Football: Strath Haven secondary turns the tide in shutting down Ridley

RIDLEY TWP. — Strath Haven secondary faced its biggest test of the season Friday night. Ridley’s receiving corps, led by Paul Jackson, Kimir Stephenson and Khameen Powell, is one of the best in Delaware County.

The Panthers defensive backs came to ready to play. They intercepted sophomore quarterback Ryan Carroll four times in the first half, powering a 41-14 victory.

Strath Haven (7-0, 6-0) remains unbeaten and tied with Garnet Valley for first place in the Central League. The teams do not play this season.

James Fisher had two of the four interceptions. Sam Milligan and Chase Nangle grabbed the other two.

“Our coaches said Ridley had some of the best receivers and said they were the fastest,” Nangle said. “I thought we played really well. They didn’t get much action against us.”

Fisher’s interceptions were game changers. On its first possession of the game, Ridley drove inside the Haven 5-yard line. But when Carroll tried to dump off a lob pass in the end zone, Fisher cut across to pick him off in the end zone.

“Everything changed right there,” Nangle said. “The momentum wasn’t going our way … but that pick in the beginning really helped us a lot.”

Strath Haven capitalized on the ensuing possession when Anthony Crawford rambled 48 yards to the end zone.

“Shoutout to James Fisher. They were driving on us and he made that huge pick,” Crawford said. “That flipped the whole momentum. And then the (offensive) line just made huge holes all night.”

Crawford ran for 196 yards and four TDs on 21 carries. Milligan was back under center for the first time since August – he had been limited to playing the defensive secondary due to a hand injury – and amassed 64 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Bob Fooskas (54 yards) also ran the ball well behind an impressive offensive line that included Gavin Pilson, Cole Miller, Jackson Geremia, Carter Law, Billy Brown and tight end Ben Farabaugh.

Milligan nearly brought his interception to the house, but he was tripped up after a return of 50 yards. It was Milligan’s fifth pick of the season. Moments later Crawford plowed ahead from three yards out to put the Panthers up 19-0 in the second quarter.

Fisher’s second pick was returned 45 yards to the house to give Haven a 28-0 advantage late in the first half. Nangle made a leaping interception along the Ridley sideline about a minute before halftime.

The Panthers are 7-0 for the first time since 2005. They host Radnor (2-4) next week before closing the regular season with Upper Darby (3-4) and Marple Newtown (4-3).

The energy on the Ridley sideline was drained when its first drive was halted by the turnover. Defensive lineman Billy Bair had a pick-six to give Ridley some life in the third quarter, but the Panthers’ ground attack was too good. The Green Raiders defense just couldn’t get off the field outside of Bair’s pick-six.

Running back Alante Smith had 1-yard scoring run late in regulation for the Green Raiders (4-3, 3-2). Haven’s defensive front stymied Ridley’s ground attack. Linebackers Crawford and Austin Conner were particularly effective at blowing up plays on the ground and attacking in the backfield.

“We are more prepared than any other team in the league,” Crawford said. “We have the best coaches.”