Haverford School starts slow, piles up mistakes in loss to Germantown Academy

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HAVERFORD >> The Haverford School’s woes started from the get-go Saturday afternoon at Sabol Field.

Upon receiving the opening kickoff, the Fords went 15 yards in the wrong direction and began their first series from the two-yard line.

But one negative play isn’t that big a deal, is it?

“It matters,” coach Mike Murphy said. “We’re trying to establish things and you have that happen. I don’t know what to say about it other than it starts us off bad. You know, you’re in a big game and you’re trying to get momentum and you’re running backwards. I don’t have an answer. That’s kind of how we’re doing right now.”

If nothing else, the botched kick return was a poor way to set a tone in a game Murphy called a must-win. The Fords kicked off their Inter-Ac League season with a 28-14 loss to reigning co-champion Germantown Academy.

Having lost four of their first five games, the Fords returned from a bye week hoping to reset their season. A fresh start, Murphy thought, would rejuvenate his squad.

“I felt like we had a really good two weeks of practice and I don’t think it was an effort thing, but we continue to do the same things that we’ve done all season,” he said. “And we’re not correcting them and we’re not making football plays at critical times and it has killed us.

“It’s very frustrating. The team is frustrated by it, too. I don’t know. It’s not like the kids aren’t trying.”

The Fords turned the ball over twice — interceptions by Mike Reilly and Elijah Wroten, a defensive tackle — and didn’t make enough plays on either side of the ball. Easy passes fell to the turf. Forced fumbles weren’t gobbled up. Would-be interceptions were dropped.

Frustrating, indeed.

“Every time you come out here, it’s a championship game,” senior lineman Christian Arakelian said. “A lot of dudes are down hurt and a lot of young guys are trying to step up. We don’t have the senior team with D-1 players all over the field. We’ve got to make plays when they’re there.”

Dan Whaley made things happen when he hauled in a 32-yard touchdown pass from Ben Gerber in the waning seconds of the first quarter, tying the game at seven apiece. Whaley, who had three receptions for 38 yards, did not return after halftime because of injury. Jordan Berry, the Fords’ leading rusher, was injured in the first quarter and was sidelined the rest of the game.

Germantown Academy (4-2, 1-0) relied on an inside ground attack led by Trae Vance, who ran in the go-ahead touchdown run in the second quarter, and quarterback Colton Niedzielski, who had three scoring scampers.

“We prepared hard all week,” said Niedzielski, who completed 9 of 20 pass attempts for 76 yards. “We came out victorious and we beat them up on both sides of the ball. The scoreboard says all you need to know.”

The backbreaker for Haverford School (1-5, 0-1) came seconds after Gerber (10-for-18, 106 yards) sneaked into the end zone from a yard out to trim GA’s lead to 21-14 with 3:38 to play. On the ensuing possession, Niedzielski faked a handoff and kept the ball himself, fooling the Fords defense on the way to a 45-yard touchdown.

“We’ve been handing the ball off a lot and we wanted to keep them on their heels, have them guess what we’re going to do,” Niedzielski said. “I followed that play through and was able to run down the sideline.”

The Fords made one final head-scratching mistake by failing to retrieve the ensuing kickoff. The Patriots quickly picked up a first down and ran out the clock.

Nobody seemed to think the Patriots had a chance to repeat in the Inter-Ac League. There’s a long way to go, but they warrant respect.

Or take them lightly. The Patriots don’t care.

“We weren’t picked to win this game. I don’t know what that’s about,” said Reilly, who had a team-high four receptions for 37 yards and averaged 35 yards on four punts. “We were mad from last week after the (14-0) loss to West Catholic. We were all hungry for a win. To come down here to beat them on their field is awesome.”

Matt Smith

Matt Smith
Matt Smith is a sports writer with the Delaware County Daily Times. To contact him, email msmith@delcotimes.com or follow him on Twitter @DTMattSmith.

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