Undefeated Cougars Make History

Tom Kline tries not to pay attention. The new football coach would like to focus on the present, but 1994 is often brought up to him.

The Cougars were so bad for so long, that you’d have to go back 17 years, back to 1994, before Springfield started a season 3-0, as the Cougars have done in Kline’s first season this year.

Springfield thumped Penncrest, 34-0, last week and will travel to Haverford High School this Friday for a crucial Central League game. Haverford High School will be the biggest test to date for Kline and his team.

“I’m very impressed with Haverford and what coach [Joe] Gallagher does over there, they’re 1-2, but to us, they’re a very good football team,” Kline said.

“The other stuff, and the history, I think it’s important for the community. Everyone in the community is paying attention to us and that means more to the kids. They work hard every day at practice. This is what we aimed for four years ago, when I came in here with Dan Ellis. The kids are buying into the program.”

One of the reasons for this start is one of those unsung players, senior fullback/outside linebacker Jake Meindl.

“Offensively, we’ve had eight different players score touchdowns for us this year, so everyone is involved and players like Jake play a huge role in that,” Kline said.

“Jake knows he has a role out there, but it’s players like Jake that are unsung heroes and impact on our success.”