Ryder ignores accidental breakdown, leads Strath Haven to win

NETHER PROVIDENCE — Senior quarterback Jack Ryder joked about the touchdown that got away Friday night in Strath Haven’s 27-7 victory over Springfield.

Ryder was supposed to keep the ball for a yard, maybe two, to pick up a first down on fourth-and-short late in the fourth quarter. Haven was on its way to the win and looked to get a fresh set of downs and run out the clock.

But something unexpected happened: Ryder found daylight. He kept running until he stumbled near the 10-yard line and was brought down shy of the goal line. Ryder’s run went for 45 yards.

“Originally, we take the A-gap right up the center on the sneak, but they were mixing up their blitzes and I ended up taking the B-gap on (a previous play). So, the next time they blitzed B-gap and I was, like, ‘Oh my god, I’m wide open,’ and I was falling down at first, but then I saw some grass and started running.

“Unfortunately, the Daniel Jones trip at the end caught me.”

Eagles fans will remember back on Oct. 22 when Jones, the quarterback for the New York Giants, failed to score a touchdown when he tripped over nothing and fell to the ground around the 20-yard line. Ryder’s run wasn’t nearly as comical and he was probably being a bit hard on himself.

“I could have made it,” he said, laughing. “I took a peek back and that was probably not a good idea.”

As for other Strath Haven runs, there weren’t many mistakes.

Ryder and the Panthers (3-1) produced 300 yards rushing on 50 carries in a dominating victory over Springfield (2-2). It marked Haven’s second straight win. Next week the Panthers host Penncrest in the Media Bowl. If not for the an excruciating defeat at Marple Newtown a couple weeks ago, Haven would be sitting atop the Central League’s Class 5A division going into the final weekend of the regular season. But the reality is the Panthers can do no better than second place after Marple clinched the No. 1 spot in 5A Friday night.

“I think we really took it upon ourselves just to practice a little bit harder, really focus on watching film and just making ourselves better,” Ryder said. “As a team, we had to make adjustments. Obviously, that was a heartbreaking loss at Marple and I’d do anything to go back and replay that one, but we’ve done a good job the last two weeks.”

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