Garnet Valley vs Spring-Ford Playoff Preview

Tagged under: District 1, News, Playoffs

James Middleton | November 10, 2022

Credit: @trsmith296

Concord, PA: Round two and the quarterfinals of the District 1 6A playoffs begins Friday night for the Garnet Valley Jags. On Friday night, Garnet Valley will welcome nine seeded Spring-Ford to the “Moe.” The last time Garnet Valley played Spring-Ford was in the playoffs in 2012. 

The Garnet Valley offense picked the right time to get going. They put up 63 points in their round-one contest, their highest total all season. They were able to score through the air and on the ground totaling seven touchdowns on the ground and one through the air. Quarterback Matt Mesaros continues to lead the offense, whether it is behind his arm or his legs. It seems like you can’t prepare for the Jaguar run game, either. Everyone in the stadium knows that the Jags’ first option is to run to the ball, but the question is, who will get the ball? Will it be leading rusher Jason “The Bus” Bernard, Joseph Checchio, who leads the Jag run game with 11 scores, Ronnie Leraris, who averages 9.2 yards per carry, or junior Luke Mingioni, who seems to have a nose for the endzone. Mesaros has found consistency between the numbers, with seniors Drew Van Horn and Jack Westburg catching the ball. The pair combine for 11 touchdowns through the air this season. 

Spring-Ford comes in off a second-half explosion against the Ridley Green Raiders. The Rams were down two touchdowns going into halftime but prevailed by a margin of 42 to 28. Like Garnet Valley, Spring-ford features a ground-and-pound run game. Last week they outgained Ridley 283 to 103. Senior tailback Will Fish had 144 yards against the Green Raiders, and quarterback Matt Zollers had three runs for touchdowns. 

However, on Friday night, while both teams face each other on the field, they will have another opponent. The remnants of tropical storm Nicole. The weather predicts that there will be rain throughout the contest on Friday night. Both teams will look to utilize their powerful run game’s because of the impending weather. Every week we see Garnet Valley’s run game show up no matter the circumstance, but will Spring-Ford’s show up in the playoffs and a monsoon? The game will start at 7 o’clock at “The Moe,” or you can watch it on Garnet Valley’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTodU5yQxeQ

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