Strath Haven gets back to basics, runs down the Radnor
RADNOR — The second half was three minutes old, each team had a touchdown and Strath Haven was ready to play its specific brand of football.
The Panthers slogged their way through the first half Friday. Adjustments were made. They gave up a score. Enter: Multiple classic Kevin Clancy drives and stingy defense. The result: A 20-14 Strath Haven victory.
“That’s what we wanted to do,” Panthers fullback John Prochniak said. “We realize we’re not going to get that many big plays against them, so we’re just going to wear them down and wear them down. And that’s what we did.”
That was the initial mistake Strath Haven – now 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the Central League – made. It tried to hit the big play too often during the first half, something the Wing-T is not designed for. The second half was different. The Panthers went 67 yards in seven minutes, 27 seconds. They scored on Evan Blake’s 16-yard run. They forced Radnor to punt.
Then, they went 54 yards in 4:13. Ibo Pio finished that drive with a five-yard burst. Three plays later, the Panthers had the ball back after Chase Barlow’s interception. The game, basically, was over.
This was envisioned during halftime.
Strath Haven 20, Radnor 7. 655 4q. Ibo Pio with what feels like the game-icing 5-yard TD run. Another great SH drive. #delcofootball pic.twitter.com/dSYnzTCSfT
— Todd Orodenker (@ToddO243) September 14, 2019
“It’s really a matter of two things – seeing what they’re in, and learning it and understanding it,” explained Clancy, the legendary Panthers coach. “The second part of it is attitudinal, that they decided that they were just going to bear down and play a little bit better.”
Strath Haven rushed for 259 yards on 66 carries. Prochniak (115 yards), Pio (76), Blake (70 and a shoutout from Clancy) and quarterback Jack Ryder (who scored on a one-yard sneak midway through the second quarter) were the only Panthers to touch the ball offensively. This was the plan. Clancy wanted to trust his veteran leaders, and only them, in a game of this importance.
Prochniak had the most yards and the most carries. He took a beating running up the gut. He didn’t score. He was not concerned.
“I’m happy for them,” he said of his backfield mates. “I don’t care about that at all.”
Defensively, 269 yards were yielded to Radnor. Quarterback Sam DiLella had 177 of them, including a late five-yard touchdown to Jahmir Dixon. The Raiders (2-2, 1-2) tied the game 7-7 on Taylor Margolis’ five-yard run early in the third quarter. Then they ran into a wall.
The first half was frustrating. The second half had its moments, but Strath Haven was too much.
“This is what they do, they’re really good at it,” Radnor coach Tom Ryan said. “That’s a very good football team we played. I think we had a good plan for them, our kids executed really well. … We just made mistakes we’ve got to get fixed next week.”
It doesn’t get any easier for Radnor. Mighty Garnet Valley looms. Strath Haven, which next faces Haverford, is 4-0 for the first time since Clancy can remember. His players are thrilled, but not satisfied.
There is more out there.
“Now we’re going to work to get to 5-0,” Prochniak said. “Got a big game next week, so we’re going to focus on that.”
