In case you missed the last two weeks of Haven Football, here’s the rundown from the last two nail-biting games.
On September 1, the varsity football team went on the road to Springfield High School in hopes of defeating the Cougars.
The game started strongly, with junior James Fisher putting Haven up in the first quarter. Despite no points from either team after that, things started to heat up early in the second half.
Senior Mike Turner of Springfield scored, and with a successful two-point conversion, Springfield was up 8-7. Another touchdown from junior Nate Romano increased Springfield’s lead and the score was then 15-7.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the stakes were high. Two minutes in, Springfield fumbled the ball and turned it over to Haven, which eventually led to a touchdown scored by senior Mekhi Clark. Desperate to catch up, the Panthers attempted a two-point conversion and failed, making the score 15-13.
According to senior quarterback Jake Kitchin, it was a hard-fought win.
“You know, with us being down, we had the same mindset like we were winning,” he said. “Every play, just push them to the limit and get the ball in the endzone.”
With two minutes remaining in the game, it was senior Marco Kaufman who scored the winning touchdown. To increase their newfound lead, they attempted the two-pointer yet again. Despite a failed effort, the Panthers took home a victory that night with a final score of 19-15.
“Honestly, I gotta give props to Mekhi Clark,” Kaufman said. “Huge stop on fourth down, man to man defense, hardest thing to do in this game. And he made a huge stop and then we came down on offense, scored, and that’s how we turned it.”
On Friday, September 9, the Panthers (2-0) hosted a game against the Ridley Raiders (0-1) at King Field.
Once again, the Panthers took the early lead in the first quarter, scored by junior James Fisher with a pass from Kitchin.
During the second quarter, Ridley retaliated with two touchdowns, scored by senior Khameen Powell, racking up the score to 14-7 by halftime.
There were no points scored in the third quarter, and Ridley was the first to score within the first few minutes of the final quarter. However, the extra point attempt was not successful, leaving the score 20-7. Haven was now down by two touchdowns without much time to catch up.
With eight minutes remaining in the game, junior Shane Green broke a 56-yard run, putting the Panthers at the 1-yard line. Kitchin then finished the job, changing the score to 20-14.
But the real game-changer was Fisher, who scored the final touchdown of the night, tying the game. He rushed the ball 74 yards, scoring in the last two minutes of the game. Junior Ben Milligan finished it off with the extra point, winning it for Strath Haven.
For junior Aleksei Gustafson, who was on the field for that final play, happiness was an understatement.
“When I saw him running, my heart was just… I was so happy. I was freaking out,” Gustafson said. “And then I saw him about to get tackled, and he just kept on going. Oh, I was elated. Happiest I’ve felt in a long time.”
This upcoming Thursday, September 14, the annual Media Bowl takes place at King Field. The game is scheduled for Thursday instead of the usual Friday night lights due to Rosh Hashanah, which begins on Friday evening.
“We got a short week,” head coach Kevin Clancy said after the Ridley win. “We got Penncrest and the Media Bowl, so we got to put this one behind us tomorrow, and then get to work Monday on Penncrest. That’s always big for us.”
