Sports
Delco Christian Falls Short to Defending District Champion Calvary Christian
Though losing 20-7 against Calvary Christian on Saturday, Nov. 12, the Knights made some big strides in their season as a varsity program.
WILLOW GROVE–The heartache was palpable—as it should have been. That’s because the current players on this football team cared–as they have always cared. This was their team. A program they built from scratch. And in just two years the Knights went from a curious project to PIAA District 1 Class A championship contenders.
That ultimate dream of a district title fell short Saturday afternoon in a 20-7 loss to defending district champion Calvary Christian in the district title game played at Upper Moreland High School.
Amid the sniffles of discouragement and the faint sound of crying was a group that built a foundation, which made a very significant first step for their successors to follow. The Knights went from a 2-7 team last year to finishing 7-2 this season, starting their season 7-0.
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“I think we learned a lot of things this year. I think the biggest lesson we learned is any team with heart and hard work can accomplish anything,” Knights’ quarterback Matt Hirshman said. “Hey, I have to give credit to Calvary Christian, they came ready to play. And we showed some life in the second half. It’s sad to end our season this way, but I think we can say we started a great program.”
The Knights were in a 14-0 hole at halftime and it looked as if they would dig out of it late in the third quarter, when Hirshman hit Ron Burrell for a 14-yard touchdown pass. The scoring strike came on a fourth-and-7 play, and it seemed to breathe some new life into the Knights.
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But Calvary stomped out any chance of hope when the Cougars took the ensuing drive right back down the field and scored on their first possession of the fourth quarter. That placed the Knights in a 20-7 deficit, forced to make up two scores with 8:12 left to play.
“It’s tough to , and Calvary is a very good team, with a very good coaching staff,” Delco Christian coach Jim Favino said. “We had to run the toss [play] to win, and Calvary did a great job of taking that away from us. But I can’t say enough of where this program has gone. The seniors were great leaders, and they set the benchmark for future teams here. Future teams could all look back to this one.”
The team has already made the first significant step in becoming a winning program.
