Tag Archives: Haverford

Three Delco teams survive first round of district playoffs

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In case you missed it…

  • Ridley, Academy Park and Interboro have moved on in their respective District One tournaments. Garnet Valley, Haverford High, Springfield and Strath Haven were bounced.
  • No. 16 Wissahickon stunned No. 1 Downingtown East. Personally, I always felt East was sort of overrated, so I’m not entirely shocked (I never thought East was at EA’s or Ridley’s level. Just an opinion, don’t bring out the torches and pitchforks). Anyways, it’s the first time a top seed in District One Class AAAA was upset by a No. 16 seed since … 2010. Sorry to bring that up, Ridley guys.
  • Ridley’s core of seniors finally have their first playoff win
  • Interboro-Academy Park Part II is set for next week. This time, the game is at AP. Both cruised to victory Friday night. Interboro dominated from the outset, while the Knights erased a 10-7 halftime deficit on the way to a 35-23 win.
  • Strath Haven lost to Pottsgrove in the first round for the second year in a row. The Panthers finished the season below .500. I believe it’s been a good 20 years, maybe more, since that last happened. In 2009, Haven went 5-5. I’ll have to contact the Havenfootball.net guys.
  • Springfield coach Tom Kline has 15 wins in two seasons, but he’s 0-2 in the postseason.
  • For Haverford, it’s 0-2 all-time in playoff competition. Both losses have come at the hands of Central Bucks South.
  • If you’re looking for an RB to watch in District One, check out C.B. South sophomore Josh Adams. He’s about 6-5 and gangly looking, but good gosh can he run. Though he is tall, he stays low to the ground and is fast. He is impossible to bring down one-on-one. Did I mention he’s a sophomore?
  • So, to sum up, next week it’s Interboro at Academy Park and Spring-Ford at Ridley. Delcotimes.com will probably be right back at Academy Park for live stream action. If Ridley and Interboro keep winning, there will not be a Thanksgiving game this season. I think both teams wouldn’t mind.
  • Speaking of Turkey Day, the Haverford-Upper Darby game is on after Haverford was eliminated tonight.

More than just playoffs lie ahead in Delco

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Most of our attention this week has been turned toward the playoffs. Were we with Major League Baseball, we might have come up with some type of cheesy slogan about these games counting and paired it with some commensurately corny celebrity spokesperson or an atrocious, “One Shining Moment” wannabe pop song flop.

Laquan Lambert and Chichester have a chance to add two more wins to their ledger this season. (Daily Times / ROBERT J GURECKI)

But we’re not (and we sleep a lot better for it). So instead, we’re going to turn our attention to games that still count, just not for an opportunity to take part in the PIAA tournament. Each team that plays in the next couple weeks has something to gain and a story to tell. More than a few have exciting football to produce. So for those teams not getting their postseason tickets punched, here are a few talking points:

- It would be really nice for Radnor to get off the schneid this week. They’re making progress, playing Marple Newtown tough before taking Penncrest to overtime. The Red Raiders are getting contributions from Tim Wilson, and TaJae Bryant is healthy again and showing the potential that had me thinking he was among the county’s top 10 running backs at the beginning of the season. They can beat Lower Merion in one of the nation’s oldest public school rivalries. And I think they will.

- Haverford may have missed out on the AAAA playoffs. But I firmly believe a team that gets 10 games out of Eddie Durkin under center – and Mike Clancy full-time in the backfield – is a playoff-caliber team. The Council Rock North game is assuredly a win if everyone’s healthy, and who knows if the games against Springfield and Conestoga don’t turn out differently with the benefit of a full season together. They have two games to turn this into a seven-win season, and both – Sun Valley and Upper Darby – are eminently winnable.

- Two games remain for Chichester, against Neumann-Goretti and Sun Valley. What kind of a boost would a four-win season give that program? This is a team loaded with talented juniors and sophomores. Call me crazy, but Duffy Gilhool and company could make some hey in the Del Val next year.

Continue reading →

District One playoff picture entering Week 9

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(Updated: Amends Harriton’s remaining opponents to Penncrest and Strath Haven)

As we hit Week 9, it’s time to look toward the dreaded point system for District One qualification. The latest numbers are out, and here’s a rundown of what it all means for the Delco teams in each class. (Standing, remaining games)

Class AAAA (top 16 qualify)

In: Garnet Valley (7, Lower Merion, Haverford), Ridley (12, at Upper Darby, at Lower Merion)

Needs Some Help: Haverford (T23, at Conestoga, at Garnet Valley)

Out: Glen Mills (29, Chichester, Chester)

The Scoop: Garnet Valley is in. They’ll pick up big points for a AAAA win over Lower Merion this weekend, and even if they slip up against Haverford, they’ll still manage to be part of the top 16. Win out and it will likely find a top 5 seed. … Ridley has less room for error, but they’re through the teeth of their schedule. They have a chance to move into the top half of the standings with two AAAA games, albeit against teams with a combined four wins, which hurts the bonus points tally. … Haverford needs to run the table. There are significant point totals to be had if they can get a pair wins. Conestoga, a five-win team that sits tied for 21 and is playing for its own playoff life, and Garnet Valley are AAAA teams that would provide big bonus points. Only one win probably doesn’t get it done. … Glen Mills finds itself two non-conference losses away from the playoffs. Even with games they should win on the horizon, they’ve got too many teams to jump over. It’s a shame that the team that played Downingtown East, the sixth-ranked team in District One, to within a point misses out on the postseason.

Class AAA (top 8 qualify) Continue reading →

Recapping a short week in Delco

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It’s been a bit of an odd week here for Delco football, with the Jewish holidays bringing us our annual heavy slate of Thursday games. As such, all our usual coverage, including Matt Smith’s football notebook focusing on the return of Haverford quarterback Eddie Durkin and our Football Friday Thursday package that features a look at Ridley’s Shane Dougherty, our Five to Watch and Harry Chakyun’s legendary Instant Replay, has come out rapid fire this week.

We were also a bit delayed in posting the county leaders, but that page is up to date through Week 5. We didn’t have time to update team leaders, but those will up early next week and updated up to Week 6. We’ll also debut our team stats page next week once we wrangle all those numbers and get them as organized as we possibly can.

After all, there is one good thing about short weeks: It leaves you a long week once you survive it.

More postponements: Interboro, Sun Valley, Chichester, Haverford

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The rain is wreaking havoc on tonight’s football schedule. Here is an updated list of postponements:

Strath Haven at Garnet Valley: Moved to Saturday night at 7.

Harriton at Upper Darby: Moved to Saturday  night at HARRITON at 7.

Interboro at Upper Moreland: Moved to Monday night at 6.

Sun Valley at Oxford: Moved to Saturday at noon.

Chichester at Kennett: Moved to Saturday  morning at 10:30.

Springfield at Haverford: Moved to Saturday night at 7.

Keep checking this blog post for more updates.

Questions abound in second week of Central League play

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At the risk of sounding like a misguided ESPN brand manager, Friday’s slate of Central League games promises to be an early filter in sorting out the leagues various echelons. All 12 teams enter with serious question marks and genuine opportunities to either allay those fears or have them realized. What we know about each of these teams will come into clearer focus by Saturday morning.

I’ll take you game-by-game with the burning question for each.

Is Marple Newtown for real?

Strath Haven quarterback Kevin Mohollen may be tested by Marple Newtown's defense. (Daily Times/Robert J Gurecki)

Scoring 83 points while allowing zero against anyone is impressive, but the Tigers have done so against a pair of teams in Penncrest and Sun Valley who look unlikely to win many more games than their point totals against MN. We know Cimirrow Moat is a force to be reckoned with on the ground, but this is the first test for the complementary components of that offense, like Jamie Ridinger and the passing game. Moat will also face a stiff challenge in a Strath Haven defense that despite massive retooling from a district championship squad a year ago has allowed a mere six points in two games. This could also be the first time the Panthers have to muster a threat in the passing game, with quarterback Kevin Mohollen needing just three completions combined to get his first two wins as a starter. By the end of the game at MN Friday, we should know whether the Panthers are again among the class of the Central or if the Tigers warrant mention in that category.

How good is Ridley? Continue reading →

All the action from Week 2 in Delco football

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Week 2 has by-and-large come to a close (with the exception of Delco Christian’s makeup game Monday). So here is a rundown of all our coverage from delcotimes.com.

Strath Haven continues its dominance over Radnor with a 35-0 running-game rampage.

Ridley’s defense comes up big in a Central League win over Haverford, 21-6.

Interboro’s Tom Takacs is the defensive star in the Bucs 14-7 win over Episcopal Academy in overtime, the replay of which you can watch here.

Marple Newtown’s Cimirrow Moat rushes the Tigers to their second straight blowout win, a 41-0 thrashing of Penncrest.

Springfield used the ground game to get by an upset-minded Harriton, 35-19.

Kyle Keyser’s receiving exploits help Garnet Valley get their first win of the season, an emphatic 42-12 decision over Central League rivals Conestoga.

Academy Park can’t get going in a 16-6 loss to Coatesville.

Glen Mills again puts up points, but can’t muster a win against a AAAA opponent in Downingtown West, losing 42-28.

It’s close but not cigar again for a game Chichester team, to drops a heartbreaker to Delaware’s Archmere Academy, 22-20.

It’s no Soncarly Winpea, no problem for Upper Darby, who used the air assault to down Lower Merion, 48-8.

A sloppy Monsignor Bonner pays the price against Chestnut Hill Academy, falling 27-21.

Breyon Chambers powers Chester to an impressive win over Sun Valley, 36-20.

Penn Wood continues to find it tough sledding this season, dropping a 48-0 decision to Pottstown.

Maryland’s McDonogh School claims another win in Delco, toppling Archbishop Carroll, 29-7.

View from the desk, Week 1

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Friday night, our intrepid beatwriter Matt Smith delivered the highlights of what he saw from the sidelines on the opening week of the season.

Some of us are less fortunate yet more fortunate than he. More, in the sense that while working on the sportsdesk on a football Friday, we have to sift through accounts of all the games with enough detail to tease out the highlights enough to write headlines and references from other pages. Less because, well, have you ever seen a newspaper office?

Anyway, while I can’t offer the insight Matt gleans with his two eyes, I can provide an in-depth look at the outstanding and unusual numbers presented from all the games. So here are some of the highlights:

1 – Career wins for new coaches Todd Fairlie (Episcopal Academy), Joe Powel (Archbishop Carroll) and Tom Kline (Springfield) at their new schools.

-13 – Net rushing yards by Ridley in their come-from-behind win over Malvern Prep. That total includes 11 from starting running back Jalen Randolph on nine carries. Continue reading →