De George: Springfield’s title march came with no caveats

HAVERFORD >> When Chris Britton was handed his team’s fall schedule last February, the math teacher part of his persona wondered how he’d get a team full of new starters to the mouth of a gauntlet starting in Week 7.

Even if the football coach portion of his consciousness might have been tempted to indulge the wonderment of a Week 8 trip to Garnet Valley or the dream of Week 10 with a title on the line under the lights at Haverford, Britton erred on the side of modest practicality.

On the other side of those trials, Britton and his unscathed Cougars — the undefeated Central League champs, thanks to a 31-17 win over Haverford Friday — is a little more willing to ruminate on the magnitude of the challenge. And the mountain looks just as big from the summit.

“I think a lot of them, they’re two-year players and a lot of them have that motivation inside,” Britton said of his charges. “They had expectations and I think getting to Week 8 and then people on the outside saying, ‘They can’t do this,’ or, ‘Wait ’til they finish the season; they won’t win the last three,’ we hear it from all different people. And that just keeps them going. They’ve got something to prove.”

The Central League, with its mathematical disparity of 11 opponents for nine conference contests, is ready made for controversy; the schools that are not written on your schedule each year often generate as much intrigue as some of the ones that are. Yet Springfield’s path to an outright and unimpeachable crown skirted no one, by choice or by fortune. And with the last three installments booked on the road — at Marple Newtown, at Garnet Valley, then at Haverford — there can be no quibbles as to its credentials.

Take a gander at the Central League standings after Friday night:

• Second place: Garnet Valley, which Springfield toppled, 14-7, in Week 9.
• Third: Haverford.
• Fourth: Marple, trounced by Springfield in Week 8, 42-19.
• Fifth: Upper Darby, a 20-8 road win in Week 3.
• Sixth: Ridley, demolished in the Week 5 statement that the Cougars were for real, 42-7.
• Seventh: Strath Haven, blitzed 41-13 in Week 4.

Not until you get to eighth-placed Radnor do you see a team Springfield didn’t directly overcome.

It’s been a while since a Central League title has been so tidily compiled. Last year, the trophy split three ways; two of the tri-champs, Springfield and Marple, didn’t play, and Springfield beat the third, Ridley. Marple Newtown was also spared the fate of playing Garnet Valley, which beat Springfield. It’s enough to generate plenty of games of “what if?”

In 2015, Haverford’s Thanksgiving Day triumph over Upper Darby was eclipsed only by the fact that the Fords played neither Springfield nor nine-win Marple that season. Springfield’s last outright title in 2014 avoided a showdown with Ridley.

All that context is to say that no caveats shall be applied this year, to these Cougars. And the back-loaded schedule even came to pay dividends.

“I think we try to get as many of the kinks out earlier in the year,” defensive end Kevin Deal said. “The last two weeks of practice have been spot on. We’re really mentally focused trying to do our best, put our best out on the field.”

Friday’s capstone offered adversity, but then the Cougars were ready. They trailed, 10-7, at halftime, and made their mistakes in a game rife with turnovers borne more of defensive aptitude than offensive ineptitude. They saw their best offensive weapon, Ja’Den McKenzie, ejected midway through the third quarter for a second (and distinctly questionable) unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. (The first, for getting in the face of defensive back Jordan Mosley after catching a touchdown, was more deserved).

Even the winning touchdown, a 31-yard hookup between quarterback Jack Psenicska and Frank Durham Jr. into triple coverage carried a whiff of gutsy improvisation, making the most of a sub-optimal situation.

“We knew they were going to play tough, so we had to step up to their level,” linebacker Jeff Biancaniello said. “They’re a big-time school, so it’s a good test for the playoffs.”

“I think it comes with growing up,” Britton said. “These are seniors that are playing. We’ve been in a district title game, they’ve played a lot of playoff games, they’ve been in close games and now they know how to deal with adversity. We’re still making mistakes … but they’re learning how to deal with it on the field.”

The subtext to Friday’s celebrations for Springfield, in among Britton dodging the Gatorade dump and posing for team pictures, is that league success in the last half-decade hasn’t correlated to the coveted District 1 title. This year, as the No. 1 team in the Class 5A rankings, the path is clear for the Cougars to get there on home soil.

Having run the gamut of Class 6A teams that the Central League offers, the Cougars are well seasoned for their 5A playoff foes.

“As soon as Monday hits, we’re 0-0,” Deal said. “We have to prove ourselves all over again. We can’t take any team lightly. We’ve got to push as hard as we can every game, just like tonight.”

“I think it gives them confidence,” Britton said. “You’re a 5A team and half your games are 6A and you just ran the table. It’s got to tell you something. Your hardest games might be behind you. … You’re battle-tested when you get out.”

To contact Matthew De George, email mdegeorge@delcotimes.com. Follow him on Twitter @sportsdoctormd.