Upper Merion holds on to top Upper Perkiomen, 17-9
RED HILL >> It went from a snoozer to a firecracker.
Friday’s game between Upper Perkiomen and Upper Merion started out as a defensive duel between the Pioneer Athletic Conference (Frontier Division) opponents, a 3-0 contest through the first half into the second. But the final 16 minutes saw the teams score a combined 23 points on kicked-in-gear running games, some lit-up passing and a field goal, and the Vikings hanging in for a 17-9 victory.
“It was strange in one aspect,” UM head coach Victor Brown said after seeing his squad improve to 2-0 in the league and division (4-2 overall) despite a slew of penalties and a low-production passing game. “We had things that needed to get switched. We adjusted at the half, being able to run the ball because we weren’t getting help from the passing game.”
Rushing touchdowns by Zaire Savage and Anthony Swenda, coming in the third and fourth quarters, helped break the game open. Upper Perk (0-2, 1-5) contributed a passing score and 20-yard Joe McMichael field goal to the turnaround, and it stayed within reach of its guests until the Vikes covered an onside kick with little more than a minute remaining and the Indians unable to stop the clock, running the time off with quarterback Dale Clayton taking a couple kneels to end it.
That notwithstanding, UP head coach Tom Hontz pronounced himself pleased with his players’ effort.
“We put a fight up,” Hontz said, “considering what we had to offer.”
With Tyrese Reid and Malachi Duka both unavailable while mending injuries, the UP ground game was held pretty much in check. So the Tribe worked the airways, primarily with Hunter Flack coming off the bench early to replace previous starter Tyler Weber.
“He gives us a little more athleticism,” Hontz noted. “We looked for him to give us a little more spark, and he did.”
Flack completed 10-of-23 passes for 111 yards. The biggest was a 24-yard connection to Luke Whary inside the final two minutes, that after a previous eight-yard hookup was negated by a holding penalty.
“We knew they (Vikings) didn’t respect our passing game,” Hontz noted. “Hunter did it, and he can scramble. He’s able to roll out and avoid the defense, though he did take some hits.”
One play after Taiyan Lobban intercepted a Flack pass at midfield, Savage (18 carries, 143 yards) burst through his right tackle, saw an open lane and roared down it to boost UM’s lead to 10-0 with 4:06 left in the third. A subsequent possession ended in the Vikes punting the ball away, but after UP got on the board with McMichael’s field goal with 6:09 left in the game, the visitors capped a nine-play drive with Swenda going five yards through his right tackle at the 2:25 mark.
Swenda (25 yards on seven carries) and Michael Zelli, who covered 40 yards on eight first-half carries, also contributed to the UM ground game. The passing game, by comparison, netted just 58 yards on Clayton’s 7-for-17 completion rate.
“We’ve got to catch the football,” Brown said, referencing numerous pass attempts his receivers were unable to hold onto. “We had success with it last week.”
He also lamented the team’s lack of discipline in drawing 14 penalties for 135 yards.
“We need to learn from our mistakes,” Brown added. “Penalties … we have to stop them. We need to doing things the right way.”
For UP, the wait for getting Reid and Duka back in action — Hontz described both of them as being close — was eased to a degree by the mindset the team is developing.
“We told them at practice Monday they’re going to be underdogs the rest of the way out,” Hontz said. “We challenged them to play hard. They went out tonight with a lot of spirit.”
NOTES >> UM’s field goal by Nicholas Lindelow was a 28-yarder 4:42 in the first quarter. It was set up by the Vikes recovering a fumble at the UP six on the Tribe’s second play from scrimmage. … Max Kratohwill and Whary were the leading targets in the Indians’ passing game, combining for 11 catches and more than 100 yards.
