Gallagher leads experienced backfield for Lower Moreland

Matt Gallagher rushed for over 800 yards in the eight games he played last season.

Lower Moreland’s premier back most likely would have hit the 1,000-yard plateau had it not been for a quad injury that kept him out of two contests.

Gallagher, a senior, epitomizes the spirit of his team this season, as the Lions are a group that believe they can — in many ways — go further in 2015.

“We have a lot of chemistry. We all played together last year, so the blocking scheme — everything, we’re familiar with it and that’s really gonna help,” Gallagher said. “We have a small team but we’re working hard every day.

“We have a lot of starters coming back — our whole backfield,” Gallagher said. “After going 1-9, we really wanna improve. Our whole secondary is back, as well as inside linebacker, outside linebacker. So we really wanna improve this year, get a lot of wins.”

Gallagher will be a vital piece of Lower Moreland’s wishbone attack, whose run-pass option could keep opponents guessing, with sophomore quarterback Mike Parisse leading the offense.

“We struggled a bit last year in terms of winning and losing so a lot of the younger kids, by virtue, for a lot of different reasons, had to play,” Lions coach Mark Mayson said. “So we have a number of kids back who played in the games last year. And that’s been helping us early on (in camp).

“I think they kind of know what to expect, working very hard in practice. So it’s been a good week for us. We have a mix of experience and inexperience offensively. We’re working on it, but (the first Friday of camp) was our best day, in terms of the way the kids are executing the offense. We feel very good about it right now.”

An experienced backfield gives Lower Moreland plenty of stability on the offensive side. The 4-4 defense is anchored by a veteran secondary and quick linebackers.

“Defensively, we do have a lot of experience. We have a number of guys who were defensive starters last year and played very well,” Mayson said. “I expect our special teams to be good.”

Top Photo: Lower Moreland’s Mike Parisse hands off during practice on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015. (Bob Raines/Montgomery Media)