By: Alec Eskin
This football season has been a great one so far! Garnet Valley is currently undefeated (4-0) and on the way to an amazing season. In 3 of the 4 games, the Jaguar offense has scored 42 plus points. The defense has been as stellar as the offense with only letting up 45 points combined in four games. There are only three undefeated teams in the central league, and Garnet Valley is one of these teams. Let’s recap the first four games of the regular season…
It was opening night of the 2018 high school football season, and the excitement and nervousness was in the air on that warm, sunny August evening; it was expected to be a fun, intense game against Unionville. The day was incredible for Garnet Valley, as they won 42-3. The offense was spectacular with Garnet Valley rushing for a combined 367 yards rushing on 61 attempts and 46 passing yards. On defense, the Jaguars only allowed nine first downs from Unionville and forced one turnover on a fumble.
Second game of the year was with Garnet Valley facing its long time rival Ridley. This was a game where the week prior to the sporting event felt endless; this game wound up being played in heavy rain and was dangerously slippery. Despite the difficult weather conditions, there was a similar score result for the Jaguars who beat Ridley by a final score of 55-21. Garnet Valley ran all over the place with 527 yards on 55 attempts, about 9.6 yards per attempt! The defense had a tremendous game with 4 forced fumbles and two for turnovers. Also, Ridley only got 147 total yards and six first downs. Even in the rain, it was a clear night.
The third game was huge for Garnet Valley, as it would heavily affect what rank they received in the playoffs. This was longest game that I have ever seen, encompassing a span of two days to play. The game was delayed until 7:35 PM because of thunder and lightning, and with 3 minutes and 36 seconds left in the first quarter, there was a flash and play was stopped. About an hour later, everyone found out that the game would resume play at 6:00 PM the following night. Once play resumed, the game was a defensive battle. There was only 7-6 Haverford in 47 minutes and 49 seconds to play (there are 48 minutes total in a high school football game). When Palis threw a four yard touchdown pass to Glackin, this led the Jaguars to winning 14-7. The offense did not have the same stats in the first two weeks, but they came up clutch when they needed to. The defense and special teams had the same story. The defense bent but did not break. Haverford had three drives in which they got into the red zone (20 yards within getting a touchdown), and they had zero combined points on all of those drives. Also, the defense held a strong Haverford offense to 250 total yards and seven points. Lastly, the special teams had two blocked field goals, one from the one yard line and one from about the 20 yard line.
The fourth game was against a good Marple team that just lost its all-time passing leader in Paoletti. Coming off a tough game against a very good Haverford team would be a very good test, and Garnet Valley succeeded, winning by a final score of 42-14. Garnet Valley’s offense came off the Haverford game scoring 42 points. The offense had five for six one red zone opportunities (scored five touchdowns) as well as having 367 rushing yards and 85 passing yards. The defense once again put the clamps on the opponent’s offense. They had five sacks with one interception and only allowed 14 points. Once again, a great game for the Jaguars.