PHILADELPHIA – The situation seemed dire, but for some reason, it simultaneously appeared manageable.
Colin Hurlbrink thinks he knows why.
“We have all the faith in the world in Tommy Toal,” he said, “He’s a playmaker.”
That he is, and largely because of that, Haverford School edged host Penn Charter, 21-20, in an overtime thriller on October 14 that doubled as an Inter-Academic League opener.
Hurlbrink is a junior defensive lineman, Toal senior quarterback. While Hurlbrink and his defensive mates matched brawn with their worthy Penn Charter adversaries, Toal engineered the offense.
With the score tied at 7-7 and seemingly destined to necessitate an extra session, a disastrous punting mishap led to a Penn Charter go-ahead touchdown with 1:54 remaining. When the ensuing kickoff left Haverford School 70 yards from an end zone they had reached only once back in the second quarter, the defending champion Fords were on the brink of disaster.
But, as Hurlbrink said, Haverford School had its playmaker. The Fords, thus, still had life.
“If we want to achieve our main goal, and I want to do my senior season right with the rest of my buddies, we gotta go down and get a score,” said Toal.
Haverford School junior Colin Hurlbrink lauds his team's defense
With a defender about to pounce, Toal lofted a perfect pass down the right sideline to senior running back Mallik Twyman, and 35 yards later, the Fords were already in Penn Charter territory. Out of timeouts, inched closer and closer. From the 13-yard line, inexplicable delays by the officials established an aura of instability, but with 13.6 seconds remaining, Toal brushed confusion aside as he hit wide-open senior Conner Mosebrook for a score.
As Mosebrook crossed into the promised land untouched, the plentiful Haverford crowd went wild, and then again as junior Chase McCollum drilled the never-automatic extra point.
“I think this team is at its best when its back is against the wall, and that’s a great quality to have,” said Toal. “People stepped up and got it done. They were a little disorganized on defense, and Coach Murph made a great call. We took advantage of it.”
Tommy Toal discusses the Fords comeback victory
For the second consecutive season, the two teams would head into overtime.
Last year, it took three extra possessions before Haverford School survived a 41-40 thriller. This would not be a repeat, although it could have been had it not been for a seriously gutsy – and arguably admirable – call by Penn Charter coach Tommy Coyle.
After a perfectly executed 10-yard pass from Toal (13 of 24 for 184 yards and two TDs) to Twyman (22 carries for 119 yards and one TD; 4 catches for 52 yards and one TD) and a McCollum extra point put the Fords (5-1 overall) ahead, 21-14, the Quakers (4-1) faced a fourth and goal at the three-yard line.
After a timeout, senior quarterback Mike Hnatkowsky (15 for 27, 153 yards, two TDs) connected with senior Chris Tucker for a game-tying touchdown – assuming, of course, that Penn Charter booted the extra point.
There would be no boot. Instead, the Quakers attempted to surprise the Fords with a two-point conversion toss. It didn’t work. With no yellow flags lying motionless on the field, the contest was over.
For the second straight year, Haverford School and Penn Charter had orchestrated one for the ages.
“Nobody quit,” said Haverford School coach Mike Murphy. “Maybe that’s the best trait on this team. We pick each other up.”
Murphy admitted the Fords need to play better moving forward. He was bothered by Haverford’s offense leaving “opportunities” on the field in the first half and a generally “sloppy” first half.
“I love the way we finished,” he said. “Experience of being in so many tight football games last year got us used to moments like today, so that definitely helps. We don’t get in to a panic mode. There’s a sense of calm.”
(John Knebels can be reached at jknebels@gmail.com or on twitter @johnknebels.)