Cougars clinch Central League crown

No matter what happened Friday night at host Haverford, Springfield knew it would walk away with at least a share of the Central League title.

The Cougars, however, must have been feeling stingy.

In a closely-contested, sometimes contentious grudge match, Springfield prevailed, 31-17.

"This is awesome man," said senior lineman Justin Shields. "We've been working for this all year. My junior year we had a share of the title. I knew what that was like and I didn't want to do it again."

Despite its best offensive threat, Ja'Den McKenzie, getting ejected in the third quarterback after a second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, the Cougars defense rallied.

"We battled all night," Shields said. "I couldn't have done it without the 10 other guys behind me. We won it as a team."

In a long third quarter fraught with penalties, McKenzie was flagged for a second unsportsmanlike penalty with about 7 minutes left in the frame.

It came at the end of a play near the Fords' sideline after McKenzie made a defensive play. It wasn't clear why a flag was thrown.

Instead of folding, the Cougars (10-0, 9-0), took a 17-10 lead after Jack Coary's 24-yard field midway through the quarter after trailing, 10-7, at intermission.

McKenzie still finished with 51 yards and a score on 9 carries. In his stead, Phil Shovlin finished with 50 yards on 16 carriers, mostly after McKenzie was ejected.

Jack Psenicska finished with three touchdowns in the air, including a critical 31-yard score to Frank Durham Jr., who finished with 82 yards on five catches. Psenicska also added a late ground tally.

For the Fords (8-2, 5-2), senior wide receiver Jordan Mosley finished with 121 yards and a score on 9 catches.

Late in the fourth quarter, however, Shields and his defensive made forced the Fords into two late turnovers on downs to help seal the victory.

"I was just thinking this is it right now," he said. "We didn't want to share it. We were harping on that all week. We wanted to take it ourselves."

Box

Springfield 0 7 10 14 31

Haverford 7 3 7 0 17

H: Jonathan Klee 1 run. John Scheivert kick

S: Chris Finizio 2 pass from Jack Psenicska. Jack Coary kick

H: Scheivert 18 field goal

S: Ja'Den McKenzie 13 pass from Psenicska. Coary kick

S: Coary 24 field goal

H: Jordan Mosley 19 pass from Jake Ruane. Scheivert kick

S: Frank Durham Jr. 31 pass from Psenicska. Coary kick

S: Psenicska 1 run. Coary kick