LANGHORNE: Tonight we welcomed Head Coach Joe Gallagher, a Delco coaching legend with 26 years of experience as head coach, and his Haverford Township Fords who are coming into this game with a record of 8-2. With rain and thunderstorms in the forecast it was a wet one tonight at the Ridge and as if on cue, it began to rain right as the teams came on the field.

‘Skins won the toss and elected to receive the ball. In just 5 running plays they were on the board with Oleh ‘The Iceman’ Manzyk’s 26 yard dash into the end zone for a touchdown. Jack Hughes’ kick went wide right and the score was ‘Skins 6 – Fords 0.

The Fords first possession saw QB Jake Ruane take to the air but Marcus Griffin and Cory Joyce’s pass protection in the secondary and a quick sack from Chisom Ifeanyi forced a 3 and out.

Back to the ‘Skins with the Fords’ Trey Blair explosive punt going 65 yards all the way down to their 20 yard line. Helped by a key block from Logan Williamson, Chris James scampered 45 yards, then 5 yards and Manzyk added 4 more but the ‘Skins could not convert and turned the ball over on downs.

The Fords’ Collin Ney then brought the ball 34 yards down the field. But pressure from ‘Skins defensive linemen Luke Hitchen and Sean Smith forced a Manzyk interception and ball back to ‘Skins at midfield. Brody McAndrew connected with Cory Joyce for a subsequent touchdown and the 2 point conversion attempt was good with McAndrew hitting Bobby Buchys in the end zone. Score ’Skins 14 – Fords 0.

With the rain now coming down in waves, the Fords fumble on a botched snap and the ‘Skins’ Buchys recovers but the drive was pushed back by penalties and the very busy 1st quarter ends with a punt back to the Fords.

The start of the 2 quarter saw the Fords having to punt and the ‘Skins with good field position from their own 37 yard line. In two plays the ‘Skins were back on the board thanks to a 30 yard run by James and the extra point by Hughes made the score ‘Skins 21 – Fords 0.

The ‘Skins’ punt went out of bounds and the Fords took over on their own 35 yard line. From there, slipping and sliding in the now rain-saturated field the Fords converted on downs on runs by Chasen Wint and Blair. We then saw Ruane connect with Shayne Mosely for 25 yards but a subsequent penalty and a sack by Hitchen stopped the Fords’ drive.

Blair’s punt placed the ‘Skins all the way back to the 5 yard line. A big run by James was called back on a penalty and the subsequent running plays were stuffed by the Fords’ CJ Wey and Paul Denman forcing the ‘Skins to punt. The Fords were unable to move the ball and the ‘Skins recovered the ball but the clock ran out as the first half ended with a score ‘Skins 21 – Fords 0.

The ‘Skins’ Hughes kicks off the 3rd quarter and Blair showed his athletic ability by breaking tackles all the way to the ‘Skins’ 38 yard line. A quick Ruane tackle by Sean Smith and a holding penalty against the Fords forced a 3 and 16 and a Fords’ punt.

Blair showed his punting skills once more and the ball was scooped up by Joyce on the 18 yard line and returned to the 23. With a series of runs by James and O’Conner the ‘Skins marched down into Ford territory where Mc Andrew caught Joyce on the 1 yard line where he promptly scooted into the end zone. Hughes’ kick was good and the score was then ‘Skins 28 – Fords 0.

Haverford took over at the 20 yard line but were hampered by the wet field conditions and could not convert. Blair punted and the ball was caught in a fair catch by Joyce on the 37 yard line. O’Connor scored on a run from the 6 yard line after bringing the ball 31 yards downfield. Hughes’ kick was good and the score was ‘Skins 35 – Fords 0. Ball went back to the Fords and we got a chance to see Ruane’s running when he brought the ball 26 yards into ‘Skins territory as the clock ran out on the 3rd quarter.

Ruane continued the drive as the 4th quarter began with an impressive 39 yard pass to Kevin DePrince. In the red zone on the 1 yard line, Wint takes it in for the score and kicker Ryan Wellington split the uprights bringing the score to ‘Skins 28 – Ford 7.

With a slew of fresh Redskins, the offense took over on the 20 yard line but it was a quick 3 and out. The Fords put together a nice drive which featured a 23 and 10 yard run respectively by Ney but a botched snap caused a fumble and the ‘Skins recovered the ball on their own 16 yard line. Unable to move the ball Haverford took over on downs on the 2 yard line but the clock ran out. Final score ‘Skins 35 – Fords 7.

Hats off to the Fords who played hard all game and to the Havertown faithful who braved the weather to support their players. Shout out to Trey Blair (he plays 6 different positions for the Fords!) who impressed everyone with his punting skills and to very talented QB Jake Ruane who broke the school record for passing yards. Jake was an ever present threat on the ground as well as in the air.

The ‘Skins’ fans were outstanding as always, staying with the game through the pouring rain and encouraging their team all four quarters. Thank you for being there. Props to the Defensive coaching staff; Coach French, Coach Weidenbaugh, Coach Ferrara and Coach Craig for all the work they have done with the defensive unit who have been stellar in the last several games. Way to go Defense!

Captains: #5 Oleh Manzyk, #12 Brody McAndrew, #25 Cory Joyce and #88 Bobby Buchys

Good Night Mrs. B!

Photos courtesy of Jesse Garber

For more game photos go to Jesse Garber on Zenfolio

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Offense: #25 Cory Joyce

#25 Cory Joyce

Brought to you by Faulkner Auto Group

Defense: #88 Bobby Buchys

#88 Bobby Buchys