PA – Central Athletic League | Archive | August, 2023

NETHER PROVIDENCE — Strath Haven may look different in certain areas, but the backbone of the team remains intact for the 2023 season.

This offensive line unit has a chance to be special. Seniors Bill Brown, Will Leuthold, Jackson Geremia, Gavin Pilson and Carter Law lined up along with Cole Miller, who transitioned to blocking tight end, and had their way against Interboro Friday night at George King Field.

“It was our first game and we have to fix some things, but I think as the season goes on we’re going to do a great job,” Law said after the Panthers’ 28-7 victory. “It was great to start out the way we did.”

A new stable of running backs led by junior fullback Shane Green, who rushed for 107 yards and two TDs, powered the Panthers, who combined for 258 yards. Senior halfback Mekhi Clark had 52 yards on 10 carries. Senior Marco Kaufman (25 yards, TD) and juniors James Fisher (20 yards, TD) and Vince Hales (24 yards) all produced on limited carries.

Kevin Clancy’s Wing-T offense looked like a well-oiled machine on opening night.

“To be honest, I think the juniors we have coming up are phenomenal football players and they played great tonight,” Law said. “This year alone they’re going to be great, but they’re going to be just as good, if not better, when we’re gone. We want them to step it up this year and tonight they showed a little of what they are capable of doing.”

After losing their best skill players to graduation, this was an impressive first showing for the new guys. And it all started with a great effort by senior Jake Kitchin, who is beginning his first season as the starting quarterback. Kitchin is not a newbie, as he started five games for the injured Ben Milligan last year and gained valuable experience in those starts.

He completed three passing attempts for 73 yards, including a 36-yard fade on fourth down to James Fisher in the first quarter.

“It was huge, it gave me so much confidence,” Kitchin said of getting playing time at QB for a senior-laden Panthers team last year, which earned a share of the Central League title. “I wasn’t as nervous as I was last year. The guys definitely helped me a lot during this progression, making sure I was ready. My coaches and my teammates really got me to this place, and they really believed me.”

Fisher and Hales carried the load out of the backfield on Haven’s second drive of the game. Fisher ran off tackle from three yards out and into the end zone for the first touchdown of the season.

Interboro, which is going through a complete makeover on offense of its own, had trouble moving the ball in the first half. First-year starting QB Mike McLaughlin showed his potential, completing 10 of 14 passing attempts for 86 yards, but the Bucs’ offensive line couldn’t protect him. Haven’s defense was led by the likes of linemen Miller, Hales, Nick Farabaugh and Alexei Gustafson.

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Strath Haven’s Marco Kaufman breaks into open ground early on Friday night against Interboro. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group)

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SPRINGFIELD — The survey was informal, the summertime conversations about Central League football standard, the conclusions many.

One message, though, was consistent, even if a little muffled. Typically, it went like this: “And Springfield is going to be very good.”

So it would be, a steady beat backing up the chatter about the usual conference standard-carriers, a reminder that the Cougars were in the second round of the last District 1 Class 5A tournament and had more than enough to do even better in the encore.

After one game, a 50-6 victory over visiting Cardinal O’Hara in the season-opener Friday, it’s already clear that somebody knew something.

“We have a lot of returning seniors and they worked hard,” coach Chris Britton said, “and they have been waiting for this.”

The Cougars proved they were back for business with a 29-point first quarter. Including a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown by senior Vinny Valerio, they not only scored on their first four possessions but consistently squeezed the Lions into punt formations.

O’Hara responded with a counter-punch 52 seconds into the second quarter when Keon Powell dashed 37 yards for a touchdown to narrow the difference to 29-6, but the Cougars resumed dominating in the trenches on their way to generating 360 rushing yards. So crisp was Springfield offensively that it enjoyed a 50-burger without completing a single pass.

“Strath Haven has been doing that for 50 years, probably,” Britton said, laughing. “So what’s the difference?”

The gap between the Cougars and the rest of the particularly deep Central League is shallow at best. As for that running game, it is deep. Already anxious to welcome Nate Romano, Mike Turner, Chris Dolan and Ethan Marshall to the backfield, the Cougars were boosted Friday by Luke Valerio, who gained some experience as a freshman but dazzled in his sophomore debut. The brother of Vinny, Luke rushed six times for 111 yards and two touchdowns.

“We have a big rotation in the backfield, with a lot of numbers,” he said. “We have a bond with each other, knowing where somebody is going to cut or where there will be a block. That really helps.”

As for bonds, there are none more sturdy than Luke and Vinny, who are just separated enough by age that they haven’t been full-time contributors on the same team since the fourth grade. Luke’s 23-yard TD run in the first quarter preceded Vinny’s dazzling punt return down the right sideline by 1:04.

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Springfield’s Tanner Coll runs in for a touchdown in the second quarter as the Cougars rolled to a 50-6 win over Cardinal O’Hara Friday night. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)

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ASTON — The fall television season might get off to a late start because the scriptwriters are on strike. But Penncrest’s 2023 football season got off to a great start at Sun Valley’s Dr. Wally Field Friday night.

Senior backs Matt Malley and Matt Ferry helped write a success story that ended with the Lions claiming a 34-19 nonleague decision over the Vanguards.

Malley gained 125 yards on 19 carries and scored one touchdown while Ferry had 108 yards rushing on 21 carries, ran for one score and tossed a 31-yard TD pass to junior Asher Wynne.

The running game accounted for 292 of the Lions’ 366 yards of total offense.

“Obviously the running game is our strength with the many options we have,” Penncrest head coach Paul Graham said. “Malley and Ferry ran well, and (quarterback Nico) Tozzi got things going and scored a touchdown. At one point we had a back (sophomore Jeff Cropper) who had one carry for one touchdown (11 yards).

“Last year, we had some tough losses, but that taught us about the things we knew we had to build on. Now after this one we will see what we have to do to get better.”

After the Penncrest defense shut Sun Valley down on its opening drive, the Lions put together a 14-play, 80-yard drive for their first score, which came on a 10-yard Tozzi run 1:41 left before the end of the first quarter. Junior Zach Mullin kept the march from faltering with a 23-yard fourth-down completion to junior Kolby Poole one play before Tozzi’s TD run.

Sun Valley went three-and-out on its next two offensive tries. After the second, the Lions needed only six running plays to gobble up 72 yards and reach the end zone again, with Cropper getting his six points on his dash behind Wynne’s lead block.

Five minutes later, following another Sun Valley three-and-out, Malley broke tackles on a 28-yard run before Ferry ran 20 yards to score 1:15 before halftime.

“The guys on our line were putting things together,” said Malley, giving credit to blockers Eli Perilli, Noah Reed, Dan Le, Ben Kauffman and Tristan Blair. “(Sun Valley) was trying to blitz us, but (the linemen) picked things up and pushed them back.”

Malley, a transfer from Archbishop Ryan, is happy to be at Penncrest.

“A lot of us are in our senior year, and we really want to flip the script as far as Penncrest football is concerned,” Ferry said.

Noah Griffin (12 carries, 108 yards) gave the home fans something to cheer about with a 55-yard scoring run seven seconds before the second quarter came to a close for Sun Valley.

Griffin added a 20-yard run to set up sophomore quarterback RJ Scharrer’s short TD run early in the third quarter as Sun Valley drew close. But Penncrest answered with a nine-play drive that was topped off by a Ferry’s 31-yard scoring pass to Wynne.

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Penncrest’s Matt Ferry. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)

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