GA makes statement in win over Fords
The Haverford School’s woes started from the get-go Saturday afternoon at Sabol Field against Germantown Academy.
Upon receiving the opening kickoff, the Fords went 15 yards in the wrong direction and began their first series from the twoyard line.
But one negative play isn’t that big a deal, is it?
“It matters,” coach Mike Murphy said. “We’re trying to estab-
lish things and you have that happen. I don’t know what to say about it other than it starts us off bad. You know, you’re in a big game and you’re trying to get momentum and you’re running backwards. I don’t have an answer. That’s kind of how we’re doing right now.”
If nothing else, the botched kick return was a poor way to set a tone in a game Murphy called a must-win. The Fords kicked off their Inter-Ac League season with a 2814 loss to reigning cochampion Germantown Academy.
The Fords turned the ball over twice — interceptions by Mike Reilly and Elijah Wroten, a defensive tackle — and didn’t make enough plays on either side of the ball. Easy passes fell to the turf. Forced fumbles weren’t gobbled up. Would-be interceptions were dropped.
“Every time you come out here, it’s a championship game,” senior lineman
Christian Arakelian said. “A lot of dudes are down hurt and a lot of young guys are trying to step up. We don’t have the senior team with D-1 players all over the field. We’ve got to make plays when they’re there.”
Germantown Academy (4-2, 1-0) relied on an inside ground attack led by Trae Vance, who ran in the go-ahead touchdown run in the second quarter, and quarterback Colton Niedzielski, who had three scoring scampers.
“We prepared hard all week,” said Niedzielski, who completed 9 of 20 pass attempts for 76 yards. “We came out victorious and we beat them up on both sides of the ball. The scoreboard says all you need to know.”
The backbreaker for Haverford School (15, 0-1) came seconds after Gerber (10-for-18, 106 yards) sneaked into the end zone from a yard out to trim GA’s lead to 2114 with 3:38 to play. On the ensuing possession, Niedzielski faked a handoff and kept the ball himself, fooling the Fords defense
on the way to a 45yard touchdown.
“We’ve been handing the ball off a lot and we wanted to keep them on their heels, have them guess what we’re going to do,” Niedzielski said. “I followed that play through and was able to run down the sideline.”
The Fords made one final head-scratching mistake by failing to retrieve the ensuing kickoff. The Patriots quickly picked up a first down and ran out the clock.
Nobody seemed to think the Patriots had a chance to repeat in the Inter-Ac League. There’s a long way to go, but they warrant respect.
Or take them lightly. The Patriots don’t care.
“We weren’t picked to win this game. I don’t know what that’s about,” said Reilly, who had a team-high four receptions for 37 yards and averaged 35 yards on four punts. “We were mad from last week after the (14-0) loss to West Catholic. We were all hungry for a win. To come down here to beat them on their field is awesome.”