Haverford defense makes big plays to lead it past game Conestoga effort

TREDYFFRIN — After facing a strong first-half challenge from host Conestoga, Haverford bounced back for a 27-14 win at Teamer Field Friday evening.

Haverford hosts Garnet Valley next week in a game that will determine the No. 1 team in Central League Class 6A division. The winner will play the following week for the Central League championship against the top seed from the Class 5A division.

The Fords (4-0) had outscored their first three opponents 108-3 but found the going tougher against the Pioneers, as Conestoga battled the visitors to a 14-14 tie at halftime.

In the first seven minutes after halftime, Haverford stopped Conestoga cold on two consecutive possessions, and scored two touchdowns to take a lead it would never relinquished.

“When Conestoga came out in the first half, you could tell how badly they wanted the game, to beat us,” Haverford coach Joe Gallagher said. “I think if we were a lesser team we wouldn’t have rallied after halftime like we did. I told our players that I was really proud of the way they responded after facing adversity for the first time this season.”

Haverford jumped out to an early 14-0 lead before the Pioneers came back with two second-quarter touchdowns.

Midway through the first quarter, the Fords put together a nine-play, 54-yard touchdown drive. The final play was an 11-yard TD pass from sophomore quarterback Thomas Wright to a wide-open Christopher Dempsey down the middle.

Midway through the second quarter, Haverford linebacker Casey Gilroy picked off a pass at the Conestoga 35, and with nothing but daylight in front of him, ran it in for a score to give the visitors a 14-0 lead with 6:53 left before halftime.

Conestoga came right back on the next possession with a touchdown, the first allowed by Haverford this season. On 3rd-and-2, quarterback Michael Costigan proved resourceful, scrambling on a broken play and running for a 49-yard touchdown.

Late in the second quarter, Conestoga recovered a Haverford fumble at the Fords’ 33. Costigan hit running back James Condi and receivers Albert Marshall and Patrick Reilly for short passes before finishing the drive with a seven-yard dash. A successful two-point conversion followed, Costigan finding receiver Peter Detwiler, to tie the score at 14-14 with 54 seconds to go before halftime.

Conestoga received the second-half kickoff, but the Fords forced a three-and-out, then put together an 8-play, 55-yard TD drive. Wright led the way with the short passing game, hitting Will Higson on a seven-yard TD to make it 20-14.

Three plays later, Haverford cornerback Thomas Caruso intercepted Costigan and returned it to the 42. The Fords gave the ball to running back Jimmy Wright five consecutive times, the fifth a 16-yard TD to the right side, to make it 27-14.

“Caruso’s interception was huge,” Jimmy Wright said. “That changed the momentum back to us. Conestoga had the momentum coming into the second half, and we knew we had to make a big stop. We re-started in the second half, because we didn’t play too well in the first half, and we stepped up our game in the second half.”

“We made some big interceptions tonight, but it was our collective team defense, all 11 guys, that made it happen for us,” Gallagher said. “I’m proud of our whole defense.”

The Fords’ running attack ran more smoothly in the second half, as Jimmy Wright consistently broke off solid gains. He finished the night with 205 rushing yards on 38 carries.

“It all came down to our offensive line blocking,” Jimmy Wright said. “They stepped up big tonight and gave me big holes to run through.

“I thought our kids overcame some mistakes in the first half and got momentum going into halftime,” Conestoga coach Matt Diamond said. “In the second half, though, we weren’t able to sustain our drives, and we didn’t win the turnover battle.

“But our kids played extremely hard – Haverford is a very physical football team, and that was a physical football game tonight. Haverford’s a disciplined football team, but I thought our kids really competed and battled tonight.”