Radnor trumps Aces again in historic football rivalry
Lower Merion >> As Radnor players gathered a few minutes after their 28-20 win against Lower Merion Friday evening, a couple of Radnor’s star seniors reflected on what participating in the annual LM-Radnor meant to them.
“It’s really awesome to see how the whole community gets up for this,” said running back Matt Cohen, who rushed for 142 yards on 32 carries Friday. “A lot of great players have played in this game, there’s a lot of history to it.”
“It’s definitely an honor, the game’s been played for 122 [consecutive] years,” said quarterback Sean Mullarkey, who scored on a 74-yard touchdown run and threw two TD passes against the Aces. “The whole LM Week is fun. We didn’t play our best game tonight, but we got the win, and that’s what matters.”
The game was originally scheduled to be played at Lower Merion Saturday afternoon, but with heavy rain slated for Saturday, the contest was moved to Friday evening at Harriton – and the stands were packed.
With the victory, Radnor has won 18 of the last 20 contests between the two teams. Lower Merion still holds the overall edge, 56-55-11, in this rivalry, billed as the longest continuous public high school football rivalry in the United States (the annual contest started in 1897).
The game was scoreless until midway through the second quarter, when Lower Merion broke the scoring ice with a nine-play, 74-yard touchdown drive highlighted by a 28-yard pass from Matt O’Connor to Marcus Green, a 21-yard completion from O’Connor to Deshawn Jemison, and a gutsy eight-yard run by O’Connor on 4th-and-4 at the Radnor 19. The Aces took a 7-0 lead with 5:58 to go before halftime.
Nine plays later, Radnor tied the score on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Mullarkey to sophomore tight end Matt Rosato.
“[Rosato] was running a skinny post, Lower Merion was blitzing, and I saw him open deep,” said Mullarkey.
Radnor kept its momentum on the next series, sacking O’Connor on the first play from scrimmage; then, on the following play, a bad snap by the Aces was recovered by Radnor senior defensive end Aidan Dunn at the Lower Merion 14. Cohen ran left for a 14-yard touchdown 1:44 before halftime, and the Raiders led the rest of the way.
Radnor head coach Tom Ryan said, “Coming into the game, we knew how talented Lower Merion was offensively, and it took some time for us to get going, but we got great leadership from our 24 seniors tonight.”
The halftime intermission did not cool down Radnor’s red-hot momentum. After the Raiders received the second-half kickoff, their first play from scrimmage was a 74-yard touchdown run by Mullarkey for a 21-7 lead.
“That run was definitely tiring,” said Mullarkey, with a laugh. “It was a sweep to the left, technically a read [play], and the ball was to go to Matt Cohen. But I saw the middle linebacker go with Cohen, and I saw an opening up the middle, so I ran with it.”
Late in the third quarter, Radnor recovered a Lower Merion fumble at the Aces’ 45 yard line. The Raiders ran off 10 consecutive running plays, all the way down to the Aces’ 1 yard line, then Mullarkey passed to a wide-open Rosato down the middle to make it 28-7.
Most of the running yardage on that touchdown drive was gained by Cohen.
“Our offensive line was picking up Lower Merion’s blitzes, and making holes for me all night,” said Cohen.
Ryan praised the blocking of the Raiders’ offensive line – senior center Henry Collins, senior guards Archer Darrach and Nick Scheri, senior tackles Ryan Bernicker and Anthony Laudicina, and Rosato at tight end.
In the fourth quarter, Lower Merion began a scoring push. The Aces made an 11-play, 60-yard touchdown drive to make it 28-13 with 7:19 left in the game. Much of the yardage on that drive was picked up by runs from senior Jalen Goodman and short passes by O’Connor.
With about four minutes to go, a Radnor fumble was recovered by Lower Merion senior linebacker John Trainor at the Aces’ 23. A 15 yard run by Goodman was followed by a 13-yard run by O’Connor, then a couple of Radnor penalties brought the ball to the Raiders’ 19. Goodman’s 19-yard touchdown run brought Lower Merion to within 28-20 with 2:55 left.
Radnor took the ensuing kickoff and ran off the remaining time on the clock, helped by a 16-yard pass from Mullarkey to Rosato on 3rd-and-13 at the Radnor 43.
Ryan also praised the Raiders’ defensive line – Dunn and Scheri at defensive ends, and senior Ifeyan Gavin and junior Pat Boujoukos at defensive tackles.
“Our defensive line had great push tonight,” said Ryan.
While Radnor will be advancing to the PIAA District 1 tournament, playing a home district playoff game for the first time, Lower Merion’s season ended with Friday’s game.
Aces head coach Evan Breisblatt said he was proud of his squad’s effort.
“We had Ian Goodman down, Jaden Helton got injured, and we played Radnor, a high seed in District 1, as hard as they’ve been played this season,” said Breisblatt. “I’m very proud of my squad. It was a great atmosphere tonight, the stands were packed, and the fans got their money’s worth – I think this is the greatest [high school] rivalry in the country.”
Radnor 28, Lower Merion 20
Radnor 0 14 14 0 – 28
Lower Merion 0 7 0 13 – 20
Second Quarter
LM – O’Connor, 1, run (Kosto kick)
RA – Rosato, 36, pass from Mullarkey (Van Dusen kick)
RA – Cohen, 14, run (Van Dusen kick)
Third Quarter
RA – Mullarkey, 74, run (Van Dusen kick)
RA – Rosato, 1, pass from Mullarkey (Van Dusen kick)
Fourth Quarter
LM – O’Connor, 1, run (conversion failed)
LM – Goodman, 19, run (Kosto kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
RAD LM
First downs 14 15
Rushes-yards 40-269 35-105
Yards passing 65 102
Total yards 334 207
Passing 5-10-1 8-16-1
Fumbles-lost 2-2 3-2
Punts-avg. 2-39.5 2-34.0
Penalties-yards 7-60 4-40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:
Rushing: Radnor – Cohen 32-142 TD, Mullarkey 8-127 TD; Lower Merion – Goodman 17-53 TD, O’Connor 13-34 TD, Helton 1-3, Jemison 3-14, Jackson 1-1.
Passing: Radnor – Mullarkey 5-10-1, 65 yards, 1 TD; Lower Merion – O’Connor 8-16-1, 102 yards.
Receiving: Radnor – Rosato 4-56, 2 TDs, Rider 1-9; Lower Merion – Jemison 2-24, Green 3-50, Goodman 2-22, Holder 1-6.
Interceptions: Radnor – Girton; Lower Merion – Green.
