This
squad is the first introduction to the high school level football for these
athletes. Most have participated in 7th and 8th grade football at the
middle school but this is their introduction to playing with the "big
boys".
Like
Junior Varsity watching a Freshman football game is a
lot of fun. Attendance is sparce (so you can always get a good seat) and
many stand on the sidelines to watch.
These young
men go out to play hard and work to improve their abilities. If you have the
time (games are usually played on Thursday afternoons) we strongly recommend attending
(attendance is free). Like the JV squad you may just catch a rising Panther star on the
field!
The staff here at the web site can't
attend the games but we will update the scores. If you attend a game and
would like to provide a game synopsis (and maybe even some digital pics) we
would be happy to publish them.
Freshmen
special teams a key
November
11, 2007
Havenfootball.net
Staff
The
Strath Haven freshman closed out their season with a 20-16 win over the
Upper Darby Royals. They finished with a
4-2-1
record. We don’t think we reported on special teams this year and their
impact on a game. Thursday’s game proved special teams are just as
important as offense and defense.
The
first quarter started off in typical fashion. The Panthers kicked off to
Upper Darby
and the defense held the Royals forcing them to punt. The Panthers first,
of only three offensive possessions, took three plays before the team put
seven on the board. Brent Collins ran a sweep for a 50 yard touchdown run.
Alex Hisey’s extra point was good. On their second possession the young
Panthers went three and out. In the second quarter the Royals sustained a
long drive resulting in a touchdown.
Upper Darby
was successful in a two point conversion putting the Royals up by one at
the half.
In
the second half the special teams kicked into action. On the kickoff,
Thurman Fortune ran the ball back 55 yards for a touchdown. The kick
failed. The Royals fought back scoring a touchdown on another long drive.
Their two point conversion was successful. On the kickoff, Brent Collins
ran the ball back 65 yards for the winning score. The kick was good.
Upper
Darby
tried to make a run late in the fourth quarter but the Panther defense
stopped them. On their third and final possession, the Panther offense ran
the ball 38 yards down to the Royal 18 yard line to end the game.
Defensively,
the Panthers were lead by Alex Hisey and Thurman Fortune. Alex had a team
and season high of 14 tackles and Thurman’s 9 tackles came from the
middle. Kris Martin, Darrell Hunter, and Jon McCullough each had
7-6-6
tackles respectively. A total of 11 players recorded tackles in a group
effect to stop
Upper Darby
.
Congrats
on a fine season and we'll see you next year.
Freshmen
beat Penncrest
November
4, 2007
Havenfootball.net
Staff
We felt compelled to write something
different today because the Strath Haven game with Penncrest is more than
just a Central League contest. For those of you who went to the varsity game
Friday night, you may have witnessed two events. One, the pre-game show was
with the Rose Tree Colts; a weight program with long rich tradition in
Delaware
County
teaching boys the game of football. Secondly, we can’t forget the
traditional “Media Bowl Game” between these two teams late in the season
every year. So what’s this have to do with the freshman team? Well, for
those of you who don’t know it, the freshman squad has six players who
have played for the Rose Tree Colts for years. They are Brent Collins, Chaz
Fisher, Thurman Fortune, Alex Geosits, Alex
Hisey and Austin Leach. Likewise on the other side of the field, Penncrest
has twelve players who played for the Colt Club. The Rose Tree Colts are the
feeder program for the Penncrest Lions. Strath Haven doesn’t have a feeder
program, but it wasn’t always that way. Back in the early 60’s, there
was the Nether Providence Terriers, the feeder program for the Nether
Providence Bulldogs (pre Strath Haven), played their games at Hepford Field.
The Terriers played in the Bert Bell League (1962) with the Colts. While in
the league, the Terriers won only one Championship. The 95-pound team won in
1969. The Wallingford Husky Club was formed in the late 90’s, but were
only in existence for a couple of years. The Colts are going strong and have
won 14 championships. So what is the tradition here? These two freshman
squads will be forever bonded. In 2005, five Strath Haven players and the
twelve Penncrest players won the Bert bell championship game. Since then,
these players have formed a bond both on and off the field. To these
players, past, and the future players of both teams these match-ups will
mean more to them than any Central League game. It’s a bond and a
tradition.
The Strath Haven freshman hosted the
Penncrest Lions Thursday under the lights at the George King Stadium. The on
looking crowd of about 400 people witnessed a Panther 14-7 win over the
visiting Lions. The Lions scored first on their second possession with a 13
play drive. The touchdown was scored by Brent Collins. The Panthers answered
back with an eleven play drive on their second possession. On the Lions next
possession, Brent Collins intercepted a pass by Andrew Caldwell to end the
half. In the second half, the Panthers scored the winning touchdown by
Thurman Fortune on their fourth possession of the game. Alex Hisey converted
both his extra points in the game. Bryan Downs went 3-4 for 33-yards in the
passing department. The running backs accumulated 169-yards on 33 carries.
Defensively, Alex Geosits and Alex Hisey lead the team with nine and
seven tackles respectively.
Thursday
night’s game was broadcast live by Havenfootball.net. The game has been
archived for those who want to listen to it. The Panthers final game is at
Upper
Darby
next Thursday at
3:15
at
the
Upper Darby
’s
High School field.
Freshmen
tie with Marple Newtown
October
27, 2007
Havenfootball.net
Staff
The freshman squad traveled to Marple
Newtown to only come away with a 6-6 tie. At game time, the turf field was
wet enough to cause some problems for the quarterbacks and backs. This
didn’t stop the Panthers from showing their stuff. On offense, Thurman
Fortune had 8.5 yards per carry on the day with
29 and 23 yard runs behind the blocks of Alex Hisey and Brent
Collins. The backs accumulated 134 yards on 26 carries. Bryan Downs
completed 1 for 4 the completion being a pass to Alex Hisey for a 7
yard gain in the flat. Haven had two chances to score in the first half, but
failed to capitalize. In the second half, Thurman Fortune recovered a fumble
on the Marple 46 yard line. It took the Panthers seven plays behind a strong
line for Brent Collins to score their only touchdown. The extra point failed
when the ball slipped off the block and Alex Hisey kicked the ball low.
The Panthers defense racked up 27
tackles from 11 players to hold the Marple Newtown Tigers to only 6 points.
The tackle leaders were Alex Geosits, Thurman Fortune, and Alex Hisey all
with 5 each. Thurman came up with several big tackles to set back the Tiger
offense. The defense managed to shut down their offense twice in the second
half including a goal line stand with seconds left in the game.
Richman
comes up big for Freshmen
October
19, 2007
Havenfootball.net
Staff
At Rutgers Field yesterday, the
Panthers recorded their third shutout of the season beating the Springfield
Cougars 7-0. The Cougars sustained four long drives only to be stopped by
the panther defense. Brent Collins got them started by blocking the
quarterback's pass on fourth down to turn the ball over. The second Cougar
drive was stopped when Marquis Richman recovered a fumble. Darrell Hunter
and Brent Collins shutdown the Cougar offense on a fourth down sweep at the
Panther five yard line. The game sealer came late in the fourth quarter when
Marquis Richman came up big when he intercepted a long pass in the end zone
and ran it back the Panther 27 yard line. Other defensive stats, Linebacker
Alex Geosits lead the team with 9 tackles, one fumble recovery and Defensive
End Kris Martin had 7 tackles. Darrell Hunter, Brent Collins, and Alex Hisey
had 6 tackles each. Twelve players accumulated 49 tackles on the day.
Offensively,
the Panther’s managed to put up seven points on the Cougars. The offense
had one touchdown run and one pass for a touchdown called back due to a
costly penalty. Though the offense has been struggling the last couple of
weeks, the halfbacks managed to accumulate 151 tough yards on 25 carries
which equates to 6 yards per carry. Brian Downs went 0-2 in the passing
department. The game winning touchdown came on the Panther’s first
offensive play. Thurman Fortune got a block from Alex Hisey and he cut to
the outside finding daylight for a 54 yard run. This was a good start for
Thurman coming back from a wrist injury.
Stoga
hands Freshmen their first loss
October 4,
2007
By
Havenfootball.net Staff
The
Freshman squad suffered their first loss of the season against Conestoga
this week, 16-13. The difference was the execution of the extra points.
Despite Conestoga’s size, the defense managed to limit the Pioneers to
only two touchdowns. Alex Geosits and Alex Hisey lead the defense with 7
tackles each. Darrell Hunter and Brent Collins tallied 6 tackles. A total of
9 players were in on tackles. Other highlights, Ben Murray hurried the
quarterback and blocked his pass in the third quarter and Alex Hisey batted
down two passes one on a critical fourth down.
Offensively,
Brent Collins had 117 yards on 11 carries and fullback Alex Geosits had 66
yards on 12 carries. Alex Hisey started Haven’s scoring with a 2-yard run
off the right side. The two point conversion failed. Brent Collins had a
stellar run of 58-yards to score Haven’s second touchdown. Alex Hisey
converted the extra point kick. Brian Downs went 1 for 5 in the passing
department being pressured most of the day. Special teams player Korahn
McKenney recovered a kickoff when the ball bounced off a front lineman.
When
you play against the “ Big Boys “ (4A teams), you have to expect a
difference in size, talent, and the number of players. According to the PIAA
Conestoga has 755 boys in the 9-11 grades. The 4A range is 542-2000 boys
state wide. Strath Haven is 502 boys, the range is 338-541. So, Conestoga
has roughly 253 more boys to choose from to make up their squad. This is a
significant number to affect size and talent. Next week, the freshman go up
against Ridley (4A) who has 833. Last year’s middle school team handled
Ridley 36-6. Don’t by so sure this year will be the same. Some players
don’t come out for football until their freshman year. It’s a new year,
the players have grown in size, weight, and speed. The freshman squad
can’t take Ridley lightly or they will find themselves with two loses by
next week. From here on out it’s not going to be easy to accumulate yards
as the backfield has already discovered.
Despite
the loss against a good pioneer team who were undefeated themselves at the
middle school level, the freshman squad showed focus, poise, and never gave
up. This is a true sign of what Strath Haven football is all about.
Haven
gets a Geo Blast
September 28,
2007
By
Havenfootball.net Staff
Last
Friday the varsity football team took one on the chin against Haverford High
at Haverford. Today, the freshman squad found themselves on the same field
one week later. The result, Strath Haven freshman are now 2-0 in Central
League play beating the Fords 14-0.
If
there’s one player on this team who’s consistent, it’s Alex Geosits. A
Rose Tree Colt veteran at the skill positions (fullback and linebacker)
topped the running back charts today with 14 carries for 62 yards and had a
season high of 9 tackles to lead the defense. Quarterback Brian Downs had
another outstanding day behind the center rushing 46 yards on 4 carries
including a 36 yard touchdown. Brian went 2 for 4 with an interception.
Brent Collins ran for 45 yards on 7 carries including a touchdown. The
running backs totaled 203 yards for the day playing the typical Haven smash
mouth football. Each week the offense gets better and is increasing their
yards. The defense was up to the challenge. Twelve tacklers racked up 35
tackles between 10 players. Along with Alex Geosits, Alex Hisey recorded a
season high of 6 tackles and Kris Martin, Alex Pascoe, and Jon McCullough
each had a sack. The defense held Haverford to 68 total yards throughout the
contest.
Next
week, the freshman will be away playing Conestoga. This should be an
exciting but tough contest for the team.
A
note: The havenfootball.net team has accumulated the stats for team. We do not
publish them, but are sent to the freshman coaches along with a game film for
their next weeks’ practices. Official tackles only include the first two
players in on the tackle. The tackles are registered at the time of the game
and verified by the game film.
Unity
is the Key to the Season
September 20,
2007
By
Havenfootball.net Staff
Let’s
take a step back in time to last years middle school unlimited football
team. No one could have predicted the outcome of their dominating and
undefeated season. The team rolled through teams like they were a ball of
dough. This year, the team is stronger, bigger, and wiser. This summer and
leading up to the season, there was a lot of talk among the football
guru’s at the high school level about this team. Expectations are high.
Yesterday,
the freshman team coached by Steve Woolery and defensive coordinator Bill
Zane, opened their season in true form against
Lower Merion
at Rutgers Field. A talented quarterback, Brian Downs, coupled by a team
full of skilled players on both sides of the ball, the freshman walked away
with a 20 to 0 win.
Coach
Woolery successful spread the wealth among the backs. Brian motivated the
offense with a stellar bootleg run of 52 yards to kick start the team. Alex
Geosits accounted for the first and third touchdowns of 1 and 5 yards
respectively and Alex Hisey went 2 for 2 in extra points department. Brent
Collins scored on a 75 yard touchdown run on the opening kickoff of the
second half. The backfield (seven players) totaled 23 carries for 142 yards
in the four 8 minute quarters behind a stellar offensive line.
Coach
Zane witnessed a strong defense holding Lower Merion Aces to 64 total yards.
The lead tacklers were Kris Martin with 5, Alex Hisey 4, and Alex Geosits 3.
A total of fourteen players accounted for 30 tackles. This is a good sign
that our defense is aggressive and working as a unit. For two series, the
defense held the Aces to less than 5 yards. The defensive line put pressure
on LM's backfield all game long.
For
their first game of the season, the freshman demonstrated their skills,
focus, and showed poise. They played well together considering the prep time
has only been a short 4 weeks and also have to get acclimated to high school
life.
As
long as the team stayed healthy and continues to gel as a unified group, they
should have a good season. Next week, the team takes on the Haverford Fords at
Haverford on Thursday.
Radnor
Scrimmage Photos
September 14,
2007
By Ed Farmer
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