Lower Merion ace QB O’Connor named MVP in East-West All-Star Game

Ardmore >> Lower Merion quarterback Matt O’Connor, who set a school record last fall with 3,446 career passing yards in just 23 games, was named MVP of the East squad in the 18th annual Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Association (PSFCA) East-West All-Star Game May 5 at Altoona’s Mansion Park.
O’Connor completed seven of 12 passes for 232 yards and four touchdowns in the first half, despite wet, rainy conditions. With five seconds to go before halftime, O’Connor hit West Catholic wide receiver Seth Degree with a 61-yard touchdown on a go route.
“Seth ran a great route,” said O’Connor. “We had a lot of good receivers on our team, guys who could beat man coverage and take the top off the defense. Our line was giving me good protection too.”
O’Connor threw two TD passes to Degree, and one each to Rynell Gantt of Harrisburg (on a slant-and-go route) and to Shamar Edwards of North Penn (on a wheel route out of the backfield).
A couple of O’Connor’s plays under pressure particularly stood out to Lower Merion head football coach Evan Breisblatt, who was at the game.
“The weather conditions were not good, but Matt can play in any type of weather and be successful,” said Breisblatt. “On one play, Matt had to shuffle his way in the pocket, then stepped up and made a big throw as he avoided a pass rusher. Another play, where he waited in the pocket and had to take a shot to deliver a TD strike down the middle of the field … that is vintage ‘Matty Ice!’”
The 6-foot-2 O’Connor, who received a Mini Maxwell award last fall, committed to Villanova in February, where he will be a preferred walk-on on the football team. He will major in business at Villanova.
“Villanova made a great decision bringing Matt into their program,” said Breisblatt.

Another Lower Merion player made his presence felt at the East-West game, defensive back Jalen Goodman, who like O’Connor is headed to Villanova. Goodman, who was a first team All-Central League defensive back and a first team All-Main Line football selection, started at safety in the East-West game and contributed on special teams as well.
“Jalen did a great job in coverage and in coming up to make tackles,” said Breisblatt. “Jalen is a once-in-a-lifetime talented athlete that can play any skill position on the field. Jalen has all the tangibles to become a starting defensive back at Villanova, and is going to study and work hard to become the best on and off the field.”
“I was excited to play in the East-West game, my last high school football game of my career, and it was great playing with Matt,” said Goodman. “He and I have played together all the way back to our days at St. Margarets. I was impressed with how confident Matt was in his throws [at Altoona], and both my parents and Matt’s parents were at the game (won by West 41-35).”
Breisblatt said, “Matt and Jalen put Lower Merion football on the map this past Sunday. Hopefully, all their success will bring more student athletes out for our program. We can’t thank them enough for the kind of leadership and work ethic they brought to the table each and every day.”