By Matt Smith
Pat Fisher had never given too much thought about one day becoming a head coach. His mindset changed earlier in the offseason when some of his coaching pals convinced the 32-year-old Strath Haven graduate that he would make a great “HC.”
So, Fisher applied to the open position at Interboro over the winter. On March 21, the Interboro School District officially announced his hiring in an Instagram post.
“I got pushed by my old head coach David Johnson at Imhotep, and a couple of other guys who are coaches, to give the head coaching thing a try. For a long time I didn’t know if I wanted to totally commit to it. When I sat down and talked to them in the offseason, I came to the realization that I really wanted to do it,” Fisher said. “I saw Interboro as a fantastic opportunity in a great neighborhood of tough-nosed football kids. It was a chance to kind of lay my own legacy down and help these kids lay their own down, too, especially in a neighborhood like this where football drives a whole lot. So, I was really excited.”
Fisher, a former walk-on at the University of Pittsburgh, replaces Dennis Lux, who resigned after three seasons. Lux, a 2005 Interboro graduate, guided the Bucs to the District 1 Class 4A championship in 2022. Last season the Bucs endured a difficult campaign, finishing with a 4-7 (0-4 Del Val League) record.
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and
“Dedicated, hilarious, mentor.”
These were the three words senior and varsity baseball player Matthew Kane used to describe varsity baseball coach Mr. Brian Fili.
Coach Fili and assistant varsity football coach Mike Connor led their students into Districts victories in the Central Athletic League during the 2022-2023 seasons.
They will both be officially inducted into the Delco Athletes Hall of Fame at the 2024 Induction Dinner on Sunday, April 21—Fili, for his accomplishments as a baseball coach, and Connor for his record as a football player.
“I think I speak for a lot of people that [Fili] has been the greatest coach that I’ve ever had, and I’m really excited for this year with him,” Kane said.
Fili was inspired by other mentors he had.
“For example, my college baseball coach was also a teacher, he was a high school teacher,” Fili said. “I originally wanted to be a pre-med major at Villanova, and when I decided that was going to be really tough, to play baseball at Villanova and also be a pre-med major, I switched my major to education and wanted to become a teacher because of the teacher and coach that I had.”
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By Havenstatguys
This past Sunday night was the annual Football Banquet where our young men in black and silver get fed (along with their families and coaches) and we all get to watch highlights from their spectacular 2023 season.
The evening’s MC was the voice of the Panthers, Brian Carroll who not only did his duties as MC but narrated a 25 minute highlight real of the most exciting moments of the 2023 season!
The coaches took over bringing up every single member of the Freshman, JV and Varsity teams.
As is the custom, awards were announced and are listed below for all three squads:
By Matt Smith
The All-Delco offense includes:
Bill Brown, Strath Haven: The senior tackle was the anchor of the best offensive line unit in the county. Due in large part to the 6-5, 300-pounder’s dominance, the Panthers earned a share of the Central League championship and captured the program’s 13th District 1 championship under legendary coach Kevin Clancy. With Brown bullying defenders, the Panthers’ run offense accrued a staggering 4,087 yards and 52 touchdowns.
The All-Delco defense includes:
Marco Kaufman, Strath Haven: Nobody wrapped up more often and with better efficiency than Kaufman. The senior middle linebacker was one of the team leaders and MVPs for the District 1 Class 5A and Central League champions. Kaufman recorded a county-leading 160 total tackles, including 7.5 for loss. As one part of the Panthers’ three-headed monster at running back, the All-Central League selection ran for 666 yards and six touchdowns. He also had four catches for 47 yards and a TD. Kaufman’s 23-yard touchdown run sealed the Panthers’ win over Garnet Valley Oct. 7, the first Jaguars loss to a Central League opponent in six years.
(click here for bios on all the offensive players)
(click here for bios on all the defensive players)
We are so excited to announce the Daily Times All-Delco team members from Strath Haven:
*Football Player of the Year*
James Fisher
*First Team Offense*
OL – Bill Brown
*First Team Defense*
LB – Marco Kaufman
*2nd Team Offense*
RB – Shane Green
TE – Cole Miller
OL – Jackson Geremia
*2nd Team Defense*
DL – Jahi Curtis
*Honorable Mention QB*
Jake Kitchin
*Honorable Mention Offensive line*
Carter Law
Will Leuthold
Gavin Pilson
*Honorable Mention Defensive line*
Jahi Curtis
Vince Hales
*Honorable Mention Linebacker*
Sean Henry
By Jack McCaffery
The first time he belted streamers to his hips as a 4-year-old flag player for the Rose Tree Colts, James Fisher had a dream that would never be yanked away.
It would be there with him as he graduated to youth tackle football. It would grow when he began to play in middle school. So strong was it that when school athletic operations paused for a pandemic he refused to stop playing, instead joining the team at St. Mary Magdalen in Media, allowable even though he was not enrolled at the elementary school.
By the time he reached high school, the dream was becoming more real. By this fall, when the 5-10, 170-pound five-way threat led Strath Haven to championships of the Central League and Class 5A of the PIAA’s District 1, it was undeniable: He was the best player on the best team in Delaware County and was selected by the Daily Times as the All-Delco Player of the Year.
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Just in time for Xmas you can get your very own t-shirt celebrating a great Strath Haven football season!
Place your orders at reginanangle2002@yahoo.com and specify your size(s) required. ASAP so we can have them by Christmas. Cash or Venmo @Haven-football. $25.00 each
Director Lombardi –
We are Mike Mayer, webmaster of Havenfootball.net and Jim Allsman, owner of Tigers Radio Network and we have been operating our web pages since 2002 and 2008 respectively. We both began audio broadcasting Strath Haven and Marple Newtown football and then began full video streaming of all football games, both home and away.
Havenfootball.net also operate Delcohoops.com which is a web site and broadcasting operation following and promoting Delaware County high school basketball.
We wish to bring to your attention an on-going issue for schools and broadcasters like us when it comes to football and basketball playoffs at both the District and State levels.
In order to video stream the four games of the District 1 playoffs this year the cost for PIAA video streaming rights was over $5,000! Marple Newtown played in two games so their cost was $1350. This cost is in addition to District 1 receiving 100% of the tickets sales. District 1 does not pay the hosting school any facility fees but does pick-up game expenses for officials, personnel, and security.
While the fees appear reasonable for commercial broadcasters the reality is that no Philadelphia market broadcaster or cable operator has any interest in the games. High school sports are simply too fragmented and attract too small an audience.
(click on this link for the full letter)
By Brian Carroll
“For true success ask yourself these four questions: Why? Why not? Why not me? Why not now?”– James Allen
At the start of the 2023 season back in early August, fans of the Strath Haven Football program had lots of questions about how the Panthers would fare over the next couple months. With lots of exceptional talent exiting the program after graduation in June, Head Coach Kevin Clancy and his staff had to wonder who could step up and replace All-Central League performers at all three levels of the defense? Who would carry the football, with over 4,300 rushing yards and 59 touchdowns no longer on the roster? Who would replace a kicker who converted 57 of 59 extra points and tilted the field with deep kickoffs all of last season? Yet with all of those questions, this year’s version of Strath Haven football gave the community 15 weeks of answers, landing last week in the PIAA State Semifinals against Imhotep Charter.
As expected, facing Imhotep in the “Final 4” of the 5A state playoffs for the second time in three years would be no easy task, as Imhotep had reached the state finals in six of the last seven seasons they played. Their roster loaded with Division 1 college talent, the District 12 champs came out flying against Strath Haven, scoring touchdowns on each of their first 5 possessions. The normally fantastic Strath Haven defense could not generate enough pressure against an outstanding Imhotep line, and the secondary could not keep up with Imhotep’s passing attack, led by Army West Point-bound quarterback Mikal Davis and handful of fast receivers. Davis threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns, while future Georgia Bulldog Jabree Wallace-Coleman found the end zone three more times in the running game. Still, Strath Haven battled all night, forcing a turnover when #32 Shane Green punched out an Imhotep fumble that #27 Ben Milligan (10 tackles) recovered in the third quarter. But by then, the Panther offense had managed only one quick strike, 61-yard scoring pass from Jake Kitchin to #5 James Fisher, and had another long touchdown by #25 AJ Glavacic called back on a questionable penalty. Kitchin scored his seventh rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, and had the offense on the move to the Imhotep 1-yard line when the clock, and the 2023 season, expired with Haven on the wrong side of a 42-14 score.
(click on this link for the full article)
By Mike Mayer, Webmaster
The PIAA contracted with NFHS Network a few years ago to be the exclusive broadcaster for all PIAA state playoff events. NFHS broadcasts (via streaming) hundreds of high school sport events from all over the U.S. They are a pay-per-view service but their charge is monthly (for unlimited events) and is only $11.99 per month.
The great news is NFHS has selected Havenfootball.net Broadcasting to be the voice of their broadcast this coming Friday night against Imhotep in the state semi-final. The other great news is that Havenfootball.net will share a substantial percentage of the fees collected for our game! Your membership will help Havenfootball.net continue to produce all our great products for the 2024 season!
Of course we would love to see you all at the game but for those who can’t make it you can be assured you will be able to watch the great video streaming and hear the voice of the Panthers, Brian Carroll call every down!
Use this link to subscribe and watch the game: https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/havenfootballnet/gam4b94cd6d92