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Behind Trio of Coll and Valerio and Valetti Springfield Wins Battle of Central League Heavyweights

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

| October 5, 2025

SPRINGFIELD: Entering the 2025 season, when you asked people who were your favorites to win the Central League, two of the teams that many mentioned were the Haverford Fords and Springfield Cougars, and rightfully so, last season the Fords and Cougars each earned a share of the Central League Title with the Fords knocking off the Cougars in the teams head to head meeting. On Saturday night, the two teams again squared off, and in the end, behind a three-headed rushing attack of Tanner Coll, Luke Valerio, and Tj Valetti, the trio combined to rush for 287 of the Cougars’ 292 rushing yards to propel them to a 35-21 victory in a battle of Central League heavyweights.

“It is awesome to have the backfield we do,” Valerio said. Between Tanner, Myself, and T.J. back there, they never know who the ball is going to. We keep teams on their toes, and everyone made a signature play in this game that led to the win.”

Right from the start, those that packed into Cougar Stadium knew they were in for a dandy as the Fords took the opening drive and grinded out an 18-play 70-yard drive that ate nearly 9 minutes off the clock and was capped with the Fords’ workhorse back, Liam Taylor, finding the endzone on an 8-yard touchdown.

The Cougars responded on their first possession of the game with a balanced attack of Coll and Valerio, who marched 80 yards on 9 plays and capped the drive with Coll taking it in from 17 yards out, tying things up at 7-7 with 11:04 to play in the second quarter.

The tie didn’t last long as on the ensuing drive the Fords needed just six plays for Taylor to bust through the Cougars’ defense and race 40-yards for the 14-7 Fords lead. In the first half, Taylor carried the ball 23 times for 132 yards. He finished the game with 33 carries and 208 yards.

After an interception on their second possession of the game, the Cougars again found the endzone on their third possession of the game, going 65 yards on seven plays with QB John Hopkins finding the endzone on an 8-yard bootleg. The extra point was no good, and the Fords took the slim 14-13 lead into the locker room at halftime.

On the opening possession of the second half, the Cougars took the lead needing eight plays to 69 yards, with Valerio scoring a 3-yard touchdown that came after Valerio busted a 33-yard run the play prior.

The Fords responded with another one of their signature drives, going 66 yards on 13 plays with Pete Manaras capping the drive with a four-yard touchdown run that tied things up at 21.

Less than a minute later, the Cougars took the lead when Coll got loose and raced down the Fords’ sideline for a 66-yard touchdown run that put the Cougars up 28-21.

Coll was happy with the way his teammates responded to the Fords tying the game up, saying, “I am proud with how our guys responded to adversity,” adding that we were physical, which is what you need to be against them (Haverford) and eventually I was able to break through.”

After stopping the Fords on their next drive, the Cougars were able to seal victory with a 12-play 60-yard drive that featured the Cougars reaching into their bag of tricks. Facing a 3&10, Hopkins pitched the ball to Valetti, who then showed his arm that he showcases on the baseball diamond for the Cougars, delivering a strike to Mike Neville for a 30-yard gain that led Coll to cap the drive with a 1-yard run.

The Cougars, 7-,0 will look to remain unbeaten next week when they travel to Radnor, while the Fords, 5-2, will look to rebound when they travel to Ridley (6-1). Both games are scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday.

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