PHOTO: Strath Haven’s Jahi Curtis, left, pressures Ridley quarterback Ryan Carroll in Friday’s game at Ridley.
FOLSOM — Strath Haven’s offensive front was a question mark heading into the 2024 season.
The Panthers had to essentially replace the entire starting line from last year’s District 1 Class 5A championship team.
A unit that includes seniors Phil Collins, Mike Flannery, Cooper Murley, Sean O’Neil and junior Nick Farabaugh — along with some big help from senior tight end Jahi Curtis — gave a glimpse at what they’re capable of in a dominant 28-7 victory over Ridley.
The Panthers rushed for more than 300 yards and scored all four of their touchdowns on the ground in the win.
“I think they’re definitely starting to click a lot,” senior running back Shane Green said. “A lot of people doubted them at the beginning of the year. I know they can definitely move. They’re fast guys. They’re strong guys too. I felt like I had expectations for them, and I feel like they’re living up to it.”
Green had himself a day too, rushing 16 times for 157 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Ben Milligan approached the century mark as well with 12 carries for 93 yards and also added a late interception on the defensive end.
Green punctuated Strath Haven’s (3-0) first drive of the game with a 41-yard touchdown run to give the Panthers an early 7-0 lead with 8:27 left in the first quarter.
After seeing its first offensive drive stall in Strath Haven territory, Ridley (2-1) forced a three-and-out and evened the score 7-7 with 10:56 left in the second quarter on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Carroll to Connor Kelly. Kelly paced the Ridley offense with seven carries for 82 yards. Kirkland Plummer added 16 carries for 56 yards.
The Strath Haven offense failed to get going on the ensuing drive, but the Panthers came up with a huge stop on 4th-and-1 at the Raiders’ 30-yard line. That’s when the tide of the game changed.
“It was definitely very big,” said Green, who also stars as a linebacker for Strath Haven. “I don’t know how the game would have gone if we didn’t make that play. … I think we all just got in there.”
The defensive stand gave Strath Haven great field position and set up a three-yard touchdown run from James Fisher with 5:46 left in the half. He carried nine times for 48 yards and a score.
Green started to break the game open when he turned another run up the middle into a 61-yard touchdown at the 3:15 mark.
Strath Haven took a 21-7 lead into half then grabbed complete control — 28-7 with 6:27 left in the third — when Green powered in an eight-yard touchdown run to cap an eight-play, 54-yard drive on the Panthers’ first offensive possession of the second half.
“That’s one of our main goals,” Curtis said. “We just keep practicing the same plays. We just make sure we’re blocking 11-step blocks and making sure our rushers just keep going, keep getting four yards, four yards and keep being able to push the ball down the field.”
Along with aiding the Panthers’ ground game, Curtis was part of a ferocious defensive front for Strath Haven that played a large role in keeping a Ridley offense that scored 51 points last week against Lower Merion scoreless in the last 41 minutes on Friday.
Farabaugh, senior Alexei Gustafson and junior Paul Oblek were among those to tally sacks with Curtis and several others making their presence felt in the Raiders’ offensive backfield throughout the game, particularly on the downs when it mattered most.
Oblek came up with a big sack on Ridley’s first offensive possession of the game to stall a 12-play, 67-yard drive. Strath Haven held Ridley to 3-for-13 on third down and 1-for-5 on fourth down in the game.
“They drove the field a couple of times, but we were able to stop them on big plays. We were able to make a lot of big plays,” Curtis said.
“It starts with everybody,” he added. “Our corners are able to jam the receivers and give us a lot of time to get there and we just practice effort. We go 100 percent, 110 miles per hour. All game, we were just able to get there.”
Ridley follows up its first loss of the season with a road trip to Conestoga next week. Strath Haven has its first home game of the season against Radnor next week before a huge matchup with Garnet Valley on Sept. 20.
“It all started in practice,” Green said. “ A lot of us weren’t really that satisfied. Something we say on this team is, ‘Never stay satisfied. So we all just went back to work and we had a good week of practice, good defensive practice, and it showed on the field.”
They hope to continue that formula throughout the season.
“A lot of people doubted us,” Curtis said. “They didn’t know how good we were gonna be this season.”
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Strath Haven 7 14 7 0-28
Ridley 0 7 0 0-7
Individual Scoring
First Quarter
SH: Shane Green 41 run (Matt Styer kick) 8:27
Second Quarter
R: Connor Kelly 13 pass from Ryan Carroll (Jason Reali kick) 10:56
SH: James Fisher 3 run (Matt Styer kick) 5:46
SH: Shane Green 61 run (Matt Styer kick) 3:15
Third Quarter
SH: Shane Green 8 run (Matt Styer kick) 6:27
Fourth Quarter
None.
Team Statistics
………………………..SH………………R
1st downs………..18…………………15
rush-yds……….40-302……….30-135
comp-att-int….2-8-0…………..14-24-1
pass yds……….52………………104
total yds…………354……………….239
fumb-lost……..1-0………………1-0
pen-yds…………7-56…………..4-26
Individual Statistics
Rushing:
Strath Haven: Shane Green 16-157, 3 TDs; Ben Milligan 12-93; James Fisher 9-48, TD; Caden Shuster 3-4.
Ridley: Connor Kelly 7-82; Kirkland Plummer 16-56; Jackson Solomon 3-6; Ryan Carroll 4-(–9).
Passing:
Strath Haven: Caden Shuster 1-7-0, 26 yards; Luke Mulhern 1-1-0, 26 yards.
Ridley: Ryan Carroll 14-24-1, 104 yards, TD.
Receiving:
Strath Haven: Shane Green 1-26; Jahi Curtis 1-26.
Ridley: Jayden Brown 6-45; Connor Kelly 3-22, TD; Gene D’Amico 2-22; Sean Manley 2-8; Logan Bubb 1-7.
