By the numbers, it was a season for running backs in Delco
Time is ticking on the high school football season, but six county teams remain alive in the district playoffs.
BonnerPrendergast is in the District 12 title game against Bartram. The Friars are hoping to take care of business and advance to PIAA Class 4A playoffs.
In District 1, Garnet Valley and Ridley are in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs, on opposite sides of the bracket. In Class 5A, Strath Haven and Marple Newtown square off Friday night in the quarterfinals. Academy Park is the last Del Val League team standing, aiming for its fourth district title in the last eight years.
Oh, and let’s not forget there’s the potential for three Thanksgiving games. After the coronavirus pandemic canceled that tradition in Delaware County in 2020, we can all use some morning football come Nov. 25, if we are so lucky.
Speaking of traditions, let’s go to one of our own. It’s By the Numbers, our annual look at the Delco season in statistical form.
0 >> Victories for Archbishop Carroll, which is trying to avoid its first winless season in history. The Patriots close the season Wednesday, Nov. 24 against Roman Catholic.
4 >> Consecutive losses by Chester to end the year. Although the Clippers (7-4) hit a wall after their heartbreaking loss to Class 6A power Coatesville, triggering a Domino effect of defeats, coach LaDontay Bell’s team had plenty to feel good about. They made the city of Chester proud by becoming the first football team in school history to qualify for the District 1 playoffs. The Clippers fell to Kennett in the Class 5A first round, 31-28. Over the last three seasons Chester has won 19 games.
17 >> Consecutive wins for Garnet Valley, dating to the start of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The Jaguars are the No. 1 seed in the District 1 Class 6A tourney and play host to No. 8 Central Bucks West Friday night.
17 >> Number of rushing touchdowns by Strath Haven senior Chase Barlow, who has been a tremendous performer on offense and defense for the Panthers. Barlow has rushed for 1,065 yards to lead a Haven ground attack which has produced 3,762 yards and 48 touchdowns, according to Havenfootball.net.
27 >> Number of overall touchdowns by Ridley senior Tahir Mills, two shy of breaking the school record. Mills has been unstoppable all year for the 10-1 Green Raiders. Not since Academy Park’s Jerry Lanier, the 2013 Daily Times Player of the
Year, and Upper Darby’s Isaiah Bruce in 2015 has there been a running back who has dominated the way Mills has this year. The man they call “Tubby” shattered a Ridley High record for most rushing yards in a game last Friday night, amassing 357 yards and five TDs in a District 1 Class 6A first-round win over Conestoga. That performance came just six days after Mills produced 230 yards on the ground against the same team. Mills is on the doorstep of becoming only the eighth player in Delco history to run for 2,000 yards in a season. He’ll have at least two games (Thanksgiving with Interboro is the contingency) to run down the county record of 2,450 yards established by Bruce six years ago. No. 7 Ridley plays at second-seeded North Penn in the district quarterfinals Friday.
48.3 >> Average points per game for Garnet Valley (110). Yes, we are mentioning the Jags again. The team has scored 75 touchdowns, which averages to 6.8 per game. By comparison, Carroll has scored 65 points all year.
180 >> Number of rushing yards accrued by Marple Newtown senior Charlie Box in the Tigers’ District 1 Class 5A tournament opener with Phoenixville. Box totaled more yards on the crowd than the entire Phoenixville offense. The seventh-seeded Tigers, winners of seven of their last eight games, will require another extraordinary effort by Box if they wish to beat No. 2 Strath Haven in the quarterfinal round. Do not put it past Box, one of the county’s awesome multi-sport talents for four years, to steal the show.
901 >> Yards receiving for Springfield’s Robby Longo, who has been a consistent bright spot for the young Cougars (4-7). Longo broke the school record held by Joe Kennedy since 2016. Longo will have a chance to crack the 1,000-yard plateau as Springfield will play a contingency game with Cardinal O’Hara Thursday at 6.
1,492 >> Yards rushing for Bonner-Prendergast’s Mason Peterson. The senior workhorse is chasing down Eric Petransky’s 2008 school record of 1,548 yards. There’s a pretty good chance he breaks the mark against Bartram as the Friars are considered a big favorite.
2005 >> The last year that Chichester finished a season with a record. While the Eagles lost to Bishop Shanahan in the District 1 Class 4A semifinals last Friday, they own a 5-4 record going into their Thanksgiving showdown against Sun Valley (2-8). Whether the Eagles win or lose, the co-Del Val League champions are guaranteed to end their dubious streak of 15 straight losing seasons.