GLENOLDEN — Prior to Saturday, smiling faces and celebrations had been a rare sight on an Academy Park sideline this season.
Mired in a five-game losing streak, AP’s homecoming game with Downingtown East last week was postponed due to what Southeast Delco School District officials described as a “security threat” made on social media. By Monday, the game was canceled and the Knights were denied the opportunity to play their first home game under the lights since Aug. 2021.
The Knights’ enthusiastic reaction after a resilient 12-10 victory over rival Interboro at South Avenue Athletic Complex was weeks in the making. After erasing a 10-point deficit with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, the Knights savored a moment no one could take from them.
“It feels great,” sophomore quarterback Kareem Moore said. “We kept fighting and never gave up.”
Moore showed maturity beyond his years in the fourth. He connected with Camir Jones for a 27-yard touchdown pass with 8:34 to play. Then he engineered the game-winning drive by finding Amir Thomas on a long pass to set the Knights’ up with a first-and-goal from the 2. Two plays later, Moore received the snap out of the shotgun and ran straight ahead to the end zone from a yard out, giving the Knights (2-5, 1-1 Del Val) the lead with 3:15 to go.
“Our offense is getting better,” Moore said, “but our defense is playing great.”
Among the standouts on defense were senior linemen Azim Jones and Camani Chase, and senior linebackers Malcolm Robinson and Uwais Roane.
“It feels amazing because we have been working hard all year. We came in today with a five-game losing streak and showed we have heart,” Azim Jones said. “Our problem when we were losing was we didn’t always trust each other. So when we came out here today, we talked to each other and said that we have to trust each other no matter what. We trusted each other and we won.”
Interboro moved the ball in the first half behind freshman Momodu Rogers (86 yards on 16 carries) and senior co-captain Tommy Receveur (50 yards on 13 carries). Rogers sprinted 59 yards to the end zone to give the Bucs (3-5, 0-3 Del Val) a 6-0 lead in the second quarter. Interboro held a 10-0 advantage after Dempsey Lopez made a 19-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
AP’s defense limited the Bucs to 43 yards of offense in the second half.
“At halftime we went into the locker room … and we all came together,” Azim Jones said. “We were saying that we have to turn it up. We had to score and we had to stop them on offense if we wanted to win this game. So we came out with a lot of heart and trust.”
Moore was 7-for-17 for 172 yards and a TD. Six of his completions for 167 yards came in the second half. Daniel Gbeaday had three catches for 77 yards.
The Knights travel to Penn Wood next week before wrapping up the season with a home game against reigning league champ Chester. The Del Val title is still within reach for AP, even if a spot in the District 1 Class 5A tournament may not be. Saturday’s impressive comeback is a confidence boost as the Knights look to finish the year on a high note.
“We want to keep it going,” Moore said. “And just keep fighting.”
