Tonight the Haverford Fords had to make their second trip in a row to Kottmeyer Stadium for a playoff game against a Downingtown High School. Unfortunately for the Fords- the result was not the same, as the Whippets defeat them 49-42; to set up a rematch with league rival Coatesville for the District 1 6A title.
The final score was a lot closer than it should have been, as the Whippets were ahead 35-7 in the first half, and 42-14 in the third quarter.
Things began dubiously for Haverford, as the Fords wheels were spinning and went nowhere for their first two drives. As they were unable to move the ball, Tyriq Lewis staked the Whippets to a 14-0 lead on runs of 4 and 1 yard. Lewis completed a 34 yard halfback pass for 34 yards on their opening drive.
Haverford quarterback Trey Blair helped the Fords’ offense get on track, when he broke a 75 yard run set up a Chasen Wint 1 yard run to cut their deficit to 14-7. Will Howard completed his first of three touchdown passes to Will Mahmoud (5 yards) to make it 21-7 after the first quarter.
A one yard sneak by Howard increased the Whippets’ lead to 28-7, then a double turnover gave the Whippets the ball at midfield. A screen pass intended for Tyriq Lewis was intercepted by Will Higson, then Sean Pelkisson forced a fumble by Higson on the interception return. The Whippets cashed in, as Will Howard scored on a 7 yard run, to put the Whippets up 35-7. Trey Blair cut the lead to 35-14 at halftime, on a 20 yard run.
The Whippets and Fords scored touchdowns on their only possessions in the third frame, on Will Howard’s second touchdown pass to Will Mahmoud (42-14), and a touchdown pass from Blair cut the lead to 42-21.
The fourth quarter had a lot of scoring, and led to a wild finish. Trey Blair threw his second touchdown pass to Chris Dempsey (21 yards) to cut the lead to 42-28. Will Howard hit Julian Williams for a 52 yard touchdown pass to bring West’s lead back to 21 (49-28). At this point, the Fords made things interesting, led by their SUNY-Buffalo signal caller. Blair scored on a 1 yard run (49-35), recovered an onside kick, then threw a 9 yard pass to Higson to cut the score to 49-42.
Unfortunately for the Fords- the Whippets recovered the second onside kick, ran out the clock, and set up their rematch.
Offensively, the Whippets showed a lot of balance on offense, with 273 yards rushing, and 282 passing. Will Howard threw for 248 yards and 3 touchdowns, and ran for 2 more. Tyriq Lewis ran for 140 yards.
For Haverford, Trey Blair ran for 256 yards, and accounted for 5 scores.
Up next- Haverford (10-3) plays Upper Darby on Thanksgiving morning, and Downingtown West (12-1) plays Coatesville (10-2) next Friday
