Efficient Haverford starters have a quick night against Conestoga
HAVERFORD >> Scoring came with such ease for Haverford Friday that even an unassuming kickoff to begin the second half looked appealing.
“He might score right here,” Fords quarterback Jake Ruane said to coach Joe Gallagher seconds before the ball was kicked. Sure enough, Trey Blair busted through the middle and went 82 yards untouched for yet another touchdown.
Friday’s final read Haverford 54, Conestoga 13, but it wasn’t even that close. The Fords led 41-0 at halftime. They scored twice on defense. Their starters, after running a mere 13 plays during the first half, didn’t play a down during the second half. The win signaled a 3-0 record, 2-0 in the Central League.
It was dominant. It wasn’t perfect.
“It was definitely a good game, we performed, we did what we needed to do,” Jordan Mosley said. “But we got some good teams coming up, (and) we gotta get better.”
Mosley returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown, trucking through two Pioneers en route to the end zone, to make it 13-0 in the first quarter. Nineteen seconds later, after a Conestoga fumble, Mosley caught a 26-yard scoring pass from Ruane.
The rout was on. The Maryland-bound Mosley celebrated his accomplishments — the interception return was “a blur,” the touchdown pass received a “shout out to Jake” — as humbly as he could, but Conestoga had put two drives together during that first quarter.
Neither resulted in points, but both resulted in more success than Haverford would have liked. The 41-point victory was irrelevant.
“Defensive communication before the play, that’s our biggest thing,” said Mosley, unprompted, on needed improvements. “Other than that, offensively we were clicking. Defensively, shut down.”
The defense yielded 188 yards to Conestoga, 130 with the starters in. Matt Young returned a fumble 65 yards for a score late in the first half. Shane Mosley had an interception. It went on like that.
When on the field, the offense made quick work of Conestoga (0-3, 0-2). Ruane attempted and completed just five passes for 80 yards. Jon Klee, the running quarterback, took direct snaps and had 21 yards, including a two-yard charge to open the scoring. Ruane, not the running quarterback, had a 60-yard touchdown run. Starting tailback Travis Weiss carried the ball twice.
“This number of skill kids, I’d have to think back 25 years,” Gallagher said. “They’re up there, the number of skill kids we have. More than we have usually, I’d say.”
Blair stood out among them. The junior turned a busted screen play into a highlight reel score covering 18 yards.
“I don’t know,” said Blair of his theatrics. “There were people in front of me and I just made a few cuts and next thing I knew, I was in the end zone.”
Amid the running clock, junior varsity quarterback Andrew McGinnis, \ a freshman, scored from four yards out during the fourth quarter. In between that and Blair’s return, Conestoga scored twice (Milton Robinson’s one-yard run, Liam Kirk’s 47-yard punt return).
Haverford had a laugher Friday. Next week against Harriton does not figure to be a challenge. Marple Newtown and Garnet Valley loom ahead. Despite that, Gallagher does not anticipate a loss a focus.
“No, not with this team,” he explained. “We try not to even focus on who we’re playing. I’m not just saying this, because talk about this — focus on us. Can we get better each week? Worry about us and not who we’re playing. We’ll treat Harriton as Game 4.”
