By Brian Carroll, Havenfootball.net
“Do not be sad that it is over. Be happy that it happened.”
In the days leading up to last Friday’s District 1 5A semifinal between the Strath Haven Panthers and West Chester Rustin Golden Knights, the talk rightfully flashed back to the 2021 District Final. On a bitterly cold and windy evening, the Panthers took advantage of Rustin’s mishandled extra point snap late in regulation to escape with an incredibly memorable finish, when a dive from junior quarterback Sam Milligan cleared the goal line pylon by inches to clinch the Panthers’ 12th District 1 title and first since 2010. Little did anyone know how this season’s game would follow such a similar script, only with the Panthers feeling quite differently about a shocking ending to their 2022 story.
On their way to a 12-0 start to the season and their first Central League title since 2010, Strath Haven’s calling card was a powerful running game, a disciplined and aggressive defense, solid special teams, and consistently winning the turnover battle. At moments last Friday, the Panthers seemed to be right on track, outgaining Rustin by over 150 yards, nearly doubling them in number of first downs, and getting timely stops on defense on multiple occasions. Unfortunately for the Panthers, on a night when Rustin played nearly error-free football, Haven also had multiple mistakes both early and late in the game that eventually led to an excruciating 28-27 overtime loss.
