Photo Credit: A&S Media
Heading into the second week of the Rams’ season, I hoped that Harriton could rebound from a tough start against Bristol. Unfortunately, my desires did not come to fruition. Harriton lost in a blowout last Friday night to Radnor HS 0 – 37. Radnor looked extremely strong the previous week and was coming off an unexpected blowout against Chichester. Don’t be surprised if they are a fighting force in the central league this year. Meanwhile, the Rams are still searching for their first points of the season.
Predicted Score: Harriton 10 – Radnor 14
Final Score: Harriton 0 – Radnor 37
Sam’s Game Observations
As always, the positives:
- Improved Discipline: Harriton showed significant improvement in minimizing mistakes this week. While last week’s game saw multiple turnovers, the Rams were much more disciplined this time. There may have been one fumble or interception, but none significantly impacted the game.
- Promising Future: This team’s future is bright. The freshmen and sophomores continue to impress. They knew their role and could execute as well as some their age should be able to.
- Player of the game: Tre Demarco. Tre Demarco. Tre provided one of the few highlights for the Rams with a crucial interception late in the second quarter, halting Radnor’s drive in an otherwise uneventful game.
Improvements for next week:
- Finding the End Zone: Scoring remains the biggest challenge. Despite a better offensive showing, the team needs to find a way to capitalize on its drives and put points on the board.
- Special Teams: Harriton’s special teams struggled for the second consecutive week. An injury to the punter seems to have persisted, and the backup punter’s short kicks put the defense in challenging positions. Improving this area will be key moving forward.
- Offense: While the reduction in turnovers was positive, the Rams played conservatively, which limited their offensive progress. To compete against stronger teams like Haverford next week, they’ll need to take more calculated risks and diversify their play-calling.
Haverford Game Prediction
Haverford went 1-9 last season, but don’t let that deceive you. Many of their games were close, and they’ve started this season with a 1-1 record, including a decisive 42-0 victory over South Philadelphia. Given Harriton’s recent struggles, predicting a win is problematic until they break their scoring drought.
Haverford 28 – Harriton 7
Note: HarritonTV will live-stream the rest of the home games this year.