Morgan, DeLucas lead Upper Moreland past Cheltenham

UPPER MORELAND >> At times throughout Friday night’s Suburban One League American Conference game between Cheltenham and Upper Moreland, it was hard to tell which direction the rain was coming from as it consistently poured and the wind gusted and swirled.

It wasn’t that hard however to figure out which direction Upper Moreland running back Rodney Morgan was running. He was going towards the Cheltenham end zone.

Morgan led the Golden Bears to a 28-6 win with a 20-carry, 165-yard and one touchdown performance.

“Rodney showed that he’s a very competent back,” Upper Moreland coach Adam Beach said. “I thought he handled the elements well. I think he picks his spots well and he showed a little bit more of his burst.”

Complementing Morgan was backfield mate Nick DeLucas. A three-year varsity player in the Bears’ backfield, DeLucas has never been the feature back in the offense, but he has a knack for the big play and has proven himself as a very versatile weapon as demonstrated by his seven carries for 29 yards, three catches for 51 yards as well as a pair of TDs on the ground Friday night.

“He’s been playing for us for three years,” said Beach of DeLucas. “Sophomore year he has the winning touchdown against Hatboro to ice the game. He’s seen it all. He’s done it all. He’s a solid all around football player.”

Entering the game, Cheltenham was coming off a brutal part of its schedule after playing Central Bucks East, Quakertown and Upper Dublin in three of its first five games. Not that the Panthers were taking the Bears lightly, but Cheltenham figured on this game being one of the more winnable games on its schedule.

“Its game five and I’m still crying inexperience,” Cheltenham coach Joe Gro said. “I have to do something better than what I’m doing.”

Guiding the Cheltenham offense as always was Branden Mack. Mack has established himself as Cheltenham’s best player and Gro uses him in a variety of ways. Mack started at quarterback as he usually does but switched to halfback for a couple series in the in second half, but Mack’s efforts were not enough to keep the Panther offense on schedule.

“Somehow we’ve got to come up with something that’s going to give us a chance to come up with some success,” Gro said. “Branden is willing to do anything you ask him to do. Not (just) Branden we’re looking for some other kids who are not only willing but going to have a positive affect.”

The good news for the Panthers is they have another “winnable” conference game as it takes on Upper Merion next Friday and it is also a pretty safe bet to assume the game time conditions will be better as well.