One Last Hope for Delaware County Football
By Joe Stokes
November 28, 2005
The Strath Haven Panthers were unable to overcome a frozen field and the relentless passing attack of the Pottsville Crimson Tide on Friday night at Coatesville Area High School.
The District One Champions came into this contest as a clear favorite. However Pottsville quarterback JakeWartella had other ideas with 241 passing yards and 4 touchdown passes to stun the Panther secondary.
The Crimson Tide defense was equally impressive holding the Strath Haven offense to just 56 total yards and the first shut out of the Panther offense this season.
The District 11 Champion now faces Manheim Central for a chance to play for the State Championship. That contest will take place this Friday at Hershey Park Stadium.
The Panther loss leaves only one Delaware County team in playoff contention. Cardinal O’Hara faces St. Joe Prep on Saturday night at Philadelphia’s Northeast High School for the Catholic League Red Division Championship.
Although there will be no State Champions from Delaware County this year, area fans were treated to some great Turkey Day action last Thursday.
The Interboro Bucs withstood a late Ridley drive to hold on to a 7-6 victory in the annual Thanksgiving Day showdown. Jon Uhrin blocked Ridley’s sole extra point attempt to account for the one point margin. Interboro coach Steve Lennox is 9-3 against Ridley in these contests but Ridley still leads the series 31-10.
In another long time rivalry Upper Darby pounded out a 40-7 win over Haverford High with Simoni Marco Lawrence rushing 163 yards and scoring 6 touchdowns to put this game in the Royal win column. Upper Darby leads this series 41-37 with 6 ties since this rivalry began.
Next Saturday will mark the end of another great football season for Delaware County fans. This season’s action was filled with great games from start to finish. The High School football community can be proud of the efforts of all the students from the snack stand volunteers, to the bands and the many other tasks required to get these teams on the field each night.