Upper Dublin hits ground running in rout of Springfield-Montco
UPPER DUBLIN >>So far this season no one has been able to hang with Upper Dublin’s high-powered offense as they’ve dominated their
opponents on their way to a perfect 4-0 record. Friday night was no different as the Cardinals ran over SOL American foe Springfield 62-0.
The Cardinals offense, which has been unstoppable all season, was only on the field for one half of football before they called off the dogs
but they made their time count racking up 319 yards in the first two quarters on their way to a 48-0 halftime lead.
“I thought we played well,” said Upper Dublin head coach Bret Stover. “The wind was a factor tonight so we took the wind. I thought the
defense looked good and the offense was efficient in what we needed to do, which was the plan and they executed and we played the weather a little bit tonight.”
With the rain pouring down, the Cardinals, who have been known for their potent air attack so far this season, only threw it five times
and relied on a heavy dose of the ground game.
“I felt good,” said Cardinals starting quarterback Ryan Stover. “I only threw it about five times tonight but it felt good.”
Stacey Gardner led all rushers with 135 yards and three touchdowns on just five carries while Kalief Lee added 45 yards and three scores of
his own, all coming in that first half.
“Stacey ran it really well tonight,” said Bret Stover. “We didn’t really get too much of a chance to throw it tonight but this team doesn’t care, we just want to win and that’s what’s great about this team is they don’t care how it gets done and it’s nice to coach a team like this that is as unselfish as these guys are.”
Gardner and Lee get a lot of the credit for the run game, as they should, but the Cardinals know it’s a complete team effort. Whether it’s the line, the wide receivers, or one of the many backs they have at their disposal it takes all of them to move the ball in this system.
“Kalief and Stacey have been great all year,” said Ryan Stover. “and the
line has been awesome and it’s not just them in the backfield it’s the
backs behind them; David Bryant, Evan Scott, Phil Butler all those
guys can carry the ball for us and the wide outs do a great job
blocking so while they are huge for us it’s not just those guys it’s
the whole system working together.’
It wasn’t just the Cardinals’ offense that was dominant. The defense held the Spartans to just 12 yards in that first half and allowed just
two first downs, even scoring for themselves on a 60 yard interception returned for a touchdown by defensive end Jack Rapine.
The Spartans offense just couldn’t get a push up front and Upper Dublin’s defense seemed to be in the backfield before most plays started. Dual-threat quarterback and team captain Justin Hill has been huge for Springfield all season long but the senior couldn’t manage to
get anything going, rushing for -5 yards on 14 carries and going 1 for 5 through the air with the interception to Rapine.
Coming off a big win las week against Wissahickon, the Spartans looked to keep the momentum going and try to pull off the upset at Cardinal Stadium, but it was clear from the start that Upper Dublin was the better team on this night.
For Bret Stover this is a special season. For one, his team is off to a scorching start and looks to be one of the top teams in the area;
but also, and maybe more importantly, he gets to watch his son Ryan play quarterback for, and lead, a team of kids he’s known for a long
time.
“I can’t even put it into words really,” said Bret Stover “It’s something you dream about and it’s surreal just to watch him execute and I’ve watched all these guys grow up, they were in my house and it’s a lot of fun and their football IQ is through the roof and they prepare for each opponent every week and they know it in and out each week.”
Sitting at 5-0 and having a 42.6 point average margin of victory it would be easy to see how the Cardinals could get complacent, but Stover and his staff are on top of the team to never be satisfied and always strive for more.
“We’re very critical when we watch the tape and our kids understand that,” said Bret Stover. “We want to get better and even plays that work if we don’t block it all correctly we want to get it fixed and if it’s not right on defense we want to get it fixed and that’s the type of staff we have, they won’t accept it. Even though it worked we want to get it fixed because we know as the season goes on team are going to take advantage of that and exploit it.”
