Mellet, defense come through for Upper Darby in shutout
MIDDLETOWN >> Upper Darby’s Scott Mellet had a pass deflection that led to one entertaining interception return.
Mellet also recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown and scored on a 10-yard run. The linebacker/fullback had a big hand in the Royals’ 34-0 Central League victory over Penncrest Friday night at cold and rainy Louis Scott Stadium.
“Eventually they gave me my shot,” Mellet said with a smile. “I’ve fumbled a lot on the other carries that I got and I knew I had to redeem myself.”
Before he scored on offense, Mellet chased after Penncrest quarterback Manny Ruffin and got his hand in the air as Ruffin tried to swing the ball into the flat. The tipped pass dropped in the big arms of defensive tackle James King, who gave his best deer-in-the-headlights look.
The 6-4, 260-pound junior froze for a second and then started running toward the Upper Darby sideline. Eventually he hooked left and headed toward the end zone. Alas, King was tripped up 13 yards of the goal line.
“It’s like that movie — what’s it called? — ‘The Replacements’” UD coach Richie Gentile said. “You know, when the big guy catches the ball and goes, ‘Oh crap, what now?’ That’s what it was like.”
In all seriousness, Mellet and King teamed up to make a great play early in the game as both offenses had trouble getting on track. If there was a turning point in a 34-point game, well… it was that moment.
Four plays later, Christoff Minott handed off the ball to the county’s No. 1 rusher and the Royals (4-1, 2-0) were on the board in a flash. Despite two fumbles — who could blame him considering the weather? — Isaiah Bruce ran for 170 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. Bruce has rushed for 788 yards and 13 TDs this season.
While the senior running back added on to his already impressive Hudl highlight reel, the story of the game was Upper Darby’s maligned defensive unit that had struggled to keep opponents off the board.
Mellet performed a key role, and so did several other defenders. Chris Smith recorded two sacks and Tyler George picked up one. Free safety Calvin Fielding was a blanket in the secondary, hurried the quarterback on a zone read and had a few tackles. Shawn Page was an anchor in the trenches and Dane Burke was a monster at linebacker.
“I thought Burke played really well tonight,” Gentile said. “He was the middle backer, flying into the B gaps. If you do that then you have the outside backers and safeties, you just can’t run or it makes it hard to run to the outside. If those three guys can play, then you can control tackle to tackle. I didn’t realize how big they were until we showed up. They have nice size and their backs ran hard. I just think we did a nice defensively.”
It was the sort of defensive performance the Royals have been waiting for after allowing 30.3 points in the last three weeks. The Royals went 2-1 in that span in large part because of Bruce, Minott and the offensive line. It was the defense’s turn to steal the show.
The Royals limited Penncrest (2-3, 2-1) to 33 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers.
“We focused a lot on tackling,” Fielding said. “After last week, giving up a fair amount of points against Ridley, this week there was more focus on bringing that intensity and we had harder practices. That’s how we did it tonight.”
Mellet’s defensive touchdown happened when a high snap got away from Penncrest’s Ruffin in the third quarter. The ball skittered and Mellett landed on it in the end zone to give the Royals a two-touchdown cushion. Later in the period, the Royals put the game out of reach when Bruce bounced to his left and dashed 61 yards down the Upper Darby sideline for his second TD. He added a 30-yard scoring scamper on the first play from scrimmage in the fourth quarter.
Penncrest played without its leading rusher, senior Ryan Kinnard, who was sidelined due to injury. Shane Breckenridge had a great night punting the ball, averaging 37.1 yards on seven boots.
