Football Preview: Tight end Falk carries on Haverford School’s FBS legacy

HAVERFORD >> If you’re looking for Delaware County’s primary recent source of Division I Football Bowl Subdivision talent, you might be surprised to find it at The Haverford School. In a region where reaching the highest level of college football is rare and concentrated in a handful of elite schools, the Fords have cracked the code.

Last year, it was lineman Isaiah Boyd, the All-Delco who pledged his future to Tulane. Tune in to major TV on Saturdays and you’ll find Asim Richards starting at left tackle for North Carolina. Finn Bonner is a freshman at Navy.

The latest entry on that list was sealed before his senior season began, with tight end James Falk committing to Rice.

“It was very stressful,” said Falk, who also had offers from Temple and a slew of FCS programs. “It was a lot. But I’m really happy where I’m at right now. To be committed early in the summer, that’s what I really wanted so that I could focus on the team and not on recruiting. It was good to get that out of the way.”

The 6-6, 226-pound tight end fits a trend, both in the recent FBS talent and for the 2022 Fords: He’s big — like Boyd, a defensive lineman at Tulane, and the long snapper Bonner. Falk, a Springfield resident, traces his desire to attend Haverford School in part to an eighth-grade recruiting visit when he watched Richards dominate against Springside Chestnut Hill. “I was like, yeah, I want to put myself in that position,” he said. “I want to be that guy.”

Pass-catching prowess aside — Falk caught 16 balls for 143 yards and two touchdowns last year — Falk is part of a hefty and skilled front that will provide the platform for the Fords’ offense this season.

Nine offensive starters return from last year’s 5-4 team, including the entire line minus Boyd. Matt Pante, a 6-5, 300-pound Cornell commit, is the anchor, with Thomas Barr, Sean Dugery and Noah Andrewson, who stands 6-6, 315. Add in Falk and fellow tight end Sean Brodnik (6-4, 230), and the Fords have the potential for “heavy” packages that can deliver a pop.

“I feel like the line is sort of, as coach says, the heart and soul of the team,” Pante said. “As we go is how the team will go. And we have a great group of guys coming back, and a very good senior class, across the board. It’s just very important for the o-line to stay together like we do in the offseason. We’re a very hard-working group.”

Conspicuously absent among the returnees are a quarterback and a top rusher. Given the pandemic schedule disruptions, coach Brian Martin last year made the decision to alternate quarterbacks, giving both Michael Bennicasa and Michael Galasso a chance to play and get game film. Leading rusher and backfield playmaker Sam Gerber also graduated.

That leaves receivers like Falk breaking in a third new quarterback in two seasons, the honor falling to Ridley transfer Gavin Wright. An injury prevented Wright from entering the QB reckoning last year, but he’s got the inside track this season.

For Falk and company, getting used to another signal-caller is something they’ve grown accustomed to.

“I think for the most part, it hasn’t been too much of a change,” Falk said. “We had three really good quarterbacks. They’re really talented guys. It hasn’t been that big of a change. I know all of them really well on the field and off the field.”

Wright will have established targets to aim at. In addition to Falk and Brodnik, senior Derrick Knox caught 22 passes for 452 yards and a touchdown last year. Matt Brosko saw significant action as a sophomore in a 1-2 punch with Gerber, with 77 carries for 333 yards and four scores, plus eight catches for 96 yards and three TDs.

Defensively, the front seven is the clear point of strength. All-Delco wrestler Bill Brosko and Michael Barnes-Pace will clog holes on the line, letting a seasoned linebacking corps make plays. Louie Atkinson, at a hulking 6-2 and 205 pounds, leads that unit, complemented by Michael Dean and Sean Dougherty.

They’ll have to be ready to go from the outset thanks to the schedule Martin has crafted. The Fords meet Bonner-Prendergast and Academy Park out of the gates before entertaining Catholic League powers La Salle and Archbishop Wood. That mindset paid dividends last year, with the Fords going 3-2 in the Inter-Ac, capped by a rivalry win over Episcopal Academy.

The quest to build on that will begin up front. And Falk, whose highlight videos feature plenty of the tight end filling holes and run blocking with relish, is a big part of the effort, literally and figuratively.

“We’re definitely one of the bigger teams in the state, I’d say,” he said. “Me and our other tight end, Sean Brodnik, are both pretty big dudes. And you see our offensive line. … We have some monsters, not just big kids but great players. It’s definitely a luxury that makes blocking easier.”