Glackin’s late catch boosts Garnet Valley to win, defense willing
HAVERFORD — Cole Palis was kicking himself after he attempted to thread the needle and find his receiver in the end zone Saturday night.
Garnet Valley’s senior quarterback wishes he could have the throw back. The ball ended up in the hands of Haverford High’s Trey Blair, who returned the ball past midfield. The host Fords had momentum on their side, up a point early in the fourth quarter.
But it wasn’t the end of the world, either. Palis knew the defense would keep the Jags afloat.
“Our defense, all of the credit goes to them,” Palis said. “They made some huge stops. When they’re coming off the field they’re in our huddle saying to us, ‘Let’s go, we got this.’ Tonight was all about them. They were saying to our guys on offense, ‘We know you got this, we believe in you.’ I was just reiterating that in the huddle.”
The Jags got the ball again … but fumbled it away for the third time. Once again it was up to All-Delco lineman Cade Brennan and the rest of GV’s defense to keep Haverford’s high-powered offense in check. Brennan, Evan Hrivnak and others did their jobs… and now it was up to the offense to close the deal.
“We had to get after the quarterback, put some pressure on him,” said Brennan, who recorded two sacks. “We did a really good job of that. I thought we made a lot of great adjustments. That really helped us out tonight and we got got the job done “
The Jags completed a lengthy, 14-play drive in just over four minutes and finally pulled ahead when Palis connected with Rory Glackin on a four-yard touchdown pass with all of 11 seconds to go. Garnet Valley defeated Haverford, 14-7.
“It feels unreal, I’ve never been in that situation before. I guess I was just the open man,” Glackin said. “I don’t think we would have been in that position if our defense didn’t make consecutive stops. They were awesome.”
JAGS TAKE A 14-7 LEAD WITH 10 SECONDS LEFT pic.twitter.com/dfDbaOZEdB
— JAG NATION (@JagNationGV) September 9, 2018
The Jags’ run-based offense, which churned out 527 yards in a blowout over Ridley last week, was put to the test against a much-better Haverford team.
“They get after the ball. They’re on you in a split second,” Palis said of Haverford’s defense. “You’ve got to make your decisions quick because they’ve got some great athletes over there. They’re just making plays left and right. You’ve just got to grind it out against a team like that.”
Palis completed four passes on that final drive and finished 10-for-13 for 64 yards. Needless to say it’s not often the Jags reach double digits in passing attempts.
“Cole has been throwing the ball well all year,” GV coach Mike Ricci said. “Our line protection has been great and our receivers run great routes and catch the ball. We’re confident that Cole is going to make the read and put the ball where it needs to go. He did that tonight. To go 80 yards in the last couple of minutes, especially with no time showing on the clock (due to a malfunction).
“We had to deal with that. And (Palis) got the plays in and out quickly, he did a masterful job with that.”
Palis said the final call was a play they run often during the week.
“We practice that play a lot, Rory and I,” Palis said. “We go with the fake handoff action and he just slips into the flat, hopefully gets the outside backers to bite, and I just have to get the ball to him.”
Palis and the Jags had 17 seconds to work with and no timeouts. They didn’t want to risk running out of time, considering the game clock at Cornog Field was out of commission.
“The confidence is always there. We were in the huddle telling each other, don’t give up no matter what happens,” Glackin said. “We had time on the clock. We knew we had to go down and we kept moving the ball.”
At one point a fan on the Garnet Valley side yelled, “Bet they didn’t know we can throw the ball.” Well, yes, it was unusual but Palis isn’t your carbon copy GV signal caller.
He can run, he stiff-arm a defender on a 20-yard scramble run in the first half … and the University of Penn baseball commit can air the ball with precision when necessary.
“I wouldn’t say it’s out of my comfort zone at all. I trust my receivers and our line so much,” he said. “I know I’m not going to buckle under pressure and I know that I have time to make a good decision.”
This game was suspended Friday night due to inclement weather with 3:36 to play in the first quarter. After play resumed Saturday, the Jags scored first on Colin Robinson’s one-yard dive with 9:33 left before halftime.
Haverford answered six minutes later. Quarterback Jake Ruane (8-for-17, 109 yards) rolled out of the pocket and on the run threw a strike to Blair in the end zone. Haverford went ahead 7-6 on the extra point.
And the score didn’t change until the waning seconds of regulation.
Robinson paced GV’s ground attack with 131 yards on 23 carries. Dom LaBricciosa added 50 yards and Palis chipped in with 49.
“Haverford is one of those teams that we love to play. They’re very well-coached, they’re a class act and we know it’s always a great game,” Ricci said. “It’s really a shame, and I know it’s a cliche, but it’s really a shame that one team had to lose this game. There were big plays on both sides, goal-line stands by both teams. It was super exciting, competitive, well-balanced and a fair game. I can’t say enough about Haverford and how much fun it is to play them.”
Blair had five catches for 74 yards and ran the ball five times for 46 yards. Paul Denman shined at linebacker for the Fords (2-1, 2-1).
“They just made one more play then we did,” Haverford coach Joe Gallagher said. “Give them credit, that’s a long way to go down the field in that period of time. That (touchdown pass) is probably their final play, since they were out of timeouts. We just have to learn to finish.”
