Haverford Loses Tough One To Ridley, 21-6

Tough losses, like the one experienced against rival Ridley Friday night, are enough to make any coach grind their teeth. But Fords’ coach Joe Gallagher saw the 21-6 setback in the Central League opener as something quite a bit different.

Despite the fact Haverford fell to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the league, Gallagher couldn’t be more optimistic as the Fords prepare to open their newly renovated field Friday night against Lower Merion. He saw the errors that placed them in a difficult spot against traditionally powerful Ridley.

“I like a lot of things I saw the first two weeks,” Gallagher said. “We did some really good things against Ridley. We hurt ourselves with mistakes, but they were correctable mistakes. I really like some of the things we’re doing and where we’re going. I think we’re in good shape to do some things the rest of the year—and I think we saw that against a very good team like Ridley.”

What has Gallagher feeling so optimistic is the Fords handed Ridley two touchdowns on turnovers, one was an interception return and the other came from a fumble inside the Fords’ 15-yard line. Take away those two miscues and who knows what may have happened.

“We were a little disappointed in losing the first couple of games, and we feel comfortable we can play with most teams after playing the way we did against Ridley,” said Fords’ quarterback Mike Clancy, who’s been placed in a tough spot of playing quarterback while junior Eddie Durkin heels from a broken hand. “Coach Gallagher wanted to try something different against Ridley, spreading it out and throwing the ball a lot. Some of the passes were there and it worked out for us. The physical part of the game we did hold up against Ridley. The guys on our team gave a really effort."

Haverford’s Kevin Leyden scored on a 14-yard run that made the game competitive at one point, with the Fords trailing 7-6. But the errors mounted, and the Green Raiders went on to score two more times in gaining some distance between them and Haverford.

“We were in there, the mistakes are what killed us, that was the difference,” Clancy said. “After seeing the game film, it was all figured out. I really think we can turn this around. Ridley is very good, and there is some luck, but we were sure losers in either game. We’re good enough to be 2-0. Everyone was pretty bummed out about losing to Ridley, but we can see good things happening, and hopefully they will beginning next week against Lower Merion.”