Strath Haven’s ground-and-pound too much for Conestoga

TREDYFFRIN – Strath Haven used a solid, consistent ground attack to defeat Conestoga 35-14 in a matchup of one-loss teams teams Friday evening at Teamer Field.

The Panthers (6-1 overall, 5-1 Central League) pounded away for more than 300 rushing yards on 53 carries, controlling the ball and the clock. Running backs Chase Barlow and Matt Shuler consistently ran inside for solid gains. Strath Haven did not have to punt and the Panthers racked up 15 first downs in the first half alone.

The biggest Panther ground gainer was Barlow, who ran 27 times for 186 yards and scored three touchdowns. While Barlow has been one of Strath Haven’s leading runners this fall, it has been from the halfback position. He moved to fullback due to an injury to Anthony Crawford, who broke his ankle last week.

“Chase did a great job in his first game at fullback,” Strath Haven coach Kevin Clancy said. “Our backs ran north and south and the whole offensive line was outstanding tonight. Our right tackle, Jake Millett, has been doing a great job for us. Our tight ends, Mason Green and Nate Perlman, are great blockers. You could mention anyone on our offensive line, they all did a great job tonight.”

It’s been that way all season.

“Our team likes gaining six, seven yards at a time, but we’ve run into some tough teams,” Barlow said. “Tonight we got back to where we were at the start of the season, getting seven yards a carry, and that’s how we like it. …The key was everyone sticking to their jobs and holding themselves accountable. If everyone does their jobs right, the whole team works as one, and we were just doing our jobs. Everything was working according to plan.”

The victory gave Strath Haven a 6-1 record (5-1 in the Central League). The Panthers are currently ranked No. 2 in District 1 5A football.

The Pioneers drew first blood 41 seconds into the game when Peter Costigan took a pitchout and tossed a 53-yard TD pass to Patrick Reilly.

Strath Haven came right back with five consecutive running plays for 72 yards, capped by a 23 yard touchdown run by Barlow, who started up the middle, cut to the right side, and ran into the end zone. Just three minutes into the game, the score was tied at 7-7 and be a preview of things to come.

After a goal-line stand the Panthers put together back-to-back 80-yard scoring drives. Shuler scored on a 10-yard run to give Strath Haven a 14-7 lead and Barlow followed with a four-yard TD run to make it 21-7. The Panthers went into the break with 231 yards on 29 attempts. Barlow (15 carries for 128 yards) and Shuler (10 carries for 68 yards) did most of that work.

“We’re pretty good at running wide; but Conestoga defended that, and we had to take the inside tonight,” Clancy said. “We face a lot of explosive offenses in the Central League, so we want to keep the ball away from them. We try to wear people down, finish drives, and keep their offenses off the field. Sometimes it works better than others.”

Conestoga’s Pete Detwiler cut Strath Haven’s lead to 21-14 on a six-yard run with 9:40 to play in te game. It was as close as the Pioneers (5-2, 4-2) would get.

A 64-yard scoring drive and a 63-yard interception return for a TD by Shuler put the game away for the Panthers.

“In the end, after we cut their lead (to 21-14), they were still able to move the ball and grind it out,” Conestoga coach Matt Diamond said.