Mosley helps Haverford muster some luster against Lower Merion

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HAVERFORD >> For the flash of his gold cleats and the manner in which he can toy with opposing tacklers, when it comes to accolades, Jordan Mosley doesn’t waste time measuring himself against history.

So it wasn’t until early in the day Friday when Mosley’s Haverford coaches told him that he’d set the Fords’ program record for receiving yards last week against Garnet Valley. And that the plan for Friday’s visit from Lower Merion, as soon as Mosley inevitably got the first catch, was to stop the game to present a ceremonial football.

“The coaches told me today I broke it,” Mosley said. “I didn’t even know I broke it last week. I like it. I’m happy about it. But I just found out about it, honestly.”

What Mosley was more concerned about was the other occurrences under the lights Friday, like the two touchdown passes he hauled in to salvage a ragged first half from a Fords offense that rebounded slowly from last week’s loss with a 34-0 win over Lower Merion.

Mosley entered the game with 1,373 career receiving yards, per Haverford’s coaches. He’d surpassed the school record — set by 1968 All-Delco Bob Croff at 1,300 — in the 28-13 loss at Garnet Valley, part of a 10-catch, 133-yard outing for the University of Maryland commit.

The 15-yard touchdown he hauled in late in the first quarter gave the home crowd a chance to fete his accomplishment, but Mosley would’ve brought the same intensity if he’d had 1,400 career yards or 14. In the same vein, the senior breaking Croff’s record was the unavoidable by-product of Mosley’s sensational skill, whether he was aiming for history or not.

More important Friday than the handshake from coach Joe Gallagher and the photo op was what Mosley provided his team. The Aces (1-6, 0-5 Central) controlled the clock in the first half, limiting Haverford to just 16 offensive snaps. But two first-half turnovers — and a fumble on the first snap of the second half recovered by Shane Mosley — kept them off the board and gave Haverford (6-1, 5-1) space to awaken from its post-Garnet slumber.

“I feel like we didn’t really do that well in the first quarter,” Jordan Mosley said. “We were shaky, we were rusty, bouncing back off that Garnet loss. But second half, we did what we needed to do. … We just needed a spark.”

It came from Mosley, after Sean Leyden recovered a fumble. Jake Ruane found his top target on a comeback route, then Mosley weaved through traffic before turning on the speed in a 50-yard score with 5:40 left to half.
Ruane had a hand in all five scores, shaking off a first-quarter interception by Deion Davis. In the third, he found Trey Blair for a nine-yard touchdown. Then Ruane tucked and ran for the other two scores, covering four and 14 yards.

Lower Merion moved the ball, but turnovers stymied the Aces. They stuck with the run, though it yielded just 59 yards on 31 carries (49 of those yards via JV running back/QB Rodgers Roberts and Dshawn Jemison in the fourth quarter). Marek D’Alonzo was 10-for-21 through the air for 113 yards. With Davis hobbling, Ian Goodman stepped up with seven catches for 95 yards.

“When they called the seams or the hitch for me, I knew I was going to be open because (the cornerback) was playing me outside,” Goodman said. “So I knew it would be there.”

As for Jordan Mosley, he proved again Friday that there are things more important than the contents of his personal trophy case.

“I only know what the coaches tell me,” he said. “I’m just focused on trying to win, and we’ve got a lot to do if we want to do that.”

Matthew De George

Matthew De George
Matthew De George is the Asst. Sports Editor and the lead Union writer for The Daily Times.

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