Dukes, Upper Moreland blank Wissahickon

UPPER MORELAND >> The Upper Moreland football squad got a big boost in the senior night atmosphere as it got a 20-0 shutout victory against the Wissahickon Trojans.

Despite both teams combining for 248 yards on 24 penalties, the Golden Bears got a big help from senior running back Dai-Jahn Dukes, who scored two touchdowns in the win.

Dukes scored the first touchdown in the second quarter to break up a scoreless tie and take an 8-0 lead at halftime.

Dukes later got the biggest run of the game at 30 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“I can’t even describe what I felt scoring the touchdowns,” said Dukes. “I have been on this team for four years and I just start touching the rock this year. It means everything to me.”

Dukes finished the game with 37 yards and two touchdowns on just four carries.

Upper Moreland (5-2, 2-2 SOL American) sophomore quarterback Bryon Hopkins, despite only throwing two complete passes, scored the last touchdown of the game with a quarterback sneak.

“It was great for us to get this win,” said Hopkins. “We still have a lot of work to do, but we got the win and we can’t really be upset about that.”

Upper Moreland head coach CJ Szydlik was pleased with his team’s performance on senior night.

“It definitely wasn’t the prettiest game for us,” said Szydlik. “But with all the obstacles and distractions facing us, we have a lot of work to do but we’re a young team and we are happy getting the win.”

“Nothing that Dukes does surprises me,” added Szydlik. “He’s the grown man on the football field, he leads by example, and he’s an awesome human being.”

As for Wissahickon (1-6, 1-3), penalties was a huge factor in the game when it got 14 penalties with half of them being personal fouls.

Wissahickon head coach Bruce Fleming explained the reason for the tough penalties.

“We became undisciplined in the second half,” said Fleming. “I take responsibility on making sure our guys are as disciplined as possible throughout the ups and downs of the emotion of a football game, so we have to do better in order to play all four quarters.”

“We have talked all season about being able to walk away when things are getting a bit tense,” added Fleming. “We’ve got to be able to control our emotions so we can stay in the game.”

The Upper Moreland Golden Bears looks for their third straight win next Friday when they travel to Sun Valley with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

Wissahickon returns home next week against crosstown rival Upper Dublin in the Trojans homecoming game with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

Upper Moreland 20, Wissahickon 0
WI 0 0 0 0 -0
UM 0 8 0 12 -20
UM – Dukes 1-yard run (Hopkins pass to Moore 2-pt conversion)
UM – Dukes 30-yard run (2-pt conversion failed)
UM – Hopkins 1-yard run (2-pt conversion failed)
TEAM STATISTICS
UM WI
First downs 4 10
Rushing yards121 92
Passing yards 15 92
Total yards 136 184
Passing 2-8 12-22
Penalties 10-110 14-138
Fumbles lost 0 1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Upper Moreland: Jackson 10-64; Dukes 4-37, 2 TD; Broderick 2-13; Hopkins 6-6, 1 TD; Casey 1-3; Cirino 1-(-2). Wissahickon: Lehman 22-72; DeFeo 2-15; Intrieri 1-7; Schreiner 1-0; Baldwin 2-(-2).
PASSING – Upper Moreland: Hopkins 2-8, 15 yds. Wissahickon: DeFeo 12-22, 92 yds.
RECEIVING – Upper Moreland: Moore 1-10; Troxell 1-5. Wissahickon: Quinn 2-28; Lehman 2-17; Dougherty 3-13; Schreiner 2-10; Benjamin 1-10; Intrieri 1-8; Schank 1-4.