2 weeks Ago By Chuck Smith
MARPLE — Haverford High came into a game with Marple Newtown with an edge Friday. The Fords knew what they wanted to do, and knew how to walk away with a victory. The recipe for success would have to require a staunch defensive performance and a strong effort from bulldozing running back Liam Taylor.
The visiting Fords produced both en route to a 17-0 conquest of the Tigers. “Joe Powel is our defensive coordinator, Brian Hulea teaches at our school and we pulled him back into coaching,” Fords head coach Luke Dougherty said. “Those two mastermind our defense.
It’s so nice to have two experienced guys to run it. All week, Joe just kept saying, ‘If we do our job, we’ll be fine.’ The kids did that tonight.
They listened to everything he said. He prepares us so well. I’d love to take the credit, but it’s all Coach Powel.
He’s got the defense rolling. The kids play so hard and so physical. We’re really lucky.
” Haverford (4-1 overall, 2-1 Central League) was determined to grind down the Tigers with a bruising rushing attack, led by Taylor. It was a “three yards and a cloud of rubber pellets” offensive game plan for the new age facilities around the county. Taylor was up to the task.
The Fords’ battering ram back powered his way into the belly of the Tigers defense time and time again. At halftime, Taylor had already racked up 113 yards on 20 carries. He would finish with 197 yards on 42 rushing attempts, plus two touchdowns.
“That’s the best offensive line in Haverford history,” Taylor proclaimed about his guys in the trenches. “It doesn’t just show faith in me, but the O-line, and the whole team to keep going. We just kept pushing through.
The physical plays just make me want to keep going and also go 100% faster. “People underestimated us coming into this year and I think we’re showing the league who we are.” Even with Taylor’s effort the first half ended 0-0 due to the toughness of each team’s defense.
When Haverford was starting to break through, a timely big play from Marple Newtown would thwart a drive. Lou DiLuzio hopped on a fumble to stop one Fords drive, while Eric Janda had a sack to help stifle another. But that didn’t really slow the Fords down.
“We just run the ball and get it done,” Fords center Emmitt Gillespie said. “We know we want to run the ball every time, we just get in our stance, and go at it. We got a little tired, but it was working, so we just kept going.
” Meanwhile, the Tigers offense could not solve the Fords defense and struggled with mental and physical mistakes at times. Every time that Marple Newtown started to build momentum, an untimely penalty or an error stunted a drive. It was just one of those nights for the normally efficient and dangerous Tigers offense.
“That’s a really good team with an unbelievable running back and a good offensive line,” Marple coach Chris Gicking said. “They’ve been pushing everyone around. I’m really proud of our defense and the way they battled all night.
We’ve just got to get better for next week (against Strath Haven). It’s a team game, but we have to get a lot better because Strath Haven doesn’t care about anything. They’re going to come in ready to go.
” The Haverford defense received a number of standout efforts. Will Hulea had two big pass break-ups to end the first half, Jake Knapp and Dante Ducasse each had key fumble recoveries to help set up second half scoring drives by the Fords. And Vincent Cunningham sealed the win with an interception late in the game.
Cunningham also kicked the field goal, which put Haverford up 10-0 with just 4:35 left in the game. It was a death knell for the Marple Newtown offense on an off night for it. “(Cunningham) missed five weeks for us last year with a broken foot, comes back and he was heartbroken,” Dougherty said.
“He played a little bit at the end of the season, but he was still hobbling. We’ve been lucky that he’s been healthy. He’s a kid who shows up in the weight room every day and works his butt off.
This senior group is so close and he’s one of the core guys in that.”.
