Dominance on the ground from Strath Haven carries them over Great Valley

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

Brendan Ricciardi | November 3, 2023

(James Fisher ran for two of the six Strath Haven touchdowns in their win over Great Valley (image via James Quinn)

WALLINGFORD, PA — Just because you know that Strath Haven is probably going to run the ball, that doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to stop it.

The #2 seeded Panthers ran for 275 yards in the first half alone as they took down #15 Great Valley by a score of 42-7 to advance to the quarterfinal round of the PIAA 5A District 1 tournament. It was about as balanced of an offensive attack as you could imagine on the ground as James Fisher, Shane Green, and Marco Kaufman all ran for two touchdowns each to pace the offense.

The game started off with a bang as Kaufman forced an early turnover on an interception to give the Panthers offense the ball with great field position. That paid off as James Fisher ran one in from 11 yards out to get the first score of the game.

After the Strath Haven defense forced a turnover on downs, it took just two plays for them to get back in the end zone as Shane Green took one 59 yards down the sideline to turn it into a 14-0 game just like that.

The Panthers defense was giving Great Valley QB Jahi Curtis trouble all game long, and they again picked him off with Sean Henry making the big play this time. The Panthers offense was able to turn those turnovers into points yet again as Shane Green picked up his second score of the game from three yards out.

All the momentum was on Strath Haven’s side, and they were just getting started.

After the defense forced another stop, the offense kept their foot on the pedal as James Fisher got his second touchdown of the game, this one from nine yards out. They would add one more score in the first half on a two yard Marco Kaufman run to make it a 35-0 game going into the half.

With a running clock going in the second half, there wasn’t too much worth remembering for either side. Marco Kaufman got his second touchdown of the game on a four yard run, and Great Valley got some points on the board when Falls Johnson scored from two yards out. A beautiful catch and throw from Curtis to Gavin Maslowski set the tone for that Patriots drive.

With the win, Strath Haven advances to the quarterfinals where they will take on the winner of #7 Upper Dublin and #10 Methacton for the right to advance to the semi-finals.

As for Great Valley, they end the season at 4-7, a disappointing end for them after they went 8-4 last season.

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