter. They put together two long scoring drives against Ridley’s defense, which arrived allowing only 5 points per game, the 4th best-mark in all of Pennsylvania. With a win over Springfield and their similarly skilled and aggressive defense next week, the Panthers also have a chance to clinch a share of the Central League title and at least one home 5A playoff game. It will be a tall task, but having played two of District 1’s top ranked teams in Garnet Valley and Ridley this month will have the Panthers prepared for another challenge.
