By Ruthanne Morris & Dan Seal
The Panthers scored on a 65-yard drive marshaled by QB Ron Winklevoss and featuring running backs Sean Daly and Jon Morris. Morris capped off the drive with a 4-yard rush over the goal line. Nick O’Connor snagged a pass from Winklevoss to make good on the two-point conversion. Panthers led 8-0.
The Panthers defense also came out firing. The Raiders faced an early fourth-down inside the Radnor 30 yard line, and Lee Holbert and Rob DuBois combined forces to drop the Raider attack for a loss and turn the ball back to the Panther offense. In short order, Nick O’Connor crossed the goal line and then tacked on the two-point conversion as the target of a Winklevoss pass. The Panthers now led 16-0.
The Raiders threatened when they recovered a Panther fumble which they returned inside the Panther 5-yard line. Holbert denied the first attempt but Radnor scored on the next play. Chris Rosini reached in perfectly to break up the 2-point conversion pass. The Panther lead was cut to 16-6.
Sean Daly put the Panthers in good field position with the kickoff return. On his first touch of the day, “Touchdown Tommy” Foster, found the gap opened up by the O-Line and was off to the races for a 66-yard sprint to the goal line. The score at halftime – Panthers 22, Raiders 6.
The Panther’s defense started the third quarter with the same moxie they had shown in the first half. Staring down 4th and three, the Haven defense responded with a quarterback sack to turn the ball back to their offense.
Haven’s offense also showed their grit, chipping their way down field with good gains by O’Connor and Morris behind a solid O-Line. Foster got his second touchdown of the game on a 43-yard burst from scrimmage. The 2-point conversion failed but the Panthers had stretched their lead to 28-6.
The kickoff proved dangerous, however, as the Raiders caught an outside lane and returned the kickoff 70 yards for the second Radnor touchdown of the afternoon. The 2-point conversion failed and the score held at 28-12.
The Raiders would find the end zone for the third time on a deep pass good for a 60-yard touchdown. Radnor had closed Haven’s lead to just 8 points with 2:21 to go. Haven recovered the onside kick and was able to secure a first down on the drive to run out the clock and preserve the win while extending the win streak to three-in-a-row. Final score: Strath Haven 28 Radnor 20.
