Springfield youth club 80-pound teams

80-Pound JV Gold

Springfield 20

Haverford 6

The 80 pound JV gold team provided a lot of excitement on Oct. 30 by capping off a phenomenal season with a convincing 20-6 victory over Haverford. After a hard fought first half and a 6–0 deficit, the Cougars came out fired up in the second half and dominated both sides of the ball.

Dominick Alfonsi led the Cougar offense with two remarkable touchdown runs. Jake Eden converted two extra points to help the Cougar offense cement the win. Kieran Roche, Stephen Graney, Fran Grady, Anthony Teufel, Dan Albany, Aiden Hoopes and John Godsey paved the way for Nick Donegan and Chris Rich to pound out some crucial yards all morning.

As always the Cougar defense was relentless! Nick Finzio laid a devastating hit on a Haverford running back forcing a fumble that the Cougars were able to recover. Alex Sciarrino also recovered a Haverford fumble that he was able to return 30 yards for the final Cougar touchdown of the morning.

The collective defensive effort of Chad Ruppert, Brian Layton, Edward Cullen, Dan Tommarelli, Riley McCarry, Logan Chambers, Tom Dougherty, Malachi Hansen, Robbie O’Brien, Kevin Farren, Alex Hudyma and Nico Santini proved to be too much for the Haverford offense. The Cougar defense allowed only minimal first half yards and stopped the Haverford offense completely in the second half.

A very fitting end to the game was Paul “never say quit” Conlan’s 40-yard dash to catch a Haverford running back and make the tackle just a few yards shy of the end zone. His effort saved a late touchdown and proved to be the final play of the season.

It was a great year for the 80-pound JV gold team. Congratulations to all of the players and coaches on a terrific season.

80-pound JV Blue

Haverford 7

Springfield 0

Springfield 80-pound JV Blue (1-6-2) lost a close game to Haverford 1 on Oct. 3. The score for JV Blue’s final game of the season was 7-0 at Haverford.

Haverford scored early in the first half on their second possession of the game but were held scoreless by Springfield’s defense the remainder of the game. The defense recovered two fumbles on the day by Todd Garrett and Matt Johnston. Leading the way for the defense was Alex Klien, Matt Gagliardi, Cole Rhodes, Connor Smith, Vincent Divario, Jake Methlie, Brian King, Aidan McLane, M’khai Terry, and Tommy Ward. Strong defensive tackling was shown through out the game by Art Minchin, Colin Renning, Alex Williams, and Michael Leon.

The Cougar offense was fighting tough field position much of the first half. Led by quarterback Shawn Atkins the offensive had several long yardage gains by running back Alex Williams. Running backs Connor Smith, Matt Ellison, and Kieran Morse also posted rushing yards. Nick Santivasci, Cole Rhodes, Ethan Scott, M’khai Terry, Anthony McBride, Brett Gougler, Danny Barrett, and Dylan Archer handled offensive blocking.

Head coach Shawn Atkins praised his team for their effort on the day that was a parallel to their tough season.

80-Pound Varsity

Springfield 21

Haverford 6

SYC 80-pound Varsity completed its regular season with a perfect 9-0 record by shutting down Haverford on Saturday.

The offense had its most impressive game to date against an extremely tough Haverford defense. Brendon Weaver, Brendan Hilden, and Jake Vaughan lead an impressive effort throughout all four quarters. Early on, a fantastic pass by QB Pat Marley landed squarely in the hands of Anthony Rightley who ran it in for a quick 7- 0lead.

The Cougars’ defense had its work cut out for them against a quick-footed opposing offense. However big stops by Steven Griffin, Tanner Robinson, and Pat Dougherty held the Fords off time and again. Michael Eberhardt and Jimmy O'Neill came up big when it counted and racked up several stops as well.

Key blocking by Kevin Rechner and Aiden Shandley created the necessary openings to allow a QB Keeper for Marley to add two more touchdowns early in the second half. Pat McCann and Rightley both came up huge with impressive runs to add the extra points for a 21-6 lead that wouldn't change for the remainder of the game.

The Cougar defense remained focused and kept Haverford out of its territory thanks to the impressive efforts of Nick Cariola and Joe Pontano. Klaus Gabel had an incredible day racking up several sacks to keep the Fords from scoring.

The undefeated Cougars hope to see the entire SYC community cheering them on in their first playoff game next Saturday at home at 1noon.