Quakertown rallies to beat injury-ravaged Upper Dublin

QUAKERTOWN >> Going into halftime down 13-0, Quakertown head coach George Banas said he had a simple message for his team at the break.

“Just play your game,” he said. “Block who you’re supposed to block, made the tackle, play your gaps, just play Quakertown football. We didn’t do that in the first half.”

The second half was a different story for the Panthers, as they scored 14 unanswered points to beat visiting Upper Dublin, 14-13, on Friday night.

“It’s always a battle against those guys (Upper Dublin),” Banas said. “I don’t remember a game against them that has been a blowout one way or the other. We put some mistakes behind us in the second half and really played well.”

A big part of the Panthers’ first-half deficit was turnovers. Quakertown (3-4) turned the ball over four times in the first two quarters, fumbling three times and throwing an interception, forcing its defense to defend a short field for most of the half.

After a scoreless first, Upper Dublin (3-3) used the short field to score twice in the second quarter, both coming on short runs by Jacob Rossman.

Rossman finished with 45 yards on 16 carries, and Upper Dublin’s John Kohlbrenner ran for 46 yards in the loss.

When the Panthers were able to hold onto the ball, sophomore quarterback Will Steich did a good job of finding open receivers to move down the field.

Steich finished with a game-best 201 yards through the air on 13-17 passing. His lone blemish on the night came with time winding down in the first half as he threw an interception over the middle to Upper Dublin’s Khalif Kemp.

“Felt good to get a win at home in front of the fans,” Steich said. “I felt good throwing the ball and just trust my receivers to make plays.”

Steich was also instrumental in the Panthers’ second-half comeback.

On the opening drive of the half, Steich found Ben Kove running wide open down the middle of the field for a 27-yard touchdown to make it 13-7.

Then, with time winding down in the quarter, Steich hit Tyler Merwarth for a 45-yard gain that would set up his eventual game-winning QB sneak.

“He just keeps surprising us game after game and keeps getting better and better,” Banas said of his sophomore quarterback. “You couldn’t ask for anything more from your QB. He makes plays when he needs to, controls the huddle and definitely doesn’t play like a sophomore.”

The Cardinals travel to Wissahickon on Oct. 11 at 7 p.m.

Quakertown is on the road against Plymouth Whitemarsh.

PLAGUED BY INJURIES

Upper Dublin came into Friday’s game dealing with a multitude of injuries to starting players, and the Cardinals’ luck didn’t improve any this week.

Quarterback Tristan Cairnes, who got the start in place of injured starting quarterback Mike Slivka, missed the entire second half of Friday’s loss with an undisclosed injury.

Cairnes was replaced by Nick Rodriguez after going 5-8 for 37 yards. Rodriguez finished 2-of-4 passing for 41 yards of his own.

To make matters worse for the Cardinals, starting wide receiver and the team’s leading pass catcher, Bazel Brady, left in the first half with an injury of his own.

“Never,” Upper Dublin head coach Bret Stover said when asked if he’s ever coached a team with this many injuries to key players. “It just keeps going, we lost a couple more kids today. We played probably without 10 starters and now were up to about 13. We just have to keep trying to get better each week.”

LOSING SKID

Friday’s loss to Quakertown was the third in the row for Upper Dublin after the Cardinals started the year 3-0.

A season that began with playoff aspirations has turned into a learning experience for the defending District 1-5A champions.

“There are a lot of little things we did well tonight and some things we didn’t,” Stover said. “We got better, which is what we’re trying to do with the number of injuries we have now. We want to try and win some games and all we can focus on is that. I’m not worried about conference championships or getting in the playoffs, we have to improve.”

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

After starting the season 0-3, Quakertown has won three of its last four games, with its lone loss during that stretch coming to first-place Cheltenham (6-1).

“I think that early non-league schedule really battle tested us and prepared us for these games now,” Banas said. “I’m happy we’re getting on a roll now and hope we can keep it going. I think it just comes back to playing Quakertown football.”

Another difference between the Quakertown football team that started the season and the one that took the field Friday against Upper Dublin is Steich. The starting quarterback took intermittent snaps throughout the first two weeks before taking over as the starter in Week 3.

Banas said he worried Steich was too young, but has been pleased with his performance so far.

Making it easier for Steich has been the play of his receivers. Steich found Tim Garlick seven times in the first half, totally 55 yards, and said he tries to find his senior receiver when he’s in trouble.

“He’s got good hands and runs good routes,” Steich said of Garlick. “He’s good at coming back to the ball and making sure I see him.”

Quakertown 14, Upper Dublin 13
Quakertown 0 0 7 7 — 14
Upper Dublin 0 13 0 0 — 13
Scoring
First Quarter
None
Second Quarter
UD — 6 yard run by Jacob Rossman; 9:18
UD — 3 yard run by Jacob Rossman; 2:53
Third Quarter
Q — 27 yard pass from Will Steich to Ben Kave; 10:00
Fourth Quarter
Q — 1 yard run by Will Steich; 11:20
Team Statistics
UD Q
First Downs 7 12
Rushing yards 115 96
Passing yards 78 201
Total yards 193 297
Passing 7-12 13-18
Penalties 5-35 6-55
Fumbles-Lost 3-1 3-3
Punts-Avg 4-26.5 1-38
Individual Statistics
RUSHING
UD: John Kohlbrenner 10-46; Jacob Rossman 16-45 2 TD; Tristan Cairnes 3-4; Logan Heim 1-2; Michael Wright 3-10; Nick Rodriguez 6-8
Q: Josh McGovern 12-52; Tyler Merwarth 9-47; Will Steich 1-(-3) 1 TD
PASSING
UD: Tristan Cairnes 5-8 37 Yards; Nick Rodriguez 2-4 41 Yards
Q: Will Steich 13-17 201 Yards 1 TD 1 INT; Tyler Merwarth 0-1
RECEIVING
UD: Bazel Brady 3-25; Brian McCarry 2-12; John Kohlbrenner 1-33; Jacob Wamelsdorf 1-8
Q: Tim Garlick 7-55; Ben Kave 4-76 1 TD; Tyler Merwarth 2-70