Rosato 2-for-2 as Radnor’s opening is a smash
RADNOR >> When Radnor’s 2017 football team played its first game, Matt Rosato was a spectator.
“He played for the freshman team, and they didn’t start practicing until we started school,” Raiders head coach Tom Ryan said of his 6-2, 180-pound sophomore tight end.
Rosato’s varsity debut Friday night against Upper Merion was one in which he only caught touchdowns. At the completion of the plays in which he made his two receptions, he was in the end zone accepting congratulations from his teammates.
Radnor would need those 12 points to hold off the determined Vikings and earn a 31-23 decision at Prevost Field.
“Sean (Mullarkey) threw perfect balls,” Rosato said of his quarterback, who was 11-for-16 passing for 187 yards and added a 41-yard scoring run.
Upper Merion scored the first touchdown when Ahmad Stone fell on a Radnor fumble in the end zone following the Vikings’ first punt. The lead lasted less than a minute as Mullarkey broke off his scoring run on the Raiders’ second play from scrimmage.
Early in the second quarter, Rosato got open, Mullarkey’s pass landed in his hands, and he had just enough left in the tank to get across the goal line before being caught.
A 31-yard completion from Mullarkey to Matt Cohen set up a short scoring plunge by Raiders defensive lineman Ifevan Gavin, giving the home team a 21-7 halftime advantage.
Things got interesting in the second minute of the second half when a botched Radnor handoff resulted in six Upper Merion points. Linebacker Mark Picariello ran 44 yards with the fumble for a touchdown.
“I used to play fullback before I got hurt last year,” Picariello said. “After they fumbled the handoff, I picked up the ball, saw daylight, and knew no one was going to catch me.
“This was a lot better than when we played them last year and lost, 52-22.”
The Radnor tendency to fumble – and lose the ball – probably had Ryan going over the game tapes early into Saturday morning.
“We had a good scrimmage against Owen J. Roberts last week and I think it had us getting lackadaisical this week,” Ryan said. “We made all those mistakes tonight, but they are things we can work on correcting.
“We’ll have to do that if we want to be ready to start the Central League at Marple (Newtown) next week.”
After Radnor’s Dylan Van dusen hit a 27-yard field goal with five minutes left in the third quarter, Tai Lobban returned the ensuing kickoff 87 yards as Upper Merion cut its deficit to 24-21.
Four minutes later, Rosato finished off a 10-yard scoring play with another catch of a throw from Mullarkey.
“It was the same play, but it went to the left and Sean threw another perfect pass,” Rosato said.
With four minutes to play in a game that lasted more than three hours because of a number of injury timeouts and changes of possession, a snap from center went over Radnor punter Van dusen’s head and out of the end zone for a safety, setting what would be the final score after Teddy Girton’s second interception.
“(Rosato) had a good start to his varsity football career,” Ryan said. “We have things to work on, though.”
