News

PIAA taking affirmative steps in Public-Private issue

By Matthew DeGeorge

It was about an hour into a meeting in the bowels of the K. Leroy Irvis Building before the ill-fitting title of the committee meeting was broached.

“I’ve yet to hear anyone advocate that,” said State Sen. Scott Martin, R-13 of Lancaster.

The title of Monday’s meeting of the Pennsylvania Athletic Oversight Committee was a “Hearing on Public, Private Sports.” The subject that many public-school stakeholders want to discuss, separate championships for public and private schools, isn’t about to happen anytime soon.

But that fact doesn’t preclude progress on the issue of competitive imbalance, and the tone of optimism Monday indicates that it could be on the way sooner rather than later.

Public and private championships in a state of the size and sensibility of Pennsylvania are a non-starter. The mere terminology is prohibitively impenetrable: Monday’s meeting included Sean McAleer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, calling the distinction of boundary/non-boundary “a legal fiction,” while the testimony of PIAA executive director Dr. Robert Lombardi sought to cleave his body’s membership into “traditional schools” and “schools of choice.” It was a minor point in the proceedings, but rest assured that any attempt to put weight behind those terms would meet harsh rebuke.

(click on this link for the full story)

Debate on competitive imbalance gets aired out by PIAA

By Matthew DeGeorge

The PIAA is taking steps to address the competitive imbalance in district and state tournaments. The plan for evening the playing field, though, isn’t what the title of Monday’s hearing indicated.

At the Pennsylvania Athletic Oversight Committee’s meeting on, “Public, Private Sports,” the idea of conducting separate championships was not brought to the table for discussion. Instead, the PIAA is spearheading initiatives it hopes will lessen competitive imbalance by targeting the pressure points with which administrators and legislators are often presented.

“There’s no doubt that concern and criticism over this issue has intensified recently,” said Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, (R-18) of Bensalem, the chairman of the PAOC.

“Of all the issues, it’s one of the ones I hear about the most,” said Sen. Scott Martin (R-13) of Lancaster.

In the short-term, the PIAA has implemented or proposed several measures to root out and deter athletically motivated transfers. But as explained by PIAA Executive Director Dr. Robert Lombardi, a longer-term plan that has passed a first reading by the PIAA’s board would install a system that utilizes not just enrollment but transfers and a success factor to determine classification.

(click on this link for the full story)

2018 Season turnover

By Havenfootball.net

The 2017 football season is long over and, as hard as this is to believe, the first game of the 2018 season is less than 80 days away!

We will be changing over to the 2018 season on July 1st.  That means that our rosters, game schedules, cheerleader and band pages will all be re-set for the new season. All of our game photos will also be taken off the site.  If there are screen shots that you would like to take please make sure you complete them before July 1st.

All the posted articles will continue to be available on “Latest News & Articles” or “Archives” at the bottom of this page.

For those who like our Statistics pages you should note that individual game stats for the 2017 will be taken down and only the 2017 season stats will be available on our web pages. However, we keep all our stats on our computers and vaulted in the cloud so if there is ever a particular game stat you would like we can either do the research or simply send you that particular game stat sheets.

Connor steps down at Carroll, will be Widener’s defensive coordinator

By PAPrepLive

Dan Connor admitted it wasn’t an easy decision.

After two years, the two-time Daily Times Football Player of the Year from Strath Haven is moving on from his head coaching position at Archbishop Carroll. Connor resigned this week to become the defensive coordinator at Widener University.

“This past year I started to get the itch a little bit, to really get back into the college game and pursue that career and see where it takes me,” Connor told the Daily Times Thursday. “I had a great experience at Carroll. I really, really enjoyed my time. But in the back of my mind, it was always there, making the jump back to college especially to be a coordinator at a school like Widener. It was too good of an opportunity to turn down.”

Widener coach Mike Kelly reached out to Connor in December to notify him that the defensive coordinator position was available.

“Coach Kelly, I’ve known him since my time at coaching at West Chester (University) and I’ve had a good relationship with him,” Connor said. “Over winter break, he gave me a call and said the position just opened up and asked me if I was interested. It was somewhat out of the blue. It was nothing that I was aggressively attacking, it more or less just fell on my lap.”

(click on this link for the full story)

Weak PIAA transfer rule works to Conwell-Egan’s advantage

By Matt De George

The usual bite will be in the air Saturday afternoon at West Chester Rustin High School, host of a PIAA Class 3A football semifinal between Middletown and Conwell-Egan.

It won’t have anything to do with the weather or glad tidings, though. It’ll be the all-too familiar scent of controversy, courted year after year by the gaping loopholes pockmarking the PIAA’s governance.

Saturday’s installment will center on Conwell-Egan lineman Tom Burns IV, not because he’s a bonafide blue-chipper or even a potential game-breaker for the Eagles. The symbol of Burns’ presence could exceed the junior’s actual impact on the field.

Burns has generated controversy for the simple trajectory of his season — he’s at his second school, in his second state, in the same season.

He logged a full season as a lineman (and kicker) at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, N.J. He transferred to Conwell-Egan in mid-November, and the laxity of PIAA rules plopped him right into a surprising run to the PIAA semis by the Catholic League side. And for whatever actual influence the lineman has on the final score, his 6-4, 250-pound frame provides a large canvas on which observers can cast their aspersions.

(click on this link for the full story)

Kevin Clancy takes another football coaching milestone in stride

By Rick O’Brien

It was just the way you expected Kevin Clancy to react to a personal milestone.Last Friday night’s PIAA District 1 Class 5A first-round playoff triumph at Bishop Shanahan marked Clancy’s 300th career victory, but he made it clear that he wanted the attention and accolades to go to his players.

“It’s nice, but it wasn’t as exciting as the game or what the kids accomplished,” Clancy said. “The big thing is this team and what it’s done this season. The kids are playing their hearts out, getting better every week.”

Sophomore Emmet Young’s 23-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining lifted the 11th-seeded Panthers to a dramatic 24-21 victory over the No. 6 Eagles in Downingtown.

Clancy, who is widely regarded as one of the area’s classiest coaches, posted his 233rd victory in 27 seasons on Providence Road. Prior to coming to Wallingford, he won 67 games in nine years at Archbishop Carroll.

“Obviously, you strive to win every time you take the field,” he said. “But football, just like any sport, should support the educational goals of the school.

“I want the kids to learn a strong work ethic, a commitment to their teammates, a commitment to the program, and how to fight through adversity. These are skills they can use later in life.”

(click on this link for the full story)

A note on archived articles

By Havenfootball.net Staff

Just a quick note to our readers about the articles that appear on our web page.  Our home page, the one you are viewing now, can only accommodate a fixed amount of “posts”.  As the season gets more involved the articles will appear, move down the page, and then vanish from the home page.  All posts, however, are stored in our archives.  At the bottom right hand side of this home page is our Archives listing.  It is listed by month.  Simply click on the month you believe the article originally appeared and a list of the articles posted will appear along with the first few lines.  Click on the headline and you’ll get the article, photos and appropriate links.  Enjoy!