Football: Glackin’s late catch boosts Garnet Valley to win, defense willing

HAVERFORD — Cole Palis was kicking himself after he attempted to thread the needle and find his receiver in the end zone Saturday night.

Garnet Valley’s senior quarterback wishes he could have the throw back. The ball ended up in the hands of Haverford High’s Trey Blair, who returned the ball past midfield. The host Fords had momentum on their side, up a point early in the fourth quarter.

But it wasn’t the end of the world, either. Palis knew the defense would keep the Jags afloat.

“Our defense, all of the credit goes to them,” Palis said. “They made some huge stops. When they’re coming off the field they’re in our huddle saying to us, ‘Let’s go, we got this.’ Tonight was all about them. They were saying to our guys on offense, ‘We know you got this, we believe in you.’ I was just reiterating that in the huddle.”

The Jags got the ball again … but fumbled it away for the third time. Once again it was up to All-Delco lineman Cade Brennan and the rest of GV’s defense to keep Haverford’s high-powered offense in check. Brennan, Evan Hrivnak and others did their jobs… and now it was up to the offense to close the deal.

“We had to get after the quarterback, put some pressure on him,” said Brennan, who recorded two sacks. “We did a really good job of that. I thought we made a lot of great adjustments. That really helped us out tonight and we got got the job done “

The Jags completed a lengthy, 14-play drive in just over four minutes and finally pulled ahead when Palis connected with Rory Glackin on a four-yard touchdown pass with all of 11 seconds to go. Garnet Valley defeated Haverford, 14-7.

“It feels unreal, I’ve never been in that situation before. I guess I was just the open man,” Glackin said. “I don’t think we would have been in that position if our defense didn’t make consecutive stops. They were awesome.”

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Haverford defenders (10) Trey Blair and (41) Justin Burgess chase down Garnet Valley running back Dominic LaBricciosa in the first quarter against Haverford Friday evening at Cornog Field in Haverford.