By Brian Carroll
For longtime fans of the Strath Haven football program, a familiarity with winning streaks has been common, yet not one to take for granted. The 94-game winning streak in District 1 from 1996 into early 2004 is a state record that still stands, and the Panthers have enjoyed several significant, albeit shorter, streaks in the two decades since. More recently, Haven started the 2021 season winning 13 in a row, and followed it up with a 12-game winning streak last season. And through the first seven games of the 2023 season, the Panthers are well into another hot stretch winning seven straight and simultaneously ending Garnet Valley’s 46-game Central League win streak that dated back to October 2017 with an exciting, 28-17 triumph last Friday. Yet even with all the momentum that these streaks can bring, Strath Haven will have to clear a significant hurdle this week if they want back-to-back Central League titles, as the 6-1 Marple-Newtown Tigers arrive hungry for a share of the league title, as well.
The Tigers head to Wallingford on Friday with some momentum, riding a three-game winning streak during which they averaged nearly 40 points per game. Head Coach Chris Gicking has a multitude of experienced starters on offense, led by third-year starting quarterback #10 Dave Bertoline. Bertoline is an efficient passer who also has the ability to scramble and pick up yardage on the ground, which complements two talented running backs, junior #22 Brian Box (a Cornell lacrosse recruit) and sophomore #5 Brett Wolski. #1 Joey Yukenavitch and #26 Paul DeFruscio are both talented, multi-sport athletes and haul in a number of targets in the passing attack. Defensively, the Tigers count on linebackers #50 Jason Bennett and #34 Louie DiLuzio for a number of tackles, while DiFruscio, Box, and #20 Trey Saviour anchor the secondary. Additionally, opponents have to account for a dangerous Tiger special teams unit, as Marple Newtown has returned multiple punts and kickoffs for touchdowns via the legs of Box and Wolski.
