Godfrey’s score caps a wild one for undefeated Haverford School

HAVERFORD >> When Eli Godfrey cradled the football inside the 10-yard line on a screen play to the right, as dusk began to settle on a wild Friday afternoon of Inter-Ac League football at Sabol Field between Haverford School and William Penn Charter, the Fords’ explosive slot receiver and cornerback made good on his chance to help end a wild sequence of events.

“Coach (Michael Murphy) called my card on the sideline, and he told me to make a play,” Godfrey said after the Fords’ 41-40 league-opening, triple-overtime win. “I just had to make a play.”

He did just that when he made his way for the far sideline and, with help from his blockers as he started to cut toward the goal line, dove inside the pylon to knot the score line at 40 apiece. Minutes after the Quakers scored for the second time in three extra-period tries, Godfrey’s scamper set the stage for a game-winning extra point from Alex DeMarco, a goalie on the school’s lacrosse team who came out to kick for the football team late last month. His man-on-the-spot boot preserved Haverford School’s undefeated campaign.

Couldn’t quite catch the play on video, but Alex DeMarco wins it for Haverford School, 41-40, on an extra point. pic.twitter.com/XegwVsoejf

— Andrew Parent (@Andrew_Parent23) October 16, 2015

“I’m very proud, and I’m very relieved,” Murphy said with a laugh, after his team improved to 6-0. “We knew we would get everything that Charter had … they did a tremendous job.”

After each team put seven points on the scoreboard in the first OT period, Penn Charter set up for a potential winning field goal after the Fords failed to score in their turn of the second round of extra play — only to have Haverford School junior Peter Solomon deflect it away. The rest, as the olden adage goes, is history.

“The back-and-forth was insane,” said Fords junior quarterback Tommy Toal, who amassed 264 yards on 24-of-41 passing in his second start filling in for All-Delco Kevin Carter, who was lost for the season after suffering a torn ACL last month. “The way we came back was incredible … it was just a crazy game. We were lucky it fell our way because they played just as good as us today.

The football gods were on our side.”

While the Quakers (2-5) entered as the underdog status on paper, they gave their unbeaten opponents an early scare in the opening quarter with a safety, a rushing touchdown, an onside kick and a passing score — all in that order through a roughly six-minute span — for a 16-0 lead after 12 minutes.

After taking nearly a full quarter to gain positive yardage, Haverford School amassed 337 yards of offense en route to what Murphy said is the “biggest win” of a season full of them.