Upper Merion denies Owen J. Roberts’ district playoff hopes

KING OF PRUSSIA >> It’s been 17 years since Upper Merion’s football team hosted a playoff game, but after its 29-27 victory over Owen J. Roberts on Friday night in a Week 10 Pioneer Athletic Conference crossover contest, the Vikings will get a chance to play some postseason football in front of their own fans.

Upper Merion improved to 6-4 to maintain their standing of at least No. 8 in the District 1 Class 5A playoff field. Conversely, Owen J. Roberts fell to 6-4 and will await its playoff fate after entering the weekend No. 14 on Class 6A, but early indications appear the Wildcats will be on the outside looking in.

It took a while for Upper Merion to find its footing against the Wildcats, falling behind 14-0 late in the first quarter. Owen J. Roberts utilized a 30-yard touchdown pass from Cooper Chamberlain to Dante Denardo and a 32-yard fumble return by Cory Hartman to build a two-possession lead in just 59 seconds.

“We were down early, but our kids fight,” Upper Merion coach Victor Brown said. “They are so resilient and that is something we’ve worked on all season because that’s how you win tough games against tough opponents.”

The Vikings failed to score on any of their first five drives, but they seemed to find a rhythm late in the first half, going on a 9-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 20-yard touchdown run from Anthony Swenda to cut the deficit to 14-6 at halftime.

Upper Merion continued to build momentum out of the half when Michael Zelli intercepted Chamberlain at the Vikings’ 28-yard-line. Three plays later, Dale Clayton found Zaire Savage for a 7-yard touchdown pass. The Vikings then took a 15-14 lead on a 25-yard field goal.

“The way we came out after the half really answered a lot of questions about our team,” Brown said. “It was huge for us to answer the bell and comeback like we did.”

However, Owen J. Roberts wouldn’t lay down and stormed back to retake the lead late in the third quarter. After being bottled up all night, running back Marcus Martin exploded off the right guard for a 23-yard score and the subsequent extra point gave the Wildcats a 21-15 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Upper Merion responded by unleashing their own dominant run game as Swenda rumbled 31 yards for his second touchdown of the evening. On their very next offensive play, Savage sprinted 52 yards for another score and a 29-21 lead.

“It’s nice having multiple backs who can pick up yards,” Brown said. “Swenda and Zelli are bigger guys, then we have Savage who is a big-play threat. It’s great having those guys to keep the defense guessing.”

Upper Merion finished the night with 418 yards of offense, 191 of which came on the ground. Swenda led the way, picking up 118 yards and two touchdowns on his 28 carries. Savage had 70 rushing yards to go with three catches and 68 receiving yards and also finished with two scores.

The Wildcats blocked a punt late in the fourth quarter and returned the loose ball for a touchdown, but after throwing an incomplete pass on their two-point attempt, Upper Merion took the ball and never let go, running out the final six minutes of the game with a 14-play, 49-yard march.