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Strath Haven runs through Interboro to open the season with a win

Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News

| August 25, 2023

WALLINGFORD, PA — New field, same results.

The defending Central League co-champion Strath Haven Panthers kicked off their 2022 season on the right note as they took down Interboro by a score of 28-7 as they played their first game on the new turf field at George L. King Field.

After the teams traded three and outs to start the game, the Strath Haven offense got on the board first when James Fisher bullied his way into the end zone for a four-yard touchdown to give the Panthers their first points of the season.

After a stop on defense, they would get the ball back and pick up right where they left off, running the ball at will down the field. This time it was Marco Kaufman taking it into the end zone for a short TD thanks to some great offensive line play.

Interboro looked like they might have been able to steal some momentum back as they recovered a fumble at the Strath Haven 40 yard line, but they weren’t able to make anything of it. That may have been the turning point in the game as Strath Haven would get the ball back and use a dazzling 50 yard run from Shane Green to get deep in Interboro territory as time ticked down on the clock.

Green was rewarded for his run with a chance to get the ball in the end zone, and he did that as Strath Haven picked up three first half touchdowns with three different runners. Vintage Kevin Clancy football.

After a scoreless third quarter on both ends, Strath Haven would add another early in the fourth on Shane Green’s second touchdown of the game, a fourth short-yardage score for a Strath Haven team that was dominating at the line of scrimmage.

Interboro would get a little momentum back as Tommy Receveur ripped off a 68 yard run to get the Bucs their first points of the season, but that was it for the scoring in this one.

Strath Haven took this one comfortably by a score of 28-7 as they look to make a deep playoff run for the third straight season after losing in the District Semi-Finals to Rustin last year.

“I’d like to have played a bit better, I thought we did some good things and I thought we battled,” said longtime Strath Haven Head Coach Kevin Clancy. “It’s an opener, you know, we’re gonna watch this film and see a lot of things we need to get better at.”

There’s no secret to why Strath Haven is historically the gold standard of Delco Football, and Clancy has been here for generations of Strath Haven football. His dedication and his desire for perfection has led to more success than anyone in the history of this county.

Clancy lost the heart and soul of his defense as Sam Milligan graduated and took his talents to Bucknell, but he was very happy with how his new defense played.

“I thought our defensive front and just defense in general played very well, we had one missed tackle here at the end but that was really it,” said Clancy. “I think got tired at the end, we have to play four full quarters because in our scrimmages you pull guys out early and we just weren’t conditioned enough to play on a hot and humid night like tonight.”

There’s always positives and negatives to take out of the first game of any season. Rarely will a coach walk away from a game with absolutely nothing to nitpick from his roster.

While there were some new faces stepping in, Clancy felt like they were very productive.

“Marco Kaufman had a great game at linebacker, and he also really bailed us out running the ball,” said Clancy. “Shane Green also had a great day at linebacker and running back, I think him along with Sean Henry played really well and our linebacker core did a nice job.”

Strath Haven will hit the road next week for their first Central League conference game as they will travel to Springfield as they look to start another conference title campaign. As for Interboro, they will look to bounce back during their home opener on Thursday night against Pottstown.

It was a good win for Strath Haven, but they have some work to do to get ready for conference play.

“We need to work on our conditioning this week, making sure everyone stays hydrated and take care of that cramping crap,” said Clancy. “Offensively, we need to just work on securing the ball, we had some silly mistakes that we need to clean up and we will be better.”

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