Cheltenham could be a dark horse team
There are plenty of examples where a bad start to a season can wreck an entire year. A 1-4 start, 0-2 in Suburban One League American Conference play, could have easily done that to Cheltenham this season.
After starting their season out with a win over Lower Moreland, the Panthers hit a three-game skid with two conference losses coming out of it. After hitting its rough patch, Cheltenham had a slue of postponements, three in a five game span.
Although Cheltenham stumbled out of the gate there were really only two teams, one in Upper Merion residing in the SOL American, that was able to distance itself from the field.
The Panthers were able to stabilize. They won three out their next five games, unfortunately the two losses both conference losses, but they did get the return of key sophomore Veata Blair-Kraybill.
Blair-Kraybill busted on to the scene as a freshman last season earning second-team all-SOL American. This season, Blair-Kraybill would be relied upon much more heavily this season after Cheltenham lost several key players to graduation.
Even as the Panthers stand now, one might think they are in trouble, after a 16-6 loss to Upper Merion Tuesday afternoon, standing two games below .500 at 5-7 and finding themselves looking up at the top of the conference at 2-5.
Cheltenham, while trailing in the conference, still has eight games remaining, seven of which fall in conference and its one non-conference game remaining, a postponement with rival Abington which has yet to show it is any type of force to be reckoned with.
Looking at the schedule it’s not too late for Cheltenham to make a run. A run at what exactly is a bit cloudy. The Panthers are not going to catch Upper Merion for the conference and even with two games to be played won’t run down Springfield for second place in the conference either.
The good news for Cheltenham however is that even at 2-5 in the conference a .500 conference record and possibly even a third place finish in the American is possible, in fact doable.
The next three games for the Panthers will be critical. Home game against Upper Dublin and Norristown, two teams currently behind Cheltenham in the conference, sandwich what figures to be a big measuring stick game against Springfield.
Under normal circumstances Cheltenham would be dead and buried in a playoff scenario. They would be a long shot to have even a successful season, but for a team playing better lately in league and frankly most of District One where only a handful of really quality teams exist, if the Panthers can string some wins together and figure out how to beat some good teams, don’t count the Panthers out.
