Garnet Valley Jaguars Handle Cougars

            Last week the Garnet Valley Jaguars won by just seven points against Haverford while the Springfield Cougars lost by 21 points to Strath Haven. On Friday night at Springfield High School stadium the Jaguars and Cougars were ready to play and see which cat wins.

            The Garnet Valley Jaguars received the ball first and Paul Dunn ran the kick off back fairly deep. Then on the very first play of the game offensively for the Jaguars, quarterback Mark McHugh fumbled the football and Springfield’s defense jumped on the ball and received the turnover inside Garnet Valley’s territory on the 40 yard line.

            The Jaguars’ defense answered right back on Springfield’s first offensive play of the game as Springfield’s quarterback was sacked by John Skinner which led to the Cougars going three and out. On the Jaguars very next series McHugh revived himself and threw a deep pass to Paul Dunn. Later on McHugh went to Dunn again on fourth and nine for a first down. Once the Jaguars were near the goal line on the five yard line McHugh pitched the football to Tim Keyser for a touchdown as the first quarter ended, Jaguars on top 7-0.

            Garnet Valley’s defense continued to get the offense the ball back and after a long 33 yard run by quarterback Mark McHugh, Tim Keyser rushed into the end zone which gave the Jaguars a two touchdown lead. Later on in the second quarter McHugh continued to throw deep going to once again, Paul Dunn. The pass was McHugh’s biggest of the season, throwing the ball deep for over a forty yard pass to Dunn plus a roughing the passer penalty which helped the Jaguars get near the goal line. McHugh said “Paul and I have a great connection out on the field, and I just know where he is every time.” To cap off the big plays the Jaguars went to Jared Bonacquisti three straight times as he plowed into the end zone from one yard out and gave the Jaguars a 21-0 lead into halftime.

            Springfield came out of the second half looking to score their first touchdown of the game. The Garnet Valley’s defense was too strong for Springfield, after a deep pass near the end zone Ryan Woods intercepted the ball at the four yard line. Head Coach of Garnet Valley Mike Ricci said “Our defense did a great job tonight, Springfield’s offense has been consistently moving the ball all year, and I thought we did a nice job shutting them down tonight.”

            Once the defense gave the ball back to the offense like it had the whole game, Marcellus Irving scored on a ten yard touchdown run which sealed the win as the Jaguars lead was by 28 points. Nearing the end of the game McHugh was taken out so quarterback Jack McInerney could receive some playing time. Springfield scored only one touchdown as McInerney fumbled the football late in the game and Leahan ran the ball back 20 yards to the end zone for a touchdown and Springfield scored on a two point conversion. The final in this game was 28-8, Garnet Valley. The Jaguars are now 7-0.

            Next week Springfield will try to end their two game losing streak as they travel to Haverford Township. The Garnet Valley Jaguars will try to continue to stay undefeated at home on homecoming day at 3:30 on Saturday afternoon against Radnor. Jaguars Coach Mike Ricci said “Radnor’s a team that has been struggling but they have some great skill players, and we have to make sure we contain those guys.”