Stewart, Owen J. Roberts top Methacton
FAIRVIEW VILLAGE >> Methacton broke in its new turf field Saturday afternoon for the school’s 50th Homecoming.
But Owen J. Roberts did the real ground-breaking. The Wildcats broke the Warriors down with their ground game.
Methacton also did a decent job of self-destructing.
Piling up 304 rushing yards spread among a bevy of running backs, the Wildcats needed to throw it only five times. Meantime, the Warriors threw five interceptions, and the outcome was academic — 47-7, Owen J. Roberts.
Rayquon Stewart (nine carries, 91 yards, two touchdowns), and Bryce Weeks (eight carries for 83 yards and a score) led the way behind exceptional offensive line play as the Wildcats, using 10 ballcarriers, improved to 4-4 overall and 4-2 in the PAC-10. Undersized Methacton, which was 8-3 last season but lost a bunch of seniors, remained winless (0-8, 0-7).
The Warriors made a little noise early after Methacton had taken an 8-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.
OJR, which scored on one interception runback and on every possession after a pick, cashed in on the first turnover when sophomore Dawson Stuart returned an interception 52 yards to the Methacton 11. Quarterback Mitch Bradford scored on the next play.
Methacton, though, came back quickly when Dylan Henry blocked a punt deep in OJR territory. Dylan Feaster recovered for the Warriors at the 1-yard line, and they scored on quarterback Jason Eckman’s sneak, kicking the PAT to trail 8-7 with 4:18 left in the first quarter.
After that, it was all OJR.
An 84-yard drive culminated in Stewart’s 12-yard TD run. A pick by Anthony Buehler sparked a 55-yard drive to a 22-7 lead when Weeks scored with 4:36 left in the first half.
The Wildcats finished the half in a flourish. Sophomore Ted Bradford intercepted Eckman in the left flat and flew 52 yards for a touchdown. Stuart, a promising 6-4 sophomore quarterback/linebacker, made his second interception and returned it 21 yards to set up his rollout TD throw to Matt McCollum to make it 34-7 at halftime.
“We knew they like to run the slots in double-crossers,” Stuart said about anticipating on the interceptions. “I was reading the quarterback’s eyes. The eyes shifted to my side and I just jumped the underneath route.”
OJR has shown some good physical play under first-year head coach Rick Kolka. The Wildcats’ defensive line played tough in a loss to powerful Spring-Ford last week, recording eight sacks, and both OJR lines were dominant Saturday. Comprising the OJR offensive front are center Alex Condello (a senior and first-year starter who hadn’t played since middle school), Christian Krumenacker, Conor Mitchell, Jack Heft and Eric LeVan.
“Our communication has been a big key throughout the season,” Condello said. “We enjoy blocking for all the running backs because they’re going to finish off every run.”
Eckman, a junior, did complete half of his 22 passes, accounting for 100 yards passing of the Warriors’ modest 149 total yards. Kolka was especially pleased with his defense’s larceny and his offense’s gratitude.
“We emphasize that, taking advantage of turnovers, and we weren’t doing that at the beginning of the year,” Kolka said. “So it’s nice to take advantage of them.
“I was pleased with how we played on offense and defense — everything but that blocked punt,” he added.
“We knew we had to get the job done,” Stuart said. “Methacton plays tough; they’re tough kids.”
NOTES >> Mitch Bradford, a major senior leader and multi-talented player for OJR as a quarterback, constant running threat and receiver, left the game soon after his quick early TD with what appeared to be a hip injury. Kolka wasn’t sure after the game about the specific injury or the extent. … The Wildcats have won three of their last four after starting 1-3. … It was OJR’s first win over Methacton since 2010. … Methacton has been outscored this season 400-81.
