Strath Haven rolls … so does Peichel’s dream sequence

LOWER MERION — On the list of possibilities Koll Peichel considered for himself Friday, a virtual football magic trick was somewhere near the bottom.

“Never,” he said. “I never imagined it.”

Aware that he would be deep on Strath Haven’s football depth chart, yet optimistic that the rampaging Panthers would be well enough ahead that he would receive some late playing time, all the junior running back and linebacker was hoping for was an opportunity.

That, Peichel would receive in a 49-0 victory. So he would make it count, scoring touchdowns on consecutive plays from scrimmage, all within 43 third-quarter seconds. After churning two yards for a score to put the Panthers ahead by six touchdowns, Peichel claimed an interception on the first ensuing Harriton play and sprinted 37 yards for his 12th point in less than a minute.

That’s all it took for the accomplished Strath Haven baseball player to produce his personal football-season highlights film.

“I never pictured it,” Peichel said. “It was a great adrenaline rush. I’ll never be able to experience it again, at least until next year. They were my first touchdowns. But I had a chance to play tonight. So I thought I might as well do something big.”

Peichel was not alone as the Panthers bumped to 7-1 overall and 6-1 in the Central League with their third consecutive shutout. Sophomore Matt Shuler contributed a pair of touchdowns, one on a nine-yard pass from Jack Ryder, the other on a dazzling 26-yard run.

The Panthers never punted, and had only two drives halted, one by a fumble, another with 1:20 left when they were stopped on downs at the Harriton 7.

As is its preference, Strath Haven succeeded on the ground, rushing for 456 yards and five touchdowns. But it was the defense, peaking at the right time, that continued to dominate.

“The defense is playing really well,” Strath Haven coach Kevin Clancy said. “They’re playing fast. And they are playing smart. That’s been helpful.”

Shuler has a theory.

“It’s the coaching,” he said, after his linebacking strength helped limit the Rams to four rushing yards. “We all stay disciplined. We all do our jobs. And that’s the good outcome.”

Strath Haven set the early tone, marching 64 yards on eight plays to put fullback John Prochniak in business to provide a three-yard touchdown run. The Panthers needed only eight more plays on their next drive to make it 14-0 on Ibo Pio’s three-yard blast and the second of six successful Emmet Young extra points.

Harriton had an early chance to settle, recovering a fumble to puncture a Strath Haven drive at the Rams’ 13. But on the next play, Harriton lost a fumble, and the Panthers capitalized with Ryder’s scoring strike to Shuler.

A two-yard Jaris Adams TD late in the half kept Strath Haven in control. When Harriton was stopped on downs, the running of Evan Blake, who had 82 yards on four carries, sent the Panthers deep, and with 58.7 seconds left, Shuler’s long TD run and Young’s placement made it 35-0. That meant the second half would be played with a running clock.

“The kids are playing hard,” Clancy said. “We are in the midst of a pretty good season. But we have to keep getting better at this time of the year.”

The Panthers will test themselves next Friday at dangerous Garnet Valley.

After demonstrating some special teams excellence, including a 55-yard kickoff return by Rowan Teran, the Rams (1-7, 1-6) will hope to benefit from the learning experience.

“We totally emphasize effort all the time,” Harriton coach Justin Mellor said. “And special teams are great opportunities for that individual effort. So our kids take a lot of pride in that.

“Strath Haven is just so forceful. We are just learning to be forceful and to attack. We’re learning in that area. I love my team. Every single day, they play hard. That’s all you can ask for.”

As for scoring a touchdown on consecutive plays from scrimmage, that’s not something likely to come by request.

“I had the one touchdown, then, as I always do, I was thinking about one on defense, too,” Peichel said. “I saw the curl coming, and I thought, ‘This is my time to shine. I might as well go for it.’ Our defense is really executing and our offense is putting up points. And that’s all we need.”