Football: Matt Brosko shoulders load as Haverford School opens with a win

HAVERFORD — Matt Brosko wasn’t exactly beaming after Haverford School’s 14-12 nonleague win over Bonner-Prendergast Friday.

Despite his 25 carries and 133 yards, despite his status as the lone sustained offensive threat on either side at Sabol Field, Brosko wasn’t delighted that a pair of thwarted PATs and a fourth-quarter interception by Yasir Denmark were required for the Fords to win their opener.

“We should’ve never let the score get this close,” Brosko said. “That will not happen again.”

Both teams will leave Friday finding considerable room for improvement. On one side, the Fords entered plus territory on nine series but reached the end zone twice. Their five sojourns to the red zone resulted in two scores and three missed Ivan Harlamov field goals.

Bonner-Prendergast, meanwhile, didn’t find an offensive rhythm until their third quarterback – fourth if you count a series exclusively comprising wildcat packages.

It was, on all sides, a September game between teams still figuring things out.

One thing sorted is Brosko: He carried the load offensively and caught two passes for 29 yards. One of the hookups was a 17-yard wheel route from Gavin Wright on 4th and 9 at the 32.

“That’s a play that we make every day in practice,” Brosko said. “It was just routine for us.”

Though Harlamov would pull a 27-yard field goal wide right on that series, that deep penetration into Bonner territory shifted the field-position game. Bonner had to punt out of its end zone on the next series, Derrick Knox returning it 24 yards to the 15. Wright found Brosko on a 12-yard dump off to the three, and Brosko punched it into the end zone two plays later, the first score of the game two minutes before halftime.

Another Bonner punt – the Friars booted six on the day – led to another short field. Wright (7-for-12, 96 yards) found tight end James Falk to rumble for 29 yards, then Wright called a keeper for the final 13 yards with 43 seconds left until halftime.

Those 14 points in 84 seconds was all Haverford would get. Turned out, they would be enough.

“We have a lot of trust in our defense,” defensive tackle Bill Brosko said. “Every position is filled out. We’re comfortable with everyone there. Everyone on the field trusts each other. As long as we communicate, there’s nothing really to change.”

Brosko and fellow DT Michael Barnes-Pace created sufficient havoc to bottle Bonner’s run game, limiting the Friars to 78 yards on 25 carries. That shifted pressure to the man under center, which rotated often.

Colin Finnegan went 1-for-4 on the first three series, then sat. Joe Sarjoo went 2-for-4 for seven yards on his three series. Out of the second half, Jaylen Johnson (13 carries for 39 yards) ran wildcat pistol. Being down a pair of playmakers – running back Avery Hankey was out injured, and receiver AJ Saie (shoulder) exited in the first quarter – didn’t help. Nor did an average first-half starting position of the 18.

It wasn’t until senior Justin Shepherd stepped in that the Friars (1-1) started moving. The field flipped when Haverford, going for the kill, went for it on fourth down at the 37 to start the third. Shepherd capitalized two series later, starting from the Haverford 35. He threw a ball up for Zach Coneys that the senior wide out grabbed at the 1. Isaiah Session covered the final yard, and though the kick was blocked, Bonner was on the board at 14-6 with 1:45 left in the third.

“If they go in there, they can just throw it up there and give us a chance to adjust to the ball,” Coneys said. “I think that first throw not only let him settle in but let him get a feel for the game, because he hasn’t really gotten that many varsity snaps.”

Two series later, Shepherd found Austin Cannon for 15, then hit Jalil Hall on a deep ball, the sophomore making a great adjustment in the air to come back to the ball, then sprint 65 yards to the house.

A false start and a botched snap – again, room for improvement – on the two-pointer kept the score at 14-12, though the Friars would get the ball back. Shepherd pushed them across midfield, finding Coneys for 18 on 4th-and-9 when two Fords batted the ball away from each other and into the chest of Coneys.

But on third and 15, Denmark jumped a deep crossing route to put the game out of reach.

Combined, Bonner’s QBs were 8-for-20 for 149 yards, 122 coming from Shepherd. But the ability to battle with a bigger team, and at times dictate matters to a supposedly vaunted Fords’ front, is consolation from the loss.

“I think it showed us that we can play with big teams,” Coneys said. “We can’t be scared of them. We can play down in the dirt with them. They ran the ball on us all day but we got some big stops, which I think shows that we can play with the big guys.”

As for the Fords, Matt Brosko split the ball-carrying duties much of last year. If there was any doubt as to whether he can be the lone feature back, Friday dispelled that.

“He’s been training all year. He’s ready for it,” Bill Brosko said of his younger brother. “I’m happy for him and proud of what he’s doing. He’s doing a great job. Every time he touches the ball, he gets five yards. Couldn’t ask for more from him.”