NETHER PROVIDENCE — It was football from a bygone era. It was leather helmets on grainy black-and-white celluloid, with twisted muddy noses running isos, toss sweeps and traps.
It was brute force football.
That’s the brand of football Springfield took from the sepia-toned pages from football past in pounding Strath Haven 35-14 on Friday night for a three-way share of the Central League title with Strath Haven and Haverford High School.
All three teams finished 9-1.
It marks the second-straight year Springfield owns a piece of the Central League championship, after sharing it with Strath Haven and Garnet Valley last year (there are no tiebreakers in the Central League).
The victory on Friday night also vaulted Springfield to the No. 1 seed in the District 1 Class 5A playoffs, most likely hosting Del-Val League area rival Academy Park in the opening round next Friday. The Cougars’ triumph also marked the first time Springfield beat Strath Haven since 2019 and it snapped a six-game losing streak to the Panthers.
It was not just the fact that the Cougars beat Strath Haven as much as how they won.
If the Cougars are as physically dominant as they were over a very good Strath Haven team, they will be a tough out for anyone in the PIAA District 1 Class 5A playoffs.
Strath Haven picked up 241 yards of total offense though that figure is a little deceiving. The Panthers produced 140 yards from scrimmage and four first downs on their first two drives to produce a 14-7 lead.
From there, the Springfield defense, led by senior linebacker Nate Romano, the heart and soul of the team, and defensive front of nose guard Jahmeer Harlem, tackles Gary Thomas and Landon Feldman, and ends Mike Francks and Jamie Stevenson, held the vaunted Strath Haven offense to 76 yards and a mere two first downs the rest of the game.
The offense, behind center Ryan Benjamin, guards Zac Plank and Feldman, and tackles Dom Stewart and Alex McGinnis, smashed the Panthers’ defense for 28 unanswered points and 346 yards of total offense—with 199 on the ground.
The Cougars got a little something seemingly from everyone. It was quarterback Jackson Kennedy throwing for an efficient 9-of-12 for 147 yards and a touchdown. It was tailback Brad Barber scoring for one touchdown and passing for another. It was receiver Chris Dolan opening the second half with a 73-yard kick return that set up one touchdown and receiving another. And it was Francks scoring a touchdown and coming up with a big tackle to prevent the Panthers from getting back in the game.
Springfield did to Strath Haven what legendary Panthers’ coach Kevin Clancy has been known to do to opposing teams: Grind the ball on the ground and chew up the clock. Strath Haven ran off 17 plays in the first half and just 10 and one first down in the second half.
“It was everyone doing their jobs, executing, and we got the job done,” Romano said. “Ever since we saw this game on our schedule, we wanted this game. We circled it. After they scored on the first two drives, we didn’t change anything. We needed to keep up the energy. We saw them giving out and we kept going. We are getting better and better every day. We feed off each other’s energy and once we get going, we don’t stop.”
Francks had a night. The 6-foot, 200-pound junior caught a four-yard touchdown pass with 11:10 left to play, which put Springfield up, 28-14. With Strath Haven still within striking distance and enough time to come back, Francks made a crucial tackle on Strath Haven tailback Shane Green for no gain on a fourth-and-six at the Panthers’ 32.
The Cougars then proceeded to plod through the Strath Haven defense for 8 minutes, 3 seconds on a 14-play, 68-yard drive. During the series, Springfield gained 73 yards (the additional five yards tacked on from a penalty). The 14 plays were more than Strath Haven ran the entire second half.
“I thought this game would come down to the final snap, to be honest, and we came out with a different energy in the second half,” Francks said. “I felt we started squeezing better on the defensive line and taking away their inside running game. They couldn’t do anything after that. They were done.
“I honestly think we can sustain this kind of physical play. We have great coaching, we have a talented team. We know we can dominate any team.”
Springfield coach Chris Britton was a little more guarded. The coach of the Cougars since 2014, he may not have seen a more dominant performance from his team like Friday night.
“This team stays together and it is no accident coach Clancy has over 300 wins, so we know the best defense against them is a good offense,” Britton said. “We have 25 seniors and they trust each other. They have been playing together since they were kids. I’ll worry about (the district playoffs) when it comes.
“But for now, I am very proud of my guys. We lost to Haverford and we went back to work. This is a small, tight group. They worry about each other.”
Right now, Britton and his team may not want to hear this, but the rest of PIAA District 1 Class 5A better worry about the Springfield Cougars.
Scoring Summary
Springfield (9-1) 7 7 7 14-35
Strath Haven (9-1) 14 0 0 0-14
1st Quarter
SH – James Fisher 2 run (Matt Styer kick), 9:57
Spr. – Nate Romano 3 run (Brad Barber kick), 5:34
SH – Ben Milligan 46 pass from Caden Shuster (Styer kick), 2:53
2nd Quarter
Spr. – Romano 2 run (Barber kick), 5:42
3rd Quarter
Spr. – Barber 2 run (Barber kick), 8:39
4th Quarter
Spr. – Mike Francks 4 pass from Jackson Kennedy (Barber kick), 11:10
Spr. – Chris Dolan 12 pass from Barber (Barber kick), 1:28
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball.
