Confident Merola guides Methacton to win over Norristown

FAIRVIEW VILLAGE >> It wasn’t obvious in a lopsided loss to Perkiomen Valley last week. But there was a confidence growing in Methacton junior quarterback Mike Merola and the Warriors’ passing attack.

Although an 88-yard touchdown pass to start the game and two more scores through the air didn’t help the Warriors break their four-game losing skid, the performance set the tone for this week’s game against Norristown.

“I think that boosted my confidence for this week,” Merola said. “I knew if I came to play, it would happen. I just believed in myself.”

.@MethactonFball QB Mike Merola threw for nearly 200 yards and two scores in Friday’s win over Norristown. Here he is on the win: pic.twitter.com/DJUnSTqLCh

— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) October 12, 2019

 

Coming off a two-touchdown game against the Vikings, Merola had his best passing day of the season, completing 10-of-19 throws for 192 yards and two scores as the Warriors topped Norristown for a 21-12 Homecoming victory, their first Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division win of the season.

“You look for little victories,” Methacton coach Dave Lotier said. “Scoring 21 points against a great PV defense was definitely a little victory. It gave our kids some confidence that if we could score 21 against them, we could at least do that against most of the teams in this area.”

“I’m really proud of the way our kids have responded to a tough part of the season, where we lost some kids, lost some games,” he added. “They decided they’re going to finish this thing hard, and I hope we continue that.”

Merola hit six different receivers Friday. Larry Dickerson hauled in three grabs for 60 yards and a touchdown to lead the way. Brian Dickey, who also had an interception, made three catches for 42 yards. Marcus Melle added two catches for 35 yards and a score.

The receiving corps aided their junior quarterback with some impressive grabs Friday night.

There was a one-handed catch on the sideline by Justin Gumienny on a 26-yard completion. That set up a tip-toeing grab by Melle in the back of the end zone on a 16-yard touchdown pass in the final seconds of the first half. Dickerson added two diving catches, including one for a 28-yard touchdown to put the Warriors ahead by two scores late in the third quarter.

“It was insane,” Merola said. “They came to play. That’s what we practiced all week, them catching those types of balls and having me getting it there.”

A short run by Methacton senior Mike Torcini, who ran for 48 yards in his first game since going down with a broken collar bone five weeks ago, put Methacton up 7-0 on its first drive of the game.

Norristown senior quarterback Nick DiNolfi drove the Eagles down the field, hitting Travis Cummings with a perfectly placed ball over two defenders with less than a minute left in the half to pull Norristown within one, 7-6. Methacton answered with Melle’s touchdown grab 34 seconds later, giving the Warriors a 14-6 lead heading into halftime.

Merola found Dickerson with 3:05 left in the third quarter to put Methacton ahead by two scores.

“Big plays. If you watch us, we gave up big plays, that’s the staple of our season so far,” Norristown coach Joe Milligan said of the Eagles’ struggles. “Its been big play after big play after big play.”

Norristown had one of its better passing nights with junior Nick DiNolfi completing 15-of-25 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns.

Isiah Tucker led the Eagles with seven catches for 75 yards. Levi Carroll-Holmes had four receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown, and Cummings added four catches for 52 yards and a touchdown for Norristown.

The Eagles are still looking for their first win of the season with a home game against Boyertown and a PAC Crossover game remaining.

“That is a positive sign,” Milligan said of the passing attack. “We thought we’d come in and do something different. It turned out the passing game actually picked up a little better for us this game.”

“We just gotta keep plugging away,” he added. “It’s a little different from last year when we had some seniors who were battle tested … We are a little young, and they’re definitely getting their battle scars right now. We’re going to keep plugging away.”

The Eagles’ ground game never found consistency and couldn’t deliver the big plays it’s broken off at times throughout the season. Norristown’s longest play from scrimmage was a 27-yard run by Zion Malone, who finished with 61 yards in the game.

Methacton’s defense held Norristown to 60 total yards on the ground. Nick Caville, Brent Romano and Keino Kinard, who nearly returned a fumble for a touchdown, had sacks for the Warriors. 

The Warriors’ biggest defensive play came on a 4th-and-1 stop at the 5-yard line at the beginning of the fourth quarter to preserve a 21-6 lead.

“We practice all week for it, and it just came to us,” Romano said. “We worked hard for it.”

The Warriors, who have won three games for the first time since 2016, will have opportunities to add to their win total against Owen J. Roberts next week and a PAC Crossover game the week after.

For the present, they were happy to get back in the win column, ready to celebrate a big victory, not just one of the little ones that come in a loss.

“It’s going to be insane,” Merola said of the locker room celebration as a big smile crept over his face. “We’ve been waiting for this. Homecoming, it’s huge. It’s huge for us.”