Lean, mean and experienced, Haverford front will be tough to stop

HAVERFORD >> There is one uncontested fact about the 2021 Haverford High football team: The starting linemen are big and mean.

“We want to get after it, and we know we can be really good,” Mario Tascione said.

The Fords’ four senior linemen, all of whom started on varsity in 2020, are Pete Corcoran (6-4, 260 pounds), Mike McNichols (6-2, 255), Mike Powel (6-2, 285) and Tascione (6-2, 270).

The line is the one area where the Fords should have an advantage over most teams in the Central League. They are positioned to dominate in the trenches.

“We’re all brothers, we’ve all known each other since the eighth and ninth grade,” Corcoran said. “That’s a big reason we feel really good about this year.”

The Fords are looking to build upon 2020’s truncated season in which they finished 4-2 and in fourth place in the Central League.

“We have a great program. Going into the season, now that we’ve been training all summer, I definitely think we’re going to be better,” Tascione added. “It’s working out and training hard. We’ve been doing it every day.”

Luke Dougherty is now the man in charge of the Fords, who for nearly 30 years had been led by Joe Gallagher. Health reasons prompted “Gal” to retire after 29 seasons, opening the door for one of his protégés to take the helm.

Dougherty, whose background includes grooming strong quarterbacks — he was instrumental in Daily Times Player of the Year Trey Blair’s development in 2019 — has high expectations for second-year starter Tommy Wright, who threw for the third-most yards (751) in Delaware County last season with six touchdowns.

“Gal and I both agreed on this last year: If you’re going to have a six-game season, that’s the best opportunity to get a sophomore’s feet wet,” Dougherty said of Wright. “There were no playoffs at the end of the tunnel, it was an isolated, controlled environment. He had moments.

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