[tps_title]Haverford School Fords [/tps_title]
ANNE NEBORAK-DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA
Haverford’s Anthony Reginelli, Graham Haabestad and Asim Richards watch, Robert Gibson tackle West Catholic’s DaVon Kidd-Jackson.
After down year, Fords ready to fight on defense
It’s funny what a few Inter-Ac titles do for you. Sure, they build your school’s reputation and make you — in this case the Haverford School — a force to be reckoned with.
But they also skew your definition of success. Suddenly, a 7-3 record with two league losses, just doesn’t seem good enough anymore. 
“Especially coming off my sophomore year going 10-0, going into (last) year, maybe we were a little too cocky,” said senior lineman Colin Hurlbrink. “We had a wake-up call.”
The players may see it that way; coach Mike Murphy, in his 13th year on the job and as composed a leader as there is in Delaware County, does not.
“We were a three-loss football team, two of them happened to be in our league by 10 points,” said Murphy. “It’s not like I had to look at this team and say we didn’t practice hard enough or we’ve got to totally blow everything up and start over.”
Instead, the third-place finish motivated a team that’s consistently at the top, even if there was no real fall off.
“I think that this team has the mentality of a chaser rather than being chased,” Murphy said, “which is a position we haven’t been in in a little bit.”
That’s a scary notion for the rest of the Inter-Ac. Some of those chasers are pretty good football players, like junior defensive end/tight end Asim Richards, linebacker Bob Gibson and Nate Whittaker, who enjoyed a fine sophomore campaign at defensive back.
The real strength, though, is the offensive line. The Fords return six seniors on that unit, all of whom should make an impact.
If all goes to plan, that running game will set everything else into place. More importantly, it will buy time. The wide receivers are unproven, as is potential starting quarterback Ben Gerber.
“For the first time, we’re not just going to be able to throw a ball out there to somebody and have it go 60 yards,” said Murphy. “We’re going to have to be a ball-control offense. That’s not to say we don’t have kids that won’t come along and make plays. But it’s not a known thing.”
Helping in the transition will be senior halfback Ed King. He understands the unique circumstances the Fords have, that more than one player can contribute to the offense on a consistent basis. Getting players involved begets confidence, chemistry and winning.
It helps, too, that the early reviews of Berger are overwhelmingly positive.
“Our quarterback, his growth has been exponential,” gushed Hurlbrink. “It’s amazing watching him learn. I have all the faith in the world in him.”
The same could be said of his defense (or all of his teammates for that matter; Hurlbrink is a positive guy). Hurlbrink recently committed to Lafayette College on the prowess of his pass rush. He can play inside or outside on the line and disrupt opponents from both positions.
Behind him is a talented group of linebackers, which includes King. And they’re all looking to reestablish the Fords’ reputation, or rather contribute to it in their own way, as a bullish defensive force.
Then the Fords, in Murphy’s parlance, may just be the chased once again.
By Dillon Friday; For Digital First Media
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