Experience and success summarize an experienced Haverford Football Program that has talent year in and year in and year out. The Fords have a loaded senior class that was 33-13 before the 2019 Playoffs. That being said, Haverford has never won a playoff game in its school history, until now.
The Fords started 0-2. Losses to Archbishop Carroll and rival Garnet Valley saw the team spiraling early. Many doubted Haverford, and the players used that exact doubt to fuel a deadly run. The Fords outscored their opponents 323-44 in their eight game winning streak to end the season that included four shutouts by the defense.
Haverford was led by their senior leaders on both sides of the ball during this streak. An offense led by senior quarterback and University of Buffalo commit Trey Blair found its footing during the eight game run and averaged 40.3 points per game. Blair has been a talented athlete ever since he was a young kid smashing home run after home run when he was 11 in Little League. Since then, everyone knew that he was going to be special. Blair plays both sides of the ball and along with his duties at quarterback, he plays cornerback (his "natural" position), punts, and returns kicks. Blair is anchored by a senior driven offensive line. Led by Kevin Gillespie, John Cunningham, Dean Ranloff, Bill Clancy, and Elihu Bey the line has been key for protecting Blair and giving him and senior running back Chasen Wint lanes to run all season long. The defense for the Fords is as strong as ever with Blair locking up the secondary, linebackers Sean Reynolds, Brian Klee, and Will Higson who've been making key tackles all year long, which is aided by a defensive line led by Gillespie, Wint, and Harry Carpenter who plug up lanes and create constant pressure. All three levels of the defense for Haverford are extremely effective which is why the Fords have been successful in allowing just 7.9 points per game during the regular season. Even though the Fords were playing well, they knew that there was more work ahead.
Haverford went into the district playoffs as underdogs being the No. 12 seed. Their first opponent was No. 5 seed Springford. Haverford used that underdog mentality to completely shock the Rams in a 49-14 beat down for their first playoff win in school history, but the Fords weren't done there. The week after, they faced No. 4 seed Downingtown East and again bullied their way to a 35-12 victory that saw Trey Blair do a little bit of everything once again. Now the Fords take on No. 1 seed Downingtown West in the District Semifinals on Friday and no one is taking them lightly now. The "Built Ford Tough" mantra exemplifies the journey that Haverford has been on this season. This is a team that has proved they can bounce back from tough losses and is more than just a one man show in Blair. After the two playoff wins, this is the first time that Haverford has had a 10-win season since the 2015 team that was known for beating Upper Darby on Thanksgiving to win the first Central League Title since 1995.
This is a team with experience, talent, and speed in all three phases of the game and is another win away from playing the winner of Garnet Valley versus Coatesville. A possible rematch with the Jaguars is a possibility, but right now the Fords aren't looking ahead, they're enjoying the history they've created.
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