Harris seals Haverford School victory

The referees huddled to discuss the call. They then huddled again. They talked to the Springside Chestnut Hill coach and huddled once more. The call stood.

Haverford School regained possession after a fumble, but the delay seemed to sap the game's energy.

But on the next play from scrimmage, the energy returned. Fords running back Reginald Harris took the handoff, bounced to the right sideline, and ran almost untouched for an 85-yard touchdown. The score sealed host Haverford School's 32-16 win Saturday afternoon and kept the Fords undefeated in the Inter-Ac League.

The 5-foot-9, 156-pound Harris rushed for 178 yards on 16 carries. All but one yard came after halftime. The junior worked in tandem with senior Phil Poquie, who ran for a 91-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

"That was really big for us," Harris said about his touchdown run. "That let us take a deep breath, because it's not over until it's over. It just gave us some more hope that the game was going to be in our favor."

Haverford School (6-1 overall, 2-0 league) is the Inter-Ac's lone undefeated team with three games left. The Fords shared last year's title with Malvern Prep, which they defeated last week. It was the first loss of the season for Springside Chestnut Hill (6-1, 1-1).

"It's a good feeling, but we can't sleep on that," Harris said. "We still have some good teams, and we have to play every down at our best."

Harris missed summer training camp after injuring his left foot in May at a track meet. He said he knew he had hurt it during the triple jump at the Inter-Ac championship meet, but decided to jump the following week at the state championships. He's a tough guy, he said.

Harris later was found to have a torn plantar fascia and did not play until the Fords' third game.

"He's terrific," Fords coach Mike Murphy said. "More than being a hard worker is his attitude. A lot of guys would be over there moping and this and that. No way. He comes in and knows every assignment that we run, knows everything that we do. And he runs the ball like that."

Spring. Chest. Hill 0 0 16 0 - 16

Haverford School 0 5 14 13 - 32

HS: FG Jack Soslow 38

HS: Safety

S: Dylan Parsons 22 pass from Paul Dooley (Matthew Rahill pass from Dooley)

HS: Micah Sims 37 pass from Kevin Carter (Soslow kick)

HS: Phil Poquie 91 run (Soslow kick)

S: Jordan Johnson 54 pass from Dooley (Parsons pass from Dooley)

HS: FG Soslow 27

HS: FG Soslow 19

HS: Reginald Harris 85 run (Soslow kick)