Mercury Football Preview: Upper Merion hopes to keep momentum rolling into 2021
Following an 0-3 start to its 2020 campaign, the Upper Merion football team concluded its five-game season with a pair of emphatic wins.
During a typical high school season, Upper Merion would have been hitting its stride.
Instead, the Vikings — now under new head coach Davis Chubb — hope the strong conclusion in 2020 can carry into the beginning of their 2021 season.
“It was the spark that we needed,” junior quarterback Nolan Clayton said. “If we had a full season that would have sparked us. We were getting ready to roll. We were getting ready to turn up.”
“I think with the new coach as well, that (spark) just carried right in,” added senior linebacker and tight end Nick Gerace. “That end of last season just gave us a spoonful of what we wanted. Now, we want the whole thing. We’re so excited to play.”
Chubb replaces four-year coach Victor Brown, who led the Vikings to consecutive six-win seasons in 2018 and 2019. He has familiarity with both the players and program at Upper Merion.
A middle school teacher in the district, he coached the Vikings’ middle school team before joining the varsity coaching staff as a wide receivers and linebackers coach three years ago before taking off last fall.
“Having some familiarity with the guys, that’s been huge,” Chubb said. “We’ve had a great culture and I’m glad to take over what Coach Brown instilled. What we’re looking at this year is L.E.O. We’re trying to love each other, play for each other and trust each other and that’s our philosophy.”
Read the Spring-Ford football team preview next here
Chubb and the Vikings hope to return to where they were two seasons ago when they won six games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2004. Upper Merion has only had two other seasons (2006 and 2008) with a .500 record or better in the past 16 years.
The momentum of 2018-2019 was slowed last year when the Vikings had their season initially cancelled before eventually returning a month later and putting things together on the fly for their five-game fall.
They lost their first three games to Pottsgrove, Pope John Paul II and Owen J. Roberts before rallying with a 35-6 win over Phoenixville and 38-7 win over Muhlenberg to cap their campaign.
“We had a month off and then we were thrown into camp. It was a lot,” Gerace said. “We had to get a lot done in a short amount of time. Now, we’ve been working since March as a team and you can see a big difference in just the way kids are coming to practice. We’re just a lot more excited, a lot more ready for the season.”
Pick up The Mercury’s Thursday (Aug. 26) edition for the 2021 High School Football Preview
The Vikings have three starters back on offense in senior linemen Wyatt Hart and Tremayne Brown and Clayton at quarterback.
Defensively, Upper Merion returns six starters — junior linebacker Alzere Thomas, junior defensive back Preston Thomas, senior defensive back Brad Zielinski, Gerace at linebacker and Hart and Brown on the defensive line.
Several others got experience last year during a season when the Vikings — like many other teams — dealt with a multitude of injuries.
“We’ve got a lot of energy with us,” junior offensive and defensive lineman Dominic Cacciavillani said. “We’ve got our experienced guys really coaching up the younger kids and some new players in there.”
“We’ve been working really hard,” Alzere Thomas said.
Clayton, whose older brother Dale finished fifth in the PAC in passing in 2019, wasn’t asked to do much through the air in his first season under center as a sophomore in 2020. He only attempted 12 passes in five games.
Chubb plans continuing to use a run-heavy, pro-style offense but said the Vikings will be a little more multi-dimensional on offense in 2021.
“I think there’s just a different mindset with the offense,” Clayton said. “Last year was just, ‘Stay on the ground. Run the ball, run the ball.’ Now, we’re opening up the offense. We’re going to start airing things out some times. … It will be different from what teams are maybe used to seeing from us.”
However, the Vikings’ line will still be one of the team’s main strengths.
“They’re big boys, a big group of kids, and they know what they’re doing,” Clayton said. “They know how to do it, and they’re ready to get things done on both sides of the ball.”
The idea of a new-look offense paired with a typically strong Upper Merion defense has the Vikings excited about what they can accomplish this fall.
“I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people,” Gerace said. “In years past, Upper Merion hasn’t really lived up to what we could have done. I think we missed opportunities, but this year I think we’re really going to hone in and really surprise people.”
UPPER MERION
Head Coach – Davis Chubb
Top Returners
Offense
OL – Wyatt Hart, Sr.
OL – Tremayne Brown, Sr.
QB – Nolan Clayton, Jr. (1-for-7, 12 yards, INT)
Defense
LB – Alzere Thomas, Jr.
DL – Wyatt Hart, Sr.
DL – Tremayne Brown, Sr.
DB – Preston Thomas, Jr.
LB – Nick Gerace, Sr. (1 INT, defensive touchdown)
DB – Brad Zielinski, Sr.
Key Newcomers
RB/S – Qwynne Seals, Jr. (17 carries, 27 yards, TD)
OL/DL – Dominic Cacciavillani, Jr.
QB/DB – Zayd Etheridge, Jr.
