Tanner Coll, Mike Turner help Springfield keep churning up yards and wins

SPRINGFIELD — Third-seeded Springfield shook off a sluggish start Friday to dominate West Chester Henderson, 48-14, in the first round of the District 1 Class 5A playoffs.

It was the ninth straight victory for the Cougars (10-1), who rolled up more than 300 rushing yards with sophomore Tanner Coll collecting 139 on seven carries, including a 64-yard touchdown and senior Mike Turner adding to his 1,000-yard season with 10 rushes for 125 yards and a score.

Junior Nate Romano punched the ball into the end zone three times for the Cougars, who host sixth-seeded Marple Newtown next week in the quarterfinals.

Coll said the Cougars were inspired by the senior-laden offensive line of Gus Bryan, Dean Brown, Mike Miller and Lucas Aaron. Tight end Ryan Johnston was a beast as well for the Cougars, who took over after entering the second quarter with a 6-0 lead.

Romano, Johnston (on a 46-yard scoring pass from Ryan Whitaker) and Coll all got into the end zone to give the Cougars a 26-0 lead by the intermission.

“Our whole O-line has done a great job and really that’s the reason for our success running the ball,” Coll said. “We practiced hard all week. We knew (Henderson was) going to pass the ball, so we tried to get on them as quickly as possible. We had a bunch of interceptions that shut them off right away.”

Coll and Turner picked off quarterback Braeden O’Connell on back-to-back possessions in the first half to slam the door on the Warriors (4-7), who didn’t score until O’Connell threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Evan Kearney in the last minute of the third quarter.

O’Connell threw for 163 yards, including a two-yard TD to Evan Miles in the fourth quarter but was also picked off by Brian Delaney.

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Springfield's Mike Turner, seen in a game earlier this season against Marple Newtown, gained 125 yards and bowled in for a touchdown Friday night as the Cougars beat West Chester Henderson in the district playoff opener. (Pete Bannan - MediaNews Group)

Springfield’s Mike Turner, seen in a game earlier this season against Marple Newtown, gained 125 yards and bowled in for a touchdown Friday night as the Cougars beat West Chester Henderson in the district playoff opener. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group)