CONCORD — When the game was on the line, Garnet Valley quarterback Steve Flanagan knew he could count on one teammate to make a huge play.
Flanagan targeted fellow senior Tom Cleary a couple of times Friday. Earlier in the night, Cleary, who is the Jaguars’ leading receiver and a superb blocking tight end, had uncharacteristically dropped two passes
Flanagan and interim head coach Rich Boyd Jr. never lost faith in Cleary
“That kid is one of the most consistent, well-disciplined players I’ve ever coached in my life,’ Boyd said. “He rarely makes mistakes and we told him (after the drops) that it was the third mistake he made all season and that included one in practice in maybe 10,000 reps he’s taken so far.’
On fourth-and-11, Garnet Valley had one final shot to save its season. A loss would cripple its hopes of qualifying for District One Class AAAA playoffs. Down by five points, Flanagan found Cleary wide-open in corner of the end zone. Cleary slid on his knees and hauled in a 16-yard pass to give the Jaguars the lead for good with 29 seconds to play.
In an instant classic, Garnet Valley upended Haverford in come-from-behind fashion, 44-41. The Jaguars (7-2) looked dead in the water early in the fourth quarter when the visiting Fords (6-3) scored two touchdowns in the span of 10 seconds to grab a 41-29 advantage.
The Jaguars answered with a tear of their own.
“It’s unbelievable. Words can’t describe the feeling I had after the touchdown (to Cleary). Everything, from the fans and it being our homecoming, the entire atmosphere was incredible,’ said Flanagan, who had a game-high 122 yards rushing and four TDs to go along with his 188 yards passing. “We knew we could come back to Tom and we came back to him at the end of the game. He made a good move and I just happened to put good air under it and he caught it.’
Cleary was prepared to come through in the clutch.
“My confidence was pretty low after those two drops. I haven’t dropped many this season,’ he said. “Coach Boyd there was a big play that was going to come my way. I wasn’t sure it was going to happen until it happened. At the end of the game, they called a play to me and I just got open. It was a great throw.’
The Fords left Moe DeFrank Stadium is a state of shock as the defeat could cost them a berth in the District One Class AAAA playoffs. They saw a 13-point lead fall vanish, but the Fords had a lot to be proud of. Led by quarterback Jack Donaghy and wide receiver Nick Costello, the Fords gave everything they had to beat the Jaguars, who were reeling after last week’s loss to Springfield put them in second place in the Central League.
Despite a pair of first-quarter interceptions, Donaghy kept his composure and had a stellar performance. The junior signal caller hooked up with Nick Costello on two TD plays and Sam Romanofsky and Dan Boyle on two others. The second scoring connection to Costello — a 67-yarder — was one for the highlight reels Costello used his 6-5, 205-pound frame to pull the ball out of the air and out of the reach of a Garnet Valley defender and darted the rest of the way for a TD.
Donaghy was 11-for-17 with four touchdowns and three picks. Garnet Valley defensive back Steve Palis had two interceptions of Donaghy, including the one that sealed the victory with less than a second to play.
“The scariest kid is No. 12 (Costello), just because of his size,’ Boyd said. “Most of our DBs are in the 5-10, 5-11 range. When you get a kid that tall and with that type of athleticism, he makes it really difficult to defend.
“We thought the world of Haverford. I was really impressed with what they’ve done through eight games this season. Offensively, they have a ton of talent. No. 12 (Donaghy) is a phenomenal player. We treated this like it was a playoff game.’
Romanofsky and Jack Farrell had big games on defense for the Fords and Chris Trainor had an interception in the fourth quarter. Trainer’s interception appeared to put the Fords in great position to win, but after a three-and-out Garnet Valley came back to cut its deficit to 41-36. Junior running Derrick West (108 yards) had a 3-yard scoring scamper.
In the opening quarter, John Kim answered Garnet Valley’s first scoring drive by taking a kickoff return 90 yards to the end zone. Early on, the feeling was the game could turn into a shootout. Donaghy found Costello over the middle of the field on a beautiful 50-yard hook-up to make it 14-6 Haverford. By halftime, GV held a 22-21 edge and eventually went up by eight points, 29-21, before Haverford started its rally.
