Methacton rumbles past Upper Merion for 2-1 start
WORCESTER >> It took just one offensive series for Methacton to take the lead on Friday night, and the Warriors never looked back.
An 80-yard touchdown run from running back Mike Torcini with 8:54 left in the first set the tone as Methacton held on for a 21-12 home win over Upper Merion.
“The 80-yard touchdown run to start it off was huge,” Methacton head coach Dave Lotier said. “It set the tone and let them (Upper Merion) know that we’re here to play and it’s going to be a battle the entire game.”
Torcini wasn’t done with big first-half plays either. With time winding down in the opening quarter, the senior ripped off another long touchdown run, this time from 57-yards out, to make it 14-0.
While the Methacton offense was busy scoring 14 unanswered points, the Upper Merion offense was struggling to find its rhythm.
The Vikings took the opening drive down the field and inside the Warriors’ 15 yard line, but penalties pushed them back and a missed 36-yard field goal gave Methacton the ball.
On its second drive, Upper Merion quarterback Dale Clayton was intercepted by Matt Blakemore, setting the stage for Torcini’s second touchdown of the night.
“We played these guys (Methacton) last year and so I’m not surprised how they played. They’re a physical football team,” Upper Merion head coach Victor Brown said. “The penalties killed us and I would have liked us to throw the ball better and be a little sharper there.”
Torcini finished with 155 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries. The senior running back watched the entire second half from the sideline with his shoulder pads off and his arm in a sling.
Upper Merion’s ground game took some time to find its footing but did eventually get going.
Anthony Swenda finished with 93 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carriers, scoring before half to make it 14-6 and again in the fourth to try and get his team out of a 21-6 hole.
Taiyan Lobban and Clayton had 44 and 45 yards rushing, respectively.
“We got some good, explosive plays from him (Lobban),” Brown said. “He ran hard and did exactly what we asked him to do. We just need to keep working to get better.”
Methacton (2-1) hosts Pottstown on Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. The Vikings (2-1) play Owen J. Roberts at home.
TURNING AROUND THE PROGRAM >> After a winless 2017 and a one-win season in 2018, the Methacton Warriors have a winning record for the first time since 2014.
Lotier, in his second season as the team’s head coach, said that taking down an opponent of Upper Merion’s quality could be seen as a statement win.
“That Upper Merion team is a good football team,” he said. “We have a ton of respect for them, they’re going to win some games this year, so to beat a team that we weren’t expected to beat by a lot of people in the public, and to get to 2-1, it’s a huge confidence builder for our program.”
At the same time, Lotier was quick to point out that his team still has a lot of work to do if it wants to achieve its goals in 2019.
“We’re 2-1,” he said. “All we’re thinking about now is working as hard as we can to get to 3-1.”
LOSING ITS LEADER >> After the game, coach Lotier said he believes Torcini broke his collarbone in the first half of Friday’s win and will miss the remainder of the season.
Torcini, the team’s top rusher, has been through it all with the Warriors, including their previous two seasons that yielded just a single win.
Now, with the Warriors looking as though they’re headed in the right direction, they’ll be without their leader.
“Mike Torcini is the heart and soul of this program,” Lotier said. “He has taken us from winning one game in two and a half years to where we’re beating good football teams. That kid (Torcini) will always be credited with being a huge part of turning this thing around.”
Junior Justin Carfrey replaced Mancini in the second half, carrying the ball 19 times for 46 yards and a touchdown.
Lotier said Carfrey and Nick Olivieri will see the most time at running back for Methacton. Olivieri had 20 yards on six rushes.
“I’m proud of how Nick Olivieri and Justin Carfrey stepped up when Mike went down,” Lotier said. “I’m very happy with all those guys.”
MOVING ON >> Brown said it’s important that his teams looks at what they did wrong this week and moves on to next week’s game with Owen J. Roberts.
“We need to make sure we understand this is just one week,” Brown said. “With kids, they can sometimes get down when things don’t go their way. I always tell them the most important play in football is your next play. It’s the same thing for us as a team, the most important game for us is our next one.”
Methacton 21, Upper Merion 12
Methacton (2-1) 14 0 7 0 — 21
Upper Merion (2-1) 0 6 0 6 — 12
Scoring
First Quarter
M — 80 yard run by Mike Torcini; 8:54
M — 57 yard run by Mike Torcini; 00:06
Second Quarter
U — 2 yard run by Anthony Swenda; 1:27
Third Quarter
M — 2 yard run by Justin Carfrey; 8:05
Fourth Quarter
U — 13 yard run by Anthony Swenda; 3:41
Team Statistics
M U
First Downs 9 11
Rushing yards 217 210
Passing yards 49 107
Total yards 266 317
Passing 3-7 5-14
Penalties 9-85 10-105
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Punts-Avg 6-31.2 4-28.3
Individual Statistics
RUSHING
U:Taiyan Lobban 6-44; Dale Clayton 7-45; Anthony Swenda 20-93 2 TD; Matt Zielinski1-4; Marc Clayton 3-24.
M: Mike Torcini 9-155 2 TD; Michael Merola 2-(-1); Nick Olivieri 6-20; Justin Carfey 19-46 TD; Larry Dickerson 2-(-3).
PASSING
U: Dale Clayton 5-14 107 Yards 1 INT.
M: Michael Merola 3-7 48 Yards.
RECEIVING
U: Marc Clayton 1-10; Aaron Anderson1-37; Taiyan Lobban 2-57; Harrison Young 1-13.
M: Ryan Cassidy 1-0; Larry Dickerson 2-48.\
