Strath Haven’s Bill Brown
CHESTER — They knew what was happening. They could feel the gradual, stubborn bend. Each play came with a little more space, and a little more, and enough to move a very stubborn, physical Chester defensive front.
Strath Haven’s offensive line of left tackle Bill Brown, left guard Gavin Pilson, center Carter Law, right guard Jackson Geremia, right tackle Will Leuthold and tight ends Jahi Curtis and Sean Henry knew the game was in their hands in the third quarter of Saturday’s District 1 Class 5A championship at Chester.
The Clippers were playing for history, looking to become the first Chester football team to win a district championship. Strath Haven was buried in history, looking for a record 13th district championship.
The Panthers used a third-quarter 17-play, 9-minute, 57-second marathon drive to take control of the game on the way to a 28-20 victory over Chester.
The No. 2 seed in District 1, Strath Haven (13-1) will now play District 12 champion Imhotep Charter, a 31-7 winner over District 2 champion Delaware Valley, in the PIAA Class 5A semifinals next weekend at a site and time to be determined.
Strath Haven quarterback Jake Kitchin scored three of the Panthers’ four touchdowns taking a page from the Philadelphia Eagles’ popular tush push play—relying heavily on the Panthers’ front to score.
“Our o-line gives us the strength to move behind, we leaned on the guys up front the whole season,” Kitchin said. “Chester slowed down. They started to get tired. I knew this. I knew we could win the district title. We worked so hard in the offseason. We lost to Rustin last year in the district semifinals on a fumbled snap. We have two more games.”
Strath Haven trailed, 20-14, at the outset of the third quarter on Quamere Cosby’s 92-yard kickoff return to start the second half. The Panthers responded with a methodical, time-consuming drive that began at their 36. They threw the ball twice on the next 17 plays, bulling forward against Chester and moving the Clippers off the ball.
“We felt we could do that,” Brown said. “Everyone knows what we do. They just can’t stop it. This (offensive line) is a group that’s been together for the last two years. We knew what we had to do.”
After Kitchin found Henry in the back of the end zone for a four-yard score with 1:48 to play in the third quarter, the Panthers with another mammoth drive, going 14 plays chewing up 8 minutes, and one second and ending when Kitchin scored his third TD.
With 3:19 to play, Chester bogged itself down with penalties, a problem all afternoon, and it was Henry who sealed with an interception at the Chester 35 with 2:03 left.
“I have a lot to be proud of, we did historic things this year, I know the work we put in, so this season is not a surprise to any of us,” said Clippers’ coach Dennis Shaw, who did an amazing job in his first year. “We worked out behinds of to get here and there is a lot to be happy about. Nothing is guaranteed, and hats off to Strath Haven.
“Kevin Clancy (Strath Haven’s head coach) is a legend. Hats off to them. They were the better team today. They won. This will absolutely hurt here for a little bit, but we brought a lot back to Chester. We shut the city down for a day. We have been great at getting our seniors into schools.
“The entire city of Chester was shutdown for a football game. To see that, it was a beautiful sight and this is just the beginning.”
As Chester’s Connecticut-bound Dominic Toy left the field he was still dealing with the emotion of the loss. “But we started something here that everyone following us at Chester can follow, we created a new blueprint and I’m proud of that,” he said. “Credit to Strath Haven. They won. They beat us. But we started something here that will continue to grow and me and these seniors were a part of that.
“That’s what hurts so much about this. These seniors have all known each other since we first started playing football. We didn’t win Chester’s first district title, but we were the first Chester team to get here.”
Scoring Summary
Strath Haven (13-1) 7 7 7 7-28
Chester (12-2) 6 6 8 0-20
1st Quarter
SH – Jake Kitchin 6 run (Ben Milligan kick), 5:59
Ch – Daron Harris 74 pass from Jalen Harris (run failed), 5:43
2nd Quarter
Ch – Daron Harris 3 run (run failed), 5:27
SH – Kitchin 2 run (Milligan kick), 2:54
3rd Quarter
Ch – Quamere Cosby’s 92 kickoff return (Dominic Toy pass from Daron Harris), 11:45
SH – Sean Henry 4 pass from Kitchin (Milligan kick), 1:48
4th Quarter
SH – Kitchin 1 run (Milligan kick), 3:18
Joseph Santoliquito is a hall-of-fame, 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.
