By Brian Carroll
“Making mistakes simply means you are learning faster. ” ― Weston H. Agor
After suffering their first defeat of the 2023 season in frustrating fashion two weeks ago, the Strath Haven football team had little time to wallow in a missed opportunity to win the Central League outright and nail down the top seed in the District 1 5A playoffs. With a hungry Haverford squad visiting last Friday, the Panthers would indeed need to learn very quickly from the miscues of the week prior and carry out a detailed game plan to keep the Fords at bay. And what a job they did, getting back on the winning track with a suffocating defensive effort in grabbing their eighth win of the season and at least a share of the 2023 league title. And now with the playoff picture becoming a bit clearer, Strath Haven will need to clear one more hurdle in a first-time-ever contest this week with Harry S. Truman High School.
The Tigers of Harry S. Truman are led by first-year Head Coach Ben Johnson and have hit some bumps in the road this season competing in the always challenging Suburban One League. After cracking the win column back in Week 3 with a 13-7 decision over Abington, the Tigers have struggled to slow down opposing offenses, allowing over 40 points per game during their current six-game skid. Still, Truman has some offensive weapons, and show some interesting variety on offense in mixing Wing-T sets with shotgun spread looks. The Strath Haven defense will have to get pressure on quarterback #12 Marshall Kennedy, who threw a 43-yard touchdown pass in last week’s loss to Quakertown. At Kennedy’s disposal are a handful of elusive backs and receivers, including #6 Raheem Bradley, #5 Raheem Newkirk, #2 Aqual Chapman, and all-purpose man #3 Abraham Bataille. #22 Kabree Harris and #23 Paul Baldwin did not play last week but have been on the highlight reel as recently as two weeks ago in a loss to Upper Dublin. Defensively, #53 R.J. Cox and #19 Deandre Guillaume are active linebackers, with Chapman and Bradley anchoring the secondary.
