Quarterback Sam Milligan running around the end for a large gain in last Friday’s victory against W.C. Rustin. Milligan and the Panthers take on District 12 power Imhotep Friday in the PIAA semifinals. Photo by Jim Quinn, BQPictures.com
By Matt Smith
For the Strath Haven players, that joyous feeling they experienced last Friday night might never be matched, no matter how many more years they participate in organized athletics.
Capturing the District 1 Class 5A championship over West Chester Rustin, 34-33, required two nail-biting overtime periods. Much like a Hollywood ending, the game climaxed in dramatic fashion as junior quarterback Sam Milligan scrambled two yards and dove for the end zone on a two-point conversion attempt. For a brief moment time seemed to pause as the sideline official came to his judgment. Was he in or out?
Milligan was bumped out of bounds, but he had stretched and the ball hit the pylon. When it was determined Milligan was across, the Strath Haven marching band, one of the best in the state, erupted with cheer and started playing Haven’s victory song.
“Just an incredible feeling,” Milligan said after the game as he was being mobbed by the Haven student section.
