Haverford High Loses Tough One To Conestoga, 22-20

It didn’t seem as if anyone could look up. All they could do was study the tops of their cleats and think of something different they could have done. saw its postseason hopes evaporate in a hard-fought, but critical 22-20 loss to Conestoga Friday night.

The Fords kept battling. They kept clawing, and scratching, and made what seemed like a game that they were losing control of suddenly competitive.

But in the end, the Fords knew they had to win two straight to earn a spot in the PIAA District 1 Class AAAA playoffs. Dropping to 5-4 overall probably ended that hope, while Conestoga remained alive with a 6-3 record.

“This game was played with a playoff intensity,” said Fords’ junior quarterback Eddie Durkin, who did everything he could do to keep the Fords in the game, driving them down the field twice in answering Conestoga scores. “I feel really bad for the seniors. They were counting on making the district playoffs. This was a big deal for them. The main thing is we should have executed, and at times, we didn’t.”

What did in the Fords was Conestoga quarterback Joe Viviano, who had a career game, throwing for 317 yards, completing 20 of 31 passes, and Pioneers’ receiver Davonte Carter also had a career game, catching 10 passes for 165 yards.

Haverford countered with ground game provided by Durkin and tailback Mike Clancy, who combined for close to 160 yards rushing and two
touchdowns.

Haverford took an early 7-0 lead when Durkin scored on a 14-yard run. Conestoga answered when Viviano scored on a 1-yard sneak, but a two-point conversion failed, giving Haverford a brief 7-6 edge. That changed by the end of the first half when Viviano hit Andrew DeStefano with a 19-yard TD strike—giving Conestoga a 12-7 halftime advantage.

It looked as if Conestoga would take full control of the game when Viviano threw a 31-yard dart through two Haverford defenders that somehow found Carter for a touchdown, which gave the Pioneers a 19-7 lead with 6:02 left in the third quarter.

But Durkin and Mike Clancy grabbed the Fords and placed on them on their shoulders. They led Haverford on a time-consuming, 13-play, 62-yard drive that ended on the final play of the third quarter, when Durkin went crashing into the end from six yards out, pulling the Fords to within 19-14.

The rollercoaster theme of the game didn’t stop there. On Conestoga’s next possession, kicker Steve Shickel booted a 23-yard field goal that proved to be the winning difference. The scoring drive, however, was kept alive when Viviano hit DeStefano on a third-and-11 play from the Pioneers’ 35 with a 29-yard completion.

“You give up plays like that, those are the kinds of plays that kill you,” Haverford coach Joe Gallagher said.

Haverford did answer—again. Clancy went swerving through the Conestoga defense for a 32-yard touchdown—but Dylan Hewitt’s lead into the end was thwarted by a handful of Pioneer defenders right at the goal line pylon with 6:00 left in the game.

That was it. Conestoga stopped Haverford’s last-gasp drive and remained alive. Haverford can now play playoff spoiler for some other playoff-bound team by trying to knock off Garnet Valley, which holds down first place in the Central League.