“Battle of the Bridge” goes to Upper Merion

UPPER MERION >> For the Upper Merion football team, the “Battle of the Bridge” wasn’t over until they crossed it.

“That’s just testament to our guys, that they don’t stop. I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Vikings coach Davis Chubb said of his team’s effort Saturday against rival Norristown. “Our guys just don’t give up.”

From Alzere Thomas’ tackle-breaking trips through the defense to the pile-moving runs of Nolan Clayton and Yusuf Riley, the Vikings combined all efforts, and pulled away to a satisfying 23-7 victory over the rival Eagles.

“This is a rivalry game so we had to come out and set the tone,” said Thomas, whose speed and elusiveness broke the game open in the second half.

With the score deadlocked at seven apiece early in the fourth quarter, Thomas turned a short pass into a game-changing moment. On 3rd-and-7 from the Viking 31, Thomas gathered in the reception from quarterback Zayd Etheridge, cut across the field, broke two tackles and battled for a first down.

Four plays later, on 4th-and-4 from the Upper Merion 49, Thomas caught another pass from Etheridge and raced away to a 51-yard touchdown and a 14-7 Viking lead.

“He proved everything he was today,” Chubb said of Thomas. “That was pretty amazing.”

Everything began to bounce Upper Merion’s way.

The Vikings (1-1, 0-0 PAC Frontier) recovered Cyrus Palladino’s squibb kick on the ensuing kickoff, in business once again at the Norristown 37.

A clock-draining, game-clinching drive was set in motion, kept alive by Riley’s six-yard push on 3rd-and-1, and Clayton’s battle into the end zone on 1st-and-Goal at the one.

Clayton was in the end zone again moments later, when he rushed in and sacked Eagle quarterback Jeremiah McCray.

“The defense today really pulled it out,” Chubb said. “And that’s huge. The defense bailed us out so many times.”

The defense also forced two turnovers in the third quarter, leading up to the offensive heroics of the fourth.

“We have playmakers. We’re still trying to figure all of them out,” said Chubb. “We had a lot of different guys (step up). There’s only one football but we’re just gonna keep figuring out who we can get involved.

“There’s two guys (Etheridge and Clayton) who play quarterback right now, and whoever’s got the hot hand, we’re gonna go with.”

Upper Merion tied the game at 7-7 in the second quarter when the offense took over deep inside Norristown territory, and then Nicholas Gerace recovered a fumble in the end zone on a running play.

The Eagles (0-2, 0-0 PAC Liberty) had led 7-0 early on a bullish, nine-yard run up the middle by Kaden Cruz.

“We did (put some things together). We just gotta finish,” Eagles coach Joe Milligan said. “That’s been our issue. We just have to finish our drives.”

The game brought the two communities together after a tough week.

“The flooding has been awful,” Chubb said. “It was for both communities, and one of them was gonna win, and I’m glad we got it, but I feel for them because we know a lot of people in Norristown. It’s a big game for both communities.”

Upper Merion 23, Norristown 7
Norristown 7 0 0 0 – 7
Upper Merion 0 7 0 16 – 23
First Quarter
N-Kaden Cruz 9 run (Ian Uzdzienski kick), 3:17.
Second Quarter
UM-Nicholas Gerace fumble recovery in end zone (Cyrus Palladino kick), 3:17.
Fourth Quarter
UM-Alzere Thomas 51 pass from Zayd Etheridge (Palladino kick), 8:39.
UM-Nolan Clayton 1 run (Palladino kick), 4:26.
UM-Safety, Clayton tackle in end zone, 2:54.
N UM
First Downs 11 7
Rushes-yards 39-43 33-66
Passing (c-att-int) 8-18-1 4-8-0
Passing yards 80 81
Total yards 121 147
Punts 2 2
Penalties-yards 5-36 5-25
Fumbles-lost 2-2 1-1
Turnovers 3 1
Rushing
Norristown: Kaden Cruz 21-64, TD; Marzan Carr 7-11; Johnny Dinolfi 4-(-1); Rob Miller 1-(-1); Rashad Triplett 1-2; Jeremiah McCray 5-(-32).
Upper Merion: Qwynne Seals 12-25; Nolan Clayton 10-21, TD; Yusuf Riley 10-21; Zayd Etheridge 1-(-1); Nicholas Gerace 1-0, TD.
Passing
Norristown: Dinolfi 3-5-18-0-0; McCray 5-15-62-0-1.
Upper Merion: Clayton 2-6-16-0-0; Etheridge 2-2-65-1-0.
Receiving
Norristown: Cruz 2-9; Dinolfi 3-29; Dyrell Smith 2-42; Triplett 1-0.
Upper Merion: Thomas 2-65, TD; Marcus Crittendon 2-16.
Interceptions
Upper Merion: Bradley Zielinski.