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Strath Haven punches ticket to district title behind big days from Fisher and Glavicic

Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs

| November 17, 2023

(James Fisher ran for 78 yards and both of Strath Haven’s touchdowns as the Panthers advance to the district title game. Image via James Quinn)

WALLINGFORD, PA — These Strath Haven fans have to be getting tired of their playoff games coming down to dramatic two-point conversions.

That was the case once again as the Panthers were able to make a huge stop when they needed it most as they held on for a 14-12 win over Springfield after a game-winning field goal attempt by Springfield fell short. With the win, Strath Haven advances to the PIAA 5A District 1 Championship next week where they will take on the winner of tomorrow’s matchup between #1 Chester and #5 West Chester Rustin.

It was Springfield who jumped out to an early lead after Ethan Marshall ran in for a short touchdown. Not only did the Cougars strike first, but they managed to take off nearly 11 minutes of clock before Strath Haven could even touch the football.

After a quick three and out from the Strath Haven offense, Springfield had the opportunity to take control of this game, but they were unable to capitalize on the great field position and would eventually punt it right back.

Strath Haven took advantage of that momentum shift in a big way, with Shane Green ripping off a monster run of 68 yards all the way down to the Springfield three yard line. James Fisher would punch it in, and a Ben Milligan extra point put Strath Haven ahead.

James Fisher has been huge for Strath Haven out of the backfield so far this postseason. Last week against Upper Dublin, he had a 62 yard receiving touchdown and a 59 yard rushing touchdown. He has the ability to pop one any time he touches the football.

After Strath Haven got the ball back, Fisher showed off that home run mentality as he took one 62 yards to the end zone, a good ten yards away from any other defender.

“It was just really great blocking by my backs and offensive line,” said Fisher. “I just saw a big hole there and exploded.”

On the first play back, Springfield’s Ryan Whitaker fired a pass and he was intercepted by AJ Glavicic. That gave Strath Haven great field position at the Springfield 31 with a chance to take a commanding 21-6 lead into the break with the ball set to come their way in the second half.

The Springfield defense would make a massive stop, however, and the game would go into the break still at 14-6.

After a rather uneventful third quarter, Springfield started the fourth quarter on the move towards the Strath Haven side of the field. Springfield QB Ryan Whitaker looked deep towards the end zone, but again found Strath Haven’s AJ Glavicic for his second interception of the game.

Strath Haven had the opportunity to put this game away, but their offense stalled and they were forced to punt. The teams would trade punts until Springfield got the ball with just three minutes left needing eight points to tie it up.

They got what the doctor ordered as Mike Turner scored from 40 yards out to set up a pivotal two-point conversion. Springfield went out of the wildcat, but they were stopped short of the goal line to keep the game at 14-12 Strath Haven.

After a failed onside kick, Strath Haven again had the chance to bury Springfield and put the game out of reach. Again, they were unable to do so.

To add into the drama in this game, the brand new scoreboard at Strath Haven was frozen with 2:33 remaining on the game clock. For the last 2:33, the refs were simply counting by hand. It was chaos.

With roughly 1:30 left on the clock, Springfield got the ball back. Ryan Whitaker would chuck up a deep ball and Chris Dolan made a phenomenal catch to get Springfield right on the cusp of field goal range. There were a lot of nervous stomachs in the stadium right now.

After a couple runs to try and run the clock down, Springfield would go for the 40-yard field goal that would send them to the district title game. Ultimately, it just came up a couple of yards short.

“Well I thought that was a great high school football game by both teams, I don’t think there were a ton of mistakes on either side,” said Strath Haven Head Coach Kevin Clancy. “Both teams played great defensively, I thought it was an outstanding effort by both teams. We were just able to make one more big play at the end there on that two-point conversion.”

While no game is won just by a few individuals, Kevin Clancy made sure to give a lot of credit to the performances of James Fisher and AJ Glavicic among others in this game.

“James has been a clutch player for us all year long, but he’s one of many,” said Clancy. “Marco Kaufman, Shane Green, AJ Glavicic with those two interceptions as well. I’m proud of my quarterback too (Jake Kitchin), they are doing a hell of a job and they’re great kids.”

For Springfield, a tremendous season ends in heartbreaking fashion as they finish the year at 11-2 with a share of the Central League Championship. The Cougars had won ten straight games, and both of their losses this season came at the hands of this Strath Haven team.

As for Strath Haven, they return to the District Championship for the first time since 2021 after being knocked out in the semi-finals against Rustin last season. Kevin Clancy will look to win his 13th title (1993, 1996-2003, 2005, 2010, 2021) as they await the winner of Chester and Rustin.

Both of these are very intriguing matchups. Strath Haven and Chester are located just a few miles apart from each other, and it’s very rare to see them match up in football. Surprisingly, Strath Haven has had much more recent history with West Chester Rustin, as they have played two all-time classic games in 2021 and 2022.

In 2021, Strath Haven took down Rustin on the road in the District Championship on a walk-off two point conversion by Sam Milligan as he dove for the pylon. In 2022, Rustin returned the favor as they stopped Milligan and the Panthers on their home turf on a two-point conversion in the same exact scenario. We can only imagine what a third consecutive matchup would have in store.

Whoever it is that they play, Kevin Clancy and the Panthers will be ready.

“We just have to play mistake free football,” said Clancy. “Regardless of who we play, we just need to move the football a little better than we did tonight.”

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
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