Detweiler keeps Conestoga on a winning track against Fords
HAVERFORD — The pendulum had started to shift in Haverford’s direction when Conestoga’s Peter Detweiler lined up behind center in the third quarter.
With the Fords having cut what had been an 18-point deficit to five with six minutes left in the third, the Pioneers relied on their best offensive weapon to get things back on track.
Detweiler, a senior wide receiver/defensive back/awesome athlete, received the snap out of the wildcat and attacked the running lane. He swatted Haverford defenders away like gnats and darted 85 yards to the end zone.
Conestoga remained in control the rest of the way and rolled to a 32-19 victory at A.G. Cornog Field. The Pioneers (5-1, 3-1) have reeled off four straight wins and are tied for second place in the Central League. Their only loss came at the hands of undefeated Garnet Valley.
“All of our hard work is finally paying off,” Detweiler said. “I can’t be happier for the boys. It’s an awesome feeling.”
Detweiler was the recipient of two scoring passes from quarterback Calvin Shirley in the first half. The second TD catch came on a fade route and Shirley threw a perfect ball as ‘Stoga jumped out to a 12-0 advantage.
“I would have done the same thing, just give the ball to No. 4 (Detweiler) to try to quiet the storm,” first-year Haverford coach Luke Dougherty said. “He’s a great player.”
In addition to Detweiler’s 75-yard run, the Pioneers began the second half with a 90-yard kick return by Bryce Beltrante to make it 18-0. Then the Pioneers sealed the game when Christian Lariviere picked off Fords quarterback Tommy Wright and sprinted 30-plus yards to the end zone.
“We stay steady and we never give up,” Detweiler said. “We know that a game isn’t won in the third quarter. (Haverford) came back and we just had to keep fighting. That’s something we never stop doing.”
Detweiler had six catches for 43 yards and ran the ball three times for 81 yards. Jon Quici led the running game with 78 yards on 20 carries. Shirley completed 9 of 13 passes for 76 yards.
“Their confidence right now is sky high and through the roof,” Conestoga coach Matt Diamond said. “It’s great to be around them. Every week we have a great game plan put into place, and the kids work hard at it. The things they’re doing Monday through Thursday are translating over to Friday. It’s great to see. They’re playing with high energy, high confidence and it’s great. Haverford is a high quality football team and I was impressed with how they responded.”
Wright kept the Fords in the game with his arm and legs. He had three touchdown passes in the second half, including a flea flicker to Tommy Caruso in the end zone. Caruso made a remarkable juggling catch, the first of his two TD snags, to put the Fords on the board in the third period. Wright (12-for-23, 143 yards; 50 yards rushing) also connected with Ben Fleming in the end zone after Conestoga pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Haverford (2-4, 1-3) has lost four games in a row after a 2-0 start to the season.
“As I told these guys, games our won during the week,” Dougherty said. “This game mirrored our practice week. We had OK practices early, then in the middle of the week we caught some fire and we started to feel really good about the game plan … and then at the end of the week we weren’t bad, but we started to get unsure of ourselves. We make a couple of mistakes in a row, things like that. As I said to the kids, that reflects directly on the field on Friday night.”
