Conwell-Egan bests Upper Merion with big fourth quarter

August 28, 2021

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LEVITTOWN >> Conwell-Egan junior quarterback Donte Morris didn’t just beat Upper Merion with his feet in his team’s 25-13 victory Saturday night.

He also beat the Montgomery County team with his head.

With the Eagles trailing 13-12 early in the fourth quarter and his team backed up deep in its own territory, Morris noticed that nobody followed him when he rolled out in the opposite direction of a ball carrier after handing the ball off.

At this point he suggested to head coach Jack Techtmann to run a naked bootleg. The result was an electrifying 87-yard touchdown around right end that completely turned the game around and propelled Conwell-Egan to a season-opening victory.

“I told my coach nobody is covering me; they are all pursuing, including the defensive end,” said Morris, who was easily the star of this show with three touchdown runs and 204 yards on 10 carries. “He told me if you think you see it, then I trust it. It worked out great.”

Upper Merion’s Qwynne Seals (4) catches a touchdown pass in the first quarter during a non-league football game against Conwell-Egan on Saturday night at Harry S Truman High in Levittown. (Kyle Franko – MediaNews Group)

And how as Conwell-Egan was able to pull away in the fourth quarter in a game that was up for grabs virtually the entire night.

Conwell-Egan started fast when it stormed down the field on just three plays to open the game and scored on a 36-yard pass from Stephen Tryon to Colin Majors.

On its next possession, however, Conwell-Egan fumbled the ball away in its own territory and Upper Merion cashed in on a beautiful 28-yard pass from 6-5 quarterback Nolan Clayton to Qwynne Seals in the back of the end zone.

The only scoring in the second quarter was on a 31-yard run by Morris, which left the home team holding a 13-7 lead at the half.

The third quarter completely belonged to Upper Merion, starting with an 11-play touchdown drive that covered 54 yards and was capped by a 6-yard keeper around left end by Clayton. Seals ran the ball hard all night and was particularly effective taking it up the gun during this drive.

When Conwell-Egan then turned the ball over again on a fumble late in the third quarter and Upper Merion drove to the Eagle 38, it looked like the visitors might be on the verge of taking control.

Instead, Conwell-Egan’s defense stiffened and Upper Merion elected to go with a quick kick. This worked perfectly when it pinned the Eagles back on their own 3-yard line, but three plays later Morris took off on his 87-yard touchdown bolt.

There was still plenty of time left for Upper Merion, but once it again it was held on downs. This led to more heroics by Morris, who sealed the deal with a 12-yard touchdown keeper around left end with :58 remaining to cap off his monster night.